God’s Pleasure In Our Relationships

October 31, 2022 — 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. 

Last week we talked about God’s pleasure in our good work ethic and our good attitude about work. We have a God-implanted craving to do excellent work because God is an excellent Worker. 

We also said that although we would all like to have the job that was wonderful, even the crummy jobs deserve our best attitude and our best effort.  

This is very much the same for our relationships. We would all love to only have relationships in our lives that are energizing, fulfilling, and win-win. But the reality is that many of our relationships may be the exact opposite of this. 

Jesus said our love for others would show the world that we are His disciples. Oh yeah, and the love we show is supposed to be a “10” on the Jesus Love Scale (John 13:34-35). Why? Because that’s how Jesus loved us:

Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die. But God shows and clearly proves His own love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us. (Romans 5:7-8 AMP)

Remember we said that God is Love? But love needs to have both a lover and beloved—someone reaching out and someone receiving. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit so God is Relational. The Father loving the Son and Spirit, the Son loving the Spirit and the Father, the Spirit loving the Father and the Son. All loving and promoting the Other. 

God is also Happy in this Relationship. 

Because we are created in God’s image, we have a God-implanted craving to love and to be loved, to have meaningful companionships (Genesis 1:26; 2:18). 

Remember that Jesus was all-in for us so that we could have this love relationship with God.  This same passage calls us to have the same attitude as Jesus had. But we can also back up just a couple of more verses to find out what fuels the relationships that satisfy our craving for companionship and please God (Philippians 2:1-11). Those characteristics include:

  • being like-minded in striving to find agreement with others 
  • having the same love as Jesus demonstrated  
  • being one in spirit—this unique Greek word reminds us we all have immortal souls. As C.S. Lewis reminded us, “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one of these destinations.”
  • being one in purpose  
  • giving up selfish ambitions as we trade “me” for “we” 
  • not indulging in vain conceit, but thinking more highly of others 
  • being humble 
  • always striving to find the win-win 

When Alexander Dumas wrote The Three Musketeers his Musketeers have been given a famous line: “All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall.” This is actually quite biblical because the Bible only has saints in the plural form, never in the singular. And the apostle Paul reminds us, “And if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering; if one member is honored, all the members share in the enjoyment of it” (1 Corinthians 12:26 AMP). 

God is pleased when our attitude about our fellow saints is all for one and one for all—when all the saints love and nurture the individual saint, and when each individual saint loves and supports all the other saints. 

We were created for this. We crave this. God is pleased when we live and love like this. And this is the only way we will experience the joy of God’s favor on our relationships.

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series called Craving, you can find a list of all of the messages by clicking here. 

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Links & Quotes

October 29, 2022 — Craig T. Owens

In reading Matthew 12:38-40 I notice something important about how Jesus answered a request. Be careful of quarreling with those skeptical of Christianity. When it gets to point that they aren’t looking for evidence to believe but another point to argue, do what Jesus did: point them to the empty tomb! 

Some skeptics of the Bible want to make the argument that the Gospels were written at a much later date, thus they aren’t as accurate. Cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace addresses that topic in this video. 

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Thursdays With Spurgeon—Understanding Repentance

October 27, 2022 — Craig T. Owens

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

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

Understanding Repentance

     Repentance is an old-fashioned word, not much used by modern revivalists. 

     “Oh!” said a minister to me one day, “it only means a change of mind.” This was thought to be a profound observation. “Only a change of mind”; but what a change! A change of mind with regard to everything! 

     Instead of saying, “It is only a change of mind,” it seems to me more truthful to say it is a great and deep change—even a change of the mind itself. But whatever the literal Greek word may mean, repentance is no trifle. You will not find a better definition of it than the one given in the children’s hymn:

     Repentance is to leave
     The sins we loved before
     And show that we in earnest grieve,
     By doing so no more.

From The Soul Winner

The Greek word Spurgeon references that is rendered as repentance is metanoia. Many have translated this as a “new mind.” But a more literal translation is “with new understanding.” When my carnal mind has been replaced by a spiritual mind, I now see everything differently—I understand everything differently. 

The Amplified Bible elaborates it like this: Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance—let your lives prove your change of heart (Matthew 3:11). 

More than just an about-face away from my old sinful habits, repentance is a more profound understanding of just how grievous my sinful lifestyle was to God. It repulses me to even consider indulging in those sins again because now that I understand how joy-filled my relationship with Jesus is when I walk in righteousness, I never want to even dabble in that slime again! 

