This Here's VIGGINIA

Today I started my day at 5:00 am to get ready and get on the road
heading to northern Virginia (Vigginia as I've heard them say).

I started with breakfast in Craig Burns' neck of the woods, and had a
delicious meal at the Vienna Inn, the heart of Vienna. After a great
conversation with the new author I headed to Gainsville for an all day
meeting of lead pastors under 40. Should be a good day.

--Ben

Book Review: Constant Forward Motion

This is the first time I've reviewed a book written by a friend. I'll start off by saying that I'm more than a little impressed that Craig took the time to record his story and publish it for the benefit of others. Craig has blessed me through his book Constant Forward Motion: The Running Of The Lymphoma Ultra Series.

Craig offered to give me a free copy if I would write this review. In good faith I purchased my own out of the trunk of a sedan in a shady deal. But price paid, I now had freed myself from holding back any comments and was not beholden to the author. (I'm sure Craig will love reading that.)

Constant Forward Motion is a book that chronicles the journey of Craig Burns from 2004 when he met with his doctor and heard the word, "You either have Cancer or HIV." through the racing seasons of 2007 and 2008. Throughout that time Craig learned that his life could be more than MRIs and CT scans. He embraced a chance to allow his body to be used as an offering to God. Craig became involved in running ultra marathons (any race longer than a standard marathon) and began collecting sponsorships that supported children's cancer research, fighting sex trafficking of teenage girls in India, and the building of Bible training centers in Africa. He developed a ministry that he calls Motion for Missions whereby he at first and now his church in Vienna, Virginia participate as a congregation to gain sponsorships by the mile to support world missions projects as a Faith Promise to Jesus Christ.

Each chapter is essentially a short story of his encounters when Motion for Missions came to a head in the running of the ultra marathon series. Page after page is filled with insight into the sub-culture of ultra runners, and experiences that will send your emotions up and down like the Shenandoah mountains Craig races up and down as he struggles to face an incurable cancer and take the next step of constant forward motion.

Craig is very open with his Christian spirituality as he writes this autobiographical account. In very inspiring ways he shows how a person can combine faith with every part of life, and be empowered to go farther and do more with the life that we've been graciously given.

I have found myself wondering if I liked this book so much because I like Craig so much. And honestly I have not found the answer on that one. Those that know him will almost hear his voice dictating each chapter. We who know him know his unique personality and even more unique humility. He would have benefited from an editor. He has a habit of changing verb tenses as he writes, but if you'll get past some petty technical issues you'll find yourself like me; enjoying every page and being inspired to make some changes in your own life. (And hey if you're still reading with all my technical writing problems you'll make it through anything.)

I recommend this book for an inspirational read and for the benefit that it will be to missions efforts around the world.

--Ben

Enjoying The Balmy Weather

After the last couple weeks of blizzards it has been nice to actually see the sun and notice all the melting that is causing everything to be wet, but I've taken the 40 degree days to get out and walk my neighborhood. Still a bit chilly, but I'm looking forward to the warming temps to continue upward as running season comes back around.

I find myself praying more in my walks these days. I enjoy the time I'm able to spend with the Lord on those solitary jaunts.

--Ben

esse quam videri

The state motto of North Carolina is, "esse quam videri" latin for "to be rather than to seem". This came to light during a conversation with my father, a tar heel by birth, and is really a challenging thought. There are many who seem, fewer who are what they seem to be. Which are you?

--Ben

Constant Forward Motion

I just finished Constant Forward Motion: The Running Of The Lymphoma Ultra Series, by C. Craig Burns. Craig is a friend from seminary, and has served as an inspiration to me over the last few years of knowing him.

In the last few months he has self-published a book chronicling his story over the last several years dealing with lymphoma and depending on the Lord Jesus Christ for strength to undertake long distance running as a means to raise money for missions around the world. By running marathons and ultra-marathons (40k, 50k, 50 milers) he has used his constant forward motion to raise thousands of dollars to help Cancer research for children, redeem teenage girls from sex trafficking in India (projectrescue.com), and build Bible schools in Africa for the training of Christian leaders (priorityonemissions.com)

I'm looking forward to publishing a review of this book very soon so stay tuned. I picked it up Thursday evening and finished it today it is very compelling.

