The Living Church Podcast

The Church in Dark Times with Mike Cosper

Jan 30, 2025

Mike Cosper, a Louisville-based writer and Senior Producer at Christianity Today, discusses the insights from his book, "The Church in Dark Times." He examines how dangerous ideologies infiltrate church leadership and their impact on communities. Cosper shares lessons learned from past church failures, advocating for a focus on genuine relationships over mere attendance. He also explores the significance of patience and strategic growth in renewal efforts, highlighting the value of small, intimate church communities amidst challenging times.

49:47

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Episode guests

Mike Cosper

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Quick takeaways

Mike Cosper discusses the seductive ideologies within evangelicalism that can lead to moral compromises and authoritarianism in church leadership.

The podcast advocates for a holistic approach to ministry, emphasizing genuine community and meaningful relationships over growth metrics and attendance figures.

Deep dives

Upcoming Church Conferences

Two significant church conferences are scheduled for 2025. The first event, called Tending the Vineyard, will occur from June 5th to 7th in Louisville, Kentucky, focusing on church growth and featuring speakers like Mary Berry and David Goodhue. Attendees can expect to engage in discussions about leadership development, nurturing relationships, and data-driven strategies for health within church communities. The second conference, Awe and Presence, is set for November 6th to 8th in St. Louis, exploring the relationship between worship, liturgy, and the arts, with guest speakers such as Malcolm Guite and W. David O. Taylor.

Intro

2min

Navigating Faith and Culture: Lessons from the Evangelical Community

5min

Exploring Faith and Community

5min

The Ideology Dilemma in Church Communities

19min

Listener Engagement and Podcast Mission

2min

Embracing Smallness in Spiritual Community

19min

Ever wonder how we got to "this moment" as a country, as a church?

Many people are thinking about these questions. Many of them are evangelicals, who stand out in American culture as a group of incredible influence: lots of sucess growing churches, and, as our politicians know, lots of power in the polls.

Among the evangelicals thinking, "How did we get here?", is Mike Cosper. You may know Mike from the Christianity Today podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. Today we discuss his new book, The Church in Dark Times: Understanding and Resisting the Evil that Seduced the Evangelical Movement.

This isn't an episode to pile on to evangelicals, but to learn together from mistakes Christians might, with God's grace and wisdom, learn better to recognize and resist. We talk about dangerous ideologies in politics and church, how they work their way into leadership, and what we might learn more broadly from church leadership downfalls. Then we pivot: what makes churches and communities healthy? What might renewal look like? Can American Christians live for the long game instead of worshipping hype and shortcuts?

Mike Cosper is a Louisville-based writer and podcaster focused on faith and culture and Senior Producer of Podcasts at Christianity Today. Along with The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, he has hostedCultivated: A podcast about faith and work and the weekly “news and issues” podcast, The Bulletin, to name a few. He is also a music producer and author of several books including The Church in Dark Times.

The Church in Dark Times: Understanding and Resisting the Evil that Seduced the Evangelical Movement

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast