The Book Depository Reappearing Church by Mark Sayers
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Price: £23.86
Brand: The Book Depository
Description: Reappearing Church : Paperback : Moody Publishers : 9780802419132 : 0802419135 : 06 Aug 2019 : What if the rise of secularism is good news for the church? For decades, we set our hopes on technology, politics, and the appearance of peace. We wanted to believe we were headed somewhere better--that progress was happening. But now as our technology ensnares and isolates us, our politics threaten to tear us apart, and our cultural decline continues to accelerate, people are understandably distressed. But throughout history these periods of decline traditionally precede powerful spiritual renewal--and even revival. What if all the bad news in this world is actually good news for the church? Discover why there's reason to be wildly hopeful and how to prepare yourself and your church to be a part of renewal now and in the future. The Book Depository Reappearing Church by Mark Sayers - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9780802419132
MPN: 0802419135
GTIN: 9780802419132
Author: David Williams
Rating: 5
Review: An enjoyable and challenging read
Author: QuantumTiger
Rating: 3
Review: I have quite mixed feelings about this book. I agree with a lot of what Mark has to say, and there are tantalising glimmers of deep insight within his writing. I found it very thought provoking, and I gained a lot from that thought process. Unfortunately, whilst much of this was driven by the book it was not all found in the book. After a lot of words Mark ultimately seems to reach the right conclusions, but he often seems to start from the wrong places and detour down interesting but irrelevant alleyways. For example the driver for renewal & revival in the church is not the failure or stagnation of the current secular worldview to bring a humanist renewal. Every age has an ungodly worldview which is doomed to failure because it ignores God. Understanding this worldview and why it is failing will never help us to bring renewal in the church. A far more interesting question is why, given the obvious failure of the secular system, the church seems not to be offering attractive answers to the disillusioned people this is producing. The dissatisfaction which drives the renewal arises from a recognition that, whilst the gospel of Jesus provides the solution, the Church is singularly failing to let people (both outside it and inside) know that. If the gospel of Jesus is in Mark's words "a system" then we need to understand why that system is failing to bring the renewal it promises, not why the world system that it is trying to reach is failing. Our model for renewal arises not from an understanding of radical communist cell structures (interesting though they may be), but from an understanding and enactment of the explosively radical teaching of Jesus. An understanding of past Revival shows us that the Holy remnant stands out from the established church and is often rejected or expelled by the established church whilst being welcomed by many outside the church. One thing which particularly bothers me in books, is where they promote a model without any indication of the evidence to support that model. Marks model of renewal does seem intuitively to have the right elements in the right order, but it is not attributed to anyone and for a Christian book is notably light on scriptural backing. Worth a read? Definitely - but there are better books on revival out there such as Pete Greig's excellent "Awakening Cry"
