Uncategorized | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

October 5, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

When a teammate seems to choke in a pressure-packed situation, good coaches help them learn from their mistake and get right back into the game. This is how leaders help their teammates go from choke to clutch. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had about this.

I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Most of us who aspire to be tops in our fields don’t really consider the amount of work required to stay tops.” —Althea Gibson, tennis great

“There is only one way forward when vindication is delayed: total forgiveness. And I can give you a motivation to forgive totally greater than any other that could be conceived: you do it for an audience of One. Yes. That’s it. That is how you do it! Total forgiveness comes easily when you realize you are doing it for God and the glory of Jesus Christ!” —R.T. Kendall

More archeological evidence supporting the historicity of the Bible. Here are the top ten discoveries related to the Book of Jeremiah.

ICR reports: “Millions of years of erosion should have toppled all the beautiful sandstone arches out West, yet many hundreds remain.” But following the biblical timeline of Creation and the Flood makes it unsurprising that the arches are still standing.

Dr. Glenn Sunshine offers a beautiful, biblically-centric prayer for our nation, especially during this current election cycle.

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” —John Wooden

October is the month Protestants remember the start of the Reformation. The folks at Desiring God have a wonderful resource available by email every day during October called Here We Stand. Each day you will receive an email with a mini-biography of a key character in the Reformation. I am thoroughly enjoying these each day. Sign up here.

None of us are self-made. God created us on purpose and for a purpose. He gave us the gifts we need to accomplish that purpose. We will only find our fulfillment in life in stewarding those God-given gifts and opportunities in ways that glorify God. Not only fulfillment here, but then eternal satisfaction when we hear our Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into your Master’s happiness!”

A Leader Even Without The Title

October 4, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

I also discovered that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so the Levites and the singers who performed the service had gone away, each to his own field. So I reprimanded the officials and said, “Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts. All Judah then brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. To be in charge of the storehouses, I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered reliable, and it was their task to distribute to their kinsmen. (Nehemiah 13:10-13)

According to the Hebrew definitions:

“considered” = accountable
“reliable” = trustworthy

Both words mean someone who has passed the test and someone who is still passing the test. These men were faithful leaders before they were given this important job, and then they continued to prove themselves faithful even as their work was carefully scrutinized.

A title doesn’t make you a leader, and a title doesn’t sustain you as a leader. Your faithful, God-honoring, trustworthy accountability makes you a leader—even if you never get the title, God sees you and He will reward you.

Check out my whole series on godly leadership.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: accountability, faithfulness, leadership, Nehemiah, trustworthy. Leave a Comment »

Watch Out For Wolves

October 3, 2024 — 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 When Sheep Bite, I not only wrote about biting sheep, but I also wrote about wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing, and wolves who aren’t trying to hide themselves at all! How are shepherd leaders to deal with these folks?

That was one of the topics I addressed on the Leading From Alignment podcast with John Opalewski and Jim Wiegand.

In the chapter of my book called ‘Driving Away the Wolves,’ I wrote:

Loving shepherds are constantly among their sheep so that the sheep can know their voice and so the shepherd can know the voice of each individual sheep. This has the two-fold benefit of the sheep knowing which voice is trustworthy, and for you as the shepherd to spot the off-key voice of the “meaningless talk and deception” of those wolves who are hiding out among the sheep.

I have a related blog post that may interest you as well: When Shepherds and Sheep Talk. And you can check out more of this podcast I interview I did here.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: interview, Jim Wiegand, John Opalewski, shepherd, shepherd leadership, video, When Sheep Bite, wolf. Leave a Comment »

The Irrefutable Evidence

October 2, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her. … And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:57-58, 64-66)

When God does what only He can do, our testimony is irrefutable! People will rejoice, reverence God, and ask questions, but they will never be the same after witnessing a miracle.

Let’s pray for God to do the miraculous in our own lives even now so that we can be living testimonies that draw others to our Savior and Lord!

You may also be interested in my posts By His Stripes and Argument vs Experience.

And check out my short video Proof!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: God's glory, Gospel of Luke, miracles, supernatural, testimony. 2 Comments »

Empowered For Obedience

October 2, 2024 — 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 the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension, we read that Jesus was with His disciples “giving instructions through the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:2).

I think this word “instructions” in the NIV is too soft. The other translations say things like:

commandments (NKJV)
orders (NASB & NET)
instructed and commanded (AMPC)

The Greek word Luke uses in Acts 1:2 is entellomai and it is a word that carries weight. Throughout the New Testament this word is used to identify…

…the words of God (Matthew 4:6, 15:4; Luke 4:10; Acts 13:47; Hebrews 9:20)
…the words of Moses (Matthew 19:7; Mark 10:3; John 8:5)
…the words of Jesus (Matthew 17:9, 28:20; Mark 11:6; John 14:31; 15:14, 17; Acts 1:2, 13:47)
…the words of recognized leaders (Mark 13:34; Hebrews 11:22)

(Check out all of the above Scriptures by clicking here.)

