Category Archives: Mark’s Currently Reading

Books and more that Mark is reading

Leaders and Sabotage

Posted on April 11, 2018 by admin

Edwin Friedman has been a gift to me, with insights about how relationships, families, and church families function. I’m just now reading A Failure of Nerve, his last book. Friedman didn’t complete the book before he died, but the manuscript he … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Mark's Blog, Mark's Currently Reading, Pastoral Ministry | Comments Off

Time Experienced Simultaneously

Posted on July 12, 2017 by admin

Today I’m mediating on God’s nature as everlasting (eternity). Since we are stuck in our time-space continuum, we struggle to grasp both the nature and the implications of God’s eternity. We experience time sequentially: today I’m experiencing July 12 and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible and Theology, Mark's Blog, Mark's Currently Reading | Comments Off

Appreciating Life

Posted on May 4, 2016 by admin

Tony Evan’s book Praying Through the Names of God touched me deeply this morning. “Your life extends into mine, giving me the opportunity to experience your creation. . . Forgive me for not treasuring and taking care of the gift … Continue reading →

Posted in Mark's Blog, Mark's Currently Reading | Comments Off

A Summoned Leader

Posted on September 25, 2015 by admin

I was reading Jim Beaird’s remarkable book, Proximity Factor this morning. He quotes Leonard Sweet, who wrote, “Leaders are neither born nor made. They are summoned.” This resonates with my current experience. I’m in two leadership roles for which I … Continue reading →

Becoming Missional

Posted on September 26, 2011 by admin

“The Missional Church” is a hot phrase right now, and rightly so. God sent the church on a mission. Every once in awhile (probably, once a generation), the church forgets that we have a job to do and begins to … Continue reading →

Posted in Mark's Currently Reading, Pastoral Ministry | Comments Off

The Church’s Main Function

Posted on September 13, 2011 by admin

“The sin of the Church–the horrible apostasy of the Church–has consisted in denying its own function which is to proclaim to men their spiritual condition, the eternal foundation which it rests, the manifestation which has been made of it by … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible and Theology, Mark's Currently Reading | Comments Off

The Presence of Angels

Posted on July 13, 2011 by admin

Excuse my honesty, but I have always wondered about the fascination about angels. I never doubted their existence; but I could not see why many people are drawn to them. This morning, I read Michael Card’s Luke: The Gospel of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible and Theology, Mark's Blog, Mark's Currently Reading | Tagged Angels | Comments Off

Grief to Hope

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

The role of the prophet is to help society grieve the death of its own future and excite hope for God’s future. That is a quickie summary of The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann. In setting the context for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible and Theology, Mark's Blog, Mark's Currently Reading | Tagged grief, hope | Comments Off

God uses suffering?

Posted on May 6, 2011 by admin

Excuse me for an extended quote, but Michael Card had much to say. “[Jesus] does not explain away the pain, nor does he say that he has come with the answer or that he will fix everything. Instead, he bows … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible and Theology, Mark's Blog, Mark's Currently Reading, Pastoral Ministry | Comments Off

How to Approach the Bible

Posted on April 16, 2011 by admin

“We must learn to read the Bible at the level of the informed imagination (Michael Card in Luke: The Gospel of Amazement.) Later on, Card explains that some people approach the Bible with just their “heads” — an intellectual curiosity. … Continue reading →