In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Caleb Maskell talks with Mark Labberton about the life of the mind and how it intertwines beautifully and necessarily with the practical aspects of life and ministry and the work of the Holy Spirit. Mark also shares some thoughts about the most helpful ways for pastors and leaders to prepare themselves educationally for the task before them, and some practical ways of creating frameworks for mental and theological flourishing. 

Mark Labberton is the Clifford L. Penner Presidential Chair Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Preaching at Fuller Seminary. He served as Fuller’s fifth president through 2022, after being appointed to the position in 2013. As Fuller’s president, Dr. Labberton brought to his leadership a deep awareness of the urgency of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a passion for the vital role that Fuller Seminary plays in the enactment of that gospel. For Labberton, this urgency was informed by a sense of the critical and unique contribution Fuller is called to make to the global church.

Mark was ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and began what was to become three decades of pastoral ministry—along the way, meeting and marrying his life partner, Janet Morrison Labberton.

Labberton has been a popular and well-traveled speaker for years, and continues to speak in the US and internationally. In addition to publishing articles in various periodicals such as The Atlantic, Christianity Today, and others, he has authored or edited Still Evangelical? (2017); Called: The Crisis and Promise of Following Jesus Today (2014); The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor: Seeing Others Through the Eyes of Jesus (2010); and The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God’s Call to Justice (2007). He hosts the podcast Conversing from FULLER studio, where he speaks with a broad spectrum of leaders on critical issues of our day.

Show Notes: 

Register for Vineyard USA’s Women’s Conference: More. 

Conversing with Mark Labberton 

How a Thanksgiving Dinner Changed My Life

Godly Ambition by Alister Chapman 

Reading Revelation Responsibly by Michael J. Gorman