Tag Archives: missional practice

“A Pandemic is a Terrible Thing to Waste”

Posted on July 8, 2022 by Mark Love

I attribute my title to Pat Keifert, who has said this in my presence time and again the past few years. He could stop at “a pandemic is a terrible thing.” And it is. Think of all the ways it … Continue reading →

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How not to pick a church fight

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Mark Love

I spent time recently with a fried who leads a Church of Christ as a minister. He told me that the elders of his congregation had hired a consulting group to come in and help them determine a strategic direction … Continue reading →

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Preaching the startling news

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Mark Love

So, if part of the saving work of the gospel is to startle us into a new perception of the world (see my two previous posts), then what should the aim of preaching be? Preaching, every week preaching, should be … Continue reading →

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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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Tell a Story, Change the World

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Mark Love

I’ve said in this space many times that information is a fairly weak instigator for change. We don’t change much, generally speaking, just because we receive new information. We tend to absorb new information into the frameworks we already have … Continue reading →

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Blessed are those who believe without seeing

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Mark Love

Wouldn’t you kill for a paragraph or two in the NT on what should happen in the worship assembly? Maybe we could put to death some of our worship wars. Alas, no NT writer ever weighed in on the appropriate … Continue reading →

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Worship Planning: what are we aiming at?

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Mark Love

I am often struck by how much thought goes into planning worship these days. Back in the day, worship planning often meant the song leader picking out songs on the front row right before worship (with enough time to slide … Continue reading →

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Worship and the formation of missional communities

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Mark Love

While barrels of ink have been used to explore all things missional, very little of it has been used to talk about the relationship of missional communities and worship. I think the primary reasons are two-fold. First, many people still think … Continue reading →

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Are your congregation’s efforts at worship renewal pagan?

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Mark Love

Last weekend, Randy Harris, from Abilene Christian University, spent a day with our new missional leadership cohort at Rochester College, helping them to write a shared rule of life. Randy’s the guy to do this work, and we get so … Continue reading →

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15:28 compliant: considering the testimony of boundary transgressors

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Mark Love

One of the implications of the Spirit being poured out on all flesh is that The Spirit’s influence won’t be limited to people you hang out with. And Acts isn’t the story it is without people who transgress the perceived … Continue reading →

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