ben tugwell
lead pastor
ben is the lead pastor at integrity church. he is a graduate of word of life bible institute and southeastern college in wake forest, n.c. after graduating, he spent four years in student ministry and he was involved in church planting one year before coming in 2007 to greenville to plant Integrity. ben is married to jes and has a son, finn. he hails from rocky mount, n.c. he loves to pretend he is good at basketball.
what is your pet peeve?
people that get really close to my face while talking to me. I am not a fan of feeling the heat from someone’s breath while in conversation.
who would you like to meet?
steve jobs … the mac/pixar guy. i love everything mac. steve is a genius. i’m not sure what I would say but I would still like to meet him.
what is your most embarrassing moment?
there are many … seriously … many, but one of them would be the time I went to preach at a small country church as a guest speaker and this lady told me that I looked like Clay Aiken … humiliating
what are your hobbies?
reading theological books and discovering obscure music and films. people at Integrity make fun of my music style and no one thinks my movie recommendations are good {other than me and a select few that have a respect for dark humor and all things wes anderson}. in addition, at the risk of ailinating the entire community of greenville and risk losing credibility here, i must admit that i also like to watch unc basketball … but only basketball.
what is your unknown talent?
I have an acute ability to memorize sports facts and statistics. i used to collect baseball and basketball cards when I was a kid. i loved studying how a player progressed or digressed each season. i know … it sounds boring.
what would be the worst way to die?
get eaten by a shark. i grew up in the ’80s. jaws the movie was popular then. consequently, everyone my age has a deep rooted childhood fear of getting devoured by a shark.
what is your favorite smell?
wow, what an odd question. i feel like i’m being interviewed by james lipton. well, i suppose i would have to say that i love the smell in my house after my wife bakes something. my wife is an amazing cook and baker. her cookies are the best because they are made with love. as opposed to the cookies that aren’t.
what is your favorite thing to eat?
chinese. quick tip - if you want to know if a chinese restaurant is good, try the sesame chicken. If the sesame chicken is good, typically you have found a good chinese restaurant.