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/R-cover/without%20spine/9780802479396.jpg "The Road Trip that Changed the World: The Unlikely Theory that will Change How You View Culture, the Church, and, Most Importantly, Yourself")
Can't find no satisfaction?
There's no shortage of prescriptions for restlessness out there: Seek adventure. Live your life. Don't hold back.
Sound familiar?
The Road Trip that Changed the World is a book challenging the contemporary conviction that personal freedom and self-fulfillment are the highest good.
Like the characters in a Jack Kerouac novel, we've dirtied the dream of white picket fences with exhaust fumes. The new dream is the open road—and freedom.
Yet we still desire the solace of faith. We like the concept of the sacred, but unwittingly subscribe to secularized, westernized spirituality. We're convinced that there is a deeper plot to this thing called life, yet watered-down, therapeutic forms of religion are all we choose to swallow, and our personal story trumps any larger narrative.
This is the non-committal culture of the road. Though driving on freely, we have forgotten where we're headed.
Jesus said His road is narrow. He wasn't some aimless nomad. He had more than just a half tank of gas—He had passion, objectives, and a destination.
Do you?
ON THE BACK COVER:
In this masterfully written book, our friend Mark Sayers has pretty much unlocked the cultural code of millions of young adults. His insights into mass culture, the corporate psyche, and of spirituality sometimes border on the uncanny. With this work, Mark rightly takes his place as a major prophetic voice to the contemporary western church today.
Alan and Debra Hirsch, Authors, Activists, Dreamers
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ON THE INSIDE PAGES:
Mark Sayers is one of the most important thinkers in the church today. This book is filled with his typical insights and genius in answering the question of why the church is struggling today. You will be informed, inspired, renewed and compelled to recover a serious, Jesus-centered discipleship and hunger for the Kingdom of God. Highly recommended.
Jon Tyson, Pastor, Trinity Grace Church New York & City Collective
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In this masterfully written book, our friend Mark Sayers has pretty much unlocked the cultural code of millions of young adults. His insights into mass culture, the corporate psyche, and of spirituality sometimes border on the uncanny. With this work, Mark rightly takes his place as a major prophetic voice to the contemporary western church today.
Alan and Debra Hirsch, Authors, Activists, Dreamers
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In his book, The Road Trip that Changed the World, Mark Sayers invites us to take a seat next to him as he guides us through the landscape of church, culture, consumerism, Christianity, religion, and faith. In the end, we can arrive at a place we long for: Home. A home not found in a creation of materials or in a geographical space but wonderfully discovered in a relationship with Jesus.
Dave Gibbons, Founder of Xealot.org and Newsong Church, and Author of XEALOTS
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As a keen student of culture, Mark Sayers unpacks how the primary narrative we inhabit will either lead us on the road, trying to capture as many "woosh" experiences as we can, or enable us to take the road less traveled. If the church is going to answer her sacred calling and not allow the culture of the road to squeeze the life out of her, this book is a must read!
JR Woodward, Co-founder of the Ecclesia Network and Kairos Los Angeles; author of Creating a Missional Culture
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Many writers can exegete the Bible, few can exegete our culture. Mark Sayers does both with illuminating clarity and perception. The Road Trip that Changed the World is masterful depiction of our media-saturated world and the subtleties of its influence. Through the unique intersection of faith and culture, Mark's observations are fresh, timely, buoyant, and full of hope.
Darren Whitehead, Author of Rumors of God (with Jon Tyson), Teaching Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church
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This is a book I wish I had written but know I never could. In a mesmerizing blend of anecdote and literature, pop sensitivity and cultural analysis, earthiness and biblical reflection, Mark Sayers gracefully calls the 'travelers' of the world and the church home—via the signpost of a cross. Brilliant!
Dr John Dickson, author, historian, and director of the Centre for Public Christianity
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Mark Sayers again proves himself to be a state-of-the-art connoisseur of the times in which we live. The Road Trip that Changed the World is a brilliant and gripping portrayal of what ails church and culture, combined with the redemptive wisdom of how to fix it. People stream into our Swiss L'Abri community from all over the world. They deeply struggle with a myriad of issues, including which direction to take in life. So many roads go nowhere. Sayers' book, by contrast, is an exceptionally valuable guide that can decisively help counter dead ends and lead us home. I highly recommend it. This is a vital read. Sayers at his best.
Dr Gregory J. Laughery, Author, Spiritual Rhythms For Today, and Director of L'Abri Fellowship, Switzerland.
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If you desire to better understand the condition of a culture that has lost its sense of the transcendent then pick up The Road Trip that Changed the World. As a pastor in a secular global city, I find Mark's writings to be an invaluable resource for understanding the soul of my city and learning how to address its hopes, angsts, and aspirations with the Gospel.
JR Vassar, Lead Pastor of Apostles Church, NYC
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Mark Sayers once again skewers the cultural narrative we have been given and, while it wriggles impotently, invites us instead to make our home in the Story of God. Rich with cultural, personal and biblical insight, The Road Trip that Changed the World leads us down the dusty path countless feet have trodden that results in our becoming truly human. Highly recommended.
Sean Gladding, Author of The Story of God, the Story of Us
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This book will at once make you very uncomfortable and inspire you to take a fresh look at the true influences of your life. Will "the road" or the One who calls us to serve those on it be the dominate influence in our lives? Will we be the Church?
Ellis Brust, Lead Pastor, Epiphany Anglican Church, Orange County, California
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Mark Sayers is one of the best readers and analysts of culture that I have met and read. In his new book he takes us on a road trip through our western culture and shows what it is that is shaping and what has shaped our culture. This is a must read for all who wants to find a way of discipleship and mission in a western context.
Thomas Willer, sociologist and pastor of Regen Church, Copenhagen
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The Road Trip that Changed the World exposes our modern obsession with novelty, entertainment, and self-actualization while sketching a compelling vision for a biblical alternative. Mark Sayers is a keen exegete of contemporary culture and a wise guide for true seekers. He's written an important book that will help readers name, and resist, the gods of this age.
Drew Dyck, Managing Editor of Leadership Journal and author of Generation Ex-Christian
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Mark Sayers's gifts as a cultural critic, theologian, and story-teller are all on fine display in this remarkable and well-written analysis of western culture. Through the prism of Jack Kerouac's novel, On The Road, Sayers tells the story of our culture and then offers a better way—a way home—through his reflections on God's call of Abraham. This, and much more, make The Road Trip that Changed the World a gripping and profound work.
Douglas Groothuis, Professor of Philosophy, Denver Seminary, and author of Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith.
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Mark Sayers is a thoughtful, insightful, and observant leader who will push your thinking. At times he will make you mad. At times he will make you shout with affirmation. But you will not come away from this book unchanged. I'm thankful for his voice into the wider church world.
Gene Appel, Senior Pastor, Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, California
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We often talk about what "culture" is doing to "them." We rarely think deeply about what "culture" is doing to "us." Sayers reveals what our cultural addiction to infinite choice has done to our stability as individuals—both inside and outside the church. The Road Trip that Changed the World is a terrific work of cultural hermeneutics, and we need to take Mark's challenges very seriously.
John Stonestreet, Speaker and author for Breakpoint and Summit Ministries
