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    The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in An Age of Self Obsession
    The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in An Age of Self Obsession
    The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in An Age of Self Obsession
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in An Age of Self Obsession

    Written by Mark Sayers

    Narrated by Mark Sayers

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    It's time for a return to Radical Holiness.

    Welcome to the 21st century where you can now purchase and exchange personalities, depending on mood and circumstance; where you are told that you can be anyone you want to be, and identity is no longer based in a sense of self but rather in the imagery you choose at that moment.

    The Bible contains a radically different way of understanding our identity. The path that God has chosen for us to discover who we really are is the path of holiness. The most exciting thing is that this path is not for otherworldy saints, rather it is a path of earthy, gutsy holiness. It's a path that is not about basing your life on this world or of shunning your desires. Instead, it is about bringing your hopes, your dreams, your brokenness, your desires, your humanness under the Lordship of Christ. By doing this we don’t just discover a new way of living out our faith, we discover a liberating, revolutionary, life-embracing way of being truly human.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateMar 14, 2010
    ISBN9780849948251
    Author

    Mark Sayers

    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.

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    Reviews for The Vertical Self

    4.5/5

    22 ratings3 reviews

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    • 2/5
      A superficial book about western Christianity being superficial. While Sayers gives a great insight as to how Christianity has become a superficial hollow faith he lacks any really answered as to how to become Holy. When a writer spends more time tearing down and highlighting defects than on a solution there is a problem. Sayers does just that. Only the las few chapters give any insights on living holy or what it means to be holy. In my view, this is because Sayers has thought out fully how to love holy or what it means. He’s off to a good start though. Sayers only hints at desire being a tool for reforming the heart. This topic is heavily covered by author James KA Smith. Both sayers and Smith covers augustines use of desire; However, Smith goes into great depth as to how to use desire as a tool to reshape the soul for the kingdom of God. It’s somewhat odd to see that Sayers makes no reference to the postmodernists philosophers that have so heavily shaped the way that we think and view society in the post modern contemporary era. He talks around them but clearly never addresses their influence this is somewhat odd and gives The reader a reductionistic view of the contemporary world. In closing I think this book is a good superficial approach to this topic, but there are writers and authors that I’ve done a much better job expressing the same ideas and thoughts. I’d recommend one of them if you want to do a deep dive
    • 5/5
      I was very excited to get this book in the mail as part of Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program. In the Vertical Self Mark Sayers looks at how in modern western culture instead of defining ourselves vertically in relationship to God we now attempt to gain a sense of identity horizontally by what the people around us think. The first section looks at various influences in our culture that combine to shape the way we see ourselves. The second part looks at how we might seek to find our true identity by cultivating our souls ... to rediscover holiness.This really is an excellent book. Mark looks with great insight into today's culture and how it influences us. I must admit even though a couple years back I made the conscious decision to not be defined by other people and put God's will first it is easy to lapse back into old patterns. This book has made me more aware of some of the more subtle influences in my life. Using stories from the bible and also more recent history Mark looks at how we can overcome the messages of our culture to embrace our true self "each day becoming more and more like the people God has designed us to be" ... a must if we hope, as a church, to make any kind of impact in our communities
    • 5/5
      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 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.