Anouncing the middle name for my son, Jack...

After much thought and deliberation, I have chosen a middle name for my son.

Vanessa and I were ecstatic to find out back in December that we would be having our first boy. We have known for a few years now that our first son would be Jack -- we've both loved that name since we first got married almost four years ago.

About four months into the pregnancy, my wonderful, lovely, patience wife says, "Eric -- I want you to pick the middle name. It can be anything you want. And I promise, unless it is a name I just cannot stand, I won't veto it."

What a wife.

I spent the last three months deliberating. As a matter of convention, there were some ground rules: Our convention is to choose an easy to spell, short, classic first name (Jane, Chloe, Jack) and a unique, multi-syllabic, semi-avant-garde middle name (Reagan, Charlotte). Equally as important, all names must have strong meanings ("God is gracious," "Free," "Little leader," etc.)

And so, I am pleased to announce that my son will be:

Jack Benaiah Pilon

Benaiah means "God has built" and he appears in the Bible in 2 Samuel 23. Benaiah was recruited by King David, a man after God's own heart, to be head bodyguard. He was the most honored of David's mighty men.

When we're first introduced to Benaiah in Scripture, we're told of his great exploits: he killed two of Moab's best fighters -- this would be like a marine taking out Al-Qaeda's #1 and #2 -- bring it! He took on a 7 foot tall Egyptian: out-gunned and undersized -- and won. And, oh by the way, he killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day.

Mark Batterson, in his book In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day, uses the story of Benaiah to make a few larger points about following Christ: playing it safe is risky; unlearn your fears; choose to view danger and adversity as opportunity.

What I love about the story of Benaiah is that he comes across a lion during bad conditions -- it's snowy, so it's cold and wet and the ground is probably slippery. In that moment, he has a choice: run from danger or chase it. As we know, Benaiah gives chase, gets the lion in a pit and, instead of taking satisfaction in his win he jumps in to finish the job.

I believe the church in particular and our world as a whole needs more men like Benaiah. Men who chase danger, who go for the kill instead of being satisfied with the mere appearance of victory. Men who will take on foreign giants like the 7 foot Egyptian because they need to be killed despite the fact that they are outsized and out gunned. Men who go after the two best guys the enemies have -- and take them out.

And I believe that is the kind of man my son, Jack Benaiah, will be.