In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) this word is used seven times. Five of these times link together the words “command” and “covenant” (Deuteronomy 4:13; Joshua 23:16; Judges 2:20; Psalm 111:9–10; Jeremiah 11:3–4). The other two times express God’s strong promise-keeping power that is awe-inspiring (Psalm 90:11, 91:11).

In other words, these aren’t just any words, but they carry an awesome authority with them. These are binding commands. They are not merely wise counsel or suggestions for godly living. They are indispensable to the Christian life.

Luke points out that Jesus gave these commands “through the Holy Spirit” because it is only through the Holy Spirit that you and I can understand them, apply them, and be empowered to obey them.

Jesus uses the same word entellomai in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) as well as in Acts 1:2. Clearly, the Scripture is telling us that we are powerless to understand and powerless to obey without the Holy Spirit’s daily empowerment. Jesus would never give us commands that we were unable to carry out, which is why He gives us instructions through the Spirit, and then the Spirit gives us the power to joyfully obey those commands.

Don’t ever think that you are on your own in trying to figure out what Jesus said, and how you are going to live it out.

I discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life in much greater detail in my series called We Are: Pentecostal.

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

Are You Full Of It?

October 1, 2024 — 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.

Would you like to be known as somebody who’s “full of it”? I know that phrase usually has a negative connotation, but I would like to make the case that this is actually a really good thing.

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

The Scriptures I reference in this episode are found in Acts 6:3, 8, 10; 7:54-60; Galatians 5:22-23. We also see this same Greek word for “fullness” used for other New Testament leaders like Peter, Barnabas, and Paul (Acts 4:8; 11:24; 13:9).

I have blogged and talked and written quite a bit about a godly leader’s reactions being a strong indication of what a leader is truly full of. Three notable leadership posts are:

A godly leader’s reactions is a major theme in both of my books—Shepherd Leadership and When Sheep Bite.

You may also be interested in a post in my series about the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life entitled In > On.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Book of Acts, fruit of the Spirit, Galatians, Holy Spirit, leadership, reaction, Stephen, video. Leave a Comment »

What’s Your Passion?

September 30, 2024 — 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 quick recap: We are all gifted by God, but we typically restrict ourselves to a comfort zone which is much smaller than our God-given gift zone. In order to maximize our impact for the Kingdom of God, we are going to have to get uncomfortable with staying comfortable—we are going to have to trust God as we push out further into our gifts.

Last week I gave you a homework assignment to think about the things you love to do. Why do we need to know this? Because it is one of the indicators of our areas of giftedness.

In the whole carrot-versus-stick discussion, you will find that most people are motivated by reward way more than they are by the fear of punishment. Look at how these God-fearing men were motivated by the God’s rewards:

David—1 Samuel 17:26-27, 29-30
Paul—1 Corinthians 9:24; 2 Timothy 4:8
Jesus—Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 2:9-11

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

Who’s more likely to get the reward: the one who loves what they are doing or the one who hates what they are doing? We are more likely to stick with what we love doing, and you are going to love doing what you are gifted by God to do.

Why we do what we do is much more important that what we do (Isaiah 1:11, 13, 15; Matthew 7:22-23).

We have been gifted by God to do great things. When we do those great things, we are rewarded and it brings God glory. That realization should answer the question of why we do what we do (Ephesians 2:10).

The way we see the world, what motivates us, and how we act are all determined by our gifts. We are working on the same Great Commission, but how we live that out will be different because of our different gifts.

In the Old Testament, the saints wanted Zion to be strong and God-glorifying:

David fought battles and wrote worship songs
Solomon gave wise proverbs
Josiah brought about reforms
Ezra encouraged the Israelite governor and high priest
Daniel encouraged the Babylonian rulers
Nehemiah built the wall

In the New Testament era, the saints should all want the Body of Christ to be strong and God-glorifying. Toward that goal, we still need warriors, worshipers, wisemen, reformers, teachers, counselors, workers.

Toward that goal, we all have a part to play (Ephesians 4:12). Check out the example of Paul in…

…Thessalonica: Paul was in the synagogue on three Sabbaths (Acts 17:1-2; 2 Thessalonians 3:8)
…Corinth: Paul was synagogue on the Sabbath days, but after Silas and Timothy arrived, Paul was able to be preaching every day for 18 months (Acts 18:1-5, 11)

What’s the difference? Silas and Timothy used their gifts so that Paul could use his. Without the “enzyme” of Silas and Timothy’s gifting, the whole Body of Christ would have been impoverished.

One of the things that will help your spot your areas of giftedness is noticing what you are passionate about—What do you love to do?

Let me give you three things to consider:

When can I do this again? vs. When will this be over?
When I do this, I’m tired but fulfilled vs. When I do this, I’m tired.
I would do this without pay vs. I would rather find something else to do.