--Ben

Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, the weekend is behind us, and we're off and running into a new week. As I look back on the weekend I am thankful for friends, family, and the church where I serve Jesus.

This weekend I spent the majority of my hours installing a floor at Drew Harrah's house. The project was similar to one I did in my office, but more than four times as large, and quite a bit more complicated. I always enjoy projects like that though. It is a pain in the legs, knees, and back, but it is also a wonderful feeling knowing that I was able to finish a project. I hope that Harrah's enjoy their new floor. Friends ought to help each other. I'm a big believer in giving my time to help improve someone else's life, and I think friends should be counted on to do that. I wasn't perfect in fact on Saturday evening I was worn out from a long day working. I was notching a board to fit around a closet door jamb, and when I cut the board for the fifth time I decided I had given all I could give. I told Drew that we would be better off leaving it till Sunday night after some rest. My wife has told me that when I get tired I start making mistakes. It was time to give it a rest. Sunday evening we picked back up and rolled on. I made only two more mistakes, and was even able to salvage the boards for other uses to finish the floor using only the boxes that were intended for the job and not having to open the extra "emergency" box. (A $52 choice I would be reminded.)

Church on Sunday was good. I think doing Second Sunday prayer on the third Sunday probably threw some people off, and I definately missed that crowd we usually have gather, but I was so thankful to pray with faith-filled believers. There is something spiritually powerful about people crying out to the Lord and declaring that it is His church. The prayers of God's people making a difference.

Our service was shortened due to the Business Meeting following the service, so the song set was reduced, but we introduced a new song titled, Revelation Song. This song has been playing in my playlist for a couple months and I wanted to introduce it. I was so pleased with the response of the congregation joining in to sing to the Lord. What a powerful expression of love and devotion to our Savior, Jesus. I'm still playing on five strings. I broke a string on my guitar just before the new year, and in the meantime have lost the peg that holds my string making my six-string a five string. We have managed, but I need to get it fixed this week.

The Business Meeting went well. A new Board of Directors has been elected. I'm looking forward to working with Ben Rainey, Sr., Scott Schuler, Ryan Larson, and Drew Harrah on the BOD. I also want to say how thankful I am for the service of Meghan L. and Larry S. for their service last year.

God is good. He has a plan and is using SRC to accomplish his Great Commission. I'm so thankful to be part of it.

--Ben

Headed South

I've got a meeting today at the District Ministry Center in Gainesville, VA. I'm meeting with a group of guys that have a deep desire to see the Great Commission fulfilled through the starting new churches. Today's meeting will be a part of an ongoing strategy that we've put in place to plant a stacked bunch of churches over the next several years.

--Ben

Spring Break

When we started Severn River Church three years ago a part of our thinking was to create a church unlike other churches. One of the reasons we went to the community college to start services was because we feel that it puts us in the center of the community, and places us in a familiar environment for the unchurched to find us. We enjoy a great friendship with the college and I love our arrangement except for a couple weeks per year.

There are three weeks a year that the campus is closed and subsequently so is the church. The week after Christmas, the first Sunday of the year, and the Sunday of Spring Break. This year Spring Break is falling on March 28th which happens to be Palm Sunday. I found out today when we were making arrangements. I'm more than a little disappointed.

--Ben

A Post-Modern Day Miracle

We've all heard of the modern day miracle, right? In the modern day miracle somebody is miraculously healed; things are inexplicably different in a positive way. This weekend I experienced a post-modern day miracle. In the post-modern day miracle machines are healed.