I don’t want to see how close I can get to sin, but I want to see how close I can get to Jesus! When I truly have repented of my sins, the Holy Spirit has given me a whole new understanding of both the pain of sin and the joy of righteousness. Let’s become people so quick to repent anytime the Holy Spirit convicts us of even the smallest of sins.

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How Should Leaders Handle Pushback?

October 26, 2022 — 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. 

Leaders will always get some pushback from the people on their team. It doesn’t matter how much the people love their leader, when the leader shares a change or a correction, there will always be some people that are uncomfortable with that. 

And they will pushback. 

I’ve already shared some thoughts for leaders to make sure the issues they are addressing are biblical issues, not getting caught up in non-biblical controversies that can result in some very unbiblical attitudes! But when a leader is promoting a biblical change, there is a right way to handle it. 

Check out how I discussed this topic with some ministry interns—

I really do like going back to those two verses in Proverbs: 

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)

Make sure you are not arguing just to argue. Good leaders only speak up for the good of the team and the individuals on the team. They never speak up just because they need to prove themselves right or they need to win an argument. 

If you would like to go a little deeper into this, you may want to check out a couple of other posts and videos I’ve shared:

Handling pushback the right way is going to be an important component of your leadership, so take some time to get it right the first time. If I can help coach you through a leadership challenge you are facing, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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Contending For Our All (book review)

October 25, 2022 — 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. 

As someone who thoroughly enjoys studying history and leadership, “The swans are not silent” series of books by John Piper is right up my alley! The fourth book in this excellent series is Contending For Our All. 

As with all of the other books in this series, Contending For Our All explores the lives of three notable men of history around a common theme. This book focuses on the theme of dealing with controversies in the church through the lives of Athanasius, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen. 

None of these men sought to be controversial, but neither did they shy away from addressing the unbiblical teachings of their day. Even though it cost them prestige, advancement, personal comfort, and even a few friends, these strong men knew that standing for biblical truth was their supreme privilege. Athanasius confronted the heresy of Arianism, Owen was one of the most influential voices for the Puritans, and Machen warned the evangelic church of its drift away from orthodoxy. 

These men counted the joy of serving Jesus even in the face of controversy as the greatest honor they could obtain. They served well and lovingly and earned the highest praise in the voice of their Master saying, “Well done, good and faithful servants.” Their lives are a timely reminder for all Christians living in today’s post-truth culture. 

As with all of the other books in this series, Pastor John does a remarkable job in sharing these biographies in a compelling and memorable manner, and in a way that makes the case for all Christians to stand strong as they too contend for truth. 

If you would like to read the other book reviews I’ve reviewed in this series, check them out here: 

►► My Patreon supporters will have exclusive access to all of the quotes and notes I compiled while reading this book. Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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God’s Pleasure In Our Work

October 24, 2022 — 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. 

A couple of weeks ago I asked a question about a fictitious job. Which job would you rather have: a job that’s (a) boring, not utilizing your skills, where you’re treated as a cog in the wheel, or (b) energizing, calling out your best talents, a place where you are making a difference? 

As a follow up I asked, “Which of those jobs are you more likely to be happy to go to? Which job is going to inspire you to give your best work ethic?” 

We all want that ideal job, but the reality is that in this fallen world there are no perfect jobs, so it’s very likely that we’re going to have the challenging jobs. Even when we have that kind of job, Christians are called to work with excellence and to find joy in that work (Colossians 3:23). 

Work originated with God. At the conclusion of every day of Creation, God looked at His magnificent handiwork and pronounced it good. When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He gave them instructions to work, and even after their sin, He repeated the call to work (Genesis 2:15, 3:17-19). 

Whether we are called to be gardeners or evangelists, plumbers or salespeople, teachers or doctors, we are to work well. William Tyndale wrote, “There is no work better than to please God; to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a cobbler, or an apostle, all are one; to wash dishes and to preach are all one, as touching the deed, to please God.” 

Let me give you two examples of good workers. 

The first is Joseph whom we meet in the first book of the Bible. Out of their jealousy of their father’s preferential treatment of Joseph, his brothers sold him into slavery. Joseph ended up in Egypt working for a man named Potiphar. I don’t think anyone would have blamed Joseph for grumbling about his condition and giving the least effort possible, but instead, Joseph so excelled in his work that Potiphar promoted him over all his household. 

