Yesterday, we got the news out.
Today, we have some news.
First, we want to thank Noel Paul Stookey for stepping forward to serve as Community Chairman of our “Gotta Get the News Out” Fall Campaign.
Noel has been a friend of this ministry and of Saint Ben, and we could not be more grateful to have his voice alongside ours as we carry this message forward.
And now this:
The founder of this fifteen-year-old Catch Ministry, Peter Herschend, has stepped forward with a $5,000 leadership gift.
But he doesn’t want his gift to stand alone.
He is challenging those of you who have a history with the Catch—five years or more—to join together and match his $5,000 gift.
Think about that.
Some of you were here when the Catch was still finding its legs. Some have watched this little cyber church grow across borders and generations. You prayed with us. Gave with us. Hurt with us. Celebrated with us. And, most importantly, you helped us discover what Grace Turned Outward could look like when it became more than a phrase.
So this challenge belongs especially to you.
Our founder has put $5,000 on the table. Will those who have shared five or more years of this journey come together to match it?
More about that as the campaign unfolds.
But now we need to introduce you to someone.
His name is Ben Beamering. And he is eleven years old.
Why Saint Ben?
Because Ben tells the truth.
Not always conveniently. Not always comfortably. And certainly not in the ways the adults around him would prefer.
Saint Ben is, at its heart, a story about truth-telling. Only an eleven-year-old could get away with what Ben manages to do in an adult world. But through his persistence, he awakens something in the rest of us—a longing to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing, regardless of the cost.
Ben is unpredictable. And yet, once you understand him, his choices become almost inevitable. Because Ben follows the truth wherever it takes him. That makes this story feel particularly important right now.
We live in a time when truth can seem to be twisting in the wind. We are surrounded by competing voices telling us what to believe, whom to trust, what is real and what isn’t. Certainty is loudly advertised everywhere and increasingly difficult to find.
Then along comes an eleven-year-old boy.
Ben doesn’t have a platform. He doesn’t have influence. He doesn’t have all the answers. In fact, he spends much of his life doubting.
But he possesses something far more disruptive:
He wants to know what is true.
And once he knows it, he intends to live accordingly.
Perhaps that is why Jesus placed a child in the middle of grown-ups who were trying to understand His Kingdom.
“Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
Maybe children can sometimes see what we adults have learned not to see.
Ben certainly can.
Once you get to know him, something rather strange may happen. You may find yourself facing a decision and wondering: What would Ben do?
And nine times out of ten, you will probably know the answer. Not because Ben is perfect. Not because Ben has no doubts. But because when truth finally becomes clear to him, he cannot pretend he hasn’t seen it.
And there is something else you need to know about Ben.
For Ben, knowing the truth isn’t enough. Somebody has to deliver it.
When Ben takes responsibility for Jonathan’s newspaper route, he understands the assignment with the wonderful literalness of an eleven-year-old boy: If he doesn’t deliver those afternoon newspapers, the people on Jonathan’s route won’t get the news.
It’s that simple.
No delivery.
No news.
And suddenly an eleven-year-old newspaper boy has something to teach the rest of us about the Great Commission.
We can possess the greatest news ever given to humanity. We can believe it, study it, write about it, sing about it and gather together to celebrate it. But somebody still has to carry it down the street.
Somebody has to put it in another person’s hands.
Somebody has to tell the person who hasn’t heard.
Because if we don’t deliver the news, there are people who simply aren’t going to get the news. Maybe that’s why Ben’s simple determination has stayed with us all these years.
“Gotta get the news out.”
It wasn’t a slogan to Ben.
It was his assignment.
And perhaps it is ours, too.
