introduction:
if you were to ask me to name a person that i know who is on fire for Jesus, one of the first people to pop into my mind would be shelby bennett. i got to travel with her on teenpact’s intern team last year (like so many other interviews on here!…lets just say that some of my dearest friends came from that period in my life). during that time, i got to experience first hand, shelby’s deep love for the Lord. i would describe her as radical. she’s the only person i know who prefers to sit in the middle seat of the airplane, just so she can talk about Jesus to two people instead of one! from the big things like dropping everything to live in china and love on people there, to the little things like massaging my back and praying for me after a long day-shelby is what i want to be when i grow up. if you know her at all, you know that her motto is “no regrets”. and that pretty much sums up her life! i know shelbert (yea, i literally refer to her more as that than as ‘shelby’) will be embarrassed that i share this with the world, but this is proof that shelby knows how to have a fun time too! i literally had goosebumps and tears welling in my eyes as i read what shelby had to say….i hope you experience Jesus through this like i have!
bio:
- name-shelby bennett
- hometown-canby, or
- age-19
- school-homeschool graduate/future college student-maybe 😉
- work-english teacher, pro-life advocate, part-time stylist’s assistant in a photo studio
- church– Christ the King community church
- family-3 sisters
- birth order-first!
- relationship status-single
- interests-i love language, be it english or any other foreign tongue! the simple power of communication is a huge part of my life is woven throughout most of the things i enjoy: writing non-fiction or poetry, speaking for a cause, traveling, talking deep with anyone, etc.
- random fact-some books that have shaped my life are:
the Bible
“crazy love” by francis chan
“do hard things” by alex and brett harris
“radical” by david platt
“love does” by bob goff
“in a pit with a lion on a snowy day” by mark batterson
Please read them all!
interview:
- who are your heroes/role models?
i’m just going to assume that we’re not going to count Jesus…He is definitely my biggest hero and role model. but out of all the non-God people, two really stand out to me: peter the apostle and jim elliot. no one in the Bible is quite like peter. he left everything he had – including his probably successful fishing business – to follow Jesus. he was incredibly bold (attacked a whole group of armed soldiers in the garden of gethsemane), but also fell to complete cowardice (ran away from Jesus and denied Him). peter’s astonishing faith allowed him to walk on water, but then sink with fright into the water only seconds later. you can always count on peter to speak his mind, whether to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, or to flat out tell Jesus, “teacher, we have no clue what You’re talking about” (slight paraphrase…). i want to have peter’s boldness and faith, to be humbled by my failures, but fully acknowledging that i am forgiven and restored through Jesus alone. i want to walk on water, to give up everything i have, and to live and die for Jesus.a more modern but very similar hero of mine is jim elliot, a missionary to ecuador who was killed while trying to reach the auca indians. jim is remembered as being incredibly passionate, sincere, and courageous. after sensing the call from God to reach one of the most violent and murderous tribes in ecuador, he was willing to risk everything. some might say that he lost everything, threw away his life as a martyr. but i want to see jim’s face when he sees Jesus, and sees members of that very same auca tribe meeting Jesus with him. one of my all-time favorite quotes is from jim elliot: “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
- do you have a mentor?
though i’ve never labeled her as my mentor, the person who most closely fits that role is definitely my mom. she knows me better than anyone and has sacrificed so much for me. she has seen me at my worst, both with behavior, priorities, and definitely any sense of style. mom has brought out the best in me, encouraged my strengths, valued what i value, and even let me be radical when it didn’t seem wise. i’m so blessed.
- what makes you feel alive?
JESUS. which i guess makes sense, because He quite literally has made me alive both physically and spiritually. i get that alive feeling, where you just want to explode from joy and love for life, when i hear people declaring the gospel, when i see people understanding who Jesus is, when i’m with people singing and praying to Jesus, or when i get to show His love to others with or without words. i’d rather spend a day talking to strangers about Jesus than just about anything. i don’t want to sound super-spiritual, like i’m somehow better than the people who feel alive when they’re ice-skating or hiking or writing or making music or debating politics. i’ve asked Jesus to become my everything, to take over, to make Himself first in my life, and He has answered that prayer little by little. i know He’s not finished yet, which both excites and scares me. but i know He’s with me, and that makes me feel alive.
- where do you get your spiritual nourishment?
spending six months in china with very few Christian friends or resources has taught me a lot about how important it is to be spiritually nourished. obviously actual time with God is number one on the priority list. i think my generation talks a lot about prayer, but spends far too little time actually communicating with God in silent, focused prayer (and i’m no exception!). outside of trying to focus solely on prayer first thing in the morning, i’ve discovered that i can use car time to really just listen for God. the stereo in my car is broken, which has helped me realize how much quiet time i would lose with God were i to simply turn on the radio every time i started the car.the Bible is just as important as prayer. there is value in pondering one verse that pops out from the page, but there is also so much value in reading entire chapters and books every day. right now, i cannot get enough of the four gospels – matthew, mark, luke, and john. my favorite app on my phone is spokenword nt, which is audio recordings of the entire new testament. listening to the Word of God spoken aloud and all together has become one of my favorite ways to spend a drive, a walk, or a few minutes before bed.but there is so much more! i’ve been so impacted by listening to sermon podcasts lately, and especially the sermons from Jesus Church, available on itunes. dozens of Christian books big and small have helped point me back to God Himself, which is the only place we can truly get spiritual nourishment. We may have great resources, worshipful music, impacting sermons, or super-spiritual apps, but true spiritual growth happens when we have God.
