Be A Foolish Preacher

June 15, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor, do you realize how clever we try to be?

  • We come up with a catchy sermon series and add some stylish graphics.
  • Then we labor over sermon titles that sound so compelling.
  • As we write our sermons we try to dream up memorable patterns, like all three of our main points start with “S,” or we spell out the word “P.E.A.C.E.”

When the truth of the matter is, what we’re saying is foolishness.

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. (1 Corinthians 1:20-25)

You don’t have to try to make God’s Word clever. It is already profound!

You don’t have to try to make it memorable. The Holy Spirit makes it memorable (John 14:26)!

You don’t have to make the Bible relevant. It is the most relevant, applicable wisdom that humanity has ever known! 

D.L. Moody said it this way:

“If God has given you a message, go and give it to the people as God has given it to you. It is a stupid thing for a man to try to be eloquent. Make your message, and not yourself, the most prominent thing. Don’t be self-conscious. Set your heart on what God has given you to do, and don’t be so foolish as to let your own difficulties or your own abilities stand in the way.”

Don’t try to be clever. Just be Spirit-led and you will utter the most profound, compelling, and memorable words ever spoken by a preacher!

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God’s Truth, Not Your Comfort

June 8, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Some time ago I was asked to speak in a church setting outside of my church. The audience was a blend of people from all different church backgrounds, and perhaps even some without any church background. I talked about the hopelessness of trying to pay-off our sin debt on our own, and the amazing love that Jesus showed when He paid our debt in full.

After the service, a couple of pastors in the audience wanted to speak with me about my message. They were moved by what they called “the impact” of the message, and especially about the way I called sin “sin.” As I spoke with them further, I discovered that they were somewhat hesitant to speak so openly and plainly about sin, because it unsettled some people in their congregations.

But here is the sober reality—

The Word of God IS unsettling because we cannot read it or hear it and remain unchanged.

Our job as pastors or preachers is to speak the Word. When we do, the Holy Spirit will bring the necessary conviction and pull hearts toward repentance. Here’s what Oswald Chambers wrote about this:

“When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from Hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.

“In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out—it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.”

Pastor, just speak the truth. You’re not trying to win a popularity contest, but to share with people how to step into a deeper relationship with God Almighty!

One final thought from Chambers: “Never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it.”

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Filled To Be Emptied

June 5, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This is a post especially for my pastor friends. 

Dear Friend,

I know you have a lot on your mind. You’re probably reviewing how Sunday went and thinking about what you’re going to share next Sunday. You’ve probably got a pretty full agenda this week: staff meetings, board meetings, maybe a counseling appointment or two, and a hospital visit. There’s lots happening (there always is, right?).

Can I break into your week to ask you a simple question: What did you read in your Bible this morning for you? You know, your personal devotional time—what was God’s Word saying just to you?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this:

“We are reading the Word of God as God’s Word for us. Therefore, we do not ask what this text has to say to other people. For those of us who are preachers that means we will not ask how we would preach or teach on this text, but what it has to say to us personally.”

Here’s a simple principle: You cannot give to others what you have not received yourself. So you need to be filled up so that you can be emptied out.

Although your week may be busy, please, please, please take the time to read God’s Word for yourself. It will help you and your congregation as well.

May God fill you and then empty you, my friend, for His glory!

Cheering you on, I am your friend,

Craig

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What Is Successful Church Ministry?

June 1, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I like to keep asking myself and my leadership team this question: How do we know if our church is successful? 

The apostle Paul uses two words to help answer these questions: Quality and Faithfulness.

But each one’s work will be shown for what it is; the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire—the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. (1 Corinthians 3:13)

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

So here are two important questions we need to ask ourselves:

  • Am I doing quality work?
  • Am I faithfully doing my work?

