When Centered Set Church Meets Real Life: Navigating Power, Belonging, and Boundaries - w/ Dr. Mark D. Baker
How do we live out a centered-set model of church when real people, power structures, and theological questions get messy? In this midweek bonus episode of the Unity Series, Mike Erre and Tim Stafford welcome theologian and author Mark Baker, whose...
How do we live out a centered-set model of church when real people, power structures, and theological questions get messy? In this midweek bonus episode of the Unity Series, Mike Erre and Tim Stafford welcome theologian and author Mark Baker, whose book Centered Set Church has been the foundation of recent Voxology conversations. Together they unpack a wave of thoughtful listener questions that push the centered-set model beyond theory and into lived reality.
From gender-based leadership exclusion to navigating “soccer players” who claim Jesus but distort his ethic, Mark dives deep into the tensions between theory and practice. He emphasizes that the centered-set model isn’t a quick fix—it’s a posture, a community effort, and a call to define our center as the Jesus of the Gospels, rather than culturally constructed versions.
If you’ve loved the Unity Series and wrestled with the practical implications of centered-set thinking on church membership, theological boundaries, power dynamics, and finding belonging in spiritual community, this conversation will both challenge and encourage you.
Key Takeaways: • Defining the Center Together – Why a shared understanding of Jesus as the center is essential in a centered-set model. • Boundaries vs. Boundedness – How orthodoxy, membership, and even creeds can be practiced in a centered (versus exclusionary) way. • Loving Intervention – Why curious, compassionate engagement—not judgment—is the hallmark of centered pastoral leadership. • Church and Cultural Power – How practices like male-only leadership and racial homogeneity can reveal bounded dynamics, even in churches claiming to be centered. • Navigating Displacement – Encouragement for those who feel disconnected from church culture in their geographic context and are discerning how to find or help shape spiritual community. • Letting Legacy Go – Why perhaps the most faithful move is passing along a centered mindset, rather than preserving institutional structures.
Guest Highlights: Mark Baker – Professor of theology and author of Centered Set Church, Mark brings decades of scholarship, cross-cultural ministry, and practical insight into what it takes to nurture communities shaped by Jesus rather than rigid doctrine or loose inclusivity. His work calls for continuous re-centering on the person and way of Jesus.
Resources Mentioned: • Centered Set Church by Mark Baker – centeredsetchurch.com • Five-Video Discussion Guide for Churches and Small Groups – centeredsetchurch.com • The Lost Letters of Pergamum by Bruce Longenecker – https://amzn.to/3Rf7nK6 • Galatians 5 (on love fulfilling the law) – Bible Gateway link • Matthew 25 (The Sheep and the Goats) – Bible Gateway link
Join us in this deeper exploration of what it takes to embody the way of Jesus in your context. Share this episode, start a conversation in your community, and help foster churches that define belonging not by conformity, but by Christ at the center.
As always, we welcome your questions and dialogue as we pursue a more faithful expression of church. Write to us at hello@voxpodcast.com and join the Voxology community on Facebook and Instagram.
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As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.
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