- when have you most felt the Lord’s presence?
i felt God’s presence most clearly when i couldn’t feel Him at all. in the aftermath of the tragic death of a friend, i was crying out to God and asking Him to comfort me and be there for me and let me feel His arms around me, but i didn’t. i couldn’t understand why in this time when i needed Him most, He seemed completely absent. as i sat alone in a field, upset and confused as to where God was, i asked Him, “do you really understand how i feel?! you didn’t have to say goodbye like we did. you’re eternal. you don’t miss him like we do.” and suddenly, in an inaudible but distinct voice that pounded each word through my mind, He said, “i say thousands of goodbyes every day.” it was not at all the comforting words i was hoping for, but it was truth. and in the end, truth sets us free. it was a job moment for me, where God asks me to look up from my mess and see who He truly is. since then, i’ve felt God leading me and filling me and helping me over and over and over again. but i will never forget that voice which came to me in the midst of suffering.
- if you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?
sharalee, you know me well enough to know this is basically the hardest question you could possibly ask me. i love the whole world, and want to spend however long i have here exploring every part of it. i still want to live in romania, somewhere in africa, and somewhere in the middle east. but after a lot of traveling already, i’ve also begun to really appreciate my home in oregon. though i’m pretty sure God will be moving me from place to place for most of my life, i am loving every moment in this beautiful state. if I live in the u.s., i hope i can live right where i am. but if i leave the u.s., well, here come the adventures!
- how have you changed in the last 3 years?
the past 3 years have been the most influential years of my life. in 2011, i was excited about following Jesus and truly wanted to love Him with my whole heart. but I was plunged into a whole deeper level of faith when, as i previously mentioned, a friend died suddenly in an accident. that friend, jimmy brazell, had been one of the most inspirational people i’d ever met because of his overflowing eagerness to love Jesus by loving others. he talked and sang freely and happily about Jesus, heaven, people, peace, and love. at 19, jimmy had already made an impact all over america and in china, and i wanted to be like him. seeing the last day of someone who lived every day like it was his last left me changed, and gave me the urgency to start making a difference through Christ now. since then, i’ve spent a pretty big part of my life with teenpact leadership schools, which has indeed taught me about leadership and making the most of every opportunity, but has also brought me into relationship with some of my best friends: people who encourage me, motivate me, love me, speak truth to me, and point me to Jesus. add more than 7 months spent in china living uncomfortably and therefore more unhindered in loving people and Jesus, and it’s clear why i am such a different person from the shelby of april, 2011. i hope i am more focused, more wise, more logical, more sympathetic, more spontaneous, more radical, more predictable, more loving, and over-all more like Jesus.
- what are you passionate about?
read my third answer. Jesus. but honestly, i’ve begun to wonder if i really am “passionate” about Jesus. i think that i’m really just logical about Jesus. before i was really in love with Him, i was able to read through the Scriptures, see what Jesus said, and realize that His message is pretty clear. go read it for yourself. with the eternal perspective that comes from common sense, i started to understand that we should really be obeying what Jesus says a lot more literally. things like the time Jesus tells a rich man to go and sell everything he owns, give it to the poor, and then come follow Him – i know Jesus didn’t command every follower to do that, but why do we always err on the side of our personal benefit? i’d rather give away everything than soothe myself into a deceptive idea that leaves me with no treasure in heaven, and maybe following a Jesus i have made up to fit me. i say that perhaps i’m more logical than passionate about Jesus in this sense: i’d rather hear Jesus say “wow, you really did crazy things for me!” than to hear, “why didn’t you take me seriously?”
- what is your relationship like with your sisters?
i have three younger sisters (18, 13, and 11), and they are all amazing. the two younger ones have only been a part of my family for two years, and i learn more about them every day. having good relationships with our siblings is one of the hardest things most of us face, and i am no exception to that either. i am sometimes overwhelmed by realizing just how much influence i have as the oldest sister, just how much i can build up or tear down my sisters. my life motto, “no regrets,” has been a huge catalyst in helping me invest in my sisters. when jasmine wants to dance with me, or when destiny wants to read me the books she’s writing, or when macaela wants to tell me about struggles at work, it’s easy to brush them off like it’s not as important as whatever i’m doing. but reminding myself to live with no regrets has launched me into some of the most beautiful and memorable times with my sisters. i need to remember to be grateful that my sisters want me to be involved in their life; that’s something i cannot take for granted. people who see me on a stage or in a leadership role may say really nice things about how they look up to me, but how my family sees me is far more important, and far more true. what would my home be like if Jesus were here instead of me? am i truly living like Him? am i making my sisters want to know Him more? am i patient, kind, not envious, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, not keeping records of wrongs? do i never delight in evil, but rejoice in the truth? do i always protect, always trust, always hope, and always persevere? i do fail often, but even failures produce opportunities to set an example in humility, honesty, and reconciliation. i have a very, very few short years to live with my sisters, and i want to love them like Jesus does.
- what area in your life are you experiencing the most growth in lately?
i’m growing in so many different, subtle ways that it’s hard for me to even understand them, much less identify and label them. but i think a lot of the growth i’m experiencing right now could be labeled as “resolve.” from practical things like deciding to actually start exercising, to promoting social justice by actually trying to do something to end abortion, to changing my routine to actually pray in the morning, i’ve been learning that good intentions never acted upon are worthless. resolutions i made in China to stop spending money wastefully, to give generously, or to speak boldly have often been hard to stick with back in the states. but i ask God every single day to fill me with His Holy Spirit, to help my unbelief, to make me someone that the devil fears. i know He is faithful, even when i can’t see it as it happens. i’ve trusted Him thus far, and i will keep trusting Him. i can’t wait to see what we do, where we go, and how we change lives together.
beautiful mess 