24 Quotes from A Non-Anxious Presence by Mark Sayers
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24 Quotes from A Non-Anxious Presence by Mark Sayers
Mark Sayers' new book on leading in an anxious cultural moment.
A Non-Anxious Presence is Mark Sayers latest book on Christian leadership in a world that has quickly changed right before our eyes. It’s an incredible resource that I would highly recommend picking up.
History shows us that an era tends to be dominated by influential individuals who shape its thinking, key events that determine its direction, movements that embody its longings, and artists who capture its mood. P. 23
The Industrial Revolution pales in comparison to today's convulsions because the shifts today are happening much faster and on a much bigger scale. P. 25
Accompanying the hunger for God to revive His church, many believers today also hunger for personal renewal. They long for a deeper walk with God. They desire a more transformative faith. There is a deep sense that millions have fallen into the contemporary pattern of life, one of continual consumption, ever-present anxiety, and self-focus--an unsustainable pattern. Many are realizing that what they long for can only be satisfied by the eternal God. Be assured that seeds are being laid for a great renewal of our personal faith. P. 31
For even in the seemingly darkest and most confusing times, God still brings forth a new cohort of leaders- ordinary people with an extraordinary role to play as carriers of His seed of renewal. Through surrendering to God's will, they discover and then advance His pattern of renewal in the world. Yet, for these seeds to be activated, leaders must step into a process of growth. As we will discover, the life cycle of seeds is a reeducation into how the world works. P. 33
The reality of constant connection ate away at the markers that formerly rooted people in place, giving them an identity. Place and people defined our identity, yet new technologies such as smartphones have connected us to those far away, rendering where we are from as less essential to our sense of self. "When ordinary people do not know who they are, they get anxious," cautioned McLuhan. P. 37-38
In our gray zone moment, institutions have lost legitimacy in the eyes of much of the public, coming under significant pressure and pushback. Friedman discovered that one of the social functions that institutions play is to absorb anxiety. Humans create institutions to pass on wisdom, to collectively conquer challenges, to centralize critical knowledge. It is an accepted fact among political scientists that well-functioning and healthy institutions are the bedrock of peaceful and prosperous societies. Just think of the way that a well-functioning medical system can allay our fears over a health concern. However, with the devaluing and disappearance of institutions, individuals were left to absorb the culture's anxiety. Anxiety then becomes a systemic phenomenon. By classifying anxiety as a personal issue rather than a systemic issue, we place an enormous burden on the individual, who then must modify their personal lives to alleviate the suffering that anxiety brings. Instead, Friedman taught leaders that they must understand that anxiety resides in networks of human relationships. P. 42
The structures that we build to soothe our anxiety, to protect us, can prevent the activation of the seeds that God has placed within us. P. 44
Thirty years ago, to lead and have influence, to have your voice and ideas heard, you needed to work your way up to the top of an influential Christian organization. Or you had to become the senior pastor of a big or significant church. Leadership impact and influence were built over decades. Today, however, Christian social media influencers have far more sway and influence, shaping the views and thoughts of the Christian world; the footprint of their impact is more significant than those with large churches or at the top of Christian institutions and organizations. P. 49-50
The structures of the modern world implicitly promise that we can operate as leaders, even as Christian leaders, without thought or need for God. Instead of our foundation being in Christ and His kingdom's way of influence, we rest on the cultural foundation set by the modern world of what it is to lead. We measure leadership with earthly definitions of success and power. A secular autopilot version of Christian leadership takes hold, where we lead like practical atheists, with God as an afterthought. P. 53
Once the legitimacy of a stronghold is questioned, it no longer absorbs our anxiety. Instead, it becomes the source of our anxiety. We shift from the ambient anxiety that is present in times of affluence, peace, and stability to the sharper, more irrational anxiety that comes when the whole system seems to be breaking down. P. 66
As the decades passed, the impulses of both the political left and the right worked in tandem to diffuse the center's power. The left moved away from its traditional focus on workers' rights. Fighting instead for greater individual freedom from conventions and taboos, they put their shoulder to the deconstruction of cultural norms. The right also sought freedom, but in the economic realm, pushing back on what they saw as the centralizing influence of government. P. 72
The dense web of online connections it made turned into a kind of new territory—cyberspace. P. 74
Story wars (battles over which narrative will define reality) replace the singular defining narrative in which a dizzying array of narratives battle for dominance. P. 81
With no agreed-upon defining story or shared values, identity becomes something the participant in the networked society must search for themselves. Many search for meaning and identity in regionalism, nationalism, political parties, single-issue causes, or self-expression. P. 83-84
In the networked world, even the most committed believer will consume only a fraction of the information and input from their church compared to what they consume via podcasts, YouTube, and Netflix. The digital network is now our primary formational environment. It shapes our opinions, values, and worldview. Today, the average churchgoer will Google a problem before they approach their pastor. The digital network is the primary shaper of their theological, political, and cultural worldview. P. 95
A congregation may be physically present within their church, but their primary influence comes from the digital networks to which they are connected. These digital networks may be political, cultural, or theological. P. 95
With the system rearranging itself to cater to the most emotionally unhealthy, those who wish to reflect, gain some distance to find perspective, or practice emotional health will pose a threat. P. 97
The system's focus is directed toward the most emotionally immature and reactive members. Those who are more mature and healthy begin to adapt their behavior to appease the most irrational and unhealthy. This creates a scenario where the most emotionally unhealthy and immature members in the system become de facto leaders, shaping the emotional landscape with the focus on their negative behavior and what they see as the negative behavior of others. The anxiety present envelops the vision of the organization within the system. P. 98
The self receives greater autonomy. However, the price for this autonomy means it also must manage its anxiety. The stronghold of self must navigate the competitive nature of society. It finds connection as social ties become weaker. Without the direction of accepted social norms, the self must continually practice content risk analysis while assessing the diversity of choice that contemporary life brings. Rejecting the defining narratives of the broader social stronghold, the stronghold of self must generate its self-defining narratives. P. 106
The fruit most valued by the contemporary stronghold of self is comfort. In the contemporary world, feeling good is the expected normative state of being. P. 107
The choice to prioritize comfort, ease, and good feelings above growth is the choice to embrace and accept personal, spiritual, and emotional immaturity. P. 111
In the past, movements were built slowly over time. Leaders would spend years building up a critical mass, pouring out blood, sweat, and tears, and eventually— a movement was formed with the mission and capacity to advance change. However, today we can create an event, gather a crowd, or amass an audience online quickly. Then, over time, like a flash mob dissipating, the promise slowly evaporates, leaving little changed. Yet what remains is the promise that we can find shortcuts to success without the pain of growth. The wilderness is filled with many mirages. P. 114
At some point, the endless quest for freedom will run up against the boundaries of reality. P. 115
The enemy that you faced yesterday, and for which you developed best practices to combat, can transform today, meaning that your best practices are now out of date and ineffective. As a result, you find yourself continually fighting the last war while losing the current one. P. 140