Note: Looking for a cut-n-paste speaker bio? Please scroll to the bottom.
Looking for Lynley’s testimony video and talk from the Women’s Conference? Click here.
The “Skinny” on Who I Am
I am a worshiper of Jesus, husband of Lynley, father of four, and pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, TN (in that order. The order is critical. I’ll explain in a moment.)
I believe that the most urgent message on the earth is the gospel message (1 Cor.15:3-4); next in line lies the marriage and family message. The call that God has placed upon my life centers on those two themes: to build the Church through faithful preaching of the Gospel, and to transform the next generation of the Church through the promotion of godly marriage and family.
My Priorities
If a man’s life equals the sum of his small choices, I pray that the following daily decisions will mark my days on earth (Ps. 90:12):
- To rise up early and to meet with God.
The days I feel most alive are those that begin with reading, reflection and prayer. I want to read deep till my heart is happy in God. Jonathan Edwards wrote in his journal in 1728, “I think Christ has recommended rising early in the morning, by the rising from the grave very early.” I resonate with that statement. I’m not so sure about the interpretive precision, but I like it. (And by the way, I’m not a morning person by preference. It’s a flesh-mortifying moment when the alarm sounds. Joy comes after the cross.) - To romance my wife.
Having a great marriage is more important to me than having a great resume. I find the highest joy in sharing life with Lynley and in seeking God’s purpose for us as a couple. She and I talk about this often. We both believe that God put us together for a purpose (as He does with all couples). In the spring of 2011, we experienced a Holy Spirit moment when we received a call to use our marriage for the purpose of fortifying other marriages. Lynley and I love to meet one-on-one with couples, to read books together on marriage and family (click here for one of our favorites, here for another), and to spend quiet nights at home with Ava, Max, Miles, and Jack. We are committed to pursuing one another above all earthly relationships. - To partner closely with Lynley in the discipleship of our four children.
This job cannot be outsourced or delegated to the most dynamic children’s pastor. Lynley and I feel this is our first assignment. Parenting is hard work and a daily death to self, but little by little a life is shaped. Based upon Deuteronomy 6:7-9, we seek to impress truths upon our children and to model the Great Commandment and the Great Commission before them. Our prayer: that our daughter and three sons might fulfill their destinies in their generation (Acts 13:36) and attempt to do something great for God. - To shepherd Englewood Baptist Church with compassion and conviction.
I have met pastors who would never choose to attend the churches they serve. I can honestly say that I would take my place in a pew if the Lord made me mute tomorrow. I believe that the Spirit of God is doing something unique and special in my church family and I feel humbled to pastor this people for as long as He permits. I pray often that I would be close enough to the action to “smell like the sheep” but far enough away to see the big picture. Balancing that tension is easier said than done.
My Weird Way To the Pastorate
I didn’t grow up thinking I would become a pastor. I majored in Biology in college, minored in Chemistry. To use a Karate Kid analogy, those were the years where I learned to “wax on, wax off” and to “paint the fence.” Learning the discipline of focused concentration and study was a must for what God had planned for me. I thank God for those years of basic training.
My call to pastor Englewood was bizarre. While minding my own business in college ministry in 2006, the Lord opened up a door for me to serve in a 9-month co-pastorate with our existing pastor, Phil Jett, who had courageously led the church for 24 years. The congregation assigned me the title “Pastor-Elect” and we launched into a season of “tag-team” preaching and leading. On April 1, 2007, I officially received the baton of leadership from Dr. Jett and began my journey as a pastor. The transition was smooth and Spirit-filled. Many have asked about the unusual transfer of leadership that took place that year and I have journaled more extensively about it here. Dr. Jett and I also recorded a conversation on this subject–listen here.
Speaker Bio:
Ben Mandrell is the full-time husband to Lynley and Senior Pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, TN. Ben’s passion is to see lives transformed by the preaching of the Word and to see marriages shine through careful biblical teaching. A graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ben is now working on a doctoral degree in Expository Preaching through Union University, with a special emphasis on biblical marriage and family. He and Lynley have four small children who dominate most of their free time. He hopes to have hobbies one day.
For more information about Ben, visit his blog at www.benmandrell.com.
