Interview: Pastor Ben Arment

Briefly tell us about who you are and what you care about.
I’m a church planter in northern Virginia, a father of two little boys, and a blogger. I care about encouraging church planters who are down for the count and creating environments for life-change.

What are some ways that you’re chasing your convictions?
I act on every idea. The only thing that stops them from happening is the sovereignty of God, and then I quickly back down.

From reading your blog, it seems that you’ve given a lot of thought to what you call ‘worship environments. Tell us more about that.
Pastors are [or should be] storytellers. I love what JRR Tolkien told an atheistic CS Lewis in the Eagle & Child pub: “Some stories are real.” It’s our job to bring the greatest story to life through an immersive, multisensory experience. People do not just decide to follow Christ through their intellect and will, but also their emotions.

What some resources for someone that is interested in learning more about worship environments?
Study creative environments; Listen to great storytellers; Peruse industry magazines; Imagine your messages as a whole presentation affecting sight, sounds, emotions - don’t just write cerebral talks. I posted a top 20 list of inspiring resources [ here].

A little off topic—tell us about the Whiteboard Sessions.
Whiteboard is a one day event held in Reston, Virginia, on Thursday, May 22, for church and ministry leaders. We’ve invited 8 influential speakers to present one compelling idea in 30 minutes each. I believe in the power of a single idea to transform churches and ministries for God’s intended purposes. He’s done this in my life in a big way. The conference registration opens on February 5. Until then, people can follow my conference blog stream [ here].

Do you have any parting wisdom to share with everyone?
Thanks for the opportunity! I love your blog. I’ve added it to my favorites…

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Another interview: Youth Pastor Sean Taylor

Watch the blog in the next few days to see what their youth leaders have been up to in the last couple weeks.

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