He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Benke earned his Masters of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary and was ordained a pastor at his boyhood church in Milwaukee on June 15, 1972.
Benke was elected president of the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod in 1991 and has been re-elected seven times, most recently in 2012.
One such individual was Dr. Wallace Schulz, who was at that time the host of The Lutheran Hour and Second Vice President of the Synod.
The charges against Benke were eventually withdrawn because an investigation determined he had received permission to attend the Yankee Stadium event from Kieschnick, his ecclesiastical supervisor.