Ben Hein
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Ben Hein
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
  • Church Planting
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Ben Hein
Ben Hein
  • Church Planting
  • About Me
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Counseling

    ChurchCounselingLeadershipPractical Theology

    Abusing Theological Power

    by Ben Hein May 22, 2020
    written by Ben Hein

    I sat in his office as a young 24-year-old man, eager to have an opportunity to start full-time ministry. Having worked part-time as a children’s director in this mega church (while still working full-time as a software developer), I was now being offered the chance to interview for a full-time position leading men’s ministry. I was excited that this opportunity had been set before me in the same church where I had come to faith and was now serving on staff. I had also recently been accepted into seminary, so I was sure that this was going to be my path toward ordained pastoral ministry.

    The pastor looked me up and down, and then began to silently read over my resume. He stopped almost right away. “You’re going to Reformed Theological Seminary? So you’re telling me you’re a Calvinist?” I had tried to prepare myself in case the conversation went this way. But I’d only been a Christian at this point for 2 years, a Calvinist for not even a full year. I hardly knew what Reformed really meant. I also knew that this church did not view Calvinism and the doctrines of grace positively.

    “Yes,” I nervously answered, “I do believe in the doctrines of grace.” What followed after my statement was a nightmare which took me several months to recover from. We never actually got to the interview – for two hours this pastor berated me and tried to engage me in debate over Calvinism. He made accusations against me simply because of his associations with Calvinism.

    I had no clue how to respond. He outclassed me in every sense of the word. He had been a pastor for years; I had hardly been a Christian for very long. He was a sharp communicator; I had barely begun to hone my communication skills. He was older; I was younger. He had position; my part-time position was now at stake. He had formal theological training; I’d read maybe a dozen theology books on my own.

    When the conversation ended this pastor looked at me and said, “You have no future at this church.” I was crushed. It wasn’t until recently that I was able to look at this experience and call it for what it was: spiritual and theological abuse.

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    May 22, 2020 0 comment 53 views
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  • CounselingPractical Theology

    Speaking Your Shame Story

    by Ben Hein January 14, 2019
    by Ben Hein January 14, 2019

    Like many people today, I have been deeply impacted by the work and writings of Dr. Brené Brown on the issues of shame and vulnerability. Brené (due to her personal writing style…

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  • CounselingPractical Theology

    Holistic Care for Depression-Anxiety

    by Ben Hein February 4, 2016
    by Ben Hein February 4, 2016

    This is a lengthy article. It is best read as a pdf, which you may find here. There is a great scene at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The…

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Ben Hein
  • Church Planting
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