The time is drawing near, making me more nervous by the second. In less than 48 hours, I will be done performing my first wedding ceremony. Myles, the groom, is one of my best childhood friends, and his bride Lisa couldn’t be more perfect for him. I was shocked when Myles asked me to perform the ceremony, and from the moment that he asked me, the nervousness began to build. As I reflect on the coming ceremony, I am reminded of the tremendous honor that I have been given to marry the two of them. But my reflections also remind me of the amazing responsibility that I have been given. Those thirty minutes on Saturday, June 30th will be some of the most important moments of their entire lives. The gravity of the occasion leads me to one major desire: I pray that God will use me to facilitate a beautiful wedding that will focus all the attention on God and Myles & Lisa. If I can do that, I will be a happy, and much less nervous, man.
Resurrection People
For about one year, I have known about a Christian movement in Philadelphia called “The Simple Way” (www.thesimpleway.org). I first learned about the group through the book “The Irresistible Revolution” written by Shane Claiborne, who is a member of this community. This group lives in inner-city Philadelphia and desperately seeks to be disciples of Jesus Christ. They serve and love those around them. They try to build community, living simple, peaceful lives. They seek to be obedient to their Lord Jesus. After reading Shane’s book, I was captivated by his vision for their community and the world. The Simple Way desires to transform one of the most neglected neighborhoods in the country into a place of peace, joy, and love. What a beautiful vision…Christians who are making a major impact in the world, transforming evil into good, darkness into light, sorrow into joy.
Recently, The Simple Way’s main building burnt to the ground. At the very end of a video on their website about the fire, Shane made the following comment: “We will continue to practice resurrection in the face of a world that continues to create destruction.” Isn’t that what we are called to as Christians? Not only are we resurrected into a new life with Christ; not only will we be resurrected at the glorious return of our Lord; we also are to bring life to where there was none before. We truly are people who “practice resurrection” everyday, bringing the invigorating freshness of Jesus to a world that is lifeless and stale.
I buckled…
For years I had told myself that I wouldn’t start my own blog, but today marks the beginning of my “journey of unfaithfulness” to my prior commitments of “bloglessness”. It seems like a good idea to have a blog since I will soon be leaving the country, far from the convenient communication of many friends and family members. So here is your opportunity to get a glimpse into the life and inner thoughts of Mark Clancy. But beware, there is a good chance that you will be bored out of your mind. Just warning you…
