Pastors can only fulfill their calling as shepherd leaders with the vitalizing power of prayer, and must pray for themselves first. A healthy, prayer-full pastor is an effective pastor. My newest book is to help pastors in this vital discipline of prayer.
Amen Indeed fuels growth by providing more than 100 prayers for pastors to pray for their own mental, physical, spiritual, and relational growth. Each is sourced from Scripture and rings with the “Amen” that Jesus promised to add (2 Corinthians 1:20).
“There is one assured way for our prayers to be answered: It is to pray the will of God.
“There is one assured way to pray the will of God: It is to pray Scripture.
“As ministers of the Gospel we would be wise then to primarily pray Scripture, for ‘the word of our God stands forever’ (Isaiah 40:8).” —Dick Brogden, Founder of the Live Dead Movement
“When it comes to prayer, we need some help. And in Amen Indeed, help is at hand. Whatever is keeping us from prayer, Craig Owens can help us push through to a more consistent and more consistently joyful and fruitful life of prayer.” —T.M. Moore, Principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
Although no one can truly verify the accuracy of this story, it seems to fit the character of what we do know about Alexander the Great. This powerful leader was walk-in among the camp during the night and came upon a soldier who was supposed to be on guard duty. Except Alexander found him dozing off.
“Soldier, what is your name?” he demanded, bringing the sleeping soldier quickly awake.
“Alexander,” he stammered weakly.
Alexander stepped closer to the young man and repeated, “What is your name?”
“My name is Alexander, sir,” the soldier said a little more clearly this time.
Now, almost nose to nose, Alexander asked again, “What is your name?”
This time the soldier quietly said, “My name, sir, is Alexander.”
Alexander the Great then looked intently at the young soldier, “Either change your name or change your conduct.”
That story may or may not be true, but Brennan Manning’s words are most assuredly true: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” We must take an honest assessment of our lifestyle and then either change our name or change our conduct.
Our next Royal Psalm is Psalm 96. This psalm begins by echoing the words of praise the King David sang on the day the ark of the covenant of the Lord was brought to Jerusalem (see 1 Chronicles 16:23-29). This day may have been the pinnacle of this great king’s reign. Immediately after celebrating the return of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, God makes the promise to King David that his family will continue to reign until the coming of King Jesus (1 Chronicles 17).
Although this is a celebratory day for Israel—God’s chosen people—David’s psalm of thanks reverberates into all the world. It is David’s desire that not just the Jewish people, but all people know King Jesus as their Lord.
In our last Royal Psalm, we saw an invitation give to us three times to come into the presence of the King of kings (Psalm 95:1, 2, 6). But we are not to stay in the tabernacle with Him—Luke 9:28-33; 10:1. David uses words like: all the earth, the nations, all peoples, families of nations, the world (vv. 1, 2, 7, 9, 10, 13).
In the middle of Psalm 96 is our proclamation to the world. We have the word ascribe (vv. 7-8) three times and an invitation in the word come. Ascribe means, “Come! Come on! Come see His glory and strength!” Then just as we have seen His glory and strength for ourselves, we invite the world to bring an offering and come into His courts.
T.M. Moore wrote, “People in the unbelieving world have witnessed a good bit of hypocrisy, shallowness, disingenuousness, dishonesty, and corruption among the members of the Church. Many of them have installed a spam filter on their brains which automatically blocks anyone calling himself a Christian as having anything meaningful or significant to say.”
So these action words in Psalm 96 are our words backed up or supported by our lifestyle.
Sing (3x) in vv. 1-2. Songs naturally come from our lips because of what is in our minds and hearts. Make sure you are singing to the LORD a new song of His moment by moment goodness to you.
Praise His name (v. 2) is better translated as bless (see NKJV, AMPC, Strong’s). Bless means to not only celebrate our King, but then to bless other people in the name of the Lord. In the New Testament Greek, bless means to say good words—say good words to people about your good King.
Proclaim His salvation (v. 2). …You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 NLT)
Declare His glory…His marvelous deeds (vv. 3-6). Recount God’s miracles to you again and again.
Worship the LORD (v. 9). The Old English spelling was worth-ship—find ways to tell people how invaluable our King’s blessings are.
Say… “The LORD reigns” (v. 10). Do your words and attitude express that God is on His throne?
C.S. Lewis wrote, “Fine feelings, new insights, greater interest in ‘religion’ mean nothing unless they make our actual behavior better; just as in an illness ‘feeling better’ is not much good if the thermometer shows that your temperature is still going up. In that sense the outer world is quite right to judge Christianity by its results. Christ told us to judge by results. A tree is known by its fruit; or, as we say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world. … Our careless lives set the outer world talking; and we give them grounds for talking in a way that throws doubt on the truth of Christianity itself.”
