Guest post from my brother, Joel

My Dad, my hero. . .. 

Joel Bennett, Ridin' Shotgun, http://ridinshotgun.blogspot.com/

Dad passed away last night. He heroically battled cancer for over a year. 

Now my dad is a Christian so I have full confidence that I'll see him again in heaven.
And if you'll indulge me, I want to share a few memories...this is for me...feel free to read or not.
My dad always provided for our needs...not always our wants, and, for that, I am glad. When we kids started putting our extra pennies in a huge poodle shaped bubble bath bottle to save for a horse, he smiled, at least I think it was a smile. He knew that was a want, not a need. He was wise. We didn't get that horse, and that was probably for the best. We always had more than enough food, shelter, stuff. When we were very little he had a friend with a backhoe dig in the swamp on the property to make it a swimming hole. It was a rainy Labor Day...I would take breaks from the Jerry Lewis Telethon to go watch. He stocked it with some fish that he and our neighbor, Carl, got at a fish hatchery. I got to go on that trip, too. Maybe he was making a fishing pond that we could swim in and not a swimming hole that he could fish in...either way it was great for a kid.

As we got older and the fish didn't survive in the murky swamp water, he bought and constructed a swimming pool in the back yard. We helped him build this incredible deck that surrounded half the pool. What a delight summer after summer.

We always had many animals. My first memory of pets was our german shepherd named Joker. Joker chased and ate bumblebees. I don't know why. He was big enough for us to lie down on, and amazingly let us do so. As we got older, and Joker went to doggie heaven, we got other dogs. One was Lobo, a black lab mix. On the ride home after the purchase of Lobo, he decided car riding wasn't good on his tummy. He abruptly ralphed on my leg. I still liked him. Many dogs came and went. Bananas was the longest tenured dog. She listened to me rant and rave on many occasions. We also had a working farm...not that we farmed, but we had farm animals. Dad and Mom always bought baby calves and we raised them for meat. My vegan friends wouldn't approve of that, but, come to think of it, I may not have any vegan friends. We also had goats...one time as many as 21. Springs were incredible when the mama goats would have the babies. Baby goats are so much fun! A friend of ours even did an article in the newspaper about Dad, the farm, the goats and Dad's earth conscious behavior. Dad read a magazine called "Mother Earth News". While the magazine itself was full of weird new age propaganda, he was able to glean the good stuff out of it to help provide for the family. He made a solar powered shower out of a barrel, put it up on the roof of a building he built, and we had warm showers without using any electricity. He was way ahead of his time. 

I really enjoyed growing up where I did and how I did. We worked hard cutting wood, taking care of the animals, taking care of the land and playing on a great property in the quiet of the country. 

Probably the best thing he ever did for us was to take us to church. I was in church at two weeks old. His faith, as far as I knew, never faltered. He taught Sunday School for as long as I can remember. When he began watching TBN and learned about the Holy Spirit, he studied voraciously. He taught us, too. When the knowledge and experience he had with the Holy Spirit grew, he moved the family to another church that embraced the Holy Spirit. The skill and leadership he had was used well at Union Chapel. He has many friends to attest to that.

My dad always had a hobby...some out of necessity, some out of pleasure. Again, sorry to my PETA friends, if I have any, but I remember Dad would trap. The animals he caught would be sold to provide for the family. His pleasure hobbies were always changing. He was very musically inclined. I remember as kid we would all sit in the den, or "gun room" as we would call it, and sing along with him as he played. He mostly played folk music on his autoharp. He was very good. He loved Peter, Paul and Mary, Flatts and Scruggs, and '50's music. In his job at the Central Indiana Gas Company, he would work a swing shift. This was hard on me, but way harder on him. One week he would work days, then two days off, then afternoons, then two days off, then midnights. Then the cycle would repeat. I don't know how his body always handled that. It was just like him. It had to be done, so he did it. He had to perpetually be in jet lag mode. Anyway, his job provided him some down time, especially in the wee hours of the morning, so he would learn a new skill. He picked up a harmonica and taught himself how to play. He was very skilled at that, too. He got into CB radios. He used them to talk to the family when he was out of the house or driving way before cell phones were the norm. He also set up an elaborate cb at home that he would try to talk to the world with. He had a map on the wall with pushpins on the countries he'd talk to. I remember Japan as one of them along with all fifty states. When computers came along, he slowly made the trek into that world. He became very skilled at surfing the net for information, Photoshop, and great emails. In the past few years, he realized his dream...retirement and a pond. This time around, he designed the pond, had it dug professionally, stocked it with great bass and bluegill and cared for it meticulously. I think that may have been his proudest accomplishment on his property. It is still a great gathering place for all the family.

He traveled this country in the National Guard...took us on great vacations including Washington, DC, Charleston, SC and Panama City, FL. He loved deep sea fishing. He traveled the world spreading the Gospel. He went to India on several occasions and made some lifelong friends with some believers there. 

He helped shape me into who I am today. He took care of the earth. He took care of others. He took care of us. He led people to the Lord. 

He took the talents God gave him and multiplied them. 
And he made God smile. I know it.

And then some. . .

I was challenged at church today. Our pastor spoke about how to do well at your job and enjoy it at the same time. Along the way (I say "along the way" because I really don't remember the context!) he said that three words make the difference between just getting  by with our work and really knocking it out of the park: And then some. 

Most workers do what it takes. Excellent workers do what it takes, and then some. Sometimes we do the minimum. What if we did the minimum and then some? He challenged us to think about our town (which presently suffers from a collective self-esteem problem) and what would happen if everyone decided to do what was required and then some. It's a cool vision. 

