Watch our Extra Innings conversation on Patreon, where John Mark Comer shares his evolving views on women in church leadership and the questions he’s still wrestling with: https://www.patreon.com/theologyintheraw
What is constant noise doing to our souls? And why can being alone with God feel so uncomfortable?
John Mark Comer joins Preston to discuss his latest book, Into the Quiet: Following Jesus in a World of Noise. We explore how noise affects our capacity to love God and others, what surfaced during John Mark’s 21-day solitude retreat, and why silence often brings us face-to-face with the pain we’ve been avoiding.
John Mark also shares why quiet doesn’t come naturally to him, how to practice solitude within the demands of everyday life, the difference between solitude and loneliness, and the surprising structure of the small church he helps pastor.
John Mark Comer is the New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including Practicing the Way, which was named the 2025 Christian Book of the Year by the ECPA, and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, which has sold more than a million copies and been translated into over 20 languages. His latest book is Into the Quiet: Following Jesus in a World of Noise, which forms the basis of our conversation. John Mark is a pastor and the founder of Practicing the Way, an organization working to see the renewal of apprenticeship to Jesus in our time.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Why solitude is so hard
00:49 Introducing John Mark Comer
03:57 Running, ministry, and friendship
07:24 Why your body matters for spiritual formation
10:27 Writing theology that people can understand
12:53 Noise is a threat to our souls
13:48 Sponsors
15:45 How noise affects our bodies and relationships
21:47 John Mark’s 21-day solitude retreat
24:32 What we learn when distractions are stripped away
27:36 Jesus’ rhythm of retreat and return
30:49 Becoming a person of quiet in an anxious world
34:45 Solitude for busy people and extroverts
38:39 Finding quiet within the life you actually have
42:08 The difference between solitude and loneliness
44:56 Inside John Mark’s small church community
47:51 Extra Innings: Women in church leadership
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