Don’t Stop Now

February 14, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Today is Valentine’s Day – a day set aside for us to express our love to our sweethearts. Sadly, for many people, other than their birthday this may be the only day that someone is focused on them. lonely-valentine

My encouragement to you… don’t stop today. Don’t let today be the only day those close to you see and hear and experience your love for them.

Don’t let your spouse wonder.
Don’t let your kids guess.
Don’t let your friends hope.

Don’t stop “studying” your loved ones. Learn what love language they speak, and then don’t stop speaking it. (If you haven’t read it already, I highly recommend Dr. Gary Chapman’s great book The Five Love Languages.)

Flowers, candy, cards, and romantic dinners today are a start. Don’t stop now. Keep it going all year long.

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Again?!?

February 8, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I heard a pastor say once, “You’re either in a trial right now, just coming out of a trial, or will soon be going through a trial.” And I thought to myself, “Wow! What a cheery thought… not!”

Do you ever feel that way? Like you just get through one challenging time, only to be greeted by another challenging time? If you just focus on the challenging times, you will miss the point. The point is: God is doing something wonderful in you.

Check out what Jesus says in John 15 —

…God cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. (Amplified Bible)

Did you catch that phrase: every branch that continues to bear fruit? Does it feel like God is constantly working on you? That’s good! That means you are already bearing fruit, but God desires for you to be even more fruitful (or as the Amplified Bible says, even more rich and excellent!).

The writer of Hebrews says it this way —

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child He loves that He disciplines; the child He embraces, He also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. (Hebrews 12:5,6 The Message)

So the next time you feel like saying, “Again?!?” change it to “Yes, again! This must mean God wants to bring even more excellent and rich fruit out of my life!” God love you, my friend!

Here’s to more fruit!

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Empowering The Team

June 22, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In reading Leadership Is Dead, one passage particularly stood out to me:

The wise leader understands that sharing the burden benefits the entire team over the long term. Empowering others makes tasks manageable while also allowing team members to sharpen their skills and build upon their strengths. When a leader refuses to share the load, he brings disservice to the organization because those on his team are not allowed to develop their own leadership skills, and the next generation of leaders are not developed properly for future organizational success.

Think back to the first two kings in Israel’s history: Saul and David. Both stood out from everyone around them as a strong leader. But only one of them left behind a lasting leadership legacy.

Both Saul and David had men who were immediately attracted to them. Saul was surrounded by valiant men, while David was surrounded by society’s rejects. But clearly David was an empowering leader, and Saul was not. Want proof?

The Bible gives a lengthy list of David’s mighty men, along with quite a résumé of their heroic accomplishments. The list of Saul’s mighty men is: .

I think David was secure in the fact that God called him to lead, while Saul was constantly second-guessing.

  • This made David generous, and Saul jealous.
  • David liberated his men, and Saul contained his men.
  • David encouraged, and Saul controlled.

In the end: David left a legacy, and Saul did not.

What kind of leader do you want to be?

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A Birthday Note

May 24, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

     Dear Brandon,

     Has it really been 11 years already?!? As the old cliché says, “Time sure flies when you’re having fun!” And it certainly has been so much fun watching you grow up.

     In many ways you have helped me grow up too. One of the things I most appreciate about you is your sensitivity to other people, and your ability to encourage them. I have a lot of notes from you around so that I will see them often. It seems like whenever I’m having a rough time, I stumble across one of your notes that helps get me refocused.

     You have taught me the value of encouragement. Did you know that the word encouragement literally means to put courage into someone?

  • Courage to do the right thing, even when everyone else is doing the wrong thing.
  • Courage to focus on God, even when everyone else is focusing on their fears.
  • Courage to give my very best, even when everyone else is trying to just get by.  

     Thank you, Brandon, for showing me the power of encouragement. One of your notes to me simply says, “Just trust God.” So I say the same thing to you, my son: Trust in Him in all you do, and He will make your path straight.

     Happy 11th Birthday!

     I love you,

     Dad

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The Blessing Of Adversity (book review)

April 12, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Barry C. Black has lived a full life, and that fullness has been poured into his timely book The Blessing Of Adversity: Finding your God-given purpose in life’s troubles.

