Synopses & Reviews
There are two styles of leadership at war in the world.
On one side, the mechanical leader casts a vision of heroic action aided by pragmatism, reason, technology, and power.
On the other side, the organic leader strives to bring forth creativity, defying convention and relishing life in culture’s margins.
This leadership battle is at the heart of our contemporary culture, but it is also an ancient battle. It is the reinvocation of two great heresies, one rooted in an attempt to reach for the heroic, godlikeness, the other bowing before the sea monster of the chaotic deep.
Today’s leader must answer many challenging questions including:
- What does it mean to lead in a cultural storm?
- How do I battle the darkness in my own heart?
- Is there such a thing as a perfect leader?
Weaving a history of leadership through the Enlightenment, Romanticism, into tumultuous 19th century Paris and eventually World War II, cultural commentator Mark Sayers brings history and theology together to warn of the dangers yet to come, calling us to choose a better way.
Review
I cannot express how much I needed this book—nor how much our church and our culture needs it. From the first page (or more precisely, the second) to the last it is full of surprise, insight, honesty, clarity, and hope. It is prophetic in the deepest sense of the word. No one who aspires to lead in the way of Christ should miss the chance to read Facing Leviathan.
Andy Crouch, executive editor, Christianity Today, author of Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power
Facing Leviathan is a beautifully written book that weaves history and the Word of God together in a spectacular and challenging tapestry. I was moved, encouraged and provoked.
Matt Chandler, lead pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, Texas, president of Acts 29 Church Planting Network
With a sharp historical analysis, Mark Sayers shows how we are shaped by a culture where image and performance is everything. This book is a must-read for brave leaders who want lead and live in a way that is shaped by the life of Jesus.
Thomas Willer, sociologist, author, pastor of Regen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Mark has written a beautifully engaging and well researched book on culture that drips with the prophetic. His insights into cultural history and how we got here are breathtaking, and how he turns them into lessons on leadership is just brilliant. This book is fun, insightful, engaging...I could go on and on. If you are a leader in any capacity, read this book.
Dave Lomas, pastor of Reality San Francisco, author of The Truest Thing About You
Mark Sayers understands leadership far beyond the bite-sized axioms frequently used. By teaching with his own failures in leadership as a prime example, he has the experience necessary to show the danger of following the movement of the culturally-mandated leadership. Take up the challenge of having your own preconceived notions of leadership questioned by reading Facing Leviathan, and walk away a leader who first follows the example of Christ, rather than the latest management tool.
Tyler Braun, author of Why Holiness Matters: We’ve Lost Our Way—But We Can Find It Again
Unlike any leadership book I have ever read, Facing Leviathan traverses the waves of Western history and exposes dangerous cultural currents in order to land us safely ashore a leadership that is neither pragmatic nor pietistic. Sayers charts a course right through the storms of vocational pride, ministry travails, and personal suffering by keeping a bead on God's profound, personal providence. Littered with insights, I couldn't shake the book after I read it. It haunted me, beckoning me into deeper self-reflection, while also inspiring me to lead underneath God. As you read, you'll get to think, repent, and refocus. On top of all that, it's a literary feast with morsels for all to enjoy.
Jonathan K. Dodson, lead pastor of City Life Church Austin, author of Gospel-Centered Discipleship
If you're like me and thought that leadership was reserved for the elite, that you had to be a CEO to be an influencer, there's good news: You don't. And this book will show you how.
Jeff Goins, author of The In-Between
The cultural and personal storms of our day are indeed raging, and few books will help us navigate them like Facing Leviathan. With prophetic insight and personal transparency, Mark Sayers steers leadership the way it should always go in a storm: the way of Christ Himself.
Tim Chaddick, pastor of Reality Los Angeles, author of Better
No one will challenge your thinking more than Mark! I so appreciate both his insights and his passion to develop authentic disciples of Christ. We are in dire need of new ways to think about the development of disciples and leaders. They need to be the net results of a culture and community, as opposed to a new program or our quick-fix methods.
Terry Walling, president, leader of Breakthru
Synopsis
Leadership is facing a crisis-a cultural storm of cynics, detached artists, ever-changing hipsters, and child-like adults all needing leadership, but few people are up to the challenge.
How do we lead when we are faced with the Leviathan of culture today and the Leviathan of our sin within? Australian cultural commentator and pastor Mark Sayers weaves a new paradigm for leadership, one that grapples with the deep and unsettled currents of our culture and globalized world.
About the Author
MARK SAYERS is a cultural commentator, writer and speaker, who is highly sought out for his unique and perceptive insights into faith and contemporary culture. Mark is the author of The Trouble with Paris and The Vertical Self. Mark is also the Senior Leader of Red Church. Mark lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife Trudi, daughter Grace, and twin boys Hudson and Billy.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Perfect Storm
Chapter 2: The Personal Storm
Chapter 3: The Kind of Leaders and Creatives We Need at This Time
Chapter 4: The Dragon and the Storm
Chapter 5: Hiding from the Storm in Hipsterdom
Chapter 6: The Other Fall
Chapter 7: Cynical Distance from Revelation
Chapter 8: Leviathan for Dinner
Chapter 9: Christ Enters the Storm
Chapter 10: Allowing the Leviathan Within to Die
Chapter 11: Not Heroes Nor Bohemians But Prophets
Chapter 12: Breaking the Circle of Friends
Chapter 13: Influence Reconsidered
Chapter 14: The Creativity of Orthodoxy
Chapter 15: High Priests in the Creators Temple
Chapter 16: After the Storm