Josh Benner

Category: TEDS

  • The Christian law school that wasn’t: Canadian Supreme Court rules against Trinity Western University

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    Today the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against Trinity Western University, a Christian liberal arts college which has been trying to establish a law school.
    From the legal brief:

    The Law Societies of British Columbia and Ontario had the power to deny approval to a proposed law school that would have required students to follow a religiously-based code of conduct restricting sexual behaviour, the Supreme Court has ruled.

    Students and faculty at TWU are required to follow a code of conduct. Among other things, this code of conduct forbids any sexual relations except for in a marriage between a man and a woman.

    After the school was turned down by the two law societies, TWU appealed the decision, which worked its way up to the Supreme Court who ruled against them today.

    Quoting again from the legal brief:

    The “public interest” included promoting equality by ensuring equal access to the legal profession, supporting diversity within the bar, and preventing harm to LGBTQ law students. Neither Law Society was stopping someone from following his or her own religious beliefs (including following the covenant if s/he wanted to). They only prevented TWU from enforcing beliefs on other members of the law school community.

    That last sentence is striking to me. Part of the issue is that TWU would have been “enforcing beliefs on other members of the law school community.” It’s not doing that because people have choice on if they go to that school or not. No other law school in Canada has that policy.
    This is a loss for religious liberty in Canada.
    Why can’t a law student have an option (one option) to go to a law school with a university that has Christian values at the core of its mission?
    Traditional Christian values are often criticize for being intolerant.
    In Canada (and largely in the United States), there is this push for LGBT tolerance that is increasing becoming intolerant of views that disagree, especially Christians who disagree.
    If you don’t support what they’re doing, then don’t go to school there. But don’t take the option away entirely.

    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.

  • What seminary taught me

    13240631_10103459013196830_6669337147853210272_nI graduated seminary two years ago today. I consider it my proudest accomplishment.

    It wasn’t easy. I chose Trinity Evangelical Divinity School because I knew it was a great school that was academically rigorous. And they did not disappoint on that front. I’ve compared it to four years worth of theological Navy SEAL training.

    I learned a lot there. Things I learned about preaching, I use every week. Training in theological and Biblical studies impacts me on a daily basis.

    I learned the importance of Church history.

    There were also many things I learned outside of the classroom from friends. Preconceptions were challenged. It was a wonderful learning experience. And I can honestly say that there are still things I still from seminary friends.

    I learned that not every disagreement needs to be a theological hill worth dying on.

    Over the last several weeks, I’ve seen a new video series on the Gospel Coalition website entitled “what seminary didn’t teach” and it includes responses from many of the leading pastors and scholars in the Evangelical world.

    I was struck by John Piper’s response. He doesn’t like that question.

    Seminary can’t teach everything. Basic training and military training can’t teach a soldier everything there is to being in a war.

    I never had a professor in seminary who gave any false notion that seminary would fully prepare a person for every aspect of ministry. It’s too complicated of a job with too many hats to wear and too many plates to keep spinning. There are an infinite number of situations and scenarios a pastor can potentially face. And those situations involve different and unique people where the appropriate response is not always the same.

    I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know when I graduated. I feel like I have continued to study and learn since my time in seminary, and I realize I’m still really just scratching the surface on studying theology and the Bible.

    I didn’t realize the impact of sin and how it ripples through a church and family.

    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.

  • 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.

     

  • The story of the time I lost a job through a “thank you” card

    nationwide building

    Once upon a time, I had a menial job working for a very large company. I don’t want to name names so I’ll just make something up. Let’s say the company was called “Stationwide.”

    So I originally interviewed for a company who did hiring for Stanionwide and they brought me back in for a second interview. After that they said, “Thanks but we don’t like you.” (They didn’t actually say that they didn’t like me but they hired someone else). But a couple weeks later, the position opened back up and I started training. It seemed like fate.

    But four weeks later, my assignment was terminated. That was really disappointing. I had never experienced anything like that before. While it wasn’t performance based or because I had done anything wrong, I was done. If you’ve never lost a job like that before, it’s rough.

    (more…)

  • Legal and illegal aliens: what the Bible has to say

    Growing up in a foreign land, being expected to abide by another culture’s customs, and eventually being forced to leave the place which had become home. These are all issues which Dr. James K. Hoffmeier faced while growing up in Egypt as the son of American missionaries. Political pressure would end up causing the revocation of his family’s visas and he again became an alien in Canada. (more…)