Ben's Buzz

New Blog

2011-04-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

Wore this blog out with all 10 posts I've had in the last 5 years... Started a new one! Actually, my wife did, but I'm claiming it as well. So follow:

www.jbjensen.blogspot.com

Prayer

2010-06-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

I recently read the book The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose. It's subtitle "A sinner's semester at America's holiest university," states well what the book is about- Kevin, an agnostic spends a semester at Liberty University. Anyways, I've had a lot of challenges and thoughts from reading the book and thought I'd share one.

Towards the end of his experience, Kevin finds himself enjoying and gaining a lot from spiritual disciplines. Through daily homework, which is scripture reading and memorization, and being discipled he finds himself enjoying some of the changes in his life. On of the biggest areas of difference for him is praying. Here is one thing his mentor said about what prayer is all about

1) Remember God is your Father. Prayer is a way that we have a relationship with Him, making it a 2-way street.

2) Prayer is often more about changing yourself rather than God changing His mind or changing things.

As I thought and reflected about this, I had an epiphany: "Prayer is about submission not supplication." See, I've had a struggle in my prayer life and tossed around the argument of how much does prayer affect situations/how does that relate to God's omnipotence? As I get caught up in this theological argument in my head, it deters my prayer life and I try to get things figure out, instead of allowing prayer to change me.

Father, I commit to walking with You in prayer. Rather than seeking You to change things in my life, I pray that You will change me so that I can be used to change others. Change my heart to love others more than myself, to care for those in need, and to be compassionate.

All this reminds me of the new song by Jaron and the Long Road to Love- Pray for You (don't take it literally)

Haven’t been in church since
I don’t remember when
Things were going great
Til they fell apart again
So I listened to the preacher
As he told me what to do
Said you can’t go hating othes
who done wrong to you
Sometimes we get angry
But we must not condemn
Let the good Lord do his job
And you just pray for them

I pray your brakes go out
Running down a hill
I pray and flower pot falls
From a window sill
And knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray your flying high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know wherever you are
Honey, I pray for you

Really glad I found my way to church
Cause I’m already feeling better and I thank God for the words
So I’m gonna take the high road
And do what the preacher told me to do
You keep messing up
And I’ll keep praying for you

I pray your tire blows out at 110
I pray you pass out with your best friend
And wake up with his and her tattoos

Wherever you are, near or far, in your house or in your car
Wherever you are honey, I pray for you

Leadership

2009-09-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks I listened, learned, discussed, and taught about what leadership is. Just under a month ago we had a Salt staff retreat to discuss what leadership should look like in Salt Company, and then a couple weeks ago we had the Salt leader's retreat which is where leadership is discussed further and what leadership looks like for Salt this year, and then this last week was filled with a lovely week-long orientation for MBA classes, where we discussed and learned more about leadership. I was so intrigued as to how we as a Christian ministry would compare to the worldview of Iowa State Business when it came to leadership development, strategy, and standards.

So, I'd like to give you a real quick multiple answer (or maybe better known as multiple guess) quiz. I'm going to write a number of statements below, and you simple guess whether it comes from ISU MBA or from Salt Company.

It's not about being the biggest and best, its through great relationships that make for great reward!
Being a good leader is not about yourself. It is about putting other's interest before your own. It is key to know who is under you.
You must know and take care of each member of your team. You are given a responsibility, a flock if you will.
Leadership is about your mentality. You must think like a leader to be a leader.
Leadership is about overcoming challenges and teaching others to do the same.
Leadership is about understanding that it isn't about leadership, each part and person is essential to the productivity and efficiency of the company.
Just care!
In this day, leaders are needed more than ever.
When you're a leader and you're creating a strategy that is unclear or vague, a true leader will take a step of faith to do what he senses is right.

It was a trick, they both said each one... In more or less words. The "just care" seems like its the biggest stretch (since it was the Salt Leader's motto), but one of the MBA core professors used it as his motto as well! He was also the one that said you should take a leap of faith. Maybe he's a believer or just likes to hang out with Mark Arant.

