Ep. 48: Mark Simone on choosing goodness over happiness

Mark Simone knew at 15 that he wanted to be a minister. He just didn’t know his ministry would take him on 17 trips to South Africa.

The survivors of Apartheid taught him to choose goodness over happiness, to elevate others and to remember that joy is the heart of the human soul.

Mark is an associate minister with Federated Church United Church of Christ in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He has been in full-time youth ministry for 41 years and has written four books on youth ministry.

He talks about white privilege and how to validate others. He also shares the tools he used to get through 18 years of liver disease and the transplant that saved his life.

Tips & Takeaways:

• Reframe the truth so you can live with it in peace.

• Seek goodness over happiness so others will also be happy.

• Humility is elevating others, starting with God.

BIO:

Mark Simone is a husband, daddy, grandpa, minister, professor, author and part-time missionary. He lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where he is the Minister of Children's, Youth, and Family Ministries at the Federated Church, as well as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana Wesleyan University. He loves to play guitar, write, and work with children all over the world, including South Africa, where he has led many ministry programs during his 16 trips there. Mark has written numerous books and articles on the field of youth ministry. He has also traveled intercontinentally to train youth leaders and teen leaders.
 
Additionally, he is the author of The Ghosts of Paw Paw Lake, which is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

You can learn more about him and his new book at When Mourning Turned into Dancing: Seeds of Hope in Post-Apartheid South Africa.

 You can connect with him on Facebook and email him MSIM76@yahoo.com