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.
In Paul’s second letter to his friend Timothy, he has quite a bit to say about love—really about two kinds of love.
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:3)
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13)
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22)
But as he nears the end of this letter, he warns Timothy about an entirely different kind of love. The word “love” appears six times in a span of just three verses, with four of those times being words that are unique in all of the New Testament. This is his warning about the last days—
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will belovers of themselves,loversof money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal,not lovers of the good,treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2 Timothy 3:1-4)
In “the last days,” the negative characteristics of people will be driven by their misplaced love. They will be…
…lovers of themselves. This is a unique word in the New Testament meaning their only interest is self-interest.
…lovers of money. These people are ambitious in their pursuit of more, more, more. They are covetous people. Luke uses this same word to describe some Pharisees “who loved money” (Luke 16:14). Literally translated, it means lovers of silver.
…without love. People so self-focused on their pursuits that the needs of others around them scarcely enter their thoughts, even if those people are their own family members.
…not lovers of the good. Another unique word that goes beyond simply lacking love, but being antagonistic toward people who are attempting to be loving and kind to others.
…lovers of pleasure. This unique word means a friend of hedonism. Their pursuit is not just money, but anything that will scratch their itch. This mindset never considers whether their pursuit is healthy, worthwhile, or even injurious to others.
…[not] lovers of God. This final unique word that Paul uses describes people who have decided to pursue anything except God. Or as the psalmist might say, there is no room for God in any of their thoughts (see Psalm 10:4).
This is why Solomon told us to guard our heart, or to pay attention to what our heart longs for (Proverbs 4:23), and why Jesus told us to monitor our words that are revealing the pursuits that are truly in our heart (Matthew 12:34).
Jesus identified the fulfillment of all the requirements of the law as loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then loving our neighbor with the same care that we would love ourselves (see Luke 10:25-37).
What kind of lover are you?
Are you pursuing God or are you pursuing your own pleasure?
You could gauge your love by asking these questions:
What or whom do I think about the most?
What do I talk about the most?
What do I do more than anything else?
We are, as Paul told Timothy, living in “the last days,” with the imminent return of Jesus. Honestly answering those three questions will help you know whether you will hear Jesus say, “Well done! Enter into your Master’s happiness” or, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.”
I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding…. (Philemon 6 NIV)
Faith works! As Dr. Henry Halley noted, “Working faith is a sharing faith.”
Faithful working deepens our understanding of all the good things Jesus has given us. Those good things should then fuel us to share the good things—and the Source of all good things—with others.
I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ. (Philemon 6 NET)
A faith that merely believes without acting would be an ineffective faith. A faith that works becomes a lifestyle testimony that points others to Jesus.
And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. (Philemon 6 MSG)
It is a double blessing to do good things for others:
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week we saw that the essential confession is not just, “I believe You are the Christ the Son of the living God,” but also, “I will take up my cross and follow You!” (Matthew 16:16-18, 24). Notice that these are “red letter words”—words spoken by Jesus. They are not “they say” words (like v. 14; Matthew 7:21-23).
Look at the very next red letter words in Matthew 7:24-27. Notice the two parts: hears and puts them into practice. That’s our verbal and our lifestyle confession. What are we hearing and putting into practice? “These words of Mine.”
Jesus is our Cornerstone. The dictionary defines this as, “something that is essential, indispensable; the chief foundation on which something is constructed or developed.”
Some sandy things to build your life upon:
what your family practiced
what your pastor preached
what your friends believe
You know how you will know how sure your foundation is? When the storms come! I recently heard a well-known scholar and Christian apologist in an interview. He was asked by a skeptic of Christianity if he had doubts, and he responded, “Sure, I have doubts. But I choose to believe what the Bible says.” And I thought, “How sad to live this way.” We have a reliable, unshakable foundation in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:18-22; 1 Corinthians 15:58).
Religions and philosophies have come and gone.
Spiritual giants have stumbled, and fierce tyrants have growled and then died.
Traditions and societies have changed through the millennia.
Our Cornerstone remains unmovable and we can stand on Him unshaken. This foundation…
…was prophesied—Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22
…was fulfilled—Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11-12
…is still standing today—Ephesians 2:19-20; 1 Peter 2:4-6
…will still be standing for all eternity—Revelation 21:5; John 14:1-4
So there is no need to be afraid. There is no need to get frustrated. There is no need to engage in meaningless debates with the “they say” crowd. Stand firm on the red letter words—our Cornerstone.
