Mark Sayers

It’s hard to understand what Sayers is doing in this book. It seems a jumble of stories and social commentary (which is all brilliant) but without much cohesion and flow of argument through the book. There are amazing insights into human life and culture from Jack Kerouac, Sayyid Qutb and Takashi Nagai.

I was disappointed, however, with his insights from the Bible which read as illustrations of his theme not clear exposition that makes God’s word heard today. Sayers wants a deeper show more Christianity, and I finished the book wanting him to have taught that deeper Christianity from the Bible. He nails the need for it, but struggled to unveil it with clarity. show less

There were two main points that I read right from the beginning that invited me to keep reading this book on how biblical faith can help us discover who we are in an age of self obsession. One was that the Greeks (yes, I am Greek) looked to a greater good, an essence or standard of good, to define their lives. In today's fast paced life , media drenched landscape that surrounds us, vanity (it's all about me) is celebrated to the hilt and deceptively embraced as a virtue. Mark calls this show more horizontal view one that elevates performance above character (being a super star). Plus, the author expounds on the roller coaster ride of constantly reinventing your identity in finding a sense of self... (who are you really?)

The second point that Mark makes in his awesome, eye-opening book, is that "Christianity asks you to be who you are and who you are not at the same time." The author uses a compass, if you will, (horizontal and vertical self) to map out clearly that finding your identity in Christ will produce holiness, a desire to follow and obey precepts that will bless your life in learning things, giving you more self confidence in honoring your talents. When we "take on Christ", we find life.

This book is worth reading for those who are seeking a deeper relationship in their walk with God. To those who are exhausted with life's messages being thrown at them at a fast, constantly changing pace of reinventing yourself to discover a truer identity of you, this book is worth buying. C.S. Lewis wrote it so simple: "The goal towards which He is beginning to guide you is absolute perfection; and no power in the whole universe, except you yourself can prevent Him from taking you to that goal."

The Vertical Self was provided for review by ThomasNelson Publishers. I am thankful for the opportunity to have read this great book. show less

OK, I'm very on the fence about this book. On the one hand, I had SUCH HIGH HOPES and feel like my qualms with it could be solved if the book was honestly just a little bit longer... not so quick to move past some things and given more room to deal with some particular topics.

On the other hand (and especially if you've been following what's been going on at Moody Bible Institute, home of Moody Publishing), I think there's some serious issues with a book that claims to address the issues that show more this one does, and then spends numerous pages bemoaning the dangers of liberalism (and he does give a fair critique of the ideology, so my issue isn't with him "not being liberal" persay), and giving about 3 paragraphs to the other side that total up to essentially "the far right is bad and uses internet trolling so it's hard to figure out what they actually want, oh and sometimes the Christian establishment doesn't help." In the US at this particular time in history, I don't think the church can afford to act like they have NO IDEA how things got this bad on the right, nor do I think they get to play the "I'm so oppressed by liberalism!" card. The true, Spirit-filled, orthodox church, maybe, but as long as the Franklin Grahams and Pat Robertsons of the world are on TV and saying what they're saying, I think Mark Sayers needs to watch his thesis a little.

And all this is not to say that the book is garbage... he makes some interesting points, his stuff about non-places and the loss of home as our source of chaos is excellent, and his last few chapters about life in the Spirit, while not particularly groundbreaking, were encouraging and insightful. In the end, I guess my issues boil down to: if you're going to attempt a cultural critique, you have to be spot on on the diagnosis. While I think Sayers is generally correct in his, more depth would have helped. show less

Summary: Sayers lays out a path for revival for the church in the modern Western world. This revival begins with small scale renewal and grows to such an extent that the culture, which is deeply broken, is shaped by the presence of God.

Pros: There is no cynicism in Sayer's book. He takes such a hopeful view that it encourages the reader. Furthermore, he places his emphasis on small-scale change in the lives of believers and churches before any large scale work in the culture.

Cons: Sayers is show more very much committed to revivalism, both as a philosophy of sanctification, a paradigm for church history, and a desirable path forward. He does not mention all of the many places in church history in which obedience brought suffering, not culture-shaping revival. The work is filled with buzzwords and other forms of jargon that have little meaning when carefully considered.

Evaluation: This book is a work of hope both in the power of God and in human history. As such, it can be encouraging. Unfortunately, though Sayers presents as clear a case for revivalism that I can remember, it is still a deeply flawed idea that does not properly appreciate the ordinary means of grace and the sovereign plan of God in sending times of suffering and times of joy. There is no guaranteed path of revival and much of what is revival in the Western world has been a poor imitation. At his best, Sayers calls for true obedience. That obedience will not necessarily lead to revival. show less