So, at first this really surprised me. I literally was laughing out loud throughout MBA orientation. I mean, how ironic is it that being a good leader in ministry is so similar to being a good leader for any business company? Unbelievable! How could it be that the MBA orientation would have been nearly adequate for a Salt leader's retreat?

Then it dawned on me. It makes so much sense! What it takes to succeed in the business world is EXACTLY the same as how to excel in Christian ministry. I mean, there is a whole class on ethics in the MBA. And then I continued down to think about the need for leaders right now. Could there be a correlation between the need of leaders during this economic crisis and the need for leaders during the deterioration of the American church? Not to say that it is solely because we don't have good enough leaders or that leading is even really the problem. You see, in my mind and I think in the mind of our culture, we put leaders in a higher position (though, yes, they will be judged at a higher standard).

You see, a leader isn't someone that is better. Their isn't an amount of righteousness or self-confidence you have to achieve to be a person that impacts others. But I do find it interesting that we are in a time that there is a drastic necessity for leaders, especially men. And how do we do this? Its simple and practical. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

What do you see in this picture?

I see an example...

Just care! Love! Be brutally honest about who you are, what you're struggling with, what you've FAILED at... Care about those around you. Man, if only we were to love like Christ loved us...

The day the Google machine crashed

2009-09-01T14:16:00.001-07:00

For the last hour of my life the server for gmail has not worked. I went to Black Engineering to print off some much needed material to complete my homework for tomorrow (two 30 page case studies). In the morning I will be graded on my participation in class over these articles. Gmail did not load, so I switched to the next computer. But, to my great disappointment, it would not work there. After this, I went to Gerdin with no luck and finally used a different user's sign in and Lago and yet, gmail would not load. Now here I sit in my apartment and still gmail will not load.

So this bought my imagination to the day the Google machine crashed! Oh, what a dreaded day that would be in my life! Here is a quick look as to what would happen if not only gmail, but google were to crash in my life:
I wouldn't be able to write this blog
I wouldn't know what I was supposed to be doing right now
I wouldn't know where I was supposed to be
I wouldn't know that the word of the day is "autochthonous," which if I were to use in a sentence it would be: The autochthonous fauna of Australia includes the kangaroo.
I wouldn't know the current weather of my five choices as I looked at the current news from different providors and saw the reception podcasts from Cornerstone as well as the current date and time with a notepad of things to do, while having the option of search wikipedia or google or simply look at the quotes of the day.
I wouldn't be able to assist people in getting connected in Connection Groups at Salt Company, or connect with leaders, or get those CG's to have the right number of people in their groups, or even know who is in whose leader's groups.
I wouldn't know who is supposed to get an invitation to my wedding
I wouldn't have about 50% of my homework
I would have to work to see who has written a recent blog
I wouldn't have this nifty picture attached at the bottom.
I couldn't conveniently chat with friends and family via text or video.

Wow... That's just scratching the surface!

So, I may be dependent on Google. Thank you, Google, for your free services to me and the rest of the world. Through you I my life is made simpler and faster... Or is it? Maybe if I just used a calendar, notepad, and other such things I could be as simple and efficient... But then where would that fun breakdown over the last hour go?

Father, shine Your face on Google! May it never crash...

Well, I'm off to go search through my 7117 emails to figure out what exactly that VBS set looked like that Tim Young and Jase Rohde helped construct back in the summer of '07

A taste of heaven...

2009-05-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Went to Anthem last Thursday... It was nothing short of anointed and majestic! Wow, had an awesome time with my East Asia team during the first Anthem time. So exciting to see how the Lord is growing us closer together and how He has provided for us to financially and even more as we prepare to see His harvest grow this summer... And once we stepped into Cornerstone, it was just amazing to feel the Spirits presence all around!

During the 9 o'clock service, I was moved to tears multiple times for various reasons. I was literally bawling during the song, "God take the day..." as I looked around and saw so many faces rejoices and asking our Father to show up in a mighty way... As I looked around and saw the next generation dying to themselves to glorify the Lord, I saw ones who had wandered and returned, ones who were broken and hurting, ones who were rejoicing and glad, ones who were of different nations, ones who had different talents and gifts, ones who were leaving to see God's kingdom grow all over the world... When I saw this, I saw that we had a taste of heaven! I was shook to the core as I rejoiced in the work God was doing, and that THIS was going to be heaven, praising the Lord all the day long!

