Ben is a native of North Carolina, born in Winston-Salem and raised in Banner Elk. During college Ben felt a calling to ministry. He enrolled at Union Presbyterian Seminary and also discerned a calling to Navy Chaplaincy. Ben served as a General Associate Pastor at Patuxent Presbyterian Church in California, MD, and while there also commissioned as a Navy Reserve Officer. Ben was called to SHPC in 2023.

Ben is happily married to Paige, and they have one son, Salem