To help answer those questions, I like this thought from Leonard Sweet’s book I Am A Follower:

“The most important metrics we must rely on, the crucial ‘deliverables’ we can present, must focus on the newly formed lives of the disciples we are making, the followers who are following Christ into a place of serving Him by serving others. The most important measure of our faithfulness to Christ must be the extent of transformation into the living image of Christ Himself. …

The quantifiable fruit of our church is not found in the number of people we can gather on a weekly basis. What counts is what is happening in the lives of those who have gathered. …It is quite possible to have a ‘successful’ life—and a ‘successful’ church—without God. But it is absolutely impossible to have a truly fruitful one.”

Again, Paul’s advice here is invaluable:

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes…. (1 Corinthians 4:4, 5)

Pastor, you need to think about these questions about “success.” But they should be questions framed around your quality and faithfulness of work as revealed to you by the Holy Spirit, not by some “expert” or anyone else.

(By the way, if you’re interested in exploring this further, I framed this question a different way in this post.)

UPDATE: This post was one of the seed thoughts that went into fashioning my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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The Gospel Of Yes (book review)

May 31, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I run into so many people who know so much about what Christians are against, and very little about what Christians are for. Or others who don’t want to step into a relationship with Jesus because they mistakenly believe that their life will then be ruled by a bunch of don’t-do-that rules.

Sadly, many Christians help perpetuate these stereotypes. That’s why I’m so excited about The Gospel Of Yes by Pastor Mike Glenn!

Pastor Glenn reframes the whole discussion from “No” to “Yes.” He makes the case that God is for us and wants to tell us “Yes!” From our relationships with others, to the way we view our circumstances, even to the way we think about prayer and Bible reading, there is a huge difference if we see it from the “Yes” paradigm.

Here’s a video review I was asked to do for other pastors:

I would encourage you to read The Gospel Of Yes to learn how to look at our relationship with God in a completely different light. I found this book very liberating!

I am a Multnomah book reviewer.

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Do You LOVE Your Church?

May 25, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Okay, pastors, here are some tough questions:

  • Do you love your congregation?
  • Do you think they’re some of the greatest people on earth?
  • If you didn’t pastor your church, would you attend your church?
  • Do you enjoy recreating with your church family?

This is an important principle: You cannot treat someone differently than you think about them.

Listen to what Paul said about the church in Rome:

I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14)

Do you hear what high regard Paul had for them? He told them that they were good people, growing in their relationship with Christ, and were competent to be teachers themselves!

Not only did Paul write this to them, but he bragged about them to others too:

Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you. (Romans 16:19)

Pastor, Jesus called us to feed and care for His sheep. We can do this so much more effectively if we think so highly of those precious people.

I pray that you can answer a resounding, whole-hearted “YES!” to those four opening questions. I think that’s what Jesus would want.

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The Hard Word

May 18, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As a pastor, you are going to have to deliver the hard word from time to time. You will have to address touchy subjects, both corporately and privately. It is very instructive to see how the apostle Paul approached the hard word.

In Romans 9, Paul is getting ready to address one of the most sensitive subjects of his day. The Jews felt they were “in” with God just because they were Jews, and the Gentiles were “out” with God just because they weren’t Jews. Paul is going to have to deliver the word that both Jews and Gentiles can be accepted by God because of what Jesus did on the Cross.

So notice how he begins:

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

1. I speak the truth in Christ. It wasn’t his opinion, but the word from God. I must settle this matter before delivering the hard word. Far too often we can put our preferences on par with God’s Word. I cannot do this!

2. My conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit. Before I speak a hard word that people may not like to hear, I need to make sure my conscience is right before the Holy Spirit. He alone confirms His Word. The reaction of the audience, however, may or may not confirm what God says.

3. I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. It should be a major red flag if I looked forward to delivering a painful/challenging/correcting word. I need to put myself in their place, not try to put someone else in their place!

My job as a pastor is not to condemn, nor even to convict; the Holy Spirit will do that. My job is to (a) hear God’s truth, (b) get my conscience right with the Spirit, and (c) empathize with people as I lovingly speak the truth to them.

