Josh Benner

Category: Commentary

  • No, heaven will not be boring

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    Originally published in a slightly modified form November 21, 2016

    In Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book, “Heaven,” he tells a story of an English minister who was asked by a colleague what he expected after death. The man replied: “Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I shall enter into eternal bliss, but I really wish you wouldn’t bring up such depressing subjects.”

    Our views of heaven are too lowly. In life, things often times leave us disappointed.

    A movie looks hilarious in the previews….and then you see the movie and realize every funny scene was basically shown in the preview. People rave about a restaurant, and you think it’s just ok. We vote for a politician who we think will fix things, and they disappoint. (more…)

  • American pastor is a hostage of the Turkish government

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    Credit: Facebook
    In 2016, there was a coup attempt against the Turkish government and their president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.  Factions of their military launched uprisings in several cities.
    The coup failed.
    The Turkish government believes that one of the intellectual leaders of the coup was Fethullah Gulen, a writer and former cleric who currently resides in Pennsylvania.
    Andrew Brunson is an American pastor who has been serving in Turkey for over 20 years.
    In the aftermath of the coup, Brunson was taken into custody for allegedly being involved in the failed coup.
    The evidence against him comes from anonymous sources. But the 50 year old pastor faces 35 years in prison for his alleged involvement.
    Turkey has expressed intreat in swapping Brunson for Gulen, whom the United States will not extradite.

    These are trumped up charges. Brunson is a hostage being imprisoned by the Turkish government for them to try to negotiate for someone they want.
    President Trump addressed the situation via Twitter this week. The Turkish government has not accommodated requests from the United States.
    Andrew Brunson is a man who has dedicated his life to spreading the gospel in another part of the world. We need to pray for Pastor Brunson, for his family, and for our diplomats and politicians who are working to get this man freed.

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    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

     

  • “Come Sunday” revolves around pastor sliding into heresy, denying doctrine of hell

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    “Come Sunday” is the true story of pastor Carlton Pearson (portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a pentecostal megachurch pastor in Tulsa.
    (spoiler alerts)
    In the beginning of the movie, you see Pearson’s concern for evangelism. He prays with a woman on a plane, he visits his uncle in prison to share the gospel.
    But after seeing footage on the news and hearing about genocide in Rwanda, Pearson is thrown into crisis when he considers the eternal destiny of those people.
    Pearson struggles to come to terms with the possibility of people unreached by the gospel and spending eternity in hell.
    The following Sunday, Pearson preaches a message at church where he says that he knows that all of those people were saved pointing to the love of God.
    In the movie, a mentor for Pearson was famed pentecostal leader, and university founder, Oral Roberts (played by Martin Sheen). Roberts and other friends try to convince Pearson to recant his teachings.
    But Pearson doubles down and continues to renounce the doctrine of hell.
    People in the church oppose Pearson. In reality, the church shrank by thousands of people who disagreed with Pearson’s theology as he became a universalist.
    The movie depicts Peterson meeting with Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops. In reality, the bishops declared Pearson as heretic in 2004.
    I feel like the movie paints this as being a witch hunt. The make Pearson seem to be a sympathetic figure. But in reality, it was the bishops confronting a pastor who was no longer preaching the Bible. They had no other choice. To undermine the doctrine of hell is to undermine the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
    Hell was the penalty of sin. Because our sin was that great. And we could do nothing on our own to pay for our sins. Jesus did on the cross. He lived a perfect light.
    The idea that a loving God could not allow heaven is a popular one among many in our society.
    But we don’t create reality. Hell’s existence is not based on if we want it to exist or not. A person can choose to believe it doesn’t exist. But to argue that the Bible affirms universalism and that everyone is saved, regardless of if they have faith, contradicts the Bible. Faith is the means of right standing with God.
    Pearson’s “gospel” appears to be the belief that Jesus actually covered the sins of everyone, regardless of if they believe in him or not.
    In the gospel, we do see the love of God. But we also see the justice of God. There was a price to be paid for sin, and Jesus paid that price.
    No one in the Bible says more about hell than Jesus.
    Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:26).
    To be saved is to be regenerated (born again). Being born again is necessary (John 3:7). When a person is born again, they are given the Holy Spirit.
    “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
    I understand it’s a difficult subject. but instead of trying to justify unbiblical teachings. for anyone who cares for the word of God, we must also trust in the goodness and justice of God.
    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

  • Blessed are the persecuted: the Christian life and opposition

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    10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