I'm going to try to keep this rolling around in my head for a few days. It would do me good (and maybe some others) if I would do what was right and then some. 

Yeah, well, I've got a wish. . .

We celebrated Ann's 12th birthday this evening with friends, presents, and cake. At a lull in the action, I posed a question, "Got any birthday wishes? Any wishes for your twelfth year?"

Check out the video (low bandwidth folks read below):



Anna says she has no wishes. Well, I have a wish for her: My dear, never grow older than twelve.

Ladderball

We tried out a new game during our recent staff day at the lake: Ladderball. You may know it as Hillbilly Golf or an even less flattering moniker. Since it was pretty fun and I'd found a bag of old golf balls left by the previous owners of our house, I thought it would be fun to make one today. A quick trip to Lowes, just under $20, two hours of time and we're playing ladderball in our front yard. So far I'm the reigning champion. That is, if you don't count Ann or the dynamic duo of Alia and Abigail, who have all beaten me!

Here's the photographic evidence:

Queen of Jumping

Once a year our pastor opens his lake cottage to the staff for a big time party day. God smiled on the event with gorgeous weather. The water was fine, the fellowship warm, and the enjoyment the kids had was worth the price of admission.

Abigail, who's six, demonstrated admirable bravery and jumped off the top level of the dock. The twelve foot plunge was scarier for me than I like to admit the first time we went off the edge hand in hand. After a few duo drops, she continued on her own. If you've got the bandwidth, enjoy these two videos.



"I am the queen of jumping," Abigail says just before she takes the plunge.



Solo jump as seen from the lower deck. 

Sermon hat trick

I heard three sermons today. So, as you might imagine, I’m feeling pretty holy.



This wasn't one of the three preachers I heard today, but it is cool that he has two microphones!

Pastor Matt and I took our interns to a Lutheran church as part of our effort to introduce them to different styles of following Jesus. That service, which featured real, but nasty, wine, ended just after nine am. This gave me enough time to zip over and slip into Union Chapel just as announcements ended for the first service. Gregg’s sermon was sharp, but not longer than usual. (Surprising since he’d been out of the pulpit for three weeks!) A quick hop across the parking lot and I was ready for message number three at CommonWay.

The first sermon had to do with prayer. While I’m a big fan of prayer, I’m afraid most of the content was pushed out of my brain by the latter two sermons.

Sermon two was the first in a three part series on service and volunteering. It centered around Moses’s call at the burning bush, particularly God’s question to Moses, “What’s in your hand?” The key point was that God has put stuff in our hands and given us opportunity to use it for His kingdom. We can if we will. What’s in your hand?

The third message (far and away the longest!) dealt with Christ’s reign in our lives and how it works out not only in good times but also in bad. It featured a brilliant real life example of letting Jesus carry out his character building work when life is bleak and challenging. The speaker was honest and authentic, without being maudlin. I appreciated it.

Are you wondering which was best? Keep wondering. In the unlikely event that someone besides my mom reads this blog, ranking them could only mean trouble!

Looking for God's Kingdom in Louisville

I’m writing this afternoon from Louisville, KY. The family is on a bit of a pilgrimage with some friends to sit in on two meetings with evangelist Todd Bentley. We’re in line right now at 3.30 pm, waiting for the doors to open at 5.30. Both the temperature and the humidity are right around 100, and I’m wondering if I’m nuts. In spite of the heat, people are singing, crying and praying for the sick right in the line. Wild.



Joseph and the line between us and the door.



This lady has a lucky green ticket that got her and whoever had one into the building 30 minutes ahead of those (like us) who were totally green ticketless!

I don’t know what you’ve heard about Todd Bentley or the goings on in Lakeland, FL, but it’s fun to think about God’s kingdom growing in fresh ways in our midst.

One thing that struck me, both as we’ve watched the revival online, and today here in Louisville, is the degree to which the focus is placed on Jesus. I don’t have much experience with this sort of thing, so I have little to compare it to. I do know that my cynical side would expect the focus to be on the main guy or on the healings. There’s a bit of that going on here, but not as much as I feared. The proof of that pudding will be if similar stuff happens on a similar scale without the Bentley-boy showing up.

Which is a key reason why we’re here. We’re wondering if God might desire to work in similar ways in our church.

Cool healing: A war veteran who’d been in a wheel chair or electric cart for 41 years, got up, walked, leapt and praised the Lord. His wife confirmed this was a whole new deal for him. She then got prayed for healing of a couple major issues. It was precious to watch them hug onstage, enjoying their divine two for one deal.

Heartbreaking sight: The service wrapped up, leaving a possibly Bengali couple onstage holding an obviously troubled child of one or two. They stood there, nearly alone, looking confused, as the focus of the meeting shifted away from the stage. I prayed that God would meet their needs some way.

Walking away from the meeting, I thought that it was probably good that Jesus came to the planet when he did. Early in the gospel of Mark the whole town gathered at Jesus' door and he heals many who had various diseases. What would happen today? When thousands can fly or drive to a place where people are getting healed, how would Jesus have handled it?

For that matter, how does Todd Bentley handle walking away when there are unmet needs? But the guy’s got to sleep. A friend once talked about the stress he felt while running an eye hospital in Azerbaijan. There were always more people than he could help. Every hour he didn’t work meant that someone who might have been helped remained sightless. That’ll keep you up at night.

May God give his people the wisdom to do the work he’s designed for them to do (Ephesians 2.10) and not stress about the rest. Jesus gave us a good model for this. He said, “I can do only what I see the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does..” (John 5.19)