How did you become part of the process of writing Compelled by Love?
Ed and I were planting a church together when he was asked to write the book. Since we were in the midst of teaching our church about missional ministry, it seemed a natural fit for me to join the effort to write the book.

What in your background has drawn you to the idea of missional ministry?
I was blessed to grow up in an energetic church that focused on leading people to Christ.  But, after being in the ministry for a few years, I discovered that my mentality was too wrapped around the idea of getting people on to a church campus to hear the Gospel. It became apparent that getting “out there” was the only answer.

What does getting “out there” look like for you now?
For my family, the last few years took an extreme turn in a new direction. I felt God pushing me out of my last ministry assignment at a established megachurch to relocate to plant a new church in a highly unchurched community. When you are meeting at a high school on Sunday mornings, getting into the lives and homes of the unchurched is your only choice. But it really just comes down to being a friend to those around you.

Do you think the church is having a hard time being friends to those outside their membership?
Honestly, yes. We (and I include myself) have created “holy huddles” and “bubbles” to live in where the only real friends we have are other Christians. We describe this issue in the book at some length. But suffice it to say that we as believers need to be more like Jesus visiting the homes of “sinners” and less like Jonah disliking the people to whom God has sent us.

How can this book help church leaders and members make the shift necessary to missional living?
Compelled by Love describes love as a biblical ethic that must press our lives to have the same perspective as God’s. To ensure this, we begin the book with an overview of the role of love in the heart of all three members of the Trinity. The other two sections of the book deal with the role of love in the church and expressed through individual believers. My hope is that people will utilize the questions at the end of each chapter to spark conversations and begin discussion groups in their churches.