• A Tribute to Mark Lau Branson

    January 29, 2009

    By way of one of Fuller Theological Seminary‘s podcasts through iTunesU, I was reminded of Mark Lau Branson the other day.  Mark was an incredibly influential professor for me while I was at Fuller.  He was one of a few professors that, with great humility and patience, gave me a new vision and vocabulary regarding the Church.  He is not a huge name in the missional church discussion (at least in popular circles), but his influence (through Allelon and the Gospel and Our Culture Network) is broad and unmistakable.

    Whereas most of my education and training related to missional ecclesiology stems from Fuller’s School of Intercultural Studies, Mark is perhaps the central figure imparting this to Fuller students who study exclusively in the School of Theology.

    One of his most frequent refrains is,

    “God’s missional imagination is among the people of God”

    and he wrote a book built on this premise, “Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change.”

    Not only did Mark expose me to some helpful ideas and authors, he shared out of his own deep experience of living in intentional community, his commitment to truly incarnational models of Christian witness, and a radical commitment to the formation of the people of God.

    I find that in life and work I have all these ideas about church and ministry and when I stop to think about it, the vast majority of those ideas stem from or have been shaped by what Mark passed on.

    If you’re Mark… thanks.  If you’re a student at Fuller, don’t you dare leave without taking one of his classes.  If you’re not Mark and you’re not a student at Fuller, move to Pasadena, enroll at the school, and take Mark’s class.  For starters, enjoy the podcast below.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    Related Posts

    1. Bi-Vocational Ministry & Theological Education
    2. You Should Go to Fuller Theological Seminary
    3. Anabaptist Missional Ecclesiology – Doctor of Missiology

    Posted in: books, church, Fuller Seminary, intentional community, missional, spiritual formation

Recent Comments

  • Bill Kinnon said...

    1

    Mark is definitely one of the good guys!

    01/30/09 2:34 PM | Comment Link

  • andrew jones said...

    2

    i dont know mark but i love it when bloggers point to influential people like this. adds truth and justice to the world. i will look out for mark's stuff.

    01/30/09 2:41 PM | Comment Link

  • Mark Lau Branson said...

    3

    Over the top; but thanks. The heart of a prof is sustained by students who engage us then live into gospel life with God’s people as we participate in the Spirit’s initiatives. BTW that quote for which I am cited is from my friend/colleague Alan Roxburgh — it captures an important, basic theological/praxis conviction. I was asked by Craig Van Gelder to expand on this by contributing a chapter to a book he edited – The Missional Church in Context.

    05/1/09 10:52 AM | Comment Link

  • JR Rozko said...

    4

    Really glad you found your way here Mark. I am beginning a new season of putting all this into practice as I just (yesterday) moved to Chicago to be with my fiance, Amy. She has been, and we will continue to be, part of Life on the Vine – a missional community led in part by David Fitch. Excited for what God has in store. Let me know if anyone comes to you and says, I moved to Pasadena to take your courses because of a blog post I read. I’ll expect some sort of commission ;)

    05/1/09 11:06 AM | Comment Link

  • @BobVanguard said...

    5

    JR- I am writing Mark today to ask him to be my mentor for a Directed Study for my D.Min. at Fuller. Thanks for the recommendation on him!

    07/29/11 11:59 AM | Comment Link

  • jrrozko said...

    6

    He's top knotch. He knows me as well so be sure to mention that we're acquainted.

    07/29/11 12:04 PM | Comment Link

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