Interview with Mark Sayers, Author of The Road Trip that Changed the World – Part 2

I’m continuing my interview with Mark Sayers on his book The Road Trip that Changed the World.  It’s a book worth checking out. You can see from this interview that Mark Sayers has a deep understanding of culture.

JR: In the book you mention that many people’s lives today are marked by a radical individualism, why is this the case and what is the remedy?

Mark: There has always been an underbelly of radical individualism in the West, which springs from our Greco-Roman roots, for much of the West this individualism was held in check by Christianity. However as Christian influence has waned a radical form of individualism has grown into a dominant framework. This has been especially true in the last century, at the beginning of the twentieth century T.S. Elliot described the West as ‘a heap of broken images’, our collective faith in larger institutions, and communal minded bodies has been shattered and into that vacuum a narcissistic individualism has grown.

The obvious and correct answer to the problem of radical individualism is the gospel, however living this out is a lot more difficult. To accept the Gospel and to enter into the Kingdom life one must die to themselves, a genuinely tough call for someone who is living out of the radical individualist framework. In the book I discuss the life of Abraham, who is called out into a new life by God, he is invited not into some mystical vision, but rather into covenant with God, which flows into his his relationships with his wife, his family, and his neighbors. Living within the matrix of covenant is the tool God uses to redresses our self-centeredness.

JR: How has this remedy helped you personally?

Mark: So many Christians wait for the lightning moment, and sure they do happen, but I am learning to become pliable, to allow God to mould me each day in the mundane, as I parent my kids, love my wife, live in my neighborhood, serve my Church, and do the simple tasks and chores that make up real life. Each day I am invited multiple times to die to self, to put aside my personal agendas and the fears that drive those agendas. To show grace as He has shown me grace, to put aside my wishes and wants to create space for others just as He has done for us.

Next week we will pick up on my interview with Mark. So stay tuned.  If you want to pick up the book, Amazon is selling it at 49% off right now!

One Response to Interview with Mark Sayers, Author of The Road Trip that Changed the World – Part 2

1. Arlene says:

   May 3, 2012 at 3:43 am

   I can relate to the lightning moment thinkin’….I wrestle with the being a salt in an often tastless environment..the idea of loosing my saltiness due to not seeing thru my cultures eyes how they see life and thus making God’s message relevant to them…and it can be overwhelming when I think of how easy it is to get drown in the here & now …living for this life and being all about me…May God show us grace as we pursue “creating space” for the things of God ( my new phrase for the week! Thanks!)

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