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.
In God We Trust. It’s the ubiquitous phrase on our currency. We see it. We spend it. Life goes on. The phrase “In God We Trust” first appeared on a two-cent piece in 1864. Ironically, it was at a time of incredible national turmoil and civil war: the Battle of […]
I confess to being an occasional ear hustler. I am intrigued with how we connect (or not) through conversation. From a child’s incessant whining for a parent’s attention to the nervous banter between a couple on a first date. To borrow from the commercial, I know a thing or two […]
It was 1968 and I was in the 4th grade. My parents had just moved the family to the Oak Park community of Sacramento from the State of Bakersfield. (Yes, technically, Bakersfield lies geographically within California but…well, those that are familiar with “B-town” know what I mean.) Even for a […]
“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, […]
I recently read an article that attempted to make sense from the nonsense surrounding the events in Charlottesville. As one writer penned to the POTUS’ response to Saturday, “…it’s not simply a political crisis. It’s a moral one too.” I submit, it’s a moral crisis first, second and only. There’s […]
The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got—all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols. —Acts 17:16 A first-century, nascent movement was underway, based on the life and teaching of a little-known Jew from Nazareth that had the audacity to say that […]
Great googa-mooga, can’t you hear me talking to you, just ball of confusion; That’s what the world is today, hey, hey —The Temptations, “Ball of Confusion” It seems that things are being sifted through a zero-sum sieve. By things I mean things…life and all that it has to offer—from health to sports, […]
Growing up at a time (5+ decades ago) and place (Bakersfield) there weren’t too many playtime options. Baseball was always first choice, but there weren’t always enough people to hit, pitch and field. One game I vividly recall playing with my friend (Aaron) from across the street was Follow the Leader. We shared the role of […]
It sure seems that we’ve arrived at time and place when things seem to be spiraling out of control. In the musical words of the late Marvin Gaye, indeed, “What’s going on?” Sadly (or reassuringly), there is a constant and consistent theme. Well over two millennia ago the poet was […]
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