Tag Archives: congregations

The Patient Practice of Sail Making

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Mark Love

A little excerpt from the book I’m trying to finish on Luke’s view of the church. The movement and power of the Holy Spirit explains the practices and shape of the church in Acts. This statement bears some emphasis. In … Continue reading →

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Your focus becomes your life

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Mark Love

I know how easy it is for church life to get derailed by the silly or the peripheral. Someone’s hobby gets loud enough to dominate the collective energy of the church. A lot of time, this occurs because the church … Continue reading →

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Three Smooth Stones for Ministry

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Mark Love

Ministry is not a science, at least not the way I think about it. As my friends, Ryan and Jess Woods, put it. Ministry is about the two most unpredictable forces in the world–the Spirit of God and human beings. … Continue reading →

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More Metrics for a post-Christendom Age

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Mark Love

3. Can your congregation talk about difficult issues without it becoming contentious or divisive? Again, let me unpack the question. The question might also have been asked, can your congregation have a discussion at all? This question has two aspects: … Continue reading →

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Process as Grace: why institution matters

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Mark Love

I voted today. Someone provided a place for me to say yes and no to things. I’ve held myself out of the vitriol that has been our public discourse knowing that I would be able at some point to darken … Continue reading →

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The Divine is in the Details: Why are congregations bad at processes

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Mark Love

Here’s my assumption. Congregations stink at processes. They stink two ways. Most don’t have processes they dearly need. And the processes they do have do not embody adequately theological beliefs or commitments. I’ve got some pretty big church horror stories, … Continue reading →

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The Divine is in the Details: Process and the Leading of God

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Mark Love

As with so many things, Luke Timothy Johnson says it right. “If we identify the church as a community of faith, the process of decision making ought to make the structures and implications of this response to reality called ‘faith’ … Continue reading →

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Woe to You Passive-Aggressives!

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Mark Love

This is just a theory based on my observations in ministry. I have no research to back up this claim. Here it is. Most congregations are petrie dishes for passive-aggressiveness. I will start by saying that I experience passive-aggressivness more … Continue reading →

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Defending My “Gay” View of Leadership

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Mark Love

Remember my last post. We (Stephen Johnson and myself) were called out for proposing a view of leadership that this person said would be deemed “weak” or “gay” by the people with whom he worked. For him, leadership meant stating … Continue reading →

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