Josh Benner

Category: News

  • Popular pastor Tim Keller diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

    Popular pastor and speaker Tim Keller announced over the weekend that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

    From Keller’s post on Facebook, he said:

    I feel great and have no symptoms. It was what doctors call an “incidental pickup,” otherwise known as providential intervention. I have terrific human doctors, but most importantly I have the Great Physician himself caring for me. Though we have had times of shock and fear, God has been remarkably present with me through all the many tests, biopsies, and surgery of the past few weeks.

    If you are willing to pray for me, here are things to pray for: For God to use medical means or his direct intervention to make the cancer regress to the point of vanishing. For Kathy and me, that we use this opportunity to be weaned from the joys of this world and to desire God’s presence above all. For my family to be comforted and encouraged. For the side effects of treatment to allow me to continue writing and speaking.

    Keller’s announcement comes less than three weeks after another popular Christian leader, Ravi Zacharias passed away from cancer.

    Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, which he founded in 1989. Keller also helped found The Gospel Coalition and has authored several popular books which include “The Reason for God” which answer skeptical questions about the Christian faith. He’s also become a popular speaker at theology conferences.

    On a personal note, Keller is on my Mount Rushmore of patois who have influenced my life, theology, and ministry. I will be praying for him.

    Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to comment and subscribe.

  • BREAKING: ILLINOIS GOVERNOR LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON WORHSIP GATHERINGS

    As Illinois moves from phase 2 into phase 3 and gathering sizes are still limited to groups of 10, facing lawsuits, pressure, and legal challenges, Governor J.B. Pritzker has lifted restrictions on houses of worship. The initial restrictions went into effect for Illinois churches in the middle of March.

    The Illinois Department of Public Health released a multi-page document which still gives recommendations for what churches should do. They still recommend churches not meeting in person and instead utilizing streaming. They also recommend gathering outside or gathering in groups of less than 10, but these are advise rather than mandates.

    As a pastor in Illinois, I will say that I do appreciate the governor caring about the health of the people in this wonderful state. I was not a fan of the restrictions on churches and believe that it’s a fundamental right to gather together for worship. But I don’t believe that there was ever any malice on the part of Governor Pritzker.

    It is still important for churches to be wise, for pastors to tend to their flocks, and for parishioners to monitor their health. But it’s going to be a great weekend when churches throughout the state can again come together in worship.

    Excerpts from the IDPH document include:

    This document provides guidance for places of worship and providers of religious services to support the safest possible environment for faith leaders, employees, volunteers, scholars, and all other types of workers, as well as congregants, worshippers, and visitors.

    it is strongly recommended that places of worship continue to facilitate remote services, particularly for those who are vulnerable to COVID-19 including older adults and those with co-morbidities. 

    As gatherings grow in size, they pose a greater risk of becoming a source of COVID-19 transmission.  The current Statewide guidelines recommend gatherings of no more than 10 people.  Where the 10-person limit cannot be followed in places of worship, these guidelines are recommended.

    Set a capacity limit for the place of worship that allows for extensive social distancing (six feet or more) between congregants.  Consider limiting attendance to 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower. 

    Strongly consider discontinuing singing (and post signage discouraging singing), group recitation, and other practices and performances where there is increased likelihood for transmission from contaminated exhaled droplets.

    These recommendations are reasonable and give Illinois churches a lot of flexibility in how they choose to worship. 

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

  • Man dies in police custody while begging for his life

    The footage of George Floyd being held to the ground and struggling to breathe, repeatedly telling the police he can’t breathe, begging for his life, and telling the police that he was about to die, is incredibly disturbing.

    It’s murder.

    There will be those who blame the victim. I’ve heard people try to make excuses in these situations before. “Well he shouldn’t have broken the law” (if he even did). “Well he shouldn’t have resisted.”

    It’s murder.

    Neither of those is something that justified a man losing his life. Neither of those are justifications for the absolute inhumanity of the officer who ignored Floyd begging for his life. Of course you’re going to struggle when you literally have your life escaping from you. There’s no justification for any of this.

    On Monday night, police were called for a forgery in progress on the allegation that Floyd had attempted to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store. A non-violent crime. A couple minutes after Floyd is no longer struggling, no longer conscious, yet the officer still won’t let his knee off of his neck. The officer isn’t in danger (Floyd wasn’t armed). There’s no reason as to why they can’t let him up, let him breathe.

    Several bystanders begged the arresting officer to let the man up. He refused to listen.

    I appreciate law enforcement. I understand that they have a difficult job. I can also acknowledge that I could not do their job. But none of that justifies killing another person. The officer was not in danger. The situation was under control. There is no reason why the arresting officer should have kept his knee in Floyd’s neck. Law enforcement experts say that maneuver is no longer sanctioned in Minnesota.

    The officer should not get special treatment because he’s a police officer. If anyone else did this and it was filmed, they’d be in jail. The offending officer and three others have been fired from the Minneapolis Police Department. The mayor of Minneapolis has spoken out against what happened. There does need to be justice for George Floyd because he lost his life in an unjust manner. And we should always want justice to be served as it is an inherent good.

  • Coronavirus concerns cause sweeping cancellations

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    Things are getting real. Tonight, President Trump announced the suspension of incoming flights from Europe and the NBA suspended the season. Earlier today, the NCAA announced that the tournament is going to be played without spectators (although at this point, I would not be shocked if they end up cancelling it). Tom Hanks has it. More and more colleges are extending spring breaks or switching to online formats for courses. 

    This is all going to get worse. Few weeks ago, everything was golden in Italy. Now the country is shut down. I’m not saying that exact thing is going to happen in America. But more and more people are going to get sick, are going to die, and life will be increasingly disrupted.  (more…)

  • Apoloigst, theologian Norman Geisler dies at 86

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    Photo from the website of Norman Geisler. 

    Norman L. Geisler, a 20th century giant in Christian apologetics, theology, philosophy, and ethics passed away on Monday at the age of 86.

    He was an author, contributor, or editor of 127 books in his prolific academic career. He taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Dallas Theological. He was part of the committee that wrote the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy in 1978. He served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society and founded the International Society of Apologetics and two seminaries: Southern Evangelical Seminary and Veritas Seminary. (more…)