For many of us from my own generation, there's no more powerful example of the seduction of evil than the rising of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.

For most of us, whether survivors of childhood abuse or those who survived other significant traumas, we often expect evil to be obvious - the evil guy in the dark alley or the powerful dictator over an evil movement or nation or organization. However, as we head into Mike Cosper's "The Church in Dark Times: Understanding and Resisting the Evil That Seduced the Evangelical Movement," we are reminded that malevolence is often more subtle and kept alive by our best intentions and seemingly righteous ideas.

If you don't believe that evil has seduced much of the current evangelical movement, the odds are fairly strong you'll struggle with the very foundation of "The Church in Dark Times."

I, for one, do believe it.

Drawing on the work of twentieth-century political theorist Hannah Arendt, Cosper dives into her theory of the "banality of evil" - the thoughtlessness that allows ordinary people to become complicit in all kinds of manner of corruption. It's an idea not far removed from another book I'm reading right now by Jemar Tisby, ""The Spirit of Justice."

Cosby explores the growing crisis of abuse and other failures in modern evangelical churches, lifting the veil to expose underlying causes yet, like Tisby, also exploring reasons for hope and practices that foster healing and renewal.

Indeed, "The Church in Dark Times" is very committed to both understanding and resisting this evil, hence its title, yet also uncompromising in portraying it. This isn't a melodramatic work - instead, it's a powerfully researched look that largely avoids politicization and likely has more significant crossover appeal than other titles I've read on this particular subject.

Cosper is a cultural critic who produced and hosted The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast. He services as director of podcasts for Christianity Today and co-hosts the weekly podcast The Bulletin. "The Church in Dark Times" is an expansion, really, of Cosper's Mars Hill podcast as it looks at those very issues and applies them in a myriad of different ways. "The Church in Dark Times" is a well-researched, informative, engaging, and very necessary portrayal of the evil that has seduced the evangelical movement and how it can be resisted.

As humans, we like simple answers to explain complex things and thus we seek out ideologies to make sense of the world. In this book, Cosper explains how the Christian church has increasingly adopted ideologies to explain life when they will always fall short of theology. "The allure of an ideology is that it flattens the complexity of the real world and thus insulated and inoculates a person from the need to think."

Cosper was the host of the popular Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast and has seen first hand how those in the church who cling to mission statements can manipulate and hurt others when they are adopting an ideology that is more man-centered than God-centered. Writings from Hannah Arendt, who was a German Jew living during WWII, added a richness to the discussions as Cosper hearkened back to her work to show that not much has changed between now and 70 years ago.

I appreciated the philosophical discussions in this bookand how Cosper highlighted how we always want to fix problems in our culture and don't often recognize that things are complicated. Some of the writing could be a bit meandering and hard to follow at points.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. This book is one that will live long in my thinking and memory. It examines the aftermath of mega churches and fallen leaders in a way that is critical but ultimately hopeful, engaging with Hannah Arendt’s work. It’s also beautifully written. Definitely one to read.

Mike Cosper, perhaps best known for the podcast “The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill,” returns with another attempt to diagnose what has gone wrong with the evangelical church in America. Multiple scandals and abuse have caused some to call themselves “exvangelical” and say “no thank you” to what the institutional church is offering.

Cosper lays much of the blame on ideology, which often becomes a substitute for truth. This leads to a mindset where the mission is so critical that the sins of the leader are excused, whistleblowers are punished, victims are blamed, and reality must bend to serve the new narrative. He employs philosopher Hannah Arendt as a “conversation partner” as well as drawing illustrations from the Mars Hill debacle.

The author offers three practices for Christians -- and the larger church -- to embrace as they learn dependence on God instead of the tools of modernity. They are (1) solitude; (2) storytelling and culture making; and (3) worship. In this section, Cosper pulls from the wisdom of Eugene Peterson, Beth Moore, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Dallas Willard, and Peanuts.

My one quibble with the book is the number of film, TV, and pop song references. I grew up in the conservative wing of the evangelical church and was not allowed to attend movies or listen to rock music. Consequently, the point of these many examples was lost on me. Nevertheless, this is a worthwhile book, highly readable and relevant.

In The Church in Dark Times, cultural critic Mike Cosper unveils this dynamic in the growing crisis of abuse and other failures in modern evangelical churches. As a Christian leader, I really appreciate this work and I hope many Christian leaders in the world can engage with this topic too.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. On one hand i enjoyed the philosophical discussions based on the writings of Hannah Arendt who was a German Jew living during WWII.
The message of the book is clear - ideology is not the answer, always wanting to fix problems in culture and not recognising that things are more nuanced is not the answer, trying to find one 'bad guy' to blame is not the answer. However it also felt unfocused and meandering at times which took away from the punch
I was also hugely disappointed with the Afterword which seemed completely lacking in nuance, perspective when discussing the horrors occuring in Gaza. I expect more from an author who spent a book discussing the things he did.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book

Got an ARC of this from Netgalley. I enjoyed this follow up book to the rise and fall of mars hill about how Ideology can take route in a church and what could it look like to resist it. I’m glad it wasn’t just a rehash of Rise and fall of mars hill, but a thoughtful response. I have enjoyed that Mike Cosper is able to acknowledge some deep brokenness but use that opportunity to point towards a better way rooted in the hope of Jesus.