Jesus called us to this (Matthew 5:16). Let’s be sure our words and lifestyle are an invitation to our King that no one can ignore.
“Oh! to be solid gold through and through. If so, you need not mind the trials of today, since they will only prepare you for the glories eternal at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” —Charles Spurgeon, commenting on 1 Peter 1:6-7
“The clearer and more compelling our vision, the more earnest, specific and devoted we will be in taking up the disciplines necessary to realize our vision.” —T.M. Moore
Dan Reiland writes that leaders under sustained pressure may “eventually face a breaking point where caving in no longer looks like a weakness and starts looking like the only option to survive.” He then shares some solid leadership practices to help us stand firm during these pressure-packed situations.
“The sign that the Holy Spirit is in us is that we realize, not that we are full, but that we are empty. There is a sense of absolute need. We come across people who try us, circumstances that are difficult, conditions that are perplexing, and all these things awaken a dumb sense of need, which is a sign that the Holy Spirit is there. If we are ever free from the sense of need, it is not because the Holy Spirit has satisfied us, but because we have been satisfied with as much as we have.” —Oswald Chambers, in If You Will Ask
How cool is this: “Another fascinating clue has been found pointing to Neanderthals belonging to the human population. In a Russian cave, researchers discovered what they believe to be a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal molar tooth with a hole in it. A LiveScience article has dubbed the discovery ‘the oldest evidence of intentional dentistry to date.’” Of course, this human isn’t 60,000 years old, but more like 4000 years old, and shows the intelligence that the Creator endowed in all humans.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
An insidious killer may be stalking your organization. As you look around at your team some of them may have already resigned. They might be showing up every day, but mentally and spiritually they have already quit trying. Join Greg and I as we discuss how resignation can creep in, and how your example of resilience can help stave it off.
Greg and I have co-authored the first book in our new series Business By The Book. Get your copy today.
[0:00] Introduction
[1:07] Resigning isn’t as obvious as someone saying, “I quit!”
[1:55] The attitude of resignation starts way before someone begins their work career.
[4:20] As a leader, is there value in telling people your story of grit? Does that encourage teammates or does it discourage them?
[6:14] Is resilience innate or learned or both?
[8:12] Resilience is often a grind, but it pays huge dividends for those who will stick with it. I share a conversation he had with an NBA player.
[11:08] Greg shares examples of two professional athletes who demonstrated resilience, as well as his own resilience on the football field.
[14:02] Leaders need to push themselves farther and not give themselves an “out.” This is how they show resilience as an encouragement for others.
[15:56] Greg shares how he transitioned an organization from a quiet culture to a hungry culture. I then share how I have helped others become hungry and resilient.
[18:08] Tough times are going to come to every individual and every organization. Leaders need to help prepare themselves and their teams.
[19:53] Is there a time for resigning? I think it’s possible that resigning is sometimes a healthy resilience.
[23:13] Greg shares a quote about resilience being a gift.
[25:01] Leaders are a gift to their entire organization when they are resilient.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow… (James 4:14).
I could modify this wisdom from James to say, “I don’t even know with certainty what will happen today!”
It’s okay to make my daily plans—servants in their master’s household do this—but I must never forget that I am not my own Master. I belong to Another, and He can use me as He knows best.
God does know—perfectly knows—what will happen today and may “interrupt” my plans (of course, it is only an interruption from my selfish perspective) as any moment.
In C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape is an older, more experienced demon, who is giving advice to his young nephew Wormwood about tempting his patient. Screwtape knew that this attitude of thinking, “My time is my own” is an ideal place to focus temptation. He counseled Wormwood—
“Now you will have noticed that nothing throws [your patient] into a passion so easily as to find a tract of time which he reckoned on having at his own disposal unexpectedly taken from him. … You must therefore zealously guard in his mind the curious assumption ‘My time is my own’. Let him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours. Let him feel as a grievous tax that portion of this property which he has to make over to his employers, and as a generous donation that further portion which he allows to religious duties. But what he must never be permitted to doubt is that the total from which these deductions have been made was, in some mysterious sense, his own personal birthright.”
This “Mine!” attitude can be kept in check by starting each day with the reminder that, “This is what I plan to do today, if the Lord wills.” With this in mind at the start of each day, I can view unexpected people or situations that come my way not as interruptions to my day, but as opportunities to glorify my Master. He wants me to steward the 24 hours He gives me each day, and my top priority has to be remembering that these hours are a gift from Him, not hours that are mine to do with as I please.
If I get upset with either the person that “interrupts” me or the situation which “takes up my time,” that is an indication of the “Mine!” attitude that I need to ask the Holy Spirit’s help to correct.
