Josh Benner

Tag: 2019

  • Notre Dame fire and Occam’s Razor

    800px-Notre_Dame_de_Paris_DSC_0846w.jpg
    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

    I’ve never been to Notre Dame (or France for that matter), but I’m truly saddened by the news today of the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. An 800 year old building that remains a marvel for art and architecture. Fortunately the entire building was not lost, but Notre Dame is forever scarred.

    It is a lost for western civilization.

    I was always taught that the simplest conclusion is usually correct.

    An initial theory for the fire at Notre Dame was that it was linked to flammable building materials which were being used in a renovation project of the cathedral.

    It’s possible.

    But I just don’t see that as the simplest conclusion.

    The building survived eight centuries. It’s survived wars. Notre Dame was built to last. It’s always been a high profile potential target for a terrorist attack. It’s one of the great symbols of France and it’s a symbol of the Catholic Church. It’s Monday of Holy Week. Not to mention a recent string of unsolved church fires in France. I think it’s more likely that someone intentionally set that fire than that it just happened to occur for no reason.

    Where there’s smoke, there’s fire (pun intended).

    Simplest conclusion is usually correct. Not always. But usually.

    Time will tell (hopefully).

    Update 

    It’s been a couple days since the fire. I’ve had a little more time to reflect. What I wrote on Monday was my initial, gut reaction. And while I think it was (and is) a reasonable thought, I do think that it was presumptuous to suggest that my view was the most reasonable or logical assumption.

    I’m not dug in on a Notre Dame conspiracy theory to which no amount of contrary evidence will dissuade me.

    There are arguments to the contrary of my initial assumption. Authorities were quick to say they did not believe the cause was arson. Also, no person or group has taken credit for this fire (which seems to typically happen in acts of terrorism).

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

    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.

  • What great coaches can teach us about life

    Urban_Meyer_in_2017.jpg
    Relentless effort (not talent or intelligence) is the key to achieving great things in your life. Struggle is part of the process. It is hard and often painful. But it’s also necessary, because it’s in the struggle that great things are achieved.
    -Urban Meyer, in Above the Line

    Tonight, one of the greatest college football coaches of all time retires.

    Urban Meyer concludes his seventh and final season as the head coach at Ohio State. Meyer has amassed an incredible record at Ohio State and throughout his coaching career. Coming into tonight’s Rose Bowl, Meyer is 82-9 as the Buckeye head coach.  In his seven seasons, Meyer never lost more than two games in a season. He lost four conference games total. He won his first 24 games in Columbus.

    He’s one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. Three national championships. He won .85 percent of his games. Meyer had four winning streaks of 20 or more games (to put that in perspective, no other coach even has three).

    Great coaches can teach us all things. I think of things I’ve read over the years from people like John Wooden, Vince Lomardi, Woody Hayes, Bobby Knight.

    For people who have succeeded in competitive endeavors, they have insights from which we can all benefit in terms of work ethic, leadership, and grit.

    We so often make excuses for our failures and mediocrity. Great coaches don’t settle for mediocrity. They demand excellence from themselves, from their staffs, and from their players. We so often chalk up failure to a lack of resources, things beyond our control, or the fault o others. Great coaches show us all that excellence comes from hard work. Success comes from preparation and learning from mistakes. Success comes from wanting it more than your opponent.

    It’s true on the playing field, on the court, and in life.

    “I’ve come to learn that leadership is not automatically granted to you because of your position or your salary or the size of your office. Leadership is influence based on trust that you have earned. A leader is not someone who declares what he wants and then gets angry when he doesn’t get it. A true leader is someone who is going someplace and taking people with him, a catalyst for elite performance who enables people to achieve things they wouldn’t achieve on their own. A leader is someone who earns trust, sets a clear standard, and then equips and inspires people to meet that standard.”
    -Urban Meyer in Above the Line

    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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  • The only resolution that matters for 2019


    Originally published December 31, 2014

    At the beginning of each year, millions of Americans make new year’s resolutions. Common resolutions include eating healthier, saving more money, quitting smoking, or learning a new skill. All of those are great things.

    But the reason why we create new year’s resolutions is because there are areas in our life where we know we should be doing something and where we aren’t. Maybe it’s something we’ve tried and failed at before, but new year’s gives a sense of optimism. I think before we focus on anything else in 2019, our resolution should be to start (or continue) living each day for God.

    We can feel like we want to get all of our ducks in a row before we can make time for faith. There are always reasons to not pursue God. There are always things that come up, difficulties we have. If we wait until everything is perfect before we do something, it never happens. (more…)