Our prayer should echo what Paul prayed:

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-12)

If you’ve missed any of the messages in our series Living in Your Gift Zone, you can find them all here.

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

Links & Quotes

September 28, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Having too many items listed as “priorities” on your To Do list can actually paralyze you. You have keep your list manageable to keep your leadership effective. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had on setting goals and making changes. This is also an important aspect of maintaining good mental health.

I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

According to Leslie T. Lyall, the secret of Hudson Taylor’s life and ministry could be summed up in four simple propositions: “There is a living God. He has spoken in His Word. He means what he says. And He is willing and able to perform what He has promised.”

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” —G. Michael Hopf

In lamenting the rise of worldliness in our churches, John Piper said, “About forty years ago, David Wells wrote a book called No Place for Truth, which made the case that in the American church, God rests far too lightly on the people of God. He doesn’t have weight. It was the same heart cry from Dr. Wells as from J.B. Phillips. God is marginal. God has little weight in our worship services and little weight in our lives. He’s taken lightly. He’s simply one among many factors rather than the all-consuming factor, and I have thought that if I were to write a book today with a similar burden, it might have this title: Your Christ Is Too Cheap, Your Heaven Is Too Distant, Your Earth Is Too Big.”

The Institute for Creation Research reported, “In July of 2024, Science magazine confidently reported, ‘The last ancestor shared by all living organisms was a microbe that lived 4.2 billion years ago, had a fairly large genome encoding some 2600 proteins, enjoyed a diet of hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide, and harbored a rudimentary immune system for fighting off viral invaders.’ That’s quite a statement that details an unknown creature living somewhere on this planet 4.2 billion years ago.” Of course, this is an unobservable, unprovable claim, but that’s part and parcel of the evolutionists’ claims.

Fight The New Drug explains what sextortion is and how to protect yourself and your family from this insidious online threat.

“What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.” —H.P. Liddon, nineteenth-century theologian

Lenny Esposito has a great podcast for Christian apologists called the Come Let Us Reason podcast. On a recent episode, Lenny used a passage in the Book of Jeremiah to talk about the inspiration of Scripture.

“God will work when He pleases, how He pleases, and by what means He pleases. He is not bound to keep our time, but He will perform His word, honor our faith, and reward them that diligently seek Him.” —Matthew Henry

As the first Christian church dealt with a serious complaint that could have split the church internally, there are a number of leadership gifts that are in play to provide a wise solution. Most of these leadership gifts get overlooked by the casual observer, but they are all absolutely indispensable. This is new exclusive content I regularly share with my Patreon supporters. Would you prayerfully consider supporting this ministry?

Secondhand Problems

September 27, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Peter shared the gospel with a group of Gentiles at Cornelius’ house, and not only did they receive Jesus as their Savior, but they were all baptized in the Holy Spirit as well.

A group of Jews approached Peter and were angry with him because of a secondhand report they heard. To their credit, they listened respectfully to Peter’s full account of what happened and ended up changing their minds after they heard the firsthand story.

But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence…. When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:4, 18)

There’s a wonderful lesson here for all of us to apply: Verify secondhand reports.

I unpack this more in my book When Sheep Bite in discussing gossip and slander.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Peter, Book of Acts, Cornelius, gossip, relationships, respect, slander, When Sheep Bite. Leave a Comment »

The Craig And Greg Show: Be Clutch For Your Team

September 26, 2024 — 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.

The game-winning field goal, the bottom of the ninth home run, the last-second fadeaway jumper! In sports we are quick to recognize a clutch player. You might not perform in front of millions of fans, but you can be a clutch player for your organization as well! Join Greg and me as we discuss what it means to be clutch for your team, and lay out how your leadership can help empower others to do the same.

[0:23] Some people’s clutch-ability makes them stand out from the crowd.
[2:20] A clutch person won’t always succeed, but when it matters most they’re the one you trust to deliver.
[3:20] How do people gain the confidence to be clutch?
[5:05] Greg talks about his first college football play, and how the experience helped him learn how to succeed in the long run.
[6:50] As leaders we can’t be afraid of mistakes, we need to view them as learning opportunities.
[10:55] How much can we do as leaders to help our team be clutch, and how much do they need to figure out themselves?
[13:10] Setting the right tone helps your team feel empowered to learn from their mistakes.
[15:23] We can name a lot of greats by looking back at their career, but in the moment they didn’t always feel like greats.
[16:29] As the leader, you have an extra responsibility to acknowledge your mistakes to your team.
[18:11] Why do people quit, and how can we help them stay in the game?
[22:37] Greg shares some wisdom about preparation.
[23:50] Greg tells a story about a compliment he received while coaching high school football.
[26:07] A coach can help you excel and become a clutch member of your team. Check out how our coaching services may benefit your game.

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.