What are dark times? What are the risks facing the evangelical churches today? How do ordinary churches fall down the path of shame? What are the signs of seduction? What are the social and cultural influences that we need to be aware of? What ideological, spiritual, or structural factors are involved in scandals? These questions are dealt with in depth by Mike Cosper who had previously produced and hosted the podcast, "The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill." Writing with Hannah Arendt's insights on human behaviour and experiences of abuse, he defines dark times under the umbrella of totalitarianism, and how totalitarian ideology is seductive to the modern mind. Churches need to discern and resist the temptation toward evil within their organizations. Anchored on the Bible verse to "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you," (James 4:7), author Mike Cosper exposes the telltale signs of abuses, conspiracies, denials, violence, and the infiltration of devilish ideologies that sought to hide the Truth. Using the defunct Mars Hill Church as a backdrop to the book, Cosper seeks to extend Arendt's reflections on her experiences with the evil Nazi regime. Dark times are not simply about totalitarianism. It includes how the world becomes disconnected from goodness and purpose.

Part One of the book lists the signs and symptoms of environments entering dark times.
Cosper aims at ideologies that distort Truth. He spends some time describing the demise of Mars Hill Church and the reasons that led to Pastor Mark Driscoll's fall from grace. Behind each rise in power of any institution or movement, beware of the evil ideologies that feed their growth. Such ideologies substitute the Truth with lies. They turn authority into authoritarianism. They coerce others to support their agendas. They subdue the good with attractive numbers. Often, external measures of success are used to hide underlying problems. Left unchecked, once the idol of ideology takes root, human wisdom, and personal agendas drive the organization deep into dark waters.

Part Two is an attempt to resist the road into dark times. Cosper learns from Eugene Peterson's life of preferring humble community over glitzy celebrity. He derives lessons from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" which highlights the beauty of love amid the hustle and bustle of a busy lifestyle. He provides practices to resist dark times:

1) Solitude to further spiritual formation (instead of popularity and accumulation of worldly success)
2) Storytelling and Culture Making to encourage the community
3) Worship that offers our service to God

My Thoughts
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I will answer three questions: How real is the problem? What is the extent? What is my general feeling about the book?

First, the problem is a real one. In the West, there is a general decline in Church attendance. Young people are avoiding Church, leaving many congregations to gray out. Many churches are struggling financially to maintain their premises. Church boards, community leaders, and pastors continually look to "successful" churches to draw people into their churches. They try to copy how the megachurches and growing churches do their ministry. With such focus on numbers and attractional-based strategies, the Church-Growth movement becomes the driving ideology. Pastors style themselves as celebrities to draw in the crowds. Drawing people into the Church becomes the primary concern while discipleship and spiritual disciplines take the back seat. Sometimes, claims that promote the gospel first become mere lip service as long as people are coming.

This leads us to the second question: "What is the Extent of the problem?" Cosper mentions a handful of churches that have fallen prey to the idolatry of ideology. In fact, the author claims to witness and experienced the problem first-hand. His three books all revolve around the problem of unhealthy Church. The first book looks at the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. His second on the Sojourn Church where he was fired from, and the third book is this book which becomes more general. Critics might argue that Cosper is exaggerating the problem. Surely things are not so bad? My answer is simply this: Better to heed the warning before anything worse happens. Just because a Church has no signs of being in dark times does not necessarily mean it will stay that way into the future. This calls for generational witness and teaching. Soldiers do not wait until there is a war before they get trained. Firemen do not wait passively for fires to happen before equipping themselves with firefighting skills. Schools should never wait until an earthquake before practicing earthquake drills. Likewise, Christian leaders should not presume that what happened to others will never happen to their parishes. Thus, even of the problem described by Cosper might not be widespread now, it is always good to heed the warning signs.

Finally, I feel that this book is written more as a warning rather than a description of the Church today. It is birthed out of ministry pains personally experienced by the author. Before we dismiss Cosper's description of the dark times facing the Church, we should take heed of not letting ideology become our idols. Faithfulness is more important than success. Keeping the Church pure is preferred to trying to make the Church palatable to the world. Before we can solve any problem, we need to understand what the problem is in the first place. Ask the right questions. Challenge the leadership toward Christlikeness over and above personal goals. I know of churches that have tried to push human agendas in the name of Jesus. Let theology speak louder than ideology.

Mike Cosper has been creating music, radio shows, and podcasts for more than twenty years. He produced and hosted The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast and is director of podcasts at Christianity Today. He now cohosts a weekly podcast called The Bulletin. He's also the author of several books, including Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World (Intervarsity Press). His other books include Faith Among The Faithless (Thomas Nelson), Rhythms of Grace and The Stories We Tell (both published by Crossway Books). Mike also served as one of the founding pastors at Sojourn Church in Louisville, Kentucky, from which he launched Sojourn Music – a collective of musicians writing songs for the church. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, Sarah, and their daughters Dorothy and Maggie.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Academic via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

I found much to like in this book. Mike Cosper discusses the growing crisis of abuse and discord occurring in the evangelical church. The author in some ways was picking up where he left off from his podcast "the rise and fall of Mars Hill" and extending the issues that occurred in that context out to the wider evangelical church in America. I enjoyed his discussion of these issues. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the philosophical work of Hannah Arendt and how it relates to current times. A very timely book that would be good for anyone in the western church to read and think on.

I received an advanced copy of this book from netgalley. All opinions are my own.