The worship was amazing... After the recorded service the band was begged to come back and played 3 more songs where the Spirit was SO thick! I got to rejoice and worship with Mike Easton who will be leaving for the next few years to further the Lord's kingdom in East Asia, Jase Rohde who I'll be going to East Asia with this summer, and Lance Algood who I went to India with last summer... How awesome?!? Not to mention catching Mark Arant as he does a cannonball into the crowd to do some crowd surfing (which I'm positive was a dream come true for him), and throwing up Mike E as we sent him off in the last worship time together...

Father, praise You for showing up in an awesome way! May You be glorified and honored... We want to live our lives for Your glory! Take the day!

Engagement

2009-04-21T00:22:00.000-07:00

So I got engaged! Turns out that each time I tell the story it changes... I feel like its very similar to my God story. You know, its not the same for each person you tell it to. It becomes more relatable to different people, theres also the choice of the 5-minute, 2-minute or 30-second story... Anyways, heres the story tailored to a blog:

So I started talking to my parents about engagement back in February... It turned out that I had been thinking a little bit more seriously or rather a more quick timeline than my parents were initially. The conversation that started February became a continual conversation all the way till April. My parents have always been supportive of my relationship with Jera and have always loved her. They gave me their blessing officially on April 13th...

Up to this point, I wanted to make sure to protect my heart, so I really hadn't done that much planning. But, the next day I went with my mom and got a ring. By nothing short of a miracle it came in at 4 that Friday, and I had a date set up for 6 with Jera. We went to Petersen's Pit and grilled some burgers while we played catch. We got to talk about our summers ahead and what God is going to do as we head to East Asia. Once it got dark we headed to and old abandoned school and looked at the stars from the roof (awesome!). From there, it got a little chilly and so we went to Jera's place, where she thought the evening was over...

But, I convinced her that it was Vieshea and that we should go be social... So, I told her I wanted my car to be safe so we started to walk toward campus, but we took a detour to an abandoned railroad bridge by Brookside Park. She actually was the first one to show me this place, and we both absolutely love it! So, our friends, Jase Rohde and Jessica Schmeckpeper, had put down a table top with some candles, flowers, cheesecake, and made it all look really nice. At this point, I was pretty nervous, so I pulled out my journal and gave her an entry from a year ago from that night. That was a prayer that I wrote in response to a conversation with Jase after he had set me up on a date with her... At that point, I told her from that point on there were many things I didn't know, but the one thing I did know was that I wanted to spend my life with her, and then asked her to stand up and asked her to marry me. She said yes and then cried and Jase and Jess came out from their hiding (with Brian Jones) and helped us celebrate. Later on we went to Vieshea stuff to celebrate with more friends...

So, I'm marrying Jera Lee somewhere around January 2, 2010... Couldn't be happier! Below is a pic the next day (notice my right eye scar... Thanks Kent Spray!)

Another cool note about this date we had that I forgot to mention earlier... While we were grilling and chatting at Petersen's Pits, we had the amazing blessing of watching an eagle fly around for a good 15 minutes and then sit across the pond from us perched and watching over us... It reminded us of Mark Arant's love for eagles and his parallels of God's goodness, look at: http://metropuritan.blogspot.com/2009/03/eagles.html

And it reminded me of the Eagle Song by Go Fish in their Out of Breath acapella CD (2003)
"I stood and watched an eagle glide, spread his wings, and soared across the sky. So gracefully he flew. Rising effortlessly. I wanted to know just how to be free." ~"The Eagle Song" Go Fish

It was awesome to have the assurance of God watching over us... How good He is, and how He will be our guidance that as we take this next step, He will be the focus of our eyes and that all our joy and pleasure would be found in Him. Praise You Father for blessing me beyond what I could ever ask or imagine!

