Josh Benner

Category: Commentary

  • Campus pastor fired for suggesting his campus leave Harvest Bible Chapel

    Note: I’ve decided to write about this story again because it’s newsworthy within American Christendom. One of the largest and most influential churches in the country is in some very turbulent waters and, in my humble opinion, have made two major mistakes in less than a week.  Last week, it was announced that James MacDonald, founding pastor…

  • Our sense of justice and the outrage over the botched Saints call

    An egregious no-call in the Saints-Rams, NFC Championship game yesterday. Missed calls happen. But I don’t know if I can think of ever seeing a more consequential no-call that had a bigger impact on a game than the missed pass interference with 1:46 left to go in the game.

  • You’re (probably) misquoting Philippians 4:13 – and why it matters

    I can do all things through him who strengthens me. -Philippians 4:13 According to Bible Gateway, Philippians 4:13 is the second most popular verse in the New Testament, only behind John 3:16. It’s a verse memorized and beloved by many. But for as popular as this verse is, it’s also often misunderstood and taken out…

  • Chicago Megachurch pastor takes indefinite sabbatical

    Harvest Bbile Chapel is a non-denominational megachurch with 12,000 members in weekly attendance. Located in the Chicago suburbs, Harvest has seven campuses in Illinois and one campus in Naples, Florida. James MacDonald founded Harvest in 1988 and has been the senior pastor of the church for over 30 years. He also has a popular radio…

  • One piece of advice for my students: responsibility

    You need to start taking responsibility of your life, your decisions, and your faith now. All of those things matter. All of those are things where you have a lot of control now. Yes, you have parents, you have teachers, you have other adults around you who are teaching you.