Mark, the eighth of nine children born to Reuben and Henrietta Meeks—dedicated church planters with nearly 30 congregations established across California’s Central Valley—is a preacher's kid who grew up immersed in faith and service. With over forty years of experience teaching, discipling, and ministering to communities, including the hospitalized and incarcerated, Mark responded to God's call to pastoral ministry. He holds degrees in civil engineering and public administration, as well as a Master’s in Theology from Fuller Seminary, equipping him to serve with both practical insight and spiritual depth.
Flying can—and usually does—test the limits of human endurance. Our most recent trip did not disappoint. The penultimate leg of our journey took us from New York to San Francisco—two cities that, in their own ways, can feel like centers of the universe when it comes to financial and technological […]
As is often—no, always—the case, travel never fails to deliver a life lesson or two…or three. Our most recent trip took us abroad, which, in addition to the excitement of seeing new places, came with the familiar requirements of international travel: packing—what to take and what to leave behind—and making sure […]
I am a word guy. I appreciate language—not simply as a basic means of communication, but for its nuance, texture, precision, and power. Words can be wonderfully simple and straightforward: one word, one syllable, unmistakable and unambiguous. Stop! Go!They can also become elaborate word salads, carefully constructed to obscure rather than […]
On July 4, 1776, a group of colonists affixed their signatures to a document declaring independence from their king. The opening words of that declaration have been memorized by countless schoolchildren and adults alike: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are […]
Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Maybe that’s why I find myself feeling a bit melancholy. It has been twenty-five years since my mother passed away. Mom. Mama. Time is a thief. Certain memories rise to the surface more readily than others when I think about the incredibly strong, […]
Why? It’s a small word. Just three letters. But it may be the question we ask more than any other. Yesterday, I walked through a hospital entrance that felt much heavier than usual. A group had gathered—friends, family—standing close, holding each other up. Some were crying. Others were quiet, eyes […]
Another quick trip—4,000 miles traced across the friendly yet bumpy skies in what felt like a blink. Another reminder that even the briefest journeys can carry weight, if we’re paying attention. Travel has a way of doing that—disrupting routine just enough to create space for reflection, for recalibration, for change. […]
There are certain places that seem to live on everyone’s lifetime bucket list: the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids at Giza, the Great Wall of China. The list is long. And somewhere near the top would surely be that enormous chasm in northern Arizona — described at various times as “an […]
It’s often said: if you don’t want the truth, stay off the bathroom scale. Don’t ask a child what they really think. And by all means—don’t ask A.I. to analyze your writing sample. Because if you do, you’re going to get the truth. Straight. No chaser. On this Valentine’s Day, […]
Life is filled with serendipity—those moments when unrelated events brush against one another and spark deeper reflection. Last week offered one such convergence. News broke of the death of the actress who played the mother in the beloved 1990 Christmas film Home Alone. The story centers on a young boy […]
