Josh Benner

Category: My Life

  • Happy birthday Beasley

    Happy birthday Beasley

    I never truly appreciated the love that people have for their dog’s before we got Beasley. I’ve become a dog person. In a house of introverts, she’s the extrovert. Always the center of attention. She kept us laughing during the pandemic.

    She’s relentless when you’re trying to eat food. She will let nothing distract her from a person walking down the street if she can see them through the window. She’ll eviscerate a paper towel or roll of toilet paper if she gets half a second.

    She never met a person whose face she didn’t want to lick. She licks my face multiple times a day. Everyday. Never thought I’d allow it. But now it’s too late to try to stop it.

    She’s gone from being absolutely terrified of the vacuum cleaner to wanting to fight it. She pushes imaginary dirt on bones that she hides all over the house. She’s strong enough to win at tug-of-war.

    When we first went to the breeder, my wife said I could pick. Beasley was one of two puppies remaining and we bonded pretty quickly. she was so relaxed. She just curled up the first time we held her. When we finally brought her home a few weeks later, that relied personality lasted about a day and she’s been a maniac ever sense. It wasn’t what I expected when we got her. But I wouldn’t want her any other way.

    Dogs are truly a blessing that we don’t deserve. They’re always happy to see their people. It’s like the best moment of their life when they see you after being away. They’re always there for you.

    Happy birthday Bealsey.

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  • Answering the call: a new chapter

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    I’m excited to share that I’ve been called as pastor of Christian Bible Church in Cissna Park, Illinois. It’s a small town about 100 miles south of Chicago (and about 50 miles north of Champaign-Urbana). In less than two years of marriage, we’ll be moving to our third state.
    It’s a wonderful town and a wonderful church and Kari and I are very excited for this new chapter in our lives.
    My first sermon at CBC will be August 25. I’m going to start by preaching through the Gospel of John.
    It’s been quite the journey to get to this call and this moment, but I’m grateful for all of the experiences and lessons I’ve learned along the way. Thankful for the relationships I’ve built in my previous churches. Thankful for the friends who always kept tabs on how my search was going. Thankful to the great mentors who have shared with me from their experiences, successes, and failures (and who continue to put up with all of my questions). Thankful for the training I’ve received in seminary and other churches where I’ve served. Thankful to Christian Bible Church for giving me this opportunity. Thankful to my parents and Kari’s parents for their support throughout this search process. Thankful for Kari and her support throughout this process and believing in me. Being married to a pastor is its own challenge, and she’s always been up for the task. I’m thankful to the Lord for entrusting me with the privilege of serving and shepherding his flock.
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    Josh Benner has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture.

  • The day I met my wife

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    I talked to my wife for the first time two years ago today.

    As I reflect this year, the thing that still amazes me is that I woke up that Monday morning, and it was just a typical day. Took care of some stuff for work, went to the gym, helped some friends move. I had no idea that it was one of the most important days of my life. (more…)

  • Moving day – one chapter closes, another begins

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    Moving day today. I finished up my pastoral residency in Minnesota.

    I think of the places where I’ve lived. Columbus, Ohio, my hometown. The place that will always be home.

    Bowling Green, Ohio, where I went to college and had some of the greatest times of my life. So much of who I am today I attribute to my time in college.

    Deerfield, Illinois for seminary, just outside of Chicago, one of the greatest cities in the world. Even though I was there for four years, I still feel like I barely scratched the surface on all Chicago had to offer.

    Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Beautiful part of a beautiful state. Perhaps more than any of these other cities, Fergus Falls felt the most like an adventure when I moved there.

    Moving by myself hundreds of miles away to a town that I had never heard of until about three months before I moved there. When I told people I was moving to Minnesota, the response was always “MINNESOTA?! It’s so cold there!”

    The legends were true. It was cold. (Although not as much snow as you’d probably think). Although it was also fitting that as we packed up our last things into the truck, I spent my last few hours in windy, sub-zero temperatures. Felt like it was my final exam as a Minnesotan.

    It was the smallest place I’d ever lived, but it never really felt like that small of a town to me. I always thought there was so much to do. When I first moved there, I had just gotten into photography. On my days off, I’d find a forest in a different part of the state, drive there, taking pictures all along the way. I’d spend hours just taking pictures. Sometimes on a nice night, I’d go out and take pictures for a couple hours around town. Those are honestly some of the greatest times I had in Minnesota. I loved it. The county had over a thousand lakes. But the sunsets were just as awesome over the farmland.

    It was love at first sight. I always thought the area was breathtaking.

    It was the first place where I lived with my wife after getting married. She wasn’t from Fergus Falls either. But was just as enamored with the area when she moved there too. It was the first place we lived after getting married.

    As I think of all of the art things about the places where I’ve lived, more than anything, the things I enjoy most about these places is the people and the relationships. Everywhere I’ve lived I’ve loved. Because everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve met a lot of people I loved.

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    Josh Benner  has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.

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  • College graduation 10 years later

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    It’s crazy that I graduated from college a decade ago.

    I still remember so many events from that time like they were yesterday. I can still see the map of campus in my memory.

    So much of the person I am today I trace back to my time in college. So many of the friendships I made in those years I still maintain.

    I think of myself as a freshman. So shy and quiet. I had very little self-reliance. I grew up in college. I went from someone who was always a loner, to being in a fraternity and becoming president of one of the largest student organizations on campus (and involved in what felt like every other student group there was). I never even went to any of our dances in high school and in college, I was popular.

    I think about my fraternity. That community was what made college college for me.

    I think of all of those philosophy classes. People make fun of philosophy as being a “useless major,” but I still take a lot of pride in having a philosophy degree. I think a background in philosophy gave me some tools that I’ve continued to use.

    I struggled a lot at first. I had always managed to get decent grades in high school without really having to try, but college was different. Looking back, I doubt most of those 100 level classes in which I struggled were even that intellectually rigorous, I just had no idea how to take a college class.

    Like many freshman, I would come home whenever I had the opportunity, I procrastinated with my work, and my grades suffered. After that first semester, I was sincerely considering leaving Bowling Green and trying to enroll elsewhere.

    It wasn’t until my second semester that I had my first taste of Greek Life. That experience made me feel like I was truly a part of the university. For me and the rest of my time at Bowling Green, the rest was history.

    Ironically, as a young student, I would go home every chance I got. When I first graduated, I’d go back every chance I got. But the years went on, younger friends graduated, I went back less.

    My life has gone in directions I never would have expected. I cherish those experiences and memories. I will always be thankful for Bowling Green. Roll Along! 

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    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.

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