Manly Men

2009-03-04T11:09:00.001-08:00

I decided to throw this photo in as a teaser for the blog to come. This is a picture of me and five guys from spring break 08. We stayed in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tenesse (12 of us all together). There were 6 sophomores and 6 freshmen. Our desire was to explore what real manhood looked like, studying the life of David and camping out! So the six pictured above (probably the manliest there, others would say differently) decided to go on a hike to the highest point... Not just any hike, but a 14 mile hike! Knowing this would take most all day, we packed up some food and left for our venture early in the morning. One of the greatest things about camping is that you wake up early, the other is that time doesn't matter, it's all about the ammount of daylight! So, after having pancakes and hashbrowns over an open fire and hearing about David conquerring Goliath, we set off to conquer our own Goliath. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was shining. We tried to keep a good pace in order to finish within daylight, jogging uphill occasionally. After about 7 miles the weather turned to smoky, foggy, wet, and cold! We picked up the pace some more as we reached higher altitudes. Upon nearing the summit, we ran into some friends from high school (the world is really small). Then shortly after that, we made it! IT was very cold at this point, and we were excited to wait for Jase to arrive with the Suburban to give us a ride back....

Which brings me to the next great thing about camping... No cell phone service! Which it is a valid question as to why I lost my cell phone somewhere amongst the mountains while chasing a deer... So, we logically brought walkie-talkies to communicate, however we had run out of batteries and none of our cell phones worked. We were already late for Jase to pick us up, so when we couldn't find him we feared he may have already left... Then two bicyclists came up on the road and we asked them if they had seen a suburban. They kindly notified us that the road was closed... 7 miles ago! Now we couldn't communicate with our ride and we were REALLY late. At this point, Jase doesn't have a great reputation for being patient, but an even worse reputation for spending time by himself (eg. waiting for a few hours for lost friends by himself in Podunk, TN)... So, the 6 of us double time down the hill. We toss our walking sticks on the side of the rode and try to do 5 minute walk and 5 minute jog. Each one of us testing our patience thin and our physical capacity to its fine limits. I can safely say that if it weren't for Jonas Bergen's shear joy, we would not have made it! But, a while later we did... Conquering the infamous 21 mile trek.

All to be said, we are manly men! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJGwVBvJMPM

Quarter life crisis...

2009-02-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

Started this blog literally a month ago, but forgot to finish it until now:

So I've always made fun of people when they go through a "midlife crisis." I've always found that it is just a psychological thing that is experienced when someone is realizing that they have grown old and are now on the 'decline' of sorts of their age. Individuals feel that they have now been through their adult stage of life where they can enjoy their toys and stuff and now are elders who can't do the things they once did. At this point individuals typically will go buy whatever toys they once thought they would own, or travel to places they said they would travel, or do things they once thought they would do... So, I felt that this was a silly thing to go through because I of course would have done all that I ever desired to do and there would be no crisis to go through...

That was until a few weeks ago...

So it was Januay 28th, and I was feeling the toll of winter and classes! I had just gotten back from Colorado a couple days before (which was amazing!), but as I was sitting, nay sulking at work in the hall desk my mind wandered to sunshine and beaches. So, I decided to facebook my dear friend Jase Rohde, and simply asked him if he wanted to visit his mom in California this weekend as long as we were back by Tuesday. Then I continued my day until he texted me at 4, asking if he should change his oil or not...

So, there needs to be more of a background here of the character of the friendship I have with Jase. Jase and I have been dear brothers since the first semester of college, and namely the first time we shared a single bed at our freshman group retreat (another blog itself). Basically, Jase, Ben Hunt and a few other guys like that, we all have a unique relationship. Well, there is a lot of creativity in that group, which causes for much talk to be made, big ideas. In addition, there is a lot of doers in the group, so any big idea becomes a reality a lot quicker than it would in a typical group of friends.

Long story short: Jase, Jordan Adams and I left for California at 7:30 Wednesday night, made it Santa Maria, California around 10:30 Thursday night. The whole trip was kind of a haze, but it was sunny and 80! We spent most of Friday and Saturday on the beach beating the locals in sand volleyball. It was great to spend a weekend with Jase's family. His mom and dad are amazing and such an amazing model of parenting and loving the orphans and Christ commanded the church (another blog itself also). We then came back early Sunday morning, stopped in Vegas for a few hours to watch the superbowl at the Hilton Center with 10 projectors and hundreds of people (that could be a blog too). Got back Monday night sometime...

