Episode 141

The Church in Dark Times with Mike Cosper

Published on: 30th January, 2025

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 fewHe 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

More from Mike Cosper

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The Living Church Podcast
The Living Church Podcast explores ecumenical topics in theology, the arts, ethics, pastoral care, and spiritual growth — all to equip and encourage leaders in the Episcopal Church, Anglican Communion, and beyond. A ministry of the Living Church Institute.