The Danger Of Turning Back

March 21, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Jesus never hesitated to speak the truth. After one such time, a sad verse appears: From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. (John 6:66)

The words of Jesus are so countercultural, so counterintuitive, that they might be shocking to our human ears. We get used to thinking along certain lines, and then Jesus says, “That’s not the way. I AM the only way.”

Why do these statements ruffle us so much? I think they remind us that He is Lord, and there is no other. We like to think that we have options … we think, “Surely He means this” … we convince ourselves that there is some wiggle room. But we are wrong.

Jesus says: I AM. His way is the only way.

Some people turn back when they hear this. That’s to say, they don’t deny Jesus is Savior, but they no longer want to do the hard work of being His disciple. “Turn back” means to separate; it’s the opposite of coming alongside or following Jesus.

“No longer followed” in this verse is translated “walked no more” in the King James Version. They stood still. If we choose to stand still or to turn back, we miss out. Those who turned back missed out on the miracles, on the personal conversations, on the deeper intimacy with Jesus.

Those who turn back say believing in Jesus is enough, but they think discipleship is just too hard. Can they still have salvation that leads to eternal life? Yes, but it becomes harder and harder because they want to try to pursue it on their own.

I’d rather keep on walking, keep on learning, keep on maturing, keep on following.

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Nurturing The Leader Within Your Child (book review)

March 20, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I make no attempt to hide my admiration for Dr. Tim Elmore. I read his blog throughout the week, I subscribe to his newsletter, and I find his books right on target. As a parent, I always want to raise my game, and Nurturing The Leader Within Your Child is the perfect resource for me.

Tim’s desire in this book is two-fold: (1) Help parents see the enormous potential in their children, and (2) Help parents see how crucial their role is in releasing that leadership potential. One of his premises is this:

“Children want parents who:

  • communicate their interest in me;
  • express appreciation for each member of our family;
  • structure their lives to spend time together;
  • welcome my friends into our home;
  • answer my questions;
  • are committed to each other;
  • deal with crisis in a positive way;
  • are honest;
  • correct kids when needed, but not in front of friends;
  • don’t argue in front of me;
  • concentrate on strengths instead of weaknesses; and
  • are consistent.”

The concepts Dr. Elmore presents are clear, concise, and simple to implement. But they are not microwaveable concepts; that is to say, you shouldn’t expect an overnight success story. But if you want to see your children discover and tap into the leadership potential resident inside them, you—Mom and Dad—will have to nurture it. If you are ready, this book can help!

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On The Record

March 20, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

When Jesus is getting ready to feed the multitude that had gathered to hear Him speak, Jesus asked Philip a question: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5). It seems like a fair question, but the next verse gives us insight into Christ’s motivation behind the question:

Jesus asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.

Jesus had something in mind, but He wanted to know what Philip had in mind. If Jesus had not asked Philip to be on the record up front, Jesus could have multiplied the loaves and fish, and then Philip could have said, “I knew You could do it! I knew it all the time!”

But to test us, Jesus needs to get us on the record. The word test means to know the value of something; to know its strength; to know what it’s capable of.

My faith cannot be grown if it’s not tested. It cannot be accurately tested if I’m not on the record first. Jesus knows what He’s going to do: Glorify the Father. I can say that’s what I wanted all along after the miracle is done, but then my faith hasn’t grown one iota.

I can only see my faith grow when I am on the record (as Philip was) in saying, “How in the world could we get enough money to fix this problem?” Especially when Jesus isn’t even going to use money to fix that problem!

Here’s the principle:

NO testing = NO growth

It’s only when I see that my faith is not as big as it should be that I can say, “Lord, I believe You, but help my unbelief.” He will bring me into a test so that I can grow, and the Father can be glorified. It’s scary being on the record, because only then can I see how much more growth I need!

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My Mediator

March 19, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

If anyone ever felt his pain was undeserved, it was Job! His life is so invaluable for us to be able to answer the question, “Where’s God in the midst of my dark times?”

Job tried to makes sense of what was happening to him. Sometimes he thought God was so awesome and so powerful that He was completely unknowable. God was a faceless, unapproachable Being. At other times Job thought God was so righteous that He would have nothing to do with him. So in the depth of his despair he called out for someone to be his mediator (see Job 9:33-35).

An effective mediator has to be someone who can understand and relate to both parties. He cannot be partial to one side, nor unsympathetic to one side. He has to be able to relate to both parties. In this case, he would have to be able to relate to both God and man—he would have to be able to be able to understand this Indefinable Power and this Supreme Morality and man’s struggle to come to grips with both of these views of God. Jesus is that Mediator.

[Jesus] gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. (Philippians 2:7)

God Himself chose to step into all of our pain!!

The Bible describes Jesus as a Man of sorrows, One familiar with suffering, One acquainted with grief.

Jesus knows your pain even more acutely than you know it yourself. He wants to take all of your pain, and bear it for you. Jesus is not some faceless, unknowable Entity; He’s not aloof, He’s not unapproachable, He’s not unmoved by your pain. Will you let Him carry your pain?

He wants you to know Him as your Mediator:

Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because He was tempted in every way that we are. But He did not sin! So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

What a Friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and griefs to bear

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer

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Pet (Pastoral) Peeve

March 16, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing pastors say, “Ministry would be great if it weren’t for the people.”

Pastor: People ARE your ministry!

After Christ’s resurrection, He wanted to help restore Peter. Jesus asked Peter a simple question, “Do you love Me?” When Peter acknowledged that he did, Jesus gave Peter a way to show it: “Feed My sheep.” I believe this exchange is what Peter had in mind when he penned the words,

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. (1 Peter 5:2-3)

Is it hard to be a shepherd? Yes.