Well, me being me, I spent the whole weekend thinking a whole lot (not different than any other weekend). I was not that surprised by my decision to go on the trip, except for the clear irresponsibility and the fact that I left many things unfinished that could really get me in trouble. But really, I wanted to get to the root of my actions here. Was it really just winter blues? Did I really want to see Jase's family that bad? Did I really want to spend quality time with two of my most dearly loved brothers for a whole weekend? Was there something more?

I think all these questions had some truth rooted in them. What I truly found through the weekend, was that there were a lot of things on my mind that needed settled in my heart. Namely, what in the world am I going to do for the rest of my life? I had been struggling with decisions like where to live, if I should do grad school, and other life changing decisions. Really, I was overwhelmed with the multitude of blessings God had bestowed upon my life and He blessed me once again to give me a time to reflect and seek His face and wisdom in those decisions. So, I had a quarter-life crisis and wanted to get away... I bought a shotgun, buying a new motorcycle... Hey, I'm even going to China! Call it a crisis, but moreso I know I have been blessed beyond belief and I will make the most of every opportunity God has placed before me!

So I went to California for a weekend... It's a great story and I learned so much! I learned that I like my girlfriend, Jera a whole lot more than I even knew was even possible. I missed her every moment and it was incredible to see how God has worked in our lives and hearts the last year. I learned how much I love being with brothers and talkin about deep things while challenging eachother's views in a righteous way. I learned so much more about God's beauty, seeing the mountains and different landscapes between here and the coast. And I learned that sometimes you neeed to do things that don't make any sense in order to see God work in ways that you have never seen!

Would I do it again? Definetely! As long as I can bring at least one more friend...

Election '08

2008-11-06T09:31:00.001-08:00

I stole this from Mark Arant's blog, which he stole from somebody else (don't you love sharing on the internet?)... But, I've been trying to wrap my head and heart around how I should react and should be reacting to the elections this year over the last week or so. And well this is exactly what I want to feel and say. Sometimes I wish I could talk like John Piper... But this is truly how I believe followers of Christ should be reacting to this election, because this is under God's sovereignty! It saddens me to hear the negative responses, and hearing that even little children are griping about "the anti-Christ" being elected while sharing during Sunday School! Anyways, listen to this and remember that God works for the good, no matter the way we see it or desire it, it is in accordance of His will.

http://eliot.landrum.cx/post/57578651/john-piper-on-the-2008-elections

How Great?

2008-10-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

How great is our God?

Sing with me!

How great is our God?

And ALL will see

How Great is our GOD!!!

As I sang this song this morning, it struck me. How great IS our God? I've always sang that more as a statement then a question, saying "God you are great." Which is great, but I fear it was me putting God in a box of greatness, and today I sit and ponder how great is our God? Singing that as a question. How great are You? Lord open our eyes to Your greatness!

He wraps Himself in Light- God's goodness... Not even darkness can hide from His love and goodness!

Beginning and the End- Time is completely in Your hands, You have complete control. You are constant throughout time: always loving, full of grace, full of justice!

The GodHead 3 in 1- Father, Spirit, Son... How great is that? I can't fathom the mystery of His trinity!

Name above all names- God, You are worthy of our praise at all times! My heart will continually cry out how great You are!

I only have a glimpse now of how great You are, Father! I cry out for you to reveal Yourself, Lord that you would give us a taste here on Earth of the treasures that are to come when we are united with You! Hide us under the shadow of Your wings, we desire to look upon Your face and be completely awed with Your greatness. We rejoice with all the blessings You give us and we cry out for even more grace to be shown that we may give that grace and love to those around us. Father, You are so great! I'm so humbled by Your grace and mercy.

