n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 4
together in distant retirement. They love spending time with their friends.
They also devote time every day to reading the Scriptures and the Writings of
Swedenborg. They currently lead a group of people who are reading daily and
systematically through Swedenborg’s theological writings in chronological
order – a project that began on June 19, 2008, and will take 11 years and two
months to accomplish.
One of Mark’s hobby interests has been fashioning the New Church’s “steps
of repentance” into a spiritual program and set of worksheets. The program and
sheets are designed to help any person of any faith or culture access the steps of
repentance and utilize them as a disciplined spiritual practice. The title of the
project is, Begin a New Life: Four Universal Steps of Life Change and Spiritual
Transformation. It is available on its own website at www.BeginaNewLife.info.
Mark has also developed a one-day seminar/workshop around the
program which he delivers to congregations and other groups around the
world. (He does this free of charge, beyond the cost of his travel.) And though
all of this has been a hobby interest for Mark, he believes that the completed
project is one of the main reasons the Lord put him on earth.
Mark grew up as an athlete, has been devoted to physical fitness since age
14, appreciates demanding outdoor physical labor and landscaping, and (as
one might guess), he enjoys sweating profusely. During his Theological School
training he drove bulldozers and other heavy equipment for summer work
– a childhood dream come true. If given the option of anything he could do
on a Saturday morning, Mark says, “I would choose a brand new John Deere
bulldozer with a six-way blade, clearing land or sculpting it for some useful
purpose.”
Mark has a playful side as well, and he’s known among friends for his
comical impersonations of Arnold “The Terminator” Schwarzenegger under
the alias, “Uncle Arnold.”
One of Mark’s favorite quotations from the Writings of Swedenborg –
which speaks to his love of life change and hope in the Lord – is: “The smallest
amount of divine power is enough, every time it is called upon, to tame
instantly the entire devil’s crew, even if it consisted of millions.” (Secrets of
Heaven 8626)
Contact: [email protected]
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