Ben Hein
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Ben Hein
Monday, January 23, 2023
  • Church Planting
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Ben Hein
Ben Hein
  • Church Planting
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A Root of Bitterness and Cynicism

January 23, 2023 0 comment

MLK 101

January 12, 2023 0 comment

The Cause-Playing Church

January 9, 2023 0 comment

God Has Not Othered Us

December 7, 2022 0 comment

Some Thoughts on Grief

June 8, 2022 1 comment

Does Jesus Care About Gentrification?

March 24, 2022 0 comment
    ChurchFeaturedPractical Theology

    A Root of Bitterness and Cynicism

    by Ben Hein January 23, 2023
    written by Ben Hein 5 minute read

    Bitterness and cynicism are my strongest spiritual gifts.

    Or so I used to think, anyways.

    Before I became a Christian, bitterness was something of a hobby of mine. My early Christian faith merely gave me language to justify it. Bitterness gave me gifts of “discernment”; and didn’t God’s truth need me to defend it? Although I’d only been a Christian for a few years, it was obvious that the American church was shallow, and I would be one of the noble few to revive it. If I didn’t bully you into accepting John Calvin into your heart then who would, you know? I saw bitterness as a gift which gave me wisdom, knowledge, and courage.

    All of that changed as I moved into ministry and began interacting with ministry leaders who were much older than me. I noticed that the leaders I revered and most wanted to imitate exhibited no hint of bitterness or cynicism in their public ministries. In fact, they were marked most by compassion, gentleness, and patience – often being publicly moved to tears out of love for Christ and his church. It was the grumpy pastors who were marked by bitter argument, incessant arguments, interminable complaints, and cynical slander who repulsed me.

    I knew then that I had a choice to make: either dig up my root of bitterness (Heb. 12:15) or be consumed by it (Amos 6:12). It has been a daily fight since then not to give into this bitter fruit – this “wormwood” – but to continue pulling it out until I might be freed of it. I suspect I will be digging up this weed until I see Jesus face to face.

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    January 23, 2023 0 comment 19 views
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  • Book RecommendationsFeaturedPractical TheologyRacism and White Supremacy

    MLK 101

    by Ben Hein January 12, 2023
    by Ben Hein January 12, 2023 12 minute read

    In 2016 I sat down to read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. I haven’t been the same since. I grew up hearing about Dr. King in school as…

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  • ChurchChurch PlantingFeatured

    The Cause-Playing Church

    by Ben Hein January 9, 2023
    by Ben Hein January 9, 2023 10 minute read

    I had an active imagination as a child. It didn’t take much for me to get lost in fantasy worlds of my own making. My imaginative play often took the form of…

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  • ChurchCultureFeatured

    God Has Not Othered Us

    by Ben Hein December 7, 2022
    by Ben Hein December 7, 2022 5 minute read

    A few years ago I was an active member of an atheistic, freethinking group in my area. Their honest friendship humbled and challenged me in ways that were deeply formative. In fact,…

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Ben Hein
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