"It is easy not to offend anyone when there are no lines drawn in the sand"
Meet Our Family
Pastor Benjamin and Shondell Rice are committed to changing culture by beginning with their Family first. What they hope you will see if you can get past the farm life of goat poop, chicken feathers, and dog hair is that they strive to ground their family upon God's Word. The Rice family has relocated several times, and with over 10 years of experience in Ministry, have moved this last time from Colorado to Granite Falls, NC. Despite feeling at times that, that this last move should have required a passport–The Rice Family is excited to see what God will do next. Pastor Benjamin has spent his life engaging the culture and is currently attending Southern Evangelical Seminary (with an emphasis in Evangelism and Apologetics). Benjamin and Shondell have been married for over fourteen years and have two beautiful children, Samuel and Olivia Jo (also known as Olive).
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Our Mission
God's Word
The Gospel taught through a solid foundation of Theology Proper, Systematic Theology, and Christology has never been more needed and more appropriate than it is for today's culture. We do not pretend to have all the answers, but we genuinely strive to know the one who does––Jesus! Gods inspired Word has been communicated by one Author via one meaning, and it is up to the Saints to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). The Bible is the Word of God. And, God cannot err. Therefore, the Bible cannot err. The attack on Inerrancy today is an attack upon God Himself! The Word of God is the means of faith (Rom 10:17). The Word of God is the means of salvation through the gospel (Rom 1:16). The believers are revealed who they are in Christ through His Word. In addition, they are told to live by such faith revealed from the scriptures (Rom 1:18). The Word of God is truth, and it is by this truth that one is brought through sanctification (John 17:17). The sanctification is what brings us to the place of leaning upon His works and not our own (Heb. 4:10). And, it is His Word that is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword revealing to us our sin (Heb. 4:12).
Evangelism
If God is good, then why does evil exist? Why doesn’t he just come back and stop all future evil acts? If God creates all things, does that not include evil? Did God create evil in order for us to be able to appreciate good?
Many of us can probably remember in vivid detail having these same kinds of questions; however, when we would ask and inquire about these objections to faith, many would be met with a "catch all phrase" such as,... "God works in mysterious ways", or "you just need to have more faith and stop asking so many questions". We must be willing to slip into the unbelievers shoes and be willing to contend for the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our culture is saturated with Post Modernism and hyper skepticism that it has become more imperative than ever before to, "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15). We must begin by answering our own doubts, tough questions, and objections to the faith that has prevented us from going all in. In so many words, we must first be willing to look inward before we can start looking outward. In addition, we believe in creating disciples instead of converts, in keeping with the Great Commission, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:19-20).
Integrated Families
The bedrock of the Church, not to mention society, begins and ends with the Family! However, the foundation of the family has suffered from a full fledged assault at the hands of our culture. The assault has ranged from everything to media, to politics, and even to just consuming all our time as parents. When family dynamics, inclusive of one man and one woman, is structured in accordance to biblical principles, it naturally oversees the child's education, behaviors, and spiritual health. We stand with the single parents, the divorced, and the orphaned spirit who have suffered, and are committed to seeing the manifestation of Gods promise, "he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6). We affirm that the husband is to lead his family into sanctification and holiness unto the Lord, imitating Ephesians 5:26 which says, "that He might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word".
As you have probably witnessed, the book stores are not in a short supply of material ranging from self help, marriage, and even to spiritual matters. However, despite our culture having a slew of supplies, the family life still remains broken and in shambles with over 50% divorce rate in America. If all of the material has proven one thing, it is that a large majority hold to the same approach in helping families. Typically, it goes something like this...if there is darkness in ones life, then we are to get as many buckets as we can and start scooping it out. Or maybe...the darkness is from a lack of accountability partners or internet blockers; therefore, let's put a fence around the darkness and prevent it from getting any worse. Or maybe...the darkness has not left yet because we do not have enough people screaming at the darkness to leave. (In a Judo or Karate fashion we must use our binder and rebuker on the Devil, HiYa!). However, we never stop and ask, "how do you get rid of darkness naturally?" You Turn On The Light! Mankind, inclusive of families do not have a sin problem, a lust problem, or even a communication problem––They Have A God Problem!
Community
Have you ever asked yourself, why is it so hard to connect with people? No...Seriously? Why is it? Did you just now ask yourself?... I mean it, I will not move on without you having a moment to ask yourself...
Did you ask yourself...?
I'll wait...
How about now?!...
Can you at least play some elevator music for me while I wait?........
Waiting..... ....... ..... dial tone........ beep.... beep....beep
Did you hang up and stop scrolling?
The Bible does say it is those that endure to the end...
.....
.............. ......... ........
If Captain America can do this all day, "then so can I!"
....
Still waiting...
Still..
Did you forget what the question was?
How long does it take dial up to reach the human heart?
....
Ok...ok...Alright already! Why is it so hard to connect with people? Can I tell you something? If your answer to that question involved anything other than yourself, can I submit something to you? Everyone else wants the same thing that you do! But, each of us is too busy blaming other people for why we can't connect. I'm an introvert... I'm an extrovert. I am tired of giving 90% to the friendship while others only give 10%. I do not get along with super religious people. I do not get along with sinners... people are stupid.. I do not like rich people. I do not like poor people. People just do not understand me. I am black.. I am white... I am purple.. I am too old for games... on and on. and on we go....
Can I submit something else to you? We will never connect if we are unable to look past someone else's flaws, shortcomings, and personality differences. Relationships take on various different contexts and sub-contexts that are all unique to that person or situation. Think of community and relationships like rush hour traffic. You have the fast lane that two people can become peas in a pod very quickly. You have the slow lane, all the way to the far right, where the people in it have been hurt far too many times to just be nonchalant about their emotional investment. Overall, we all are in different places, different stages of relationships, and require different things in order to feel loved and accepted. 1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins". The love covers the sin, regardless of whether or not it is coming from within (2 Tim 2:21); or it is coming from the outside (Num 19:14-19), love is considered the perfect bond of unity (Col 3:14).
Our mission includes being a place where believers are encouraged not to forsake the assembling of the brethren (Heb 10:24-25), but to also be a place where spiritual healthiness can occur. Thus, enabling true community to aspire where the congregation all have one heart and one soul (Acts 4:32).
Meet The Team
Colorado Christian University
Southern Evangelical Seminary