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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Thursdays With Oswald—Heaven & Hell

May 3, 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.

Heaven & Hell

     Hell is the place of angelic condemnation. It has nothing to do primarily with man. God’s Book never says that Hell was made for man, although it is true that it is the only place for the man who rejects God’s salvation. Hell was the result of a distinct condemnation passed by God on celestial beings, and is as eternal as those celestial anarchists. 

From Biblical Psychology

Jesus makes it quite clear that Heaven is my home— “…take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

He makes it equally as clear that Hell was not made for mankind— “…the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

Furthermore, Jesus is completely clear that He is the only way to Heaven, and that the rejection of the forgiveness that is possible by accepting His atonement on the Cross leaves only one destination for the unforgiven: Hell.

This is an important reminder. It reawakens me to be persistent in telling others this truth about Heaven and Hell.

Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and He sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve. (Proverbs 24:11-12)

And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. (Jude 22-23)

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Victory!

May 2, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Twice in Romans 7, the Apostle Paul uses the phrase “but sin, seizing the opportunity” (vv. 8, 11).

Sin always seizes any opportunity it gets. The devil always prowls around looking for an opportunity to tempt and destroy. And my flesh is always only too eager to give in to the pull of sin and the devil (v. 25).

If we want victory over sin and the devil, we have to be AWARE and be PREPARED.

“When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Jesus until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).

The devil will bide his time.

“…satan has asked to sift you as wheat…” (Luke 22:31).

It’s not always the big shakings that will cause us to sin, but the little siftings can wear us down.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

“Keep awake and watch and pray constantly, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).

If you haven’t been tempted lately, or if you’ve recently overcome a temptation, stay humble. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

And then stay ready: “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

A warrior in a combat zone never has a single day he is without his armor.

There’s a time to take a stand against the devil: “So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

And there’s a time to run toward something else: “Shun youthful lusts and flee from them, and aim at and pursue righteousness…” (2 Timothy 2:22).

Victory is yours IF you will be aware and be prepared. You don’t have to give in to the devil’s temptation to sin! Fight victoriously today!

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Cleaning Up The Earth…

May 1, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

…well, at least we were cleaning up Cedar Springs!

Here are a few photos from our Saturday involvement in the Earth Day cleanup around Cedar Springs. The theme this year was Love The Creek You’re In, and we do ♥ our town. And I ♥ my church for being such loving, serving folks!

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Keep Your Eye On The Ball

May 1, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

My son is playing baseball for his high school this season. Whether I’m at a game or a practice, whether the Red Hawks are up to bat or out in the field, I hear the phrase over and over again: Keep your eye on the ball!

Pretty good advice.

It’s awfully hard to field the ball when you are distracted by something else. It’s next to impossible to hit the ball when you don’t watch it all the way from the pitcher’s hand.

As a pastor, people tell me frequently about a stumble into sin, a failure in their marriage, a relapse into their addiction, a slip of the tongue. And I want to repeat the phrase over and over again: Keep your eyes on Jesus!

It’s awfully hard to say no to sin that seems so attractive when you aren’t looking at the surpassing beauty of Christ.

It’s really hard to stay committed in your marriage when you don’t look at the perfect Bridegroom.

It’s almost impossible to stay morally clean unless your eyes are fixed on the perfect Savior.

Charles Spurgeon gave this warning—

“Some creature steals away your heart, and you are unmindful of Christ upon whom your affection ought to be set. Some earthly business engrosses your attention when you should fix your eye steadily upon the Cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things which takes away the soul from Christ.”

I love the chorus of the old hymn:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

Keep your eye on your Savior!

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Keep On Asking

April 30, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

We finished The Q Series yesterday morning, but I hope the questions keep on coming. I always love answering questions, and doing it in the open forum like we did was both challenging and fun (at least I had a good time!).

But I also encouraged the Calvary Assembly of God family to keep on asking questions. It’s fine if the questions are directed to me, but the most important questions are the ones we ask of ourselves.

The Holy Spirit makes all of our lives a work-in-progress. This is what is called sanctification. That word really means to make a saint out of us (think of it as saint-ification).

That means He will constantly challenge us with questions that we are wise to answer. Things like:

  • Why are you thinking that?
  • What does the Bible say about that?
  • Is doing that for your comfort or for God’s glory?
  • Is that the wise thing to do?
  • How would Jesus handle that situation?