“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!”
Check out all of the other messages in this “I Will Build My Church” series here.
Comedian Brian Regan has a great bit about the “Me Monster.” Don’t be that person! John Maxwell wrote, “The problem is that interrupting translates to ‘What I want to say is more important than what you are saying.’” We probably can all do better at this.
“To bear the burdens of others we need to be careful to maintain an attitude of humility, coupled with a readiness to serve, according to the gifts and opportunities God gives us at any time (Romans 12:3-8). Even if it’s true that our fellow believers are acting like children, or like people who just need to ‘grow up’ in their faith, our responsibility is to humble ourselves and be ready to show them the love of Jesus however we may (Romans 14:1-18).” —T.M. Moore
“A cosmos one day being rebuked by a pessimist replied, ‘How can you who revile me consent to speak by my machinery? Permit me to reduce you to nothingness and then we will discuss the matter.’ Moral: You should not look a gift universe in the mouth.” —G.K. Chesterton [see Job 38:1-4]
“Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right.” —Fulton Sheen
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There is nothing in your spiritual armory that makes the devil afraid of you. But there is one thing that will always cause him to flee from you: When you bow to Jesus.
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Paul salutes his friend Titus, “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 1:4).
I’m not sure why several English translations of the Bible leave the word mercy out of this verse, because the Greek clearly says charis, eleos, eirene. Especially when we consider that this was an intentional word Paul was inspired to pen to a specific person.
In every letter Paul writes to a church (plus in his personal letter to his friend Philemon), he greets the saints with “grace and peace” (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; Philemon 3). This is also the greeting of Peter and John to the churches (1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:2; Revelation 1:4).
But in Paul’s three pastoral letters, he says, “Grace, mercy, and peace” (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4). Only John in the New Testament uses this salutation in a personal correspondence to another church leader (2 John 3).
From this, I think we would be wise to note that Paul feels his pastoral proteges need to keep mercy in the forefront of their minds. Not that pastors—and the “dear lady” in John’s second letter—don’t know that God has been merciful to them, but as a reminder of just how importantmercy truly is to both pastors and to the saints under their care.
Charles Spurgeon wrote that pastors need to be reminded of mercy “as if the higher the office, the greater the liability to sin.” I think one of the biggest temptations for leaders is to believe their elevated title means they are to be served by others, rather than to continually take the role of a servant serving others.
Pastoral leaders will also do well to recall that “all we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 2:25), and that “all” includes both pastors and saints. Pastors need to quickly recognize anytime they may be straying from their servant’s role, repent, and receive God’s mercy.
Shepherd leaders also need to guard against the frustration that can creep into their heart when they see the sheep in their flock going astray. Paul and John are reminding these pastors to keep in mind how merciful the Chief Shepherd has been to them, and how this should stir up their mercy toward the flock around them.
Shepherd leaders have a vital need to keep mercy always in mind.
I think a good prayer for pastors might be—
Holy Spirit, in my moments of frustration, remind me of the “grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ [my] Savior” which has been extended to me innumerable times. May that recollection awaken in me increased depths of mercy toward the flock around me, despite how frequently they may stray. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
P.S. If you are interested in going deeper on the topic of pastors as leaders, please check out my book Shepherd Leadership.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Some people have a misconception about leadership that John Maxwell dispels in the opening words of his book Leading in Tough Times. He writes, “Good leaders understand that adversity and challenges are actually opportunities to rise up in leadership.”
In fact, I would say that some of the best leaders have gone through some of the toughest of times, learning lessons that have set them apart as an exemplary leader.
If those statements inspired you, then Leading in Tough Times is the book for you! As he does in all of his books, John Maxwell culls the best advice from the best sources and distills it down into actionable steps for leaders who are ready to learn. In this book, Mr. Maxwell shares seven challenges that give leaders opportunities not just to go through difficulties, but to grow through difficulties.
