Josh Benner

Category: Culture

  • The power of the gospel

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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 

    I think there are two things that totally separate the men from the boys Spiritually. The first is persecution, and another one is health problems, especially really severe health issues, where it’s life and death.
    In both of those situations, there are incredible testimonies form people of the work of God in their lives through the situations that seem like they should be the most bleak.
    And the reason for that, at least in part, is that those are the situations where the most is taken from you, at least in a worldly sense. And you look to God, and you can either be mad at him, to hate his plans, or you can see that God is all you need. That you were designed to live for God.
    We so often associate blessing with a thing that God gives to us. Perhaps it’s a certain lifestyle, a certain amount of happiness in life, success in our relationships.
    But in the Beatitudes, we hear of the blessedness for the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the peacemakers, and even, those who are persecuted.
    And the thing that undergirds each of these is a relationship with God.
    It’s counterintuitive to us that the person who is persecuted for rightouesnes sake is blessed.
    That seems like a curse.
    Part of the reason that those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ are blessed is that there are times in the face of persecution where a person who overcomes evil with good, overcoming darkness with light, is something that God can use as a witness to the world of the grace to which that person testifies.
    That which the world means for evil, God can use for good.
    Sometimes, it’s because a person is in a place where they can be persecuted that they are enabled to share the message of Christ with those who are persecuting them.
    One such story is Virginia Prodan.
    She was a Christian in Romania when communism reigned and having faith could bring persecution.
    Prodan was a lawyer who stood up for Christians in her country. One day, she came to her office and a man was waiting for her. He had come to kill this woman. In that life and death situation, she shared the message of the love of Christ with this man.
    Writing for Christianity Today in 2016, Prodan said to this man: “You are here because God put you here, and he has put you to a test. Will you abide in God or in the will of a man—your boss, President Ceausescu, who requires you to worship him? God has given you free will to choose.”
    She continued to talk to this man:
     the good news is that God has prepared a way out for every one of us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ ”
    As I continued to talk with him, he appeared smaller and more peaceful.
    Finally, he brought his hand to his forehead and said, “You are right. The people who sent me here are crazy. I do need Christ.” He promised, “I will come to your church as a secret brother in Christ. I will worship your powerful God.”
    -Christianity Today
    Today, that man is a pastor.
    What incredible examples those stories are of the power of the gospel.
    Stories when the power of the gospel takes root in the life of someone who had opposed that message. And the gospel is that powerful. Hardened hearts can be made soft. The gospel is a message that gives new life to the dead.
    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.

  • MLK’s dream still alive 50 years after his death

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    Martin Luther King was assassinated 50 years ago today outside his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
    In our age with all of the politics and spin, and counterspin, I find it sad to admit that I feel like I don’t really know anything about this man.
    Obviously I know he was the most prolific leader during the Civil Rights Movement. That he gave one of the greatest speeches in American history (his “I have a dream” speech is right up there with the Gettysburg Address).
    I know that he was murdered. I know that he’s one of the most significant men of the 20th century.
    I think that part of why I feel like I don’t really know much about the man, is that I think we see the good things he stood for, and we like to see those things in ourselves and what we believe. It’s for that reason, I believe, that people from both of our major political parties find things that Dr. King said and reason that he would have been on their side, had he lived.
    The dream still lives 
    Martin Luther King clearly articulated the America that he envisioned.

    It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

    I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

    I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

    I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

    I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

    I have a dream today.

    I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

    I have a dream today.

    -“I have a dream” speech

    There are many different opinions today of if that dream has been realized.
    We are a nation that is deeply divided.
    Has his dream been realized?
    If you believe that it has, when was it?
    I think we can look back 50 years, 60, 70, 100 yeas ago and see times where that dream most certainly was not a reality for every American.
    Today, we still live in the fallout of the sins of past generations. And as a result, there are generations of minorities who were intentionally enslaved, and then intentionally marginalized and discimriated against. But the subsequent generations have also been born into disadvantaged situations. And it becomes a vicious cycle. If someone is born into poverty, they will also have a lower quality of education, live in areas with higher crime rates, and be more likely to have run ins with the law.
    I believe in the American dream. I believe people can overcome if they work hard and use their talents and abilities to achieve their goals. But I also believe that if someone starts out from a lower position, it’s harder to overcome the obstacles. It’s not impossible, it’s just more of a challenge.

    I’m certainly not the authority on society’s ills. But I don’t think we can kick back, look at Dr. King’s dream and say it has been fully realized. Because there is still work to do. I wasn’t alive 50 years ago. I think it’s fair to say that much progress has been made.

    But just because things aren’t as bad as they used to be doesn’t mean they’re as good as they need to be.

    It’s easier to not do something than to do it. It’s easier to not care than to be challenged. I know I personally have much to learn.

    It’s easy to act like there aren’t still racial issues. But if we deny that there are, when so many in the black community feel that there are, aren’t we essentially confirming that there are in fact issues?

    Racism and prejudice are ugly ideas. I think it can be tempting to want to deny them, or explain them away. I think this is a mistake. The first step is admitting our society still has a problem.

    If two people are married, and one says, “We need to talk, we’ve had some issues, and I’ve been really hurt by some of these things.” And the other person says, “No we don’t, we’re fine,” which of the two do you think is more in touch with reality?

    Every African American I know thinks there are still racial problems in our society. Again, it can be tempting to want to downplay that. But I can’t be condescending to an entire race of people and think they’ve just all got it wrong. I haven’t walked in their shoes and lived their experiences.

