Our Ever Present God

For the last almost five years I've served at Central Peninsula Church. My family arrived here just days after we went from two to three campuses. We've met so many different people, in different stages of life, in different areas of the Peninsula. It's been a wonderful learning experience serving at a large multisite church.

My great friend Rob Hall leads our North Campus. On May 28 I preached my last sermon up there (until they invite me back in a few years). I had a blast with the team up there. For my last sermon I had a stand alone. A stand alone sermon is one that isn't based in a series. I was able to connect with God and see what would be best for them. What came to mind was Psalm 20:7. My aim was to only preach on that verse but it would have been unwise to not preach the Psalm as a whole.

The sermon is timely for my life also with our transition. June 11 will be my last day on staff at CPC. It's been a great five years. I've served with some great people, learned a ton and grown a whole bunch. It's going to take an entire post on it's own to express my gratitude to CPC for the time I've been able to learn here. Until that post is ready, you can catch the entire message here on Vimeo

05/28/2017 - Neal Benson | An ever present God from Central Peninsula Church on Vimeo.

Foster City Campus Fun

Babe Ruth once said: "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."

I serve with one of the best teams in the world. We've played well together. We've won battles and fought the spiritual battle as a whole. I will miss this team. See I've been a big team proponent because I know the value of a team and how we can accomplish something together. I also know that every team needs to take a break from the daily grind and get out and have fun!

Last week our team practiced this. We had a staff retreat slotted in the month of June but with my transition our team decided we needed to have a fun day to celebrate all God has done here in the last five years. Different ideas were thrown out but what stuck was indoor skydiving. Now I had been indoor skydiving before but the rest of the team hadn't been. With the short notice not everyone was able to participate. In fact, one got sick the day before and one wasn't able to due to a previous injury.

We had a blast! We each took three flights and enjoyed [almost] every minute of it. Now the reason I share this is because some of you need to lead up and encourage others to have fun with your staff team or volunteer team. My team led up. They encouraged us to make this happen. They thought of the idea, helped plan the day and then we all laughed. Investing in team time is very important. Although this will be my last fun day with my team, we will all remember this for the rest of our lives!

Here is a video from one of my flights. Pretty stoked I started to get the hang of it and the instructor let me fly solo

New Call: New City, New Church

Seventeen years ago I made a commitment to God. While sitting in a jail cell late at night I said: "God if you're real get me out of here and I'll do whatever you want." It was a Hail Mary, a last chance effort. Never did I imagine that commitment would involve being a pastor!

For the last almost 5 years I've had the privilege of serving at Central Peninsula Church. In 2012 we moved our family to the Bay Area to follow the call of Christ. It's been a great learning experience that added to the decade of pastoral experience I came here with.

When we moved here I was 32 and had mainly served with students. It was a big step for our family to move here. God has given me the joy of leading a team of leaders to impact our region. CPC has entrusted me to lead a staff team of people. Our Elders have worked with me to hone my preaching style and grow in communicating to adults. For a few years I was able lead the charge for the Global Leadership Summit here. There was a season of serving as our children's champion and helping create consistency on all three of our campuses. Mark invited me to travel with him to Rwanda and Cambodia. In addition to that, I've had the awesome opportunity to lead our Young Adults ministry.

When we moved here our kids had never been to school. Sophie was three and Leah was two. They both had their first day of preschool while living here. They both started Elementary school here. They both learned to ride bikes here. We also added Isaiah to our family. They all started snowboarding in Tahoe while living here. What a gift it's been to live here.

About six months ago my mentor called me and said: "Neal, I know a church in Ventura that would be a great fit for you. They're going to be looking for a new pastor soon." He knew I had been open to a new call on my life. So I began processing with my pastor and elders. I sought wisdom from my mentor and a close group of friends.

After a few interviews with the search team in Ventura they unanimously recommended me to the elders at this church. I met with the elders and they unanimously recommended me to the church. After a weekend visit I was offered the role when the church voted to call me as the Senior Pastor with a 98% affirmation!

A few weeks ago I enthusiastically accepted the call to serve at Coastline Bible Church in Ventura. This is a bittersweet decision. Charity and I are going to miss our Bay Area friends who have become family. But we're thrilled to follow God on this new adventure.

Our heart has always been for God to move us closer to family. In recent months my parents have had some health issues so this is great timing. This move puts us much closer to family and brings us back to our So Cal roots. The role is a Senior Pastor. I've always had a sense that one day God would call me to lead a church (I can share more on this one day). I'm stoked for this opportunity to lead Coastline in this next season.