After being framed for a crime he didn’t commit, Joseph found himself in prison. Once again, this innocent man could have sulked and complained and shirked his work responsibility. But once again, Joseph did such excellent work that the warden promoted him to a trustee position over all the other prisoners. 

Eventually, Joseph was promoted to second in command in all of Egypt, where he continued to do excellent and innovative work. Joseph’s good attitude and impeccable work ethic allowed God to place him in a position where he could save his people from starvation (see Genesis 39-50). 

What about the example of Jesus? He was fully God, yet He gave up His divine prerogatives to work as a carpenter and to eventually perform the most important work of all: the willing sacrifice for the sins of all humankind. Paul describes the servanthood and willing attitude of Jesus in Philippians 2, adding an important “therefore” when he tells us that the excellent work of Jesus allowed God to place Him in a position where He could save His people from eternal separation from God (Philippians 2:6-11). 

But Paul also has an important word for us in the verse preceding this passage: “Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus” (v. 5 AMP). 

I may not be able to choose my job, but I can always choose to have a God-glorifying attitude about my job. When I choose this attitude and live it out with an excellent work ethic, God is pleased. 

So allow me to give you four attitude-checking questions about your own work ethic:

  1. Do I feel like I have to go to work? I should so crave God’s glory and God’s rewards that I have a get to attitude about my work. 
  2. Do I complain about my work? The Bible makes it very clear that God disapproves of grumbling, and uses our good attitude to point others to Himself (Numbers 11:1; 1 Corinthians 10:10; Philippians 2:14-15). 
  3. Am I “quiet quitting”? This should never, ever be said of Christians! Our work ethic should be as exemplary as Joseph’s and Christ’s (Ephesians 6:5-8).
  4. Am I living for T.G.I.F.? We shouldn’t be focused on just getting things done, but we should make the most of every day of work that we have been given. We should be living out T.G.I.T.—Thank God It’s Today (Psalm 90:12, 17)! 

Let me repeat an important principle: I may not be able to choose my job, but I can always choose to have a God-glorifying attitude about my job. When you have this kind of attitude, you will experience the joy of a fulfilled craving that God has put in all of us—the desire to do meaningful and God-honoring work. This is the attitude and work ethic God delights to reward. 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series called Craving, you can find a list of all of those messages by clicking here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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Links & Quotes

October 22, 2022 — Craig T. Owens

Don’t rush through your Bible reading time. Slow down to savor the good stuff. And if there’s something you don’t understand, ask the “Chef”—the Holy Spirit loves to make God’s Word clear to you.

On a recent Breakpoint broadcast, John Stonestreet reported, “Even while many nations pump the brakes on radical transgender ideology and healthcare practices, Americans at both the state and federal level continue to push culture-wide affirmation, social transition of minors, hormone therapies, and harmful surgeries. Advocates frequently claim that so-called and misnamed ‘gender-affirming’ treatments—including surgery—‘save lives,’ that gender dysphoria is a permanent condition even among minors, and that regret by those who undergo such treatments are minimal or non-existent. Increasingly, research suggests otherwise.”

“Hazael’s historicity has never truly been in doubt; there are far too many inscriptions from the ancient world testifying to his existence.” Check out this archeological biography of King Hazael who appears several times in the Bible.

Dan Reiland notes, “Leaders navigate within the realm of pressure; it’s part of the landscape. It’s how we handle the pressure that makes all the difference.” Dan shares four ways the pressure of leadership is needed and helpful.

Be careful with non-biblical rules! I went much deeper with this idea in an exclusive video for my Patreon sponsors. If you want to get access to these exclusive lessons, it’s just $5/month. Check out my Patreon page to subscribe → https://www.patreon.com/craigtowens.

John Piper explains that there are three levels of how to live with material things. He then dives deeper into what the purpose of prosperity really is.

T.M. Moore has a stern word for pastors: “If we are faithful in telling the whole truth of the Gospel, not everyone will be thrilled with our preaching. We need to make sure Jesus is. When it comes to sin, let’s not mince words, and let’s not act like it’s not the big deal it is. No progress in faith can be made where sin is not consistently and thoroughly confessed, repented of, and forsaken.”

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Thursdays With Spurgeon—Bragging About God

October 20, 2022 — Craig T. Owens

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

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

Bragging About God

I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. (Psalm 34:1-3)

     Boasting is a very natural propensity, and if it were used as in this case, the more it were indulged the better. The exultation of this verse is no mere tongue bragging; the soul is in it, and the boasting is meant and felt before it is expressed. 

