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DW

Darren
Whitehead

G'day, I'm Darren.

I help people follow Jesus in the age of digital distraction.

Pastor · Author · Founder, Church of the City

Darren Whitehead
28 DAYS · DETOX YOUR MIND · RECLAIM WHAT MATTERS MOST · 28 DAYS · DETOX YOUR MIND · RECLAIM WHAT MATTERS MOST · 28 DAYS · DETOX YOUR MIND · RECLAIM WHAT MATTERS MOST · 28 DAYS · DETOX YOUR MIND · RECLAIM WHAT MATTERS MOST ·
Latest book

The
Digital
Fast

Detox Your Mind and Reclaim What Matters Most

I've walked our whole church through this fast twice. Twenty-eight days without the pings, and people come back to their families, their prayers, and their own minds. The book is the guide. The new 28-day workbook is for doing it together.

  • 28 days
  • Foreword by Dr. Henry Cloud
  • New: 28-day workbook
The Digital Fast book coverNew for 2025 · Workbook

Kind words
from friends

  • “If every church did The Digital Fast… it would radically alter the current trajectory of the Church.”
    John Mark Comer
    Author, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
  • “The Digital Fast is a beacon back to spiritual clarity and connection.”
    Jon Tyson
    Pastor, Church of the City New York
  • “The Digital Fast is such a necessary book for our moment.”
    Jefferson Bethke
    Author, To Hell with the Hustle

Made in
Australia.
At home in
Nashville.

I grew up in a small Australian town and a tiny Baptist church. I moved to Adelaide for work, and that's where faith became my own. In 1998 I moved to the States, and later served as Teaching Pastor at Willow Creek Community Church outside Chicago.

In 2013, Brandy and I started Church of the City in Nashville with a small team and a big idea: a family of churches for the renewal of global cities. Along the way I picked up a Master's in Ministry from Wesley Seminary and a Doctorate from Capital Seminary, where I studied Millennials and the future of the Western church.

Brandy and I live in Franklin, Tennessee, with our three daughters.

More about me
Adelaide → Chicago → NashvilleChurch of the City · 2013

Invite me
to speak.

I speak at churches, conferences, and universities about faith, attention, and where the Western church goes next.

  • Attention as a spiritual practice
  • The seven words of worship
  • Planting for the next generation
  • Leading in the age of distraction
Check my availability

Church of
the City

In 2013 a few of us started a church with a simple vision: a family of churches living in the way of Jesus for the renewal of the city. We gather across Nashville every weekend. Come say hi.

churchofthecity.com

Letters on faith and attention.

I write a few times a month. No more than that, promise.

Say g'day.

Speaking, media, publishing, or just a hello.