My role will wrap up here at CPC on June 11. I invite you to come hear my last sermon. Later that day our church is throwing a party to celebrate what God has done here. Our daughters will finish school up here and then we'll move to Ventura.

Keep your eyes out as the next post here I will share three ways you can pray for CPC, the Benson family and Coastline in the upcoming weeks.

Summer Reading Idea

Summer is usually a time when our normal schedule is thrown out the window. Think about this with me.

Students- you are on summer break. Whether a junior high, high school or college aged person you are on break. That means: no reading, no going to classes, no homework and no opening your locker on campus.

Adults- you are loving the warmer weather. People are traveling more and you are seeing places you've never seen on your Instagram feed. You're roommates may be out of town or you might have an old college friend visiting you this summer.

Parents- you are still waking up early because your kids don't know how to sleep in. You're trying to figure out what to do with your kids. You're creating awesome adventures with your kids or dreading some days when you have no plans.

Grandparents- you might have the grandkids for a week or two this summer so that your children (who are adults now) can get a break. You are loving the change of pace and the new routine of having the little ones around.

No matter what stage of life you find yourself in we can all agree that summer brings about change. With this change that means we may find it tough to have a Bible reading plan. What if this summer you made a commitment to read two Gospel accounts in the Bible? What if you said, "I'm going to read Matthew and Mark"? You may not read every day but you can sure try your hardest.

The Gospel of Matthew is 28 chapters long and Mark is 16 chapters. That means 44 days of straight Bible reading. You might miss a day or two here and there but you could finish both of these books by the middle of August with no problem. It would require about 5 mins of reading a day. Did you hear that? Five minutes of reading is all it would take to read one chapter a day! Make it even better and use the YouVersion Bible App to help you out.

Take a summer reading challenge and start reading God's word today!

Joshua 24 Responsive Reading

Last week our Young Adults ministry finished up a series on the life of Joshua. We finished with the famous verse that many Christians have posted in their home. It comes from Joshua 24:15 and basically states the commitment Joshua made in front of the Nation of Israel,
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua presented an option to the Israelites to decided that day who they would serve. Would they serve the gods of the foreign lands of would they serve God? Would they serve the gods on the other side of the river or would they serve God? Would they serve the gods in Egypt or would they serve God? Joshua never pressured the people to serve God, he simply stated what he would do and invited the people to do the same.

To conclude the series I wanted to do something creative, something we normally don't do. I had ideas of giving everyone a piece of paper and letting them write out a commitment to God. We talked about other creative ways we could close it and then it came. We decided to do a responsive reading and invite people to respond as Israel did with a commitment to serve God. Understanding the nature of our group I had to set this up well and make sure no one felt pressured or forced to make the commitment. It was up to them to participate or not.

Here's how it went:

Leader- Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Leader- Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Leader- You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Leader- You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Leader- Throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Helping people get connected

One of my passions for people is to help them get connected in the local church. God has placed me in a large church setting and let's be honest, this can be tough. People walk into our church and think, "This place is big." After that I believe people either think about how to get connected or are thankful to be able to grow in a setting where they can just sit and learn.

Knowing how tough it can be to really get connected in a large church in a large area we started something new about nine months ago. We call it our New People Dinner. Since it was a new event for us we needed to make a plan. Our campus staff got in a room with a whiteboard and began to sketch out what the day would look like.

We knew we didn't want this to be something that didn't feel organic. We didn't want it to be too scheduled but we wanted a good plan so we could accomplish helping people who are looking to get connected. We came up with the whiteboard dream to the left and since then we have tweaked and made this better!

After doing three of these we have learned a ton. We've learned about location, timing and who needs to be there. We've learned about how to invite people and how some people will just come on the day of. Every two to four months we send out an invite to anyone who has filled out a connection card that says something like this:

You’re Invited!

Finding a church community is a big choice. We also know that the larger the church, more difficult it can feel to connect and we want to help out. We’re hosting a dinner for our new guests to CPC Foster City. This will be a time for you to meet our campus staff and Elders. Our hope is to provide an opportunity for us to connect, for you to learn a little more about CPC and for us to have a meal together. Children are welcomed. Will you join us on Sunday April 17 from 4-6pm?

