Makoto Fujimura
"In this riveting account of the rise and fall of a church full of artists in Louisville, Kentucky, Mike Cosper, as their sojourner founding pastor, chronicles the longings of 'the particular lives of particular people' to reveal the deep rifts of culture-wars dysfunction in the evangelical communities of our times. Mike's honest introspection through this revelatory writing is a healing balm for our own journeys of exile, to remind us that even in such painful experiences of brokenness of faith communities there is yet grace present. Like Elijah under a broom tree, we are led out of our utter despair and debilitation into a place of sustenance and hope, to look up and see that we are not alone."
Russell Moore
"At some point in every Christian's life, God intervenes to show us that what we thought to be our home isn't—and sometimes, only a lifetime later does one see that this was actually good news. Mike Cosper is one of the sharpest thinkers in the Christian world, and also one of the most creative. This book includes cultural analysis, personal lament, and biblical reflection. If you've ever felt the pain of losing home—and if you want to learn how to long for something better—this is the book for you."
Jon Ward
"There are a lot of Christians—like Mike Cosper and like me—who have experienced a lot of grace in church, and who have also been deeply wounded in that same place. Through telling his own story, Cosper grapples deeply with the religious PTSD that is all too familiar to so many, and he describes how he has come through brokenness and despair. He's not in a rush to fully heal. He's still invested in a local church, but with a moderated emotional attachment. I think many Christians put too much hope in the idea of church and in their religious leaders. Cosper's book shows why that's a mistake, and it traces a path toward a more balanced approach."
Marvin Olasky
"Land of My Sojourn is well worth reading. . . . I can say that the book is important for two reasons. First, it tells not only a Louisville story but a national one, with Cosper’s experience paralleling what happened in some other churches and Christian media. . . . Second, it tells what it feels like to be in a slowly developing professional crash."
Chuck DeGroat
"Land of My Sojourn is a beautifully told story of a life of grace, grief, and gratitude, an immensely personal, memoir-like narrative that seamlessly weaves together Mike Cosper's predictably wise musings on Scripture, culture, politics, power, trauma, the church, and more. It's a story so well told, truthfully told, and generously told that you'll likely find some of your own story in it too. What a gift!"
Library Journal
★ 01/01/2024
In 2016, evangelical pastor Cosper (Recapturing the Wonder), the director of podcasting at Christianity Today, was shocked when a financial supporter told him they were glad someone was going to "stand up for the white man." He was referring to the conservative Christian embrace of Trump's a misogynistic, grandiose presidential candidacy that fostered and racial tensions. This statement threw Cosper into an emotionally fraught journey of spiritual unmooring and personal deconstruction that left him nearly friendless and "spiritually exhausted, isolated and brokenhearted." His concerns are not for the external forces of this political sea change but the ugly and ruthless attacks from within evangelical Christianity to get behind such a candidate—or get out—that upend his faith. Cosper's leaving active ministry behind, taking a trip to the Holy Land (starting with Mount Tabor), and eventually ending up at the Sea of Galilee spell reception of a newer, less unspoiled but perhaps truer faith. His honest appraisal of Church disagreements and his own spiritual uncertainty results in his joyful acceptance of his identity as an imperfect wounded healer. VERDICT Essential reading for Christians who have lost hope.—Sandra Collins
