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 godlikeness, the other bowing before the sea monster of the chaotic deep.
Today’s leader must answer many challenging questions including:
Weaving a history of leadership through the Enlightenment, Romanticism, 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.
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:
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.
Foreword by Jon Tyson
Part I: New Leadership in a Chaotic Culture
Part II: The Monster in the Deep
Part III: Paris: The First Society of the Spectacle
Part IV: Leadership in the Storm
Part V: When the Leader Jumps Overboard
Part VI: The Baptized Leader
Part VII: The Oppositional Posture
Part VIII: A Return to Paganism
Part IX: Leader on a Cross
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