Mark & Mary Alice

Our family is enjoying a great summer this year, mostly at home, but with a few “away” adventures sprinkled in. Stephen is participating in junior golf and also getting ready for camp coming up next week. Mark is preparing to speak at a church in the great state of Texas, however it will be in West Texas which is very different from northeast and south central Texas where our roots are. West Texas is a little more like the wilderness the Children of Israel wandered through — or at least that’s my opinion. When I visited there as a young girl, my cousin Carolyn and I went out to explore and I remember looking for a tree (of any size) or even a small patch of grass to get some relief from the hot summer sun, but to no avail, there was none to be found. It was a hot, barren desert.

Speaking of grass.. we’re trying to grow some in our yard. It’s one of the projects that goes with a new house. We are watching the weather patterns and looking out at our partial crop with great interest daily as we chose seeding over sodding. It’s definitely a long-term project.

In my world at NewSpring, we had a wonderful Discovery Reception on June 8 with a room full of people who want to be part of what God is doing here. This last weekend, we had a Starting Point orientation and will begin a new group this Sunday that will meet through the summer. I’m so thankful that God has now given us six couples to lead Starting Point groups, so at the present time, with two groups just concluded last weekend, we have three active groups going even through the summer months — awesome! AND we will plan to begin at least three new groups in the fall. What a great joy to get to know everyone that comes through Discovery and Starting Point!

It’s hard to believe that almost a week has gone by since we returned from Oklahoma City where we visited our son, Jonathan and his family. We were able to attend church with them, enjoy some local attractions and just hang out. I love my son and daughter-in-law, Wendy, but I particularly enjoy getting to visit with our

granddaughter, Cheyenne. She is not only beautiful (see picture), but is also intelligent, well-mannered and articulate. In short, she is a delight! I treasure all the time we get to spend with her.

This particular picture was taken during a boat ride on the canal in Bricktown, which is in downtown OKC. She is great to pose for her Dad who is becoming a great photographer along with his many other talents.

Our daughter-in-law, Wendy is also muti-talented and is very involved at their church in several different roles. (You can see by the picture on the right that Cheyenne’s beauty comes from her mother.)

As we return to our ministry here at NewSpring, I’m very excited to be hosting our next Discovery Reception this Sunday, June 8. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to meet NewSpring ministry leaders, find out about volunteer opportunities and/or how to become a member of NewSpring. Questions are welcome. In fact, there is a little fun with the ministry leaders who compete to answer the most questions. (Usually, Lance gets the most. )

We are also beginning a new Starting Point group on June 15. If you are interested, now is the time to get signed up!

There’s an interesting story posted on the Eagle website this morning. Seems a customer, a guy in his 50’s was in the drive-through at Spangle’s on North Rock, and for some reason, he was unhappy with the way his order was processed. Instead of sharing his complaint with the server at the window he did something that got him in the paper, and evidently caught the interest of the Wichita police. The title of the article reads Unhappy customer throws a fit—and a drink—

That’s right, the guy parked his red truck in the parking lot, walked into the restaurant, and threw his orange slush at the employees. Witnesses say he nearly hit another customer on his way out of the parking lot. It seems the police are looking for the hotheaded slushee hurler.

What’s happening out there? Why are people losing it like this? You would think a guy this old would know better. More importantly, how would you deal with a guy like this if he lived in your family?

That’s why I’m about to start Packin’ Heat.( I don’t mean carrying a gun, it’s the title of my new series.) I honestly believe it’s the series of the year to date. We’re going to look at what’s causing people to be so angry, how to survive in an angry world, also how to deal with anger issues in our own life. It all starts May 31/June 1. I can’t wait. The theme is Old West, and the first message is Last Train Out. It’s going to be huge.

In the meantime, if you see a guy in a red truck with a face to match, winding up with an orange slushee in his hand, don’t forget to duck. Just call 911.

Mark

I got dragged kicking and screaming into TV. For years we’d been broadcasting on the radio, a weekly, and a daily broadcast, and I was not too sure I wanted to continue that.  (Isn’t it ironic, initially I was stubbornly reluctant to accept God’s call to preach because I wanted to have a career in broadcasting? Over the years, God showed me when I surrendered to His plan, He could give me more broadcasting than I could handle.) Anyway, I thought maybe it was time to pull the plug. And then our local CBS affiliate offered us airtime at a price that was too good to pass up.