After we send the invite out we wait for the day to come so we can hang out with people who are new to our church. This has been a great time to connect with people and learn more about people. Whether your in a big church or a small church people are looking to get connected.

Don't forget this: "People want to be known and loved." -Vicki Pettingill

Belonging to Christ

On Sunday I preached a message on Romans 7:1-6. It was titled "Belonging to Christ" and I looked at the difference between being married to the law and belonging to Christ.

This was a great text for me to preach because I've never been able to keep the law. I have a long history of not being able to keep the law! I was fifteen years old the first time I was arrested. I was accused of doing a drive-by-shooting. I was pulled from the back of a car and had a shotgun firmly pressed against the back of my head while on my knees in the middle of the road. I didn’t do a drive-by-shooting, I know all criminals say they didn’t do it, but I was just a fifteen year old throwing fireworks out of the car.

Watch the entire sermon to hear the whole story and what's changed in my life...

The Combination of Prayer & Hard Work

This summer my church studied the life of Nehemiah. Nehemiah lived roughly 450 years before Jesus. Nehemiah was an Israelite. He was most likely born in the city of Susa, the capital city of Persia during the exile. We know he served under King Artaxerxes and received heart-breaking news about what had happened in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah didn't ignore the news, he didn't share it on Facebook or create a cool picture to post on Instagram and then move on with his life.

A commitment to prayer
When Nehemiah learned about the condition of Jerusalem, it broke his heart. Nehemiah wept, fasted and prayed for the city of God (Nehemiah 1:4). From reading the Bible it doesn't appear that Nehemiah prayed for Jerusalem only once. It doesn't seem like he stopped praying after a week or a month either. Nehemiah had this intense commitment to prayer:

"Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” Nehemiah 1:11

Reading the first chapter of Nehemiah you get this sense of a deep commitment Nehemiah had to prayer.
Nehemiah doesn't complain to his friends.
Nehemiah doesn't turn to a bowl of ice cream to console him.
Nehemiah doesn't become apathetic and simply watch TV.
Nehemiah makes this huge commitment to prayer. But it doesn't stop there.

A commitment to hard work
After months of praying (about 4 months). Nehemiah takes a step of faith and asks the king for permission to return to Jerusalem and help rebuild the city. Take note, this is the same king who shut the project down years earlier and Persian kings weren't known for changing their mind. But because of his commitment to prayer, God moves in a huge way!

Nehemiah receives permission to return to Jerusalem. In ancient terms, we’re talking about a four month journey full of danger and potential for disaster. So this is no small deal to travel for four months on horseback. Nehemiah didn’t fly first-class because he worked for the king. After arriving in the city he inspects the wall (by night) to come up with a plan of how to rebuild the city.

Now comes the hard work. Nehemiah must inspire a group of un-inspired people to take part of a massive rebuilding project. After facing relentless opposition Nehemiah pressed on to rebuild the wall. Finally, with calloused hands and their faces covered in sweat the wall was completed!

The book doesn't end there though. There is a huge revival. The city is repopulated the God's people worship in an awesome way. If you've never studied the life of Nehemiah I highly recommend it.

Impacting
Studying the life of Nehemiah has been impacting to me. I've been trying to figure this balance of hard work and prayer. In the last couple years I have had a sense that as I work harder I want to pray more. To be honest, I see myself working harder. I am more familiar with pastoral ministry but by no means am perfect.

What happens when you work more though is you can begin to think it all depends on you. This is the opposite of what I'm aiming for. My hope is the outcome of my efforts is a reflection of my prayer life. The question the life of Nehemiah has left in my mind is, "How can I have a strong commitment to hard work and prayer?"

An Abstinent Engagement

"There's nothing more than I enjoy than an awkward conversation." - Said no one

One of the greatest roles I get to play is when I officiate a wedding ceremony for a couple. I say “one of the greatest roles” because for me its a culmination of everything we’ve worked on for the last number of months. Its a huge responsibility to sign a piece of a paper for a couple who is saying they want to spend the rest of their lives together.

See, when I was younger I foolishly officiated a handful of weddings for couples who I never spent adequate time with. I talked with them a handful of times but it was mainly about not leaving the sink dirty and where they squeeze the toothpaste. I didn’t have much marriage experience so I thought, “Well, they love each other so it will work out.” I wish it was the case.

Unfortunately I know a handful of weddings I’ve presided over have not worked out.
So how can we change that?
How can we help give couples the best foundation for a health marriage?