What would it look like to live with this truth continually? What kind of life would we live if we really took God out of our box and lived believing in who He is, our great God who sent His Son to die on the cross, who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we might have life! What if we believed that He loves us and wants to give us what is best, wants to grant us the desires of our hearts and wants us to be completely satisfied in who He is through Jesus? What if we believed He is a God of righteous wrath who calls us to believe in Him and sin no more? What if we believed that there is no satisfaction in disobedience and that we will be held responsible for our actions? What would it look like if we believed the words that come out of our mouths when we say "How great is our God?"

My life would be different... My life will be different... What about you? What would God have you do as a result of His greatness? I want to do what David desired to do:

Psalm 145:1-3 I will exalt you, my God the King, I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

Sing with me: Yeshu acha he!

TII-This is India

2008-09-22T21:46:00.000-07:00

This is a phrase that I used with a few girls that went to Delhi, India with me this summer. What does TII mean? While watching Blood Diamond, the phrase "This Is Africa" is used to establish that you must accept a certain fate to live in Africa. TII means a number of different things really, but I'd like to reflect on a few certain genres: "Oh India" moments, general memories of our trip, and brokenness for this nation and the general fate of those living there.

TII-Oh India... We also coined the phrase "Oh India" during this trip. This is used when something happens or something that is seen that can only be described with a general sigh and saying "Oh India!" I think the best way to explain this would be through a few stories... About halfway through our trip we were having some team conflict and decided that we needed to take a vacation from New Delhi and visit Jaipur, so we went and bought train tickets (which is an experience in itself because the con-artist market in Delhi thrives off foolish Americans) and decided to leave 8 hours later (3am)... So we pack the 5 of us into a Tazi at 2am and Grant has his hand out the window. Moments later Grant lets out a "Gross!" and reveals his hand with some type of fecal matter on it from brushing something outside and we then proceed to wash his hand outside the car so that we all don't smell like poop. Upon arrival at the train station we walk to the far North (don't ask why I remember that) end of the track to wait for our train where it is clearly labeled our car will be. As we carry our luggage there we walk past numerous rats, people urinating or defecating, cockroaches and hundreds of nationals looking at us like we're idiots. The train arrives 30 minutes late and we jump into what we jump into our sleeper car and lie down anticipating great sleep. Suddenly we are told that our car is actually at the front of the train on the South end (the complete other side for non-directional people). So we pick up our luggage and sprint through undetermined puddles to the complete other end of the train [I count this as completing my goal of running through an airport to catch an airplane]... This Is India!

TII-General memories... This phrase can also be used when sharing common memories. Whether that be walking around and having sweat be produced in nearly every nook and cranny of your body, or seeing three guys ride a motorcycle together around campus wearing construction hats as helmets, all these memories are shared in the phrase- This Is India!

TII- Brokenness for India... Yet another thing that words just can't explain (hence the phrase encompassing all unsaid things about the trip)! How can I even start to explain the heartbreak that is felt? Well, first off, it is completely supernatural and has grown so much more since I've been gone than since I was there... The brokenness begins for our friends, solely because their eyes are shut to what the one true God is doing! How sad that they can see answered prayer, yes even miracles and even believe that Yeshu is god, but yet He is just another Murti (god) to add? Oh, how my heart breaks! What plain evidence that the Light shines in the darkness but the darkness does not understand! On top of that, the Good News is shared rarely, but even when it is shared it is shared in a way that disrespects the culture and demands a follower to leave their whole socioeconomic class and community. The brokenness for a nation where the workers are few (and praise God for those workers!) and the message is misinterpreted is so indescribable! My heartbreak only begins there. My heart breaks for: the kids at the school we went to, the beggar between Sant Nagar and Laj Pat with no legs, the boys at the park, the woman always on the corner between Sant Nagar and Nehru Place, the guys at L-block in Saket, the beggar boys in Saket, the boy that bit me...

This Is India! This is what the phrase means to me. TII... Brings a flood of emotions that I can hardly describe, but I praise God for those emotions and for having a glimpse of His heart for these people and I praise God to have 2 wonderful men and women that I know I can glance at and mention TII and know that they share with me similar feelings!

Psalm 81:8-10
Hear, O my people, and I will warn you--- if you would but listen to me! You shall have no foreign god among you, you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the LORD your God... Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.