    I try to listen, but I can do it better. I try to pray for people and for our nation, but I need to do it more often. I try to know people who are different than me (not just along racial lines).

    The Bible is clear about the sinfulness of our world. And one of the biggest ways how humanity sins is in finding ways to oppress those who are different.

    What are you doing to help make the dream a reality?

    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.

  • No charges filed in Alton Sterling death

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    Of the many deaths we have footage of where police have used deadly force, there’s few that appear as egregious as the 2016 killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

    In the video, the officers have him held down. They’re on top of him. Sterling allegedly reached for his pocked (he was armed at the time). From the video, it’s hard to see if he was reaching for a weapon. He appears to be immobilized. But what’s not hard to see is an officer on top of him, with Sterling pinned to the ground repeatedly shooting him

    The State of Louisiana announced today that they are not going to charge the officers who were involved in Sterling’s death.

    As with so many of these other cases, no one is going to be held accountable.

    I think it’s important to acknowledge that this event was a tragedy. That the officers were trigger happy. That this death was unnecessary and senseless.

    I think it is important to look at cases like this and other incidents where African American men were killed by police officers and where no one was ever held to account, where no one was ever sent to prison, and to stop trying to save face or find justifications, or attack the character of the victim but to look at these situations and to have empathy for the anger and frustration that African Americans have over these events. It should be an anger and frustration which everyone has.

    For many in this country, it’s not even a surprise that this is the outcome. And when groups of people can count on justice not being served, it’s a sad day for America.

    When these shootings happen, and there’s an outcry, there’s so often this call to “get the facts, let’s get it sorted out.” But after that happens, it is so common for nothing to materialize legally.

    Police have an extremely difficult job. No one would argue that. And the vast majority are wonderful public servants. But there are times when people go too far and when they do not act appropriately. A system cannot be just if those who enforce justice can act unjustly.

    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.

  • The easiest part of the gospel we forget

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    Love.

    In Evangelical circles, we, righty, have a high view of scripture and studying God’s word. That’s important.

    But I sometimes feel like it can be so easy to get caught up in having proper theology we forget the most practical application OF the theology. Love for God and love for people.

    If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

    -1 Corinthians 13:2

    I think for Christians, some excel at theology and the intellectual pursuits. Others re more focused on showing grace, compassion, and love to people but perhaps don’t care as much about theology.

    Both are valuable.

    It’s a message I have to remind myself. It’s easy for me to study these things. And certainly in studying these things, we are exposing ourselves to Godly wisdom.

    But it can also be easy to get bogged down in the theology to the point of losing sight of simply living lives of love.

    What’s your strength in those areas? May you work on cultivating your weaknesses in these areas.

    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.

  • Are evangelicals making a mistake on abortion laws?

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    Statehouse of Ohio

    I’m pro-life. I believe life begins at conception. At the moment of conception, a fertilized ova is genetically distinct from both of the parents.

    My home state, Ohio, has a proposed bill that would totally ban abortion.

    The nation is roughly evenly split on being pro-life vs pro choice. There is also a lot of nuance within both of those positions. For instance, most people who are pro-choice are not proponents of late term abortions. And most people who are pro-life are not pro-life is an absolute where they think there’s never a circumstance in which an abortion is morally justified.

    It’s interesting as I’ve seen my camp (the conservative evangelical camp) approach this issue.

    With the question of constitutionality, if Ohio’s bill were passed and signed into law, I am seeing pro-life Christians arguing as to why it would be constitutional. Others are arguing that even if it were unconstitutional, who cares about the courts, and that the state should just ignore it for the sake of protecting life (not saying I disagree with that sentiment).

    I think this is the wrong starting place.

    It doesn’t matter if it would be constitutional or not. Because no state would pass a law where abortion were legally viewed as tantamount to murder. Even among pro-life people, that view is a minority.

    The idea that states can simply ban it, when there is no ban, when most people favor it in certain circumstances, as moral as the suggestion might be, what’s morally right is not always realistically passable.

    I think this “all or nothing approach” overlooks the real efforts that lawmakers are working on in states all over the country. 41 states have passed laws where there must be a licensed doctor providing the procedure. 42 states have passed laws that limit when an abortion can happen within a pregnancy.

    More work needs to be done. I’m not saying this is ideal. I’m not saying the current laws are good. I’m just saying that as much as Christians (myself included) might want more laws to protect the lives of the unborn, that we also need to be pragmatic in pursuing something that is an uphill battle and that millions of people disagree with. That millions of people see as a right. All victories for the pro-life movement are hard fought.

    Even if a total ban were proposed, it would likely be struck down (an Ohio law banning abortions on fetuses with downs syndrome was put on hold last week). And even if the state chose to ignore a court ruling, you would still need to find a jury of 12 people who would convict a doctor or a mother for having an abortion?

    We need to keep beating the drum, educating people that life truly does begin at conception. We need to make sure that the necessary programs have the sufficient funding to support a baby that goes up for adoption. We need to keep chipping away at the laws.

    To think an all out ban could pass is to be divorced from reality.

    Once again, I’m pro-life, I feel that a baby has a right to be born and to live. It’s a child created in the image of God. And it’s tragic.

    But it’s a sinful and fallen world, and we can’t always accomplish everything we want in one fell swoop.

    I feel like these attempts are trying to sprint a marathon.

    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.