Category Archives: Uncategorized

Jesus, the prodigal

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Mark Love

A few weeks ago, the lectionary was in Luke 15, the chapter where we find the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. Yet, the lectionary selection included only the first two parables, leaving the … Continue reading →

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What to do when trust is low

Posted on September 15, 2019 by Mark Love

So, can your church change? Is there enough trust between the congregation and its leaders to take up this work? Is there a tolerance for conflict? Can members identify things they’d be willing to trade for? Again, not every church … Continue reading →

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How change Comes to the church

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Mark Love

The title of this post comes from the title of Pat Keifert and Wes Granberg-Michaelson’s forthcoming book, with the capital C on “Comes” added by me for emphasis. The book isn’t out yet (we hope to have the first copies … Continue reading →

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Can your congregation change?

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Mark Love

In my consulting work with congregations, I’ve learned a few things about the capacity of a congregation to make significant changes. I am of the mind that a hopeful future for most congregations will require deep, adaptive change. All congregations … Continue reading →

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Giving and Receiving in Ministry

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Mark Love

There’s no greater challenge in ministry than managing expectations. I have in mind here more the ways we feel obligated to one another. For example, at the end of my first year with a congregation I served, the leaders distributed … Continue reading →

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They make much of you, to exclude you

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Mark Love

I’ve been thinking about biblical texts that have informed my practice of ministry. The potential list is long and most of the texts are familiar, but one of my “go-to’s” is a rarely noticed text in Galatians 4:17ff. You’ll remember … Continue reading →

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A place to stand

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Mark Love

You should hug your minister today, because ministry’s hard. It’s baked into the very nature of the endeavor. Think about the various angles of pressure. A minister represents the living God. Talk about pressure. I know there are people who … Continue reading →

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Reflections on re-entry from an Alaskan cruise

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Mark Love

Donna and I are blessed to have generous parents, and the recent form of their generosity took the form of a two-week Alaskan cruise. And I’ll just say that it was a remarkably rich experience. I consider myself an Oregon … Continue reading →

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Preaching: Cover or Sample?

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Mark Love

Anyone who’s read my blog for long knows that I am committed to preaching texts. Put more accurately, I am committed to the performance of texts. I think as important as the question, “what does this text say?” is the … Continue reading →

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The Cover, Johnny Cash/Depeche Mode, and Meaning

Posted on May 11, 2019 by Mark Love

In my last post, which featured the Led Zeppelin cover, In My Time of Dying, I used the “cover” as an analogy for how biblical materials get used anew in different contexts within Scripture itself. The point I tried to … Continue reading →

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