My objections were numerous. First, I have a face for radio. Beyond that, I worried that the cameras would make me nervous. Maybe even change the worship dynamic. I’d seen too many churches start doing TV and before long the tail was wagging the dog. I worried about the stigma. But finally, I set it all aside figuring not that many people would watch.  I was wrong. Way wrong!

What God has done the last few years with NewSpring TV is nothing short of miraculous. I now stand corrected. Thousands and thousands of households in our region tune in to at least one of the weekly broadcasts.  The results have been what we hoped for and beyond.  Many have accepted Christ, lives have been turned around, and locally, the broadcast has served as a huge front door for NewSpring Church.  People who are homebound, imprisoned, living in outlying areas depend on NewSpring TV for spiritual infusion.

But in the last twelve hours, I’ve been amazed at something else that I probably don’t think about enough. Three different people stopped me in a restaurant, a theatre, and a school with that telltale question, “Aren’t you the pastor at NewSpring?” They then proceded to tell me what the broadcast meant to them, and the names of the churches they attended.  Three different denominations, Methodist, Lutheran, and Greek Orthodox. That got me thinking about how blessed we are at NewSpring. Think about this:

1.        The Christian community in our area doesn’t see NewSpring Church as a threat. The word is on the street that NewSpring isn’t after church people. We’re not into the member-swapping thing.

2.       Although all three people I met were content worshipping in their churches, they were buzzing about what God is doing at NewSpring Church. 

3.       I was reminded once again how important it is to keep the message right where the Bible is. When churches just communicate what God says, not veering off into politics, denominationalism, or peripherally irrelevant stuff, lives are changed and God-followers are edified.

I guess I was just surprised to see how much God is blessing the Christian community through NewSpring TV. I love that. I never feel in competition with other Bible-based ministries in our area. If a preacher communicates the truth, I’m a fan.  If NewSpring Church can be even the smallest asset to another faith family, then that’s just more awesome than I have words for.

Mark

If you started the year with us on Odyssey 08 (that is, reading through the One Year Bible) and at some point you missed a few days, then tried to catch up, only to get overwhelmed and quit, I have good news for you! This is Odyssey Amnesty Day! Of course, I just made that up, but the reason is that today is a great day to jump back in.

Here’s why: The Old Testament reading is at the beginning of 1 Samuel. This is the beginning of a whole new era in the nation of Israel. You’ll read about the story of Samuel’s mother who could have no children but God did a miracle in her life. From that miraculous beginning, you’ll read about the life of Samuel as he grew up in a very unusual way, living at the Temple. Even as a boy, God spoke to Samuel personally and throughout his entire life, God gave Samuel an amazing role to play as the nation of Israel becomes a kingdom for the first time.

In the New Testament, today’s reading is early in the book of John, which finds us in the middle of Jesus’ ministry. In John 5, Jesus heals a man who had been sick for 38 years. As your read, notice how excited the Jewish leaders are when this amazing healing takes place.

The reading in Psalms goes over the story of how God has blessed Israel for many generations. Notice the last verse in this passage that answers the question, Why?.

The two verses in Proverbs remind me of an upcoming series, “Packin’ Heat.” Notice that the understanding person has anger, he just knows what to do with it. Check it out.

Welcome back aboard on our Odyssey!

Mary Alice

Sorry I’ve been slow posting, but these last few days have been really challenging. Do you believe in spiritual warfare? I do. I know it’s real because it has a particular quality to it. I make that distinction because life always has its challenges, and I don’t want to get to the place where I think there’s a demon behind every tree. But when you’re under attack you know it. It’s not just normal run of the mill “having a bad hair day” kind of stuff.

Three weekends ago, I brought the second installment of the “How Life Works” series, and we wound up talking about Satan and how he subtracts from us. We stripped his disguise off, and showed him for what he was. It wasn’t a talk I enjoyed, but the response was deafening. God worked at NewSpring in a way that surprised the daylights out of me. I couldn’t believe the excitement that weekend as I heard from so many people who woke up to what was really going on, and determined that the thief was through carrying off their valuables.