If you are in a challenging season right now, this book could be a lifeline for you. If you aren’t in a difficult season right now, use this book as a training manual for both you and the emerging leaders around you to prepare for the next challenge. After all, the challenging times are inevitable, but our growth as leaders in these times is entirely up to us.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week we talked about biblical beliefs carrying more weight that non-biblical or extra-biblical beliefs. Christians must stand firm on God’s Word to give biblical meaning to everything we say and do, otherwise we lose the true meaning of essential terms like Church and Christian. That means there are words we need to let go, and there is the Word for which we must stand without wavering or backing down.
Have you heard people make the “They say” claim? “Well, they say you said…,” “They say that Christians are…,” or “They say that Jesus said or did…” It’s always a good idea to get to the source of these statements.
This is what Jesus did in Matthew 16:13-14. Jesus asked His followers about the “they say” claims they had heard, especially in light of what Jesus had already addressed in Matthew 11:18-19.
Matthew 16:15 is a great question to ask others: What do you think of Jesus? By asking this question and truly listening to the answer, you may just be able to uncover some non-biblical “they say” thinking that you can help correct.
But this verse is also a great question for us to ask of ourselves! Why? Because there is a huge difference between a verbal confession and a lifestyle confession. Look at vv. 16-23 to see the difference between Peter’s verbal confession in verse 16 and his lifestyle confession in verse 22.
John may have had this exchange in mind when he wrote 1 John 1:5-10. Notice John’s contrast between the verbal confession (“If we claim”) and our lifestyle confession. Listen: Demons can make a verbal confession (Luke 4:41) but they will be confined in Hell for eternity (Matthew 25:41). In the same way, religious people can make a verbal confession and walk out a completely opposite lifestyle confession (Matthew 7:21-23).
A lifestyle confession can either amplify or cancel a verbal confession.
Jesus loved Peter’s verbal confession, but then He gave us a lifestyle confession in Matthew 16:24-28.
The essential confession is not just, “I believe You are the Christ the Son of the living God,” but also, “I will take up my cross and follow You!”
We lose our life when we live for Jesus’ words (“I will build My Church”) and not living for “they say” words. As Brennan Manning sad, “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.”
So let’s ask others, “What do you think of Jesus?” But let’s also ask ourselves that question. Let’s make sure that our verbal confession is being amplified by our lifestyle confession. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your vocabulary and your lifestyle. A great prayer for this is in Psalm 139:23-24.
If you’ve missed any of the messages in our series “I Will Build My Church”, you can find them all here.
Your gratitude blesses future generations. When you talk about the ways God has blessed you—and you are continually grateful for His provision—you are fortifying future generations as well.
“Wherever men are still theological, there is still some chance of their being logical.” —G.K. Chesterton
“We must not be too hot upon cold matters, but even this is better than to be cold upon matters that require heat.” —Charles Spurgeon
Clinton Manley says, “Although the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5–7 is often called a sermon, these words are closer to Henry V on the battlefield than to a pastor in his pulpit.” Before you read the Beatitudes again, check out this background to this battlefield message from Jesus.
“The ping of a notification, the silent vibration in a pocket, the ambient awareness that something, somewhere, might require a response: these are not incidental features of modern life. They are now its architecture…. The mind never fully settles. It hovers in a state of anticipatory vigilance, perpetually primed for the next interruption.” —Carl Hendrick
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Everyone wants to fit in—it’s an entirely natural human instinct to desire the approval of those around you. However, when this instinct causes us to change who we are it can become very destructive to us both personally and professionally. In today’s episode Greg and I discuss how being a poser is a sneaky leadership killer that can creep in without you even noticing.
[0:00] Introduction
[1:38] Posing is a leadership killer that might not be obvious to a leader.
[2:52] Why would a leader think they have to pose in front of certain groups?
[5:38] Leaders need to be cautious of thinking, “I have to fit in. I have to be liked by this group.”
[7:31] Posing isn’t changing a style of communication.
[8:26] Being misunderstood is very difficult for everyone, but we cannot fall into the posing trap in order to try to be understood.
[10:30] Our teams need to know what to expect from us.
[11:48] How does posing limit leadership effectiveness? How does authenticity launch a team?
[15:15] Posing leaders force their teams to think inside-the-box.
[16:54] Authentic leaders want to hire authentic team members to promote an authentic culture.
[19:40] Leaders need to be confident to be authentic, and that authenticity is incredibly freeing!
[23:40] Coaches who listen and observe and can help you spot the hidden areas of posing. Check out the Maximize Leadership coaching services.
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 