Terrific Guest Post By BEN ARMENT On How Following God’s Call Affects Our Personal Relationships (Must-Read)

 

Yesterday, I got to speak at the church where I grew up in Lititz, Pennsylvania. I spent my formative years there from second grade to 11th grade… It’s been 19 years.

It was like stepping into a time capsule with the familiar smells, hallways, and faces. I saw young families of old schoolmates, young adults who were just small children when I knew them, and the parents of friends who are now… gulp… elderly people. And some of those I asked about were dead, divorced, gone.

I became kind of sad that I’d missed out on all of that.

Made me realize there are two kinds of people in the world: those who stay in one place and reap the benefits of life-long relationships… and those who move around a lot.

I wouldn’t trade all of my other experiences for anything. It shaped who I am. But there’s a richness of life that’s missing when you skip around. Like flipping TV channels.

Whether it’s by choice or against your will, would love to know which one you are: settler or pioneer.

BEN ARMENT Guest Post: The Empty Promise Of The Insincere Tribe

 

I understand the tendency.

You put out a free thing. People sign up. You think you’ve got a tribe. But you don’t.

You have rallied people who want a free thing.

It’s an insincere tribe.

I’m interested in finding a sincere tribe. People who are like minded, who have the same collective purpose. People who aren’t compelled by freebies but by a cause, a community, a life-altering vision. A fraternity of friends…

Where 10 years from now, everyone looks at us and says, “How did those people happen to know each other way back when?”

 

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ABOUT BEN ARMENT

Ben has launched a variety of creative projects, including The Whiteboard Sessions, STORY, and now Dream Year. He serves as a development strategist for several national organizations and wrote the book Church in the Making through B&H Publishing. Ben and his wife Ainsley live in Virginia Beach, Virginia with their three boys: Wyatt, Dylan, and Cody.