Junky Car Club

There is a great site you should visit called JunkyCarClub.com. It was started by Mike Foster who sold his loaded sports car to buy a 1993 Camry. That way he could give more to help the needs of others.

Today I'm considering joining. Today I realized I give away more than two car payments a month to the church and missions efforts around the world. And this is what I drive:

• 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee (13 years old)
• The onboard computer display doesn't work.
• The interior light covers that you push to turn them on are broken out.
• 170,000 miles.
• CD player doesn't work.
• Radio works FM only, and is picks up 95.1 at 93.5 so whatever the difference is there.
• An odd tire.
• One leather driver seat that can only be adjusted by hooking up my jumper cables to the battery and doing a little MacGyver action.
• No interior panel on the hatch. (Removed because the latch doesn't work so well anymore).
• Antenna doesn't work. (Every time the radio is turned on the motor makes a sound, but the antenna doesn't go up.)
• The intermittent wipers stopped working 4 years ago. Instead I had to turn them to the medium speed and time when I turned them off so they would be in the down position. Yesterday only the high speed works.
• One headlight has been replaced after an accident a couple years ago. It is clear. The other is original it is yellow.
• The door latch doesn't work right because the door started drooping 2 years ago. My father-in-law and I did some customized welding to fix it. Today my door flew open at 25 miles an hour around a curve. The assembly is totally blown out now.
  

This is the vehicle I drive that allows me to give. Not sure I can join the club, because if and when I have the opportunity to get a newer car I will. But it made me reflect on what I drive now.

How about you? Any other junkers in the audience?

--Ben

Wrapping up the marathon

Today I'm finishing. My school work is due today, so I'm closing out all five papers I've got going right now. It'll be nice to get it off my plate, and meet my family again. During these courses it is them that take the biggest loss. I look forward to spending a little extra time this week with each of them.

-Ben

The Writing Room

Someday I'd like to have a writing room. A place to do nothing but think and write. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a writer. I expect like anything else I do I'll simply be a mechanic, but I enjoy writing. I would like to get better, and really learn to share what's on my mind so that an audience may be stirred to their own thoughts.

For now I write in a basement. With cinder block walls that are rough and white. I hear the drip of the sump pit, and take respite from my writings to look up and see our ironing board. I can almost make out my reflection in the stainless steel iron. My chair is nice, but when I sit too long it reminds me. My desk, a trusty old table salvaged from a church from yesteryear. It no longer has the band that wrapped its particle board top so my shirt rubs against its rough sides. This is my environment from which to write. It will have to do for now.

--Ben

Problems

Are you still having problems with this site? Several people have told me they were having problems. It seems to have started around the time I posted the wish list for Teen Challenge. I have removed that post, and wondered if it helped. Please let me know.

--Ben

Simplicity

Been thinking about an illustration of simplicity that I didn't use on Sunday, but I think is a very practical reminder of how we could enjoy a life of simplicity.

When I was in college a professor taught me about the spiritual disciplines. When talking about simplicity he shared how he and his wife practiced this discipline. They sat down and discussed the maximum amount of money they needed to live on. Yes, the maximum amount. Most people evaluate the minimum they need to live on. But in the discipline of simplicity they sought the maximum. They agreed that $80,000 was all they needed as a household income to pay their bills and provide for their family. Therefore in the discipline of simplicity they gave away everything over that amount to churches, ministries, and charities.

Remember, simplicity recognizes that we could have more, but we choose to do without so that we may grow closer to God.

--Ben

Brand Spankin' New

This weekend for Thanksgiving we headed north to the Doylestown, PA area and visited with my Aunt and Uncle who live there. Our family tradition at Thanksgiving is to alternate years in visiting between my parent's house and my Aunt and Uncle's house. It has been a tradition I have enjoyed for years.