     What scope there is for holy boasting in Jehovah! His Person, attributes, covenant, promises, works, and a thousand things besides are all incomparable, unparalleled, matchless; we may cry them up as we please, but we shall never be convicted of vain and empty speech in so doing.

From Spurgeon And The Psalms

What is even more remarkable about the praise David offers up in this psalm is the setting. The introduction to the psalm tells us it is while David is running from Saul and trapped in a Philistine stronghold. 

And yet David still chooses to praise God.

It is a choice of his will. David didn’t wait until he felt like praising God, or until his circumstances were improved. We are more likely to act ourselves into feeling than we are to feel ourselves into action. So David says, “I will extol the Lord … His praise will be on my lips.” 

This bragging about God—when from a human standpoint there appears to be nothing to brag about—becomes a testimony. David’s personal pronouns “I” and “my” quickly turn into the plural pronoun “us” as David invites others to ponder the beauty of Jehovah! “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.” 

Our bragging about God, especially in the face of difficult circumstances, is a powerful testimony that will draw others to Him. You may start out praising Him on your own, but it won’t be long until others join your worship chorus. 

Friends, your praising and bragging about God is more powerful than you may realize. When God is worshipped, He is lifted up for all to see, so keep on bragging about Him!

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The Pinnacle Of A Leader’s Health

October 19, 2022 — 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. 

In my book Shepherd Leadership, I take five chapters to unpack the lessons we can learn from the health of Jesus. Yes, Jesus was mentally, physically, spiritually, and relationally healthy. 

On the 200churches podcast with Jeff Keady we talked about a chapter in my book called “The Pinnacle of a Shepherd’s Health.” In that chapter I wrote—

     The phrase Dr. Luke uses about Christ’s growth is, “Jesus grew in favor with men” [Luke 2:52]. People liked having Jesus around. The word Luke uses for favor is from the same root word that is also translated “grace.” Jesus was a graceful Man. Or we could say that He was a Man so full of grace that when He was jostled, only grace spilled out of Him. 

     What does it mean when someone is graceful? It means they are pleasant to be around. It means you feel safe around them, knowing they will never belittle you or put you down. It means that their focus is on your agenda, not their own agenda. It means they are a “there you are!” person, not a “here I am!” person. The bottom line: grace-full people are full of grace for others. 

The way we react as leaders says more about our health than our planned actions do. Once again, let me share with you a passage from Shepherd Leadership—

     Let’s return to our perfect example in Jesus. He was treated rudely and spoken to condescendingly, even by people who should have been His allies. Then there were those on a constant mission to try to trip Him up or get Him to say or do something that would have undermined His credibility. Yet Jesus never spoke inappropriately nor acted childishly. Jesus never had to say, “My bad, I misspoke there,” or “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” 

     We can make all of our plans to behave in loving ways toward the sheep under our care, but what happens when the sheep ignore us, bite us, or leave us? As boxer Mike Tyson noted, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Surely the best indication of our overall healthiness and servant-like attitude is not so much our actions but our reactions. 

If your reactions are less than what you would like them to be, I believe you will find a lot of excellent content in my book that can help you. 

If you want to catch up on some of the other clips I’ve already shared from this interview, you can find them here, and I’ll be sharing more clips from this 200churches interview soon, so please stay tuned. Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter is available in print or ebook, and in audiobook through either Audible or Apple. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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The Craig And Greg Show: Assessments Are A Powerful Tool

October 18, 2022 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

On this episode of “The Craig And Greg Show” we talk about: 

  • [0:38] We prefer preventative care both physically and in our leadership health
  • [1:40] When should we use assessments?
  • [3:10] Assessments can help leaders get an objective perspective on themselves and their team members
  • [4:36] We need windows of insight into ourselves first before we start working with our teammates
  • [5:40] What’s the goal of assessments?
  • [7:40] There are no “wrong answers” in assessment results
  • [9:39] How do leaders share the results of assessments with the whole team?
  • [13:31] When we have insight about our teammates, it helps us grow and understand each other
  • [15:34] Intuition and assessments work really well together
  • [17:01] What if an assessment appears to raise a warning flag?
  • [18:02] Leaders should use their assessments to setup their teammates for consistent success
  • [19:35] Assessments allow leaders to craft a complete team
  • [20:37] An outside coach can help your organization know what assessments to use and how to implement the results of any assessments

Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.

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