Ben Jackson
By Suzanne O'Keeffe, 700 Club Interactive
CBN.com –PREACHER'S KID
Ben is the son of a preacher but, his younger years do not coincide with the reputation of being a "PK." Ben was not rebellious, did not do drugs, nor did he drink. He has not had to go through "dark seasons." When asked if there were any significant times in his life that have occurred, Ben reflected back to being the age of 11 in 1994. That was the year the outpouring of Holy Spirit began in John and Carol Arnott's church in Toronto. Ben and his family lived in England where his father had his church. As described, times were dry in the church community and his dad traveled to Toronto to see what was happening. Being impacted by the Holy Spirit and the Father's love, Ben's dad returned home and change began. Ben said that his heart was awakened for the first time as the Holy Spirit began to move, and his life began to have vision and expression for the love of God and His power.
At the age of 21 Ben made the decision to go to Toronto to have an encounter with the Lord as his father had done. He described the School of Ministry as a place of incubation surrounded by the presence, and deep love of God. Describing John and Carol Arnott and their ministry as "authentic," it has had a longstanding impact on his life. Today, he travels with the Arnott's, and last year he went to the UK for a conference as worship leader. While there, he began to weep at the revelation of his journey from being influenced from his youth by their devotion to seeking God, to that moment when he realized he was there serving them (Arnott's), and part of their team. He summed it up by saying it was a "dramatic change by the love of God."
BEN AND MUSIC
Since Ben was young, he has had place in his heart for music. Over the years he has allowed music to open and express what is in his heart. According to Ben, song with intent to worship the Lord lifts you above the things that would seek to wear you down and creates an awareness of the true issues in the heart. When the Toronto outpouring began with revival and meetings every day, Kingsway (a British publisher of Christian literature and music) realized it needed to be recorded. The result over the first ten years was about twenty three live worship recordings. Then, it all stopped and has been quiet for the last number of years. Ben said there is the sense of a baton passing, and God is now stirring a new sound, in a new season for a wider church. Songs are "bubbling up" and Ben along with worship leader Jonathan Clark has responded to the Lord's prompting. Their worship is on the track of following what they call "Expanding Your Kingdom by Pursuing Your Presence."
It is about the horizontal and vertical relational service to God and man through worship and love. Wanting to avoid producing the perfect CD with the goal to "impress people," Ben said in one article that he had to "continually remind myself of this...easy to slip into mindset of perfection." The music comes from the scripture,"We love Him, because He first loved us." That represents what Catch the Fire is all about, the Father's love and how willing He is to pour it out on us. The hope is that the impact of the CD will be found all across homes and communities while kindling hearts of worship.