A quick show of hands: how many of you have experienced trouble lately? How many of you are experiencing it right now? If you raised your hand in either category, this book could be quite helpful to you.

The Blessing Of Adversity is arranged into 23 chapters, but each chapter is broken down into several “mini chapters.” By that I mean that Chaplain Clark gives us several different ways of viewing the same topic of how to respond to adversity. He might tell you a personal story from his boyhood or his 23-year military career; or perhaps he’ll give you a modern-day example from his current ministry as chaplain to the U.S. Senate; or maybe a story from the pages of history; or a well-timed quote. Whatever his method, he always connects it with an encouraging word from the Bible to help the reader correctly process the times of adversity we all must pass through.

I found this book to be highly practical, and immediately applicable to my life. And for those of you who didn’t raise your hand earlier, there are a couple of chapters for you on how to prepare for the future adversity you are bound to face. This book would work very well as either an individual or small group Bible study.

I am a Tyndale book reviewer.

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Bringin’ It!

March 29, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Everywhere you go today, you are bringing something. What is it?

Compassion … Empathy … Servanthood … Encouragement … A smile?

…or…

Disinterest … Apathy … Selfishness … Discouragement … A frown?

Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace, that
where there is hatred, I may bring love;
where there is wrong, I may bring forgiveness;
where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
where there is error, I may bring truth;
where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
where there is despair, I may bring hope;
where there are shadows, I may bring light;
where there is sadness, I may bring joy. —Francis of Assisi

So what are you going to bring today?

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Set Up

December 6, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I absolutely love this quote from Albert Einstein —

“‎Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

This is so right on. And can be so sad.

I run into so many people that have this terrible message playing over and over and over in their minds, “I’m stupid … I’m worthless … I don’t have any talent ….”

Perhaps we need to find some water for these fishes!

Get it? Instead of trying to change people’s wrong perspective of themselves, let’s get them set up for success. Help them discover where they are a genius … where they are invaluable … where they are talented.

Gotta go… I have a few fishes I need to point to water. Want to join me?

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Encouraging Presence

November 1, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever been down in the dumps? Ever been discouraged or blue? Have you ever felt like no one gets you? In those moments, have you asked God for encouragement?

The Apostle Paul was feeling a little down, and he asked God to send him encouragement. God answered this way…

But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

Paul says in the next verse, Titus’ presence was a joy.

This word for encourage simply means showing up for a friend. Do you realize you could be a huge source of encouragement to someone just by showing up?

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” — Walter Winchell

Who needs you to just show up by their side today? Just by showing up, you could be the answer to someone’s desperate prayer for encouragement.

Go, be there for a friend!

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Everything I Need Is Right Here

June 11, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

God wants to bless people. He wants it so much, that He puts everything we need to receive His blessing right in front of us.

It’s not elusive. It’s not obscure.

I don’t need a Master’s in Divinity to figure this out –

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. …No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

The New Testament amplifies this:

  • God’s laws are written on my heart, and my conscience tells me if I’m obeying them or not (Romans 2:15).
  • The Holy Spirit teaches and reminds me of everything I need (John 14:26; 16:8; 16:13).

You don’t need a spiritual pilgrimage to find God. He’s already written on your heart what you need to call out to Him. Don’t delay… call to Him today.

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Wind Or Anchor

March 15, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I so appreciate my church Board!

They are by no means a bunch of “yes men” (especially since one of our Board members is a woman!), but they are definitely great teammates. When I want to dream, they dream along with me. When I’m looking for a new way to do something, they help me explore our options. When I propose that we experiment, they give me the latitude to make the attempt.

They are the wind in my sails.

Unfortunately I’ve been around too many board members who feel it is their job to play devil’s advocate, or to hold the pastor to the time-honored traditions (without any regard to their effectiveness), or to always play everything safe.

They are an anchor around a pastor’s ankle.

French novelist Andre Gide noted,

“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”

Thanks, Calvary A/G Board, for allowing us to lose sight of the shore every once in awhile so that we can see what new lands God will help us discover. You are definitely the wind in my sails.

What about you, dear reader? You may not be on an official board, but your comments and attitudes can either be wind or an anchor to someone close to you. Which are you?

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