Now we find ourselves in a little different situation. As the family ages, it grows and now the family of five that used to come up from Maryland has grown to a family of eleven, and their side has grown too. So we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express that opened only a month ago. In fact, a little less than a month. It was so new that I believe no one had ever used our room before. It still smelled new, plumbing flux came out of the fixtures, and there were still pencil marks on the tiles. It was kinda nice not having to wonder what germs people may have left. Instead we left the germs for a generation. :-)

They had an indoor pool which the girls loved. The temperature of the water was probably about 90 degrees; a little warm. I had to stand up in the shallow end just to cool off my body because it was so hot. When we took the kiddies out we noticed their little bodies were reddish. So when we checked out I recommended that they lower the temperature just a bit.

It was a great trip, whirlwind, but great.

--Ben

Closing In

I'm closing in on the deadline for my last post-session work. This degree has been hanging over me for years now. I'm looking forward to being finished. After this class I have six credits worth of projects and writing, but no more classes. Recently I've noticed how much time these classes take. I don't know if I'm becoming a more conscientious student, or if I'm just realizing that I better learn all I can. Whatever the matter, I'll still be glad when it is over.

--Ben

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm headed north to PA to visit family. I'm very excited about a couple things:

1. We're staying at a hotel with an indoor pool. It is one of those simple pleasures in life seeing how my family plays in indoor pools. The girls love it. (Especially Sydney)
2. On Friday I'm heading out with my Dad and Brother-in-law to a Cabela's sporting goods store where we'll get to do something that I haven't done in years; look at guns. When I was a teenager I was very into firearms and marksmanship. It has been years since I've handled a weapon, but I'm looking forward to this trip. It's a manly trip. (insert grunt).

So whatever your plans are, I hope you enjoy them.

--Ben

The Hassle

Today I got a call that someone was coming to look at our house. It is such a hassle to get everything ready, and then leave. Especially when you have plans to take care of at your house. All so that someone can come look at your house for about ten minutes. Very frustrating.

--Ben

Today

Today I've got a marathon lined up. I'm speaking to three possibly four pastors at other churches conducting interviews about the transformation that has happened. These are churches that were far from achieving their potential that were turned around and have become life-giving churches in their community. Should be fun, but probably tiring too.

--Ben

Learning How Long The Weekend Was

When the alarm went off this morning I realized just how long the weekend was. Speaking 6 times in one weekend takes a little bit out of you. I think next time, I'll either do less speaking at the retreat or invite a guest speaker for Sunday.

The retreat went well. It was a first attempt, and I learned some things to improve the next one. So thankful for the group we took. There were some folks on the trip that hadn't really gotten to know each other before and this gave them a good opportunity.

Glad to see what God is doing among our people.

--Ben

Get Over It, and Get To It.

I want to tell you that sometimes there are calm moments in church planting. But they are not often. More often you are like an egg being whisked in a bowl. The world spins around and around, and when it settles (often around holidays) you poke your head out and try to see where you are. Occasionally, you realize that you have forgotten fundamental things. You know the things that are most basic, and you forget or get distracted and you look back and for two years you've been leading a church without doing those simple basic things.

Then you feel the embarrassment. You feel stupid for having overlooked something so pedestrian. I mean, after all, you are a professional aren't you. You're the one who has been through over 200 credited hours of training to do this job. You see your mistake, and what do you do?

Get over it, and get to it.

That's what tomorrow's small group retreat is about. It is about an investment in the people of the church to train them in how to minister to others. To show them what the body of Christ is supposed to function like. It is written in our founding documents that training small group leaders would be a priority for us, and now two years later we're finally doing it.

In preparation for the retreat I remembered that I had already written the training three years ago. I knew it was a basic move on the front side, but here we are just getting to it.

Get over it, and get to it.

We'll never be the same again as a church after this weekend, because I'm getting over it, and I'm getting to it.

--Ben

Not much time to think let alone write

Earlier this week I received an email from someone who asked how I was really doing. She said that she checked in on the blog, but just wanted to hear the behind the scenes stuff as well. The fact is that I'm good, just extremely busy with school work this week. I told her that I try to be as transparent as possible on this site, without whining. But I guess at school time all my posts sound a little whiny. Sorry about that.

--Ben