    -Matthew 5:10-12

    Almost 2,000 years ago when Jesus preached these words, they also would have been radical to his audience. Persecution is never looked at as a blessing.
    But in Matthew 5, Jesus says that it is.
    Part of what Jesus is saying in these verses is that there is blessedness for the person who’s life is so clearly devoted to God, who is so clearly living out their Christian faith, that they face opposition because of it.
    If a Christian goes through life and never faces opposition, you might be living too comfortably in the world.
    If you never face any heat because of your faith, you might not be associating with anyone who disagrees with what you believe.
    In 2 Timothy 3, the Apostle Paul talks about persecution.
    “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
    ALL who live for Christ will be persecuted.
    Persecution is part of the Christian life. The Bible does not shy away from this fact.
    Shortly before the time of his crucifixion, Jesus said to his disciples in John 5:18-19:
     “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
    Something doesn’t have to be a matter of life and death to be persecution. In American society, we don’t generally hear stories of a person being killed just because they are a Christian. It’s not absolutely unheard of, but it’s rare.
    The persecution American Christians face is often times more social or legal. That can still put us in situations where it’s tempting to sin, where it’s tempting to respond a certain way that we shouldn’t. That still puts us in situations where it’s easier to just go along with what the world is doing than taking a stand for what you believe.
    I know a mechanic who’s a Christian. He was committed to being honest in his dealings with customers. He was so honest that his boss didn’t like him and eventually fired him.
    My wife told me a story about how when she was in high school, she was interviewing to be part of a local youth leadership program in her community. While she was at her interview, one of the people making the decision saw that she was a student at a Christian high school. He started berating her with questions about her faith, questioning how she could believe in Jesus. Asking nothing about this youth organization. Essentially just harassing her about her faith.
    Again, the gospel is a message that some find offensive. “To one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life (2 Corinthians 2:16).”
    There have been examples of groups trying to silence coaches of public school teams from praying with players before games, even when it’s voluntary. I read a story today about the Freedom from Religion Foundation suing a public school in Ohio. A local pastor was leading a Bible study with students at lunch. It was optional. But FFRF still needed to swoop in and sue. There have been legal pressures on Christian universities to cover abortions for staff.
    Those are just a few examples.
    But in living for Jesus, in a fallen world, it is inevitable that there will be times when a person’s faith comes under fire.
    Responding 
    When a person is being persecuted and has a choice of if they’re going to respond in a Christlike way or if they’re going to respond in a hostile way. You can be light to a dark world or you can just spread the darkness.
    The Apostle James talked about the various trials that Christians face:
    “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).”
    As evil as the persecution that Christians face can be, it’s an opportunity to respond with love. Jesus told us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44).
    God can use those situations as a way to strengthen us in our own faith. To focus us on what we truly value.
    Another part of the reason why persecution is seen as a blessing is that the harsher the persecution, the more that is taken away from a person, the more someone is able to live in total dependence on God and reliance in his ability to preserve them. That’s not to say that the persecution is good in itself. It’s obviously not. That’s not to say that sin is good. It’s not. But through the evils that people commit, God can still use that for good.
    Again, if you’re not ever facing any pressure because of your faith, you might not be living in a way that is distinct from the world. I’m not saying we should go out of our way to be combative. The verse does not say that all persecution is good. It’s when a person is following Jesus and is persecuted for righteousness’ sake that blessed a person.
    It’s a radical idea. But let us remember that we have a savior who faced the ultimate persecution for righteousness’ sake.
    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

  • Reaction: Bill Hybels steps down

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    Bill Hybels stepped down as the pastor of Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago yesterday. This came a few weeks after a Chicago Tribune report which talked about decades of sexual misconduct: lingering hugs to females, kissing women staffers, inappropriate comments, inviting women back to his hotel room on trips. The 66 year old pastor had planned to step down this October but moved his retirement up following the Tribune story.

    In a statement on Tuesday night, Hybels said:

    “I realize now that in certain settings and circumstances in the past I communicated things that were perceived in ways I did not intend, at times making people feel uncomfortable. I was blind to this dynamic for far too long. For that I’m very sorry…I placed myself in situations that would have been far wiser to avoid…I was naive about the dynamics those situations created. I’m sorry for the lack of wisdom on my part.”

    I don’t know if these allegations are true or not.

    The Tribune article and some other pastors I respect say that there’s smoke behind this fire. Willow Creek says that they had already had these matters investigated by a third party.

    I just don’t know what’s true. But I do know it’s a very sad situation. Willow Creek is one of the largest churches in America and has been extremely influential in the 40 years since Bill Hybels founded it. It’s the third largest church in America with over 20,000 in weekly attendance.

    No matter what, this is a sad story.

    It’s sad that some will indict Christianity in general for this (when we don’t know the facts). It’s sad for people impacted within Willow Creek. It’s sad for the women involved. And it’s sad for the people who are Willow Creek attendees, because this effects them too.

    For many Christians, this story will undoubtedly be discouraging, because these stories are far too often from within the church. We live in a world that is not as it should be. And unfortunately, we see that even in churches. One way or another, someone isn’t being honest in this story. But regardless of the failings of people, God is still God.

    “Look among the nations, and see;
        wonder and be astounded.
    For I am doing a work in your days
        that you would not believe if told.”

    -Habakkuk 1:5

    I think it’s important to pray for Willow Creek, for those in leadership at that church. I also think it’s important to pray for the truth. I think many who follow this story will be tempted to jump to a side.

    When there’s so much spin and outright falsity, I feel like it can be hard to find the truth. But truth is inherently good and something we should always desire.

    Hybels is one of the most influential leaders of American Christianity over the last 40 years. He’s one of the founding fathers of the “seeker sensitive” movement. Willow Creek, which was founded by Hybels is one of the largest churches in America, with over 20,000 in weekly attendance.

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.