I think I knew it was coming. I’ve learned that when the Enemy is exposed and precious lives are wrestled out of his clutches he doesn’t take it lying down.  Soon after that, stuff just began happening. Especially heath issues in my family. Hey, I’m quick to make the point that health issues aren’t always an attack of Satan, but these were just too obvious. It was like they pancaked on top of us.

Could I tell you something? I’m totally excited about what’s coming next. There have been many times of desperate prayer, which I’m sure, served to deepen my walk with God. (By the way, if I was the devil the thing that would make me mad as, well, you know where, is that when he sets out to damage God’s child, and that child runs to the Father, all Satan succeeds in doing is making that Christ-follower more dangerous to the powers of darkness.

I don’t profess to be spiritually strong. I don’t enjoy these battles. If it were up to me, I’d bypass every one. But experience has taught me this. If I don’t cave, if I don’t capitulate, If I don’t get mad at God and check out, even if I emerge from the struggle pretty well torn up, on the other side of the attack is SOME KIND OF HUGE PRIZE. And just as the attack has a kind of peculiar quality to it, the prize has God’s clear signature on it as well. If you’re feeling under attack today, remember, Jesus has already triumphed!

I believe!
Mark

I’m thinking about prayer tonight. Last night, right before I went to bed, I prayed for a NewSpringer who was facing a tough prognosis. The doctors had weighed in, and said it was cut and dried. To be honest, when I prayed, it seemed as though likelihood that what I was asking for was just about nil. I found myself praying more just out of obedience to God and love for the individual than in any spirit of confident faith. And yet, today, I got the awesome news that God had answered prayer and what looked impossible last night is now reality tonight.

Tonight, I’m praying for someone else. I got a call this morning that someone else who I love is dealing with a fairly serious medical situation. I’m praying for him tonight. I’m asking God to work again and bring healing.

Prayer is an awesome thing, isn’t it? That you and I can talk, and no matter where we are, God can hear what we are saying. It’s more than that. If we just aim a thought toward God, even in silence, God hears the desire of our hearts. For some reason tonight, this particular verse is on my mind. I need it. Maybe you do too.

1 John 5:14

14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Mark

The big moving day finally came last week. We have now moved into a lovely house and it is wonderful! Lots of windows looking out at beautiful scenery, lots of cupboards, my own little TV in the kitchen that has HGTV and Food Network instead of news and sports… (although, I will say that Mark suffered through my favorite programs on many occasions while we were confined to the apartment) and the all-important laundry room — I love it!

After three long days of signing papers, packing, moving, cleaning, unpacking, etc. I was quite exhausted when the weekend came. Since it was Easter, my schedule for the weekend was a little unusual. One of the Starting Point groups that I’m in on Sunday chose to cancel for the weekend because several group members would be out of town. The other Starting Point group I’m in on Sunday chose to meet on Saturday evening before the worship service in order to help make room for our special guests on Sunday. So, on Saturday I participated in a Starting Point group at 5 and then attended the worship service at 6.

If you were in that Saturday worship service, you know it was absolutely awesome! I’ve never been in a service quite like that one. I left that night feeling I had truly been in God’s presence in a very special way.

Since I didn’t have an SP group on Sunday and I had already attended an absolutely awesome worship service, I decided to exercise my option to stay in on Sunday morning. It felt very strange, but after I got Stephen and Mark off to church, I really enjoyed having this wonderful, quiet house all to myself. Totally comfortable in jeans and my NewSpring hoodie, I relaxed with a cup of coffee and unpacked a few more boxes.

As I contemplated lunch and my still mostly empty refrigerator, I decided I really needed a little trip to the grocery store for a couple of things, but it was almost time for Mark and Stephen to get home, so I decided to wait until they arrived to let them know where I was headed. (That was my first mistake.) When they arrived, Mark decided to go along with me to the store, so he, in his dress slacks, sweater and dress shoes and me with no make-up, in my jeans, sweatshirt and sneakers, drove to Wal-Mart on this beautiful Easter Sunday.