I’ve often joked that after “Mama” and “Dada,” the next word most toddlers learn is, “Mine!” Sothere’s a lot of that attitude that has been ingrained in us from birth. The Holy Spirit knows just how much “Mine!” is in there, and He knows how to help us remove it. Trust Him in that process.
And if you would like to check out some related posts, take a look at…
In Run to wait I use an example from Mr. Carson in the television series Downton Abbey to teach us about the urgent and important matters that we have to juggle each day.
In I checked nothing off my To Do list today I share a real-time example of how God’s “interruptions” were really His opportunities for me to be a blessing to others.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
When C.S. Lewis esteems another author’s work, that is a pretty good indication to me that I should take notice. Lewis wrote, “I was brought back…by the strong influence of two writers, the Presbyterian, George MacDonald, and the Roman Catholic, G.K. Chesterton.” In A Year with G.K. Chesterton, we get a small glimpse of what Lewis found so appealing.
Much like the multitude of genres in which Lewis wrote, Chesterton, too, shows an incredible skill to produce quality works in wide-ranging genres: prose, poetry, fantasy, theology, and political and cultural commentary, to name just a few.
Chesterton was well known for his quick wit and—at times—biting sarcasm. And yet, he could also speak so tenderly of a pastoral scene as he described how this scene showed us hints of heaven. It would be utterly impossible to pigeonhole him into just one genre of literature.
In A Year with G.K. Chesterton, editor Kevin Belmonte takes us across the full scope of this prolific author’s work. Because Chesterton was a devout Catholic, each day’s reading begins with a portion of Scripture, followed by an excerpt or two from Chesterton’s works, which illuminate the day’s Bible verses. Then we get an “On this day” portion, which may include an entry from Chesterton’s personal correspondence or insight into a momentous event on that particular day in Chesterton’s life. As you read through this overview, you may find yourself gravitating to a particular book or genre. I would encourage you then to track that book down and dive in.
After spending a few minutes with this insightful author for a full year, you will not only know more about him but you will have a new lens with which to read the Bible and to observe God’s creation all around you.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
Think about this: How do your favorite books end? How about the ending of your favorite movies?
I love listening to old-time radio shows, and I can quote the endings because they are all identical.
In the Bible, how do the epistles end? Most end with the author passing along his greetings, speaking a doxology like, “The Lord be with you,” or even a simple “Amen.”
Now listen to the last two verses of the Book of James: My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back,remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins (5:19-20).
James is a general epistle—not written to a particular congregation—so it was intended to be read to saints everywhere. The same is true for the Gospels:
Matthew: Jesus commissions His followers to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and then He promises, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Mark: “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere” (Mark 16:20).
Luke-Acts: “And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:53); they were baptized in the Holy Spirit and more saints went out preaching (Acts 2); Paul “proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!” (Acts 28:31).
John: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25). The implication, I believe, is that we are to do this as well—“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).
So James writes instructions to the saints in this same posture of an ongoing work. He writes his epistle as a cycle—
He ends with”brothers and sisters” (Greek: adelphos in 5:19-20), and starts with adelphos (1:2),
He ends with a call to prayer (5:13-15), and opens with a call to prayer (1:5-7).
He ends with a call to patience in trouble (5:7-11), and he begins teaching saints about trials (1:2-4).
He ends with encouragement of how maturing saints can triumph over difficult situations (5:16), and he opens with the word of encouragement that our difficult situations serve to mature us (1:12).
In between these bookends is fabulous counsel for daily living: Dealing with temptation, learning from the Word, watching our words, letting our day deeds reflect our faith, growing in wisdom, and seizing each day for God’s glory.
There is no finish line for me while God still has me on earth. If I’m still here, He’s still working on me so that He can work through me. We start our Christian journey justified—a one-time event where we’ve been made just as if we had never sinned. We end out journey when we are glorified—a one-time event when we arrive in Heaven. But along the journey we are being sanctified—an going process (that I like to call saint-ification) the whole time we’re on earth.
Throughout this sanctification process, we are continually growing. See Psalm 92:12-14—
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon, planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.
If you’re still breathing, you should still be…
…maturing through trials
…bearing increasingly more fruit
…useful for the Kingdom
…invaluable to the Body of Christ
So take a deep breath.
If you’re still breathing, God still has a plan for you. Don’t worry about the finish line (God will take care of that), but keep learning, growing, and serving all the way to the end.
Greg and I both have confessions to make about areas we fell short in our earlier careers. But we have learned that those stumbling points can be launching points for greater growth.
“Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first—the most basic—expression of Americanism.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower
Greg Morse calls out the way pornography addictions are hamstringing the church. “My intention is simply to kindle the abhorrence that every saint should have for this sin. I hate pornography. I hate what it does to young men; I hate what it does to marriages; I hate what it does to older men and even older ministers who trip while crossing the finish line. I hate its accessibility; I hate its covertness; I hate how it is designed by satan to disable the men and women who were made for so much more.”