Are some sheep difficult to shepherd? Yes.

Is it worth it to shepherd them? Yes, yes, YES!!

I love Oswald Chambers’ insight on this:

“Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions—I have to feed His sheep.”

Jesus, increase my capacity to love Your sheep. All of Your sheep—the ones that bite; the ones that are nice; the ones that are untidy; the ones that are clean; the ones that are thankful; the ones that are ungrateful; the ones that “get it”; the ones that don’t. All of YOUR sheep. Thank You, Lord, for the supreme honor and heavy responsibility of serving as Your under-shepherd.

UPDATE: This idea of pastors as shepherds is what drove me to write my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter. I hope you will pick up a copy today!

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Thursdays With Oswald—The Intimacy Of God

March 15, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

The Intimacy Of God

     The 139th Psalm ought to be the personal experience of every Christian. My own introspection, or exploration of myself, will lead me astray, but when I realize not only that God knows me, but that He is the only One who does, I see the vital importance of intercessory introspection. Every man is too big for himself, thank God for everyone who realizes it and, like the Psalmist, hands himself over to be searched out by God. We only know ourselves as God searches us. ‘God knows me’ is different from ‘God is omniscient’; the latter is a mere theological statement; the former is a child of God’s most precious possession—‘O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me.’

From Biblical Ethics

I love the line, “We only know ourselves as God searches us.”

He knows me better than I know myself. If I ever hope to mature, I can only do so as I make this my daily prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23,24)

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Listen To This!

March 14, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

There are a lot of voices out there. A lot! Facebook, Twitter, email, texts, news reports, conversations with friends, opinions of experts, sermons from pastors.

Jesus said,

I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not accept Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. (John 5:43)

How quickly I tune in to…

…that expert

…this esteemed pastor

…that doctor

…this teacher

…that specialist

…this author

…that friend

But all he or she can share is what he or she knows.

When Jesus speaks, it is with all the wisdom that is known, AND with all the wisdom that hasn’t even been discovered by man yet. He is all-knowing, all-wise, all loving. Jesus should always be my first and final authority.

Am I listening to His words? Or am I tuning in to someone else?

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We Must Pray

March 13, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I don’t want to make my plans, and then ask God to bless them.

Instead, I want to ask God what He will bless, and then go do that.

There’s a huge difference. In order to know the difference, we must pray!

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

“Let it be a standing ordinance in the church that at certain times and occasions many shall meet together to pray, and supplication shall be their sole object. The private Christian will read, and hear, and meditate, but none of these can be a substitute for prayer: the same truth holds good upon the larger scale, the church should listen to her teachers, and receive edification from gospel ordinances, but she must also pray; nothing can compensate for the neglect of devotion.”

I have called for our church to have times that prayer will be our sole object. On Friday, March 23, and Friday, March 30, we will be meeting to pray. No singing, no devotional thoughts; just prayer for an hour starting at 5:30pm. If you are in the area, I welcome you to join us. If you’re not in the area, you can still join us in prayer.

Specifically, we’ll be praying for God to move on people’s hearts as we approach the Passion Week. We don’t want to just make a bunch of plans. We want to know what God would have us do during that week that will glorify His Name.

We must pray!

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Can We Truly Call Ourselves “Christian”?

March 13, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

These are eye-opening statistics from noted church researcher Thom Rainer:

  • 82% of unchurched people are likely to attend church if someone invites them.
  • 7-out-of-10 unchurched people have never been invited in their entire lifetime!
  • That’s because only 2% of church members invite someone to come.

Friends, this ought not be!

I’m looking myself squarely in the mirror when I ask this:

Why am I not inviting more people?!

Check out what J.C. Ryle wrote:

“We ought to feel compassion when we think of the wretched state of unconverted souls, and the misery of all men and women who live and die without Christ. No poverty like this poverty! No disease like this disease! No slavery like this slavery! No death like this…. I lay it down boldly, as a great principle, that the Christianity which does not make a person feel for the state of unconverted people is not the Christianity which came down from heaven hundreds of years ago, and is [displayed] in the New Testament. It is a mere empty name.”

I don’t want to be a Christian in name only. I want my life to embody the love and life of Christ. He loved all of humanity so much that He came to die as payment for our sins. He paid the price so we could live.

Why am I not telling more people about this incredible, life-changing news?!

I want to make a HUGE dent in these statistics!

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Every Sunday Is Easter

March 12, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

At most churches, Easter Sunday is the most well-attended service of the year. Perhaps this is appropriate, since the resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone event of the Christian faith. Without Christ’s resurrection, what hope would we have?!

The first Christians were so convinced of the life-changing power of this singular event that they began to gather for worship on the first day of the week (Sunday), in honor of the resurrection. For them, every Sunday was resurrection Sunday.

What if we treated every Sunday like Easter?

Would we invite more people to church? I’m sure we would!

Of all the days of the week we could pick to gather together, why Sunday? Because Sunday reminds us of what happened 2000 years ago at a garden tomb in Jerusalem. Jesus arose from the dead!

When I look at the first followers of Jesus (see John 1:35-51), I see something amazingly simple in the lives of Andrew and Philip. It’s as simple as 1-2-3…

  1. They encountered Jesus.
  2. They immediately went to find a friend to tell them about this encounter.
  3. They invited their friend to “Come and see” Jesus for themselves.

Has Jesus changed your life? Then find a friend and say, “Come and see!” Don’t wait for Easter Sunday to invite someone to meet Jesus. Invite them to come this Sunday! (If you don’t have a church home, and you live in West Michigan, I invite you to come join me at Calvary Assembly of God.)

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