As soon as we stepped out of the car, someone called out to Mark and wanted to tell him about how much they love NewSpring. I kept moving forward, hoping they would not realize we were together. As soon as we got our shopping cart, someone else spoke to Mark about the service as I moved straight ahead to my task. It seemed like with every aisle there was someone else, dressed for this wonderful day, who wanted to greet Mark and speak to him about either the broadcast or the weekend services. As I quickly turned around the corner of one aisle where another conversation had started, I heard Mark say to this couple, and I want you to meet my wi……., his voice trailed off as he looked and realized I wasn’t there. How embarrassing!

When he caught up with me he had a grin from ear to ear. I told him I just thought of something I needed from the other side of the store and could he please go get it for me and meet me at the checkout. While he was gone, I grabbed the last couple of grocery items I needed and made a dash for the express lane. I met Mark there and as the gentlemen scanned my items, I began to feel I was “home free.” Just as I swiped my card, the checker looked up at Mark and asked “Have you had a chance to relax a little since the service this morning?”

It’s a good thing I’m a good sport, because Mark was very amused at my self-consciousness and had to laugh out loud on our way home. Then, after I dealt with my embarrassment, we were both excited to realize how many people in our community are being blessed by the ministries of NewSpring. We are both so thankful and excited to be a part of what God is doing here! And next time I go to the store with Mark, I’ll make sure he’s in jeans too!

Mary Alice

Just sitting down in my office after walking around the campus today reflecting back on Easter.

• Diane Borg who works in the Next Step Ministries department was going through the decision cards from Easter. She told me that even though she hadn’t gotten through all the cards there were many people who accepted Jesus in the services this weekend, and what really excited her was that there were individuals from all age groups. It never ceases to amaze me how God can take one simple message and speak to so many different people with it. God is Awesome! Can I get a witness on that one?
• You NewSpringers are incredible! With the rapid growth we’ve been experiencing this year, the team was getting really concerned that especially the 11:00 service wouldn’t be able to handle any more people, so we asked you guys to consider celebrating Easter in the newer, smaller Saturday night service. We thought maybe a few hundred of you might be willing. You guys blew our minds! I was in a counseling appointment leading up to the Saturday service so I had no idea of what was happening until I saw Lance waiting for me outside my office. There was a look of shock on his face as he said, “Man, Mark it looks like Christmas Eve out there.” Your willingness to make that adjustment, made it possible for many guests to attend in the Sunday Services. My heartfelt gratitude!
• Did you catch Lance’s version of Don Francisco’s song “He’s Alive?” That blew all of us away. The song’s about as old as Lance is, but his updated version was one of the most powerfully meaningful experiences I’ve ever had in my 51 Easters.
• Kidzworld was awesome as always. Special stuff had been planned on Saturday night to encourage Sunday attendees to move to Saturday, but again expectations were shattered. Childrens pastor, Dan Kubish said than on Saturday, there were about 400% more kids we projected! My thanks goes out to Dan, Debbie, and the team of hundreds of volunteers who make our kids’ ministry the one I wish I’d grown up in.
• This gives me a chance to thank all of you who volunteered this weekend. You had as much to do with all the lives that were changed as I or Lance, or anyone else did.
• I can’t say it enough. I SO love what God is doing at NewSpring right now. I’ve never seen anything like it. It has to be God! Nothing else could explain it.
  

Mark

Years ago, a minister was talking to a church about the life-transforming good news about Jesus. How that Jesus died in our place to pay for our sins, opening the way for us to have a personal family relationship with God. And how He arose out of his grave three days later assuring us that we would live forever in Heaven. All of this a totally FREE GIFT. 

Then he jolted them with a question. “Why should anyone hear this good news twice before everyone hears it once?”  Most of us have heard it a lot more than once. Many of us hundreds of times. But did you know that over half the world’s population has never heard about Jesus at all?  What if you or I were one of those three billion people?  Would you want somebody to care enough about you to do something about it? 

360 Weekend starts in a few hours. It’s all about what NewSpring is out to do to change the world. And what you can do individually.  In the Saturday night service, I’m going to be talking about what we’ve been up to for the last four decades. It’ll surprise you when you find out what you’re already getting accomplished. In both Sunday services, I’m going to blow all of our minds with radical ideas about missions that will take all of us where we’ve never been before. I can’t wait to get started. 

Mark