All posts by Mark

Feb 06
0

Silence

By | NewSpring | 3 Comments

Have you checked out GodisSilent.com? In case this is the first time you’ve heard of it , it’s a website we’ve launched in preparation for the Silence series which starts this weekend. People have been invited to share their stories about crisis times when it felt like God was silent. I’ve been totally blown away by what I’ve read. No doubt about it, it really rocks our spiritual equilibrium when life collapses, and we can’t seem to locate God.

I’m going to really let down my guard right now, and let you in on something. A month ago I wasn’t looking forward to this series. You know how I’m always saying the next series is the most important one I’ve ever done? I really mean that when I say it, but I wasn’t pumped up about this one. I knew I needed to take the issue head on, but I didn’t really want to. Here’s the part I hate to admit. When I planned the year I just allocated three weekends for it instead of the usual five, because I didn’t want to get trapped in a long treatment of material I knew was needed but wasn’t excited about.

But two things happened. First, I got really engaged and started serious prepping by looking at the topic in the Bible. It blew me away to see how many great men and women felt that God was silent, and made it known in no uncertain terms. I also began to see a clear pattern of how they successfully navigated through their crises. What I learned is HUGE! The second thing that happened, was I read GodisSilent.com every day. Many times what I read drove me back to the Bible again for more clarity.

Bottom line. I now have about ten weekends of material I have to cram into three! I’m more excited about Silence than any series I’ve ever tackled. Here’s my promise to you. No trite answers. No saccharine solutions. No goofy sayings. Just taking on some of life’s toughest questions in total integrity and academic honesty.

This is going to be awesome!

Mark

Jan 31
0

What’s this new blog about?

By | Family, NewSpring, Next Step | 4 Comments

I keep running out of time on the weekend. There’s so much exciting stuff going on that I can’t find a way to shoehorn it in an already cram-packed 65 minute worship experience. I go through the same thing every Sunday afternoon when I get in my car to drive home after our third awesome service. I think to myself, “Man, I left out so much incredibly wonderful news. So, here’s the deal. I’m going to put it in this blog.”

But here’s the best part, considering I’m a poster child for ADD, my love interest for the last 35 years is going to help me! Most of you know that Mary Alice leads Next Step Ministries here at NewSpring, and as jazzed as I get about what’s going on here, she’s out there even further.

Hey, what do you think Mary Alice and I talk about when we’re alone? Sure, it’s the stuff people talk about when they’ve been lovers for over three decades, have great kids, and a perfect granddaughter. But most of the time, we wind up telling each other wonderful stories of what God is doing at NewSpring. Since we lead different parts of the ministry, we hear different stories.

Happened just this morning, we were driving up to the campus on snow-packed roads and we began to talk about some individual stories of extraordinary life-change we were seeing, and suddenly the conversation trailed off. Each us had to look out our windows for a moment to regain our composure.

So here, we go. MarkandMaryAlice.com is a window into the life of two people in love with each other, with Jesus, and with the greatest people in the world.

Love you guys,

Mark