The other day my wifi antenna was shot after spilling some soda on my laptop. (I know, I know, but I've had it for 6 years and have never had a similar accident.) But anyway, the antenna didn't work. So I powered down and let it sit. I thought if I let it dry out it might work again, but for days it didn't. I resigned myself to many upcoming months without internet access using only my iPhone. Then on the third day, my laptop arose. Hallelujah! A technology miracle! A post-modern day miracle! ;-)

--Ben

It Felt Good To Be Back

Yesterday was our first weekend service in three weeks. It was nice to be back. I had a sense that we'd probably experience some of those hiccups that seem to develop when you get out of practice at something, and we probably experienced some, but overall the day was really good.

I did note at the end of service that we took a lot longer packing up than usual. Mainly because people were talking and catching up with each other. Not a bad hiccup.

--Ben

Church Is On

Finally and with great anticipation church is on this weekend. I hope
to see you there.

It's been a weird couple weeks. I'm officially against missing
anymore Sundays.

--Ben

Testing mobile blogging

I broke my wifi antennae this week, so my online activity is limited
to my iPhone. Not sure when my computer will be fixed so I'm trying
some other options for updating here. Thanks for your patience.

Sent from my iPhone

Too Much Of A Good Thing

You know you can get too much of a good thing. Hard for most of us to imagine, but weeks like this create a stark reminder. I love snow and the feeling it gives. The world seems to take its foot off the accelerator and allow us to slow down a bit and enjoy the wonderful life that we get to live.

But this much snow doesn't slow us down; it stops us. And now I've just heard about another snow storm that has increased from an expected 5 inches to a possible 20 in. At least it is hitting in the middle of the week this time and not on a weekend. But I know the snow is creating difficulty even for our small groups.

Snow blower anyone?

--Ben

Canceled Again

Our weekend service has been canceled because of the weather. AACC has closed the campus for the weekend.

--Ben

Using The New Office

This morning I used my office for the first time. It's not finished, but it worked well for us this morning. I think that first uses are important. It is in some ways an act of dedication. I was thankful that the first use of our office was making disciples -- a hallmark of the mission of our church.

Life Commitments is a pilot program of SRC in training men to be closer followers of Jesus. It meets on Tuesday mornings at 7 a.m. and Wednesday nights at 9 p.m.

--Ben

I Didn't Plunge

There seems to be some confusion so I want to make sure I set the record straight. I didn't plunge in the MSP Polar Bear Plunge. Let me explain...

On Saturday morning I got my bag packed as I waited for my ride (Pastor Ariel) to come pick me up. She called on her way and said that she couldn't drive because every time she went around a corner her car would lose control due to the snow that had started falling a couple hours earlier. Not to be sidetracked, I got in my car and went to pick her and my other sister (Sarah) up at Ariel's condo. They got in and we started down Ritchie Hwy on our way to AACC where we would pick up the shuttle to Sandy Point. Now I would like to point out that before we left the girls were recommending that we just abandon the idea because of the dangerous roads, but I figured the main roads would be fine. (I share this to paint them in a bad, wimpy light, and to paint myself in a brave, adventurous one.)

When we got on Ritchie Hwy I was surprised at how bad the road was. It apparently had taken AA County by surprise because they had not touched the roads. When we got to Arnold I just couldn't imagine parking and leaving the car for three to four hours and then coming back. Maybe in the Jeep, but not in my Versa. At this point I turned the car around and made my way, albeit slowly, back home.

So there. I didn't plunge, okay? Not that I didn't want to, but I just couldn't make it. I hope to next year. The silver lining to this story is that the money I raised was still received by the Special Olympics and helps a great charity. I'd also like to point out that Ariel and Sarah had made up signs; one of which said, "Our Pastor Walks In Water." Very clever I thought.

--Ben

Big Week Kicking Off

This week groups kick off, and we've got a bunch. Our small groups semester is starting and we have two groups meeting on Monday and Tuesday night respectively. You can feel free to sign up HERE.

Also we have a pilot program called Life Commitments that we're launching this week. This is a discipleship group for men only (right now, later to be released for both men and women) that will start Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. and Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. If you would like to sign up, you still can click HERE.

--Ben