Let me share two things I’ve learned about setting couples up for a healthy marriage:

1) Ask them to abstain from sex
This is actually a requirement for me now. At our church we strongly encourage couples to remain sexually pure prior to marriage. For some people this is tough. I’ve actually talked with couples about this and some have opted to have someone else officiate their wedding. On the other hand some couples are embarrassed when I talk about this because they are already remaining sexually pure. There are also the couples who have gone too far sexually and they choose to commit to remain pure until their wedding day.

2) Mandate pre-marital counseling
This is where you talk about focus on the marriage and not the wedding date. Much of what an engaged couple is doing is talking about the wedding day. They want to make sure the time is right, the flowers are perfect, the cake is good and the list goes on. I want to talk about what happens the following day. I want to talk about waking up to that person for the next 50-70 years of your life and supporting them.

My pastor has been using A Handbook for Engaged Couples and I’m enjoying the book. In the past I’ve used books like: Sacred Marriage or Love and Respect to talk with the couple about marriage. These books, in my opinion, are more for a marriage couple. The handbook is great to bring up conversation related to practical advice of what they need.

I’m sure I will have more to offer on this subject the longer I’ve been married and the more couples sit at our kitchen table from 8pm-10pm as we talk about the greatest commitment, besides following Jesus, they will ever make.

Campus Pastor /// Year One Reflections

One year ago, today, I walked into Central Peninsula Church to start a new leadership role.  I wish I could say I was fully prepared for this role, but I wasn't.  I wish I could say I wasn't nervous the first day I walked into my new office, but I was totally nervous.  The one thing I was confident in the day I started my new role is: God has called me here.  Because God has called me here I want to share some big lessons I've learned in my first year of being a Campus Pastor.

Power of my words
When I was leading in High School Ministry my words had a good deal of weight, so I thought.  This year I've learned the power of my words.  There was a particular occasion when I said a simple yes to one of our leaders.  That yes was put into motion.  It wasn't a bad yes.  It wasn't a yes that anyone would have questioned; I needed to say yes but I learned how important every decision I make is.  Leading at the current level I'm at holds a much larger responsibility than I could have ever imagined.  This year I've learned how powerful my words are.

Team Value 
I've been blessed to work on many different teams in my life: soccer teams, football teams, mission teams and staff teams.  This year I had a huge leap as the one who leads the team.  Weekly I sit around a table with sixteen people who look to me as the team leader.  This year I've learned how important it is for our entire team to feel valued for who they are and what they bring to the table.  I have been super blessed to work on an amazing team and I value them dearly.

Transition
The first year can't be filled with all positive things.  The transition didn't happen immediately but it happened.  About six months into my first year our Elders made a tough call and we asked our High School Pastor to resign from his leadership position; that was tough.  At the end of June I was prepping to leave for our High School Houseboat trip when I had a regular meeting with our Children's Director.  During that meeting she pulled out a piece of paper and suddenly, and unexpectedly, resigned.  Transition on any team is going to happen, what matters is how you lead in transition.

Communication
When I started at CPC I felt like I was a pretty good communicator.  I had a style I had been using for a while and I never thought I'd change my communication style so drastically.  I like to give a manuscript of my message to my pastor to read before I preach.  One day, as he was leaving the office, I asked Mark if he got the copy I emailed to him.  He let me know he had it.  I quickly responded: "Make sure you're sitting down when you read it because its gonna be so amazing I don't want you to fall over."  The next day Mark gave me my manuscript, bleeding red with all the edits I needed to make.  He was right, it needed to change.  This year I think Mark has helped me become a better communicator.

Lots of Firsts
I've been in pastoral ministry for almost ten years now.  I've experienced many firsts but this year was a year of firsts for me.  From leading out on my first baby dedication, to speaking to over 1800+ people at our Outdoor Service and even having a chance to host the Global Leadership Summit.  This was a true year of firsts for me and it was a great learning experience.  Through all my firsts I was able to form new relationships with people on our Foster City Campus and in the community!

As I reflect on my first year of being a Campus Pastor there isn't much I would change.  I'm thankful our Elders gave me space to learn about the culture and DNA of CPC.  I'm thankful for all the new relationships I've made.  I'm thankful (and humbled) for the new level of leadership God has asked me to lead at.  Last week I was interviewing a potential High School Pastor and he asked me: "How come you're not taking the role, you seem like you would be the perfect fit."  It was nice to confidently respond: "Because God has called me to be a Campus Pastor."