“But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what [God] intended us to be when He made us. He is the inventor, we are only the machine. He is the painter, we are only the picture. How should we know what He means us to be like? … We may be content to remain what we call ‘ordinary people’: but He is determined to carry out a quite different plan. To shrink back from that plan is not humility: it is laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience.” —C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
“Leadership development is synonymous with personal development. As leaders grow personally, they increase their ability to lead. As they increase their capability to lead, they enlarge the capacity of their organization to grow. Therefore, the most crucial objective for any leader is personal growth. … The most important thing spiritual leaders do is cultivate their relationship with God (John 15:5; Jeremiah 7:13).” —Richard and Henry Blackaby, in Spiritual Leadership
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
Is it really true that practice makes perfect? And if so, what exactly does perfection look like?
“On the one hand, God’s demand for perfection need not discourage you in the least in your present attempts to be good, or even in your present failures. Each time you fall He will pick you up again. And He knows perfectly well that your own efforts are never going to bring you anywhere near perfection. On the other hand, you must realise from the outset that the goal towards which He is beginning to guide you is absolute perfection; and no power in the whole universe, except you yourself, can prevent Him from taking you to that goal.”
You may also want to check out a couple of related blog posts:
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)
All of the examples of faith-filled living in this 11th chapter of Hebrews are people who believed what God told them about their unseen future. And yet, they lived as though they could see it and hear it!
Abel offered “a better sacrifice” because he knew a greater reward was in his future.
Enoch walked with God like a friend.
Noah prepared for rain and for a flood.
Abraham saw his descendants living in their own land.
Sarah prepared to have a baby when she “was past childbearing age” and her husband was “as good as dead.”
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, and Jacob blessed Manasseh and Ephraim’s future descendants, as they saw them perpetuating Abraham’s family line.
Joseph planned for the exodus.
Moses’ parents saw him as a national leader.
Moses saw a kingdom greater than Egypt.
The Israelites saw dry ground where there was a vast ocean and a rushing river, and collapsed walls where there was there was an impassable city.
Rahab believed in the true God.
“There were others who were tortured”; “the world was not worthy of them”—“they were too good for this world” (v. 38 in the NLT).
But they were more “commended for their faith” than anyone who may have received accolades while on this earth.
Their commendation was, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into your Master’s happiness forever!” (see Matthew 25:21, 23, 34).
“Some faced jeers” but then heard the cheers of the “great cloud of witnesses” (12:1) and the applause from nail-scarred Hands!
Reading these faith-filled biographies prompts me to search my motivations—
What do I see? Am I too focused on the here and now?
What do I hear? Am I motivated by earthly cheers and discouraged by earthly jeers?
May my eyes see and my ears hear what God has promised. May my faith be confident in hope of what God has promised and assured about what I do not see or hear with my natural eyes and ears. Instead, may I see promises fulfilled and hear the joyful shout of, “Well done!”
“‘Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth’ [John 17:17]. The great objective of God’s Word is to make us holy. No diligence or success in Bible study will really profit us unless it makes us more humble and holy. In our use of Holy Scripture, this must be our main objective. The reason there is often so much Bible reading with so little real result in a Christlike character is that ‘…salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth’ (2 Thessalonians 2:13) is not truly desired. …
“It is God Himself who alone can make us holy by His Word. The Word, separate from God and His direct operation, cannot accomplish anything in us. The Word is an instrument: God Himself must use it. God is the only holy One. He alone can make holy. The unspeakable value of God’s Word is that it is God’s means of holiness.
“The terrible mistake of many people is that they forget that God alone can use it and make it effective. It is not enough that I have access to the office of a physician. I need for him to prescribe a cure. Without him, my use of his medicines could be fatal. This was true of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They made their boast in God’s law. They delighted in their study of Scripture and yet remained unsanctified. The Word did not sanctify them, because they did not seek for this in the Word and did not yield to God to do it for them [John 5:39-40]. …
“‘There is none holy as the Lord…’ (1 Samuel 2:2). All holiness is His, and He makes things holy by His holy presence. The tabernacle and temple were not holy in virtue of cleansing, separation, or an indwelling God. His taking possession made them holy. God makes us holy through His Word, bringing Christ and the Holy Spirit into us. The Father can only do this as we wait before Him and in deep dependence and full surrender give ourselves up to Him. When we pray by faith, ‘Sanctify [me] through Thy truth; Thy word is truth,’ our knowledge of God’s Word will truly make us holy.” —Andrew Murray
Pastors can only fulfill their calling as shepherd leaders with the vitalizing power of prayer, and must pray for themselves first. A healthy, prayer-full pastor is an effective pastor. My newest book is to help pastors in this vital discipline of prayer.
Craig T. Owens 