Mark Hart '95 calls the Trinity "the ultimate Three-for-One deal,"
notes that "Catholic Christianity is not for wimps" and believes
that the platypus is a sure sign that "God has an incredible sense
of humor."
Obviously, Hart also has a sense of humor. And while he says
he is not "theologically brilliant," hundreds of teenage website
users clamor for his answer to their scripture questions. They
know him as "the Bible Geek" and find his columns online at www.lifeteen.org.
The site is a service of LIFE TEEN International, a parish-based
Catholic youth ministry.
The questions the Bible Geek tackles are eclectic, from "what
does the Bible say about tattoos?" to "where in the Bible does
it say abortion is wrong?" The hundreds of messages he receives
weekly arrive from around the world, says Hart, and adults also
make extensive use of the youth-oriented column.
As the Bible Geek, Hart also prepares a devotional called "Spread
the Word." Those short, twice weekly e-mail messages offer Hart's
explanation of various Biblical passages. More than 20,000 people
subscribe to the free service, he says.
The Scottsdale, Arizona, resident is a vice president of LIFE
TEEN International. In 2000, about three years after he began
working for the organization, Hart started the online Bible Geek
columns. The name, he said, is part of "an effort to put people
at ease."
"His big thing is to help people get into scripture," says Thaddeus
Ruszkowski, youth minister of Notre Dame's Sacred Heart parish,
who met Hart at a LIFE TEEN conference. "He's a humorous individual
who knows his stuff."
To make sure his "stuff" is correct, the Bible Geek's answers
are reviewed by several priests. "It's a system of checks and
balances," says Hart.
A collection of his columns is available in the paperback Ask
the Bible Geek, published by Servant Publications. Archives
of scriptural questions and "Spread the Word" devotionals also
are available at the LIFE TEEN website.
Along with making the Bible more accessible to young people,
Hart's work at LIFE TEEN involves updating the audio and video
resources used by Catholic churches to educate teens. On MTV,
Hart notes, teens today see 3,000 to 4,000 images per minute.
Anything less looks old-fashioned to them. But "too many church
videos are cheesy or lame," he says. "That sends a message that
the church is stuck in the mud."
In Hart's view, "It is a sin to bore kids with the Gospel."
Gospel messages are anything but boring, he notes, and those teens
who are "very hungry" for information deserve to have it presented
in a way that speaks to them. "The Catholic faith is a beautiful
faith," he says. "We need to rediscover the joy and laughter."
Although he travels extensively for LIFE TEEN, Hart also oversees
his From the Hart Productions business. Along with producing,
writing and directing secular projects, he is executive producer
of JumboTron video operations for the Arizona Cardinals football
team.
Hart's summer schedule included two events at Notre Dame --
as host and speaker at a LIFE TEEN/Notre Dame Leadership conference
June 30-July 4, and as speaker for each of the four kick-off sessions
NDVision, a special program for high school students sponsored
by the Notre Dame Vocation Initiative. "Notre Dame is really reaching
out to the Catholic youth around the country," he says.
(July 2003)
