Christian Ben

Ben entered this life as the son of a Christian pastor. After educational preparations, he served the Christian community as a pastor and preacher on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Ben Cox was much more than a pastor; he was a skilled businessman, a publisher, a teacher, a husband, a father, a friend, a singer, a laborer. 

You could even say that Ben was a Renaissance man, a man for all seasons, all skill pursuits. I met him when Pat and I moved to Boone, back in the day, 1980. Ben and Connie lived on the same street, three houses away from our humble, rented cottage where our son Micah was born. Ben and Connie had a small garden. Those were the days of countercultural rearrangement of values. Our particular path had taken the Christian turn. We were joining up with a New Testament, mildly communal group of believers who were striving to recreate the original church of Jesus Christ, as it had developed after Jesus' resurrection, when Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Cyrus and Barnabus were leading a fledgeling group of churches toward the Christian life. But prior to that time, Ben had sung with a rock band, out in Oregon. Soon after that, his life took the Christian turn; he and Connie returned to North Carolina, because we like calling North Carolina home. There we were, all in one place, a generation saved by grace, and abiding in the town named for America's original pioneer, Daniel Boone. We spent about twenty years in that community. Long about 2000, we had a church split. Some folks stayed; some left and joined other churches. Meanwhile, back on the home fronts, Ben and Connie raised their family, including six children. Pat and I raised our family, including three children. Eventually all the young'uns grew up and went their separate way. Back in Boone, Pat and I and Ben and Connie landed at the same church, the Christian Alliance. 

Ben's pastoral inclinations took a turn toward business. He published a magazine, the Journey, which covered the terrain of the Christian life as it was being lived by local folk who were active, creative, productive, and faithful. He also bought an advertising business, a very unique one, which published a multi-fold card, the Main Street Marketing card. that enabled local diners and shoppers to receive discounts on their purchases and meals. Ben and Connie CoxBen was always one of our closest friends. Our children grew up together. In the Psalms, the Word of the Lord informs us that we may expect seventy years in this earthly realm. Ben managed to hang on for an extra year. At age 71, Ben passed into the heavenly realm, where he joins with the eternal saints of the most High Lord, YWHW. He has been welcomed into that eternal kingdom by the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, who demonstrated - for all mankind -  to understand and believe that Life does, in Truth, go on, on the other side of that great divide that men and women have been confronting since Adam and Eve were in the Garden. Yes, friends and readers, there is an eternal Heaven, but you gotta believe. If you get there before I do, tell Ben I look forward to seeing him again, there, in the Eternal Kingdom of Jesus, who conquered sin and death. King of Soul