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A Warning To Shepherds

May 12, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

If you are a pastor, God sees you as a shepherd (see John 21:15-17; 1 Peter 5:1-4).

If you are a shepherd, there is a heavy responsibility on you to lovingly, attentively care for God’s precious sheep. We cannot shirk this responsibility for even a moment.

God loves His sheep so much that He gave His sheep YOU!

God loves His sheep so much that He will remove you, if He has to.

Consider this:

“What sorrow awaits the leaders of My people—the shepherds of My sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord. Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for My flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. …Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord have spoken!” (Jeremiah 23:1, 2, 4)

This is a HEAVY word, and should not be taken lightly.

Pastor, never assume you are leading God’s sheep in the right paths. Ask the Holy Spirit to tell you if you are leading God’s sheep in the right paths!

UPDATE: This post was one of the seed thoughts that went into fashioning my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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What Is “Success” For A Church?

May 11, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

“How’s it going,” a fellow pastor asked me. “How’s your church doing?”

If you’re a pastor, you probably get asked this often. How do you answer this question? Do you tell them what your attendance was on Sunday morning? Or about the newest program you’ve started?

When you look in the mirror and ask yourself, “How’s it going,” is your answer related to nickels and noses (offerings and attendance)? Is it how many people complimented your last sermon?

Listen to these sobering words:

Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live. 

…We have a commercialized view—we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right. (Oswald Chambers)

We need to be very careful about how we define “success” in a church setting. Let’s use Jesus as our example:

  • How big was His congregation? Twelve men. One betrayed Him, nine ran away when the going got tough, and one denied he even knew Him. Even after being raised from the dead (!) there were only 120 people in the upper room.
  • How much money did His church have? Not even enough to buy a gravesite for the Messiah.
  • What did people think of His sermons? Some of His sermons made people so mad they wanted to stone Him. And after one sermon the Bible says: From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him (John 6:66).

Maybe “success” in the church is more like…

  • …people being reconciled to God. Remembering that “our work is not to save souls, but to disciple them” (Chambers).
  • …seeing disengaged people becoming actively involved in engaging others with the Gospel.
  • …“Never seek[ing] after anything other than the approval of God” (Chambers).
  • …to say with Jesus, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

These are just some of my thoughts. What else should be on this list? How would you define “success” in the church?

I have also shared some questions that can help pastors and ministry leaders better gauge the level of effectiveness in their ministry.

UPDATE: This post was one of the seed thoughts that went into fashioning my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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Co-Workers

May 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Obvious statement #1: Church ministry is not lone ranger work.

I needed to state that not only as a reminder to myself, but to my other pastor friends too. It seems like we can often lose sight of this fact. We can become so focused on the next sermon, the next appointment, the next Board meeting, the next outreach that we are actually worshiping the ministry instead of worshiping God through our ministry.

Oswald Chambers gave this warning:

“Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. … A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. … Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him.”

When we are more focused on the work than on God, we can easily begin to feel over-worked and under-appreciated. And this usually leads to us either bearing down to work harder or to simply throwing in the towel.

There is a healthy alternative: link arms with The Co-Worker—

“Walk with me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:29, The Message)

Link with The Co-Worker, and then you will do ministry out of the overflow of your personal worship. Remember, you are a co-worker, not a solo-worker.

Obvious statement #2: Church ministry is not just for the pastor.

Church member, you too are a co-worker with Christ. And with your pastor.

The apostle Paul reminded the church at Corinth that “we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9). In other words, we’re all in this together. You need your pastor, and your pastor needs you.

Allow me to paraphrase a quote from President Dwight Eisenhower:

“Never let yourself be persuaded that one [pastor] is necessary to the salvation of America. When [the Church] consists of one leader and [a bunch of] followers, it will no longer be [the Church].”

The Church is a beautiful thing! It functions best when:

  • Pastor and church member are both linked with Christ
  • The pastor is not a lone ranger
  • The church members are not spectators

Ready? Go BE the Church of Jesus Christ!

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