Over time the answers to these questions will change, as we should all be growing up in our relationship with God (1 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:15).

The Apostle Paul tells us that we should take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), because our minds will either be set on natural desires or set on spiritual truths (Romans 8:5).

So don’t tune out the Holy Spirit. Don’t stop asking those maturing questions. Don’t stop growing in your relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Keep on asking, and you’ll keep on growing!

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How Betsy Made A Memorable First Impression

April 28, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

After this story, I’m encouraging my wife to start a blog of her own! This is a note from her Facebook page from about 3 years ago, but it is too good to keep limited to just her Facebook friends.

Okay so let’s begin.

Last night Craig was speaking at a church for the purpose of evaluating whether or not it would be a good fit for us to pastor. So, just before the service began I ran to the ladies room. It was occupied and I had to wait quite awhile until it was available. By that time, service had already begun. I naturally hurried to get back into service.

Upon entering the sanctuary, Craig was in the middle of praying. I didn’t want to walk up front while he was praying, so I remained in the back until he was finished. I then very gracefully proceeded to the front pew to take my seat.

As is my natural custom, before sitting down, I always smooth out the back of my skirt to avoid unnecessary wrinkles. Upon doing this, I discovered that my skirt was ever so daintily tucked inside my underwear. Yes, it’s true.

My first response was embarrassment, then total mortification, then complete laughter. I was silently laughing for several moments in the front pew. Craig finally leaned over to ask me what was going on. I told him about the situation and he said, “It’s a sign, this can’t be the right place.”

I really don’t know if anyone saw or not, I’m guessing someone did. Thankfully there were no comments to me.

So… I’m telling you, if you want to create a memorable impression this is one way to do it — however, I don’t recommend it.

What do you think? Good first impression? Was this indeed a “sign” for us?

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Dealing With Anonymous

April 27, 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. 

I have never met Mr. Anonymous, but I sure would like to!

It appears to me that Mr. Anonymous is one of the wisest people in the world. He has an expert opinion about everything. And apparently he’s never wrong and never at fault for anything.

Have you ever received a letter or an email from Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous?

How do you respond when you get one of these letters? Does it make you angry? Defensive? Depressed? Do you feel like you need to defend yourself against this so-called expert?

Personally, I think Mr. Anonymous is a coward, so I choose not to respond to anything that he says. Although that’s easy to say because I don’t even know who he is! So even if I did have something to say I would have no one to say it to.

Anyway you look at it, it’s frustrating!!

Here’s how King Hezekiah in the Bible chose to respond to a letter. Although the letter was not anonymous, the principle is still very good for us today:

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord, and Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words [he] has sent to insult the living God.” (2 Kings 19:14-16)

God knows who Mr. Anonymous is! And He is the only one who can justify you in Mr. Anonymous’ eyes.

So the next time you receive a letter from Mr. Anonymous, read it and allow God to show you anything in there that may be true. Then lay the letter before the Lord, and let God take it from there!

UPDATE: I discuss the bites of critics and criticism in my book When Sheep Bite.

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

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Thursdays With Oswald—A Moral Lavatory

April 26, 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.

A Moral Lavatory

     The Bible does not deal with sin as a disease; it does not deal with the outcome of sin, it deals with the disposition of sin itself. … We have cheapened the doctrine of sin and made the Atonement a sort of moral ‘lavatory’ in which men can come and wash themselves from sin, and then go and sin again and come back for another washing. …

     All Heaven is interested in the Cross of Christ, all Hell terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.

From Biblical Ethics

This hits me in two areas.

First, as a sinner saved by grace. I am so grateful for the gift of grace. I want to treat this gift with all of the gratitude I can. It was purchased for me with such a high price: The blood of the sinless King of kings. May my sin break my heart as much as it breaks my Heavenly Father’s heart. I’m grateful grace is there when I blow it, but I don’t want to blow it ever again.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer described cheap grace like this:

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. … Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.”

Second, as a pastor who teaches about the atonement and grace. I know that I will have to give account before God if the people who hear me teach about these gifts are ones who “ignore its meaning.” I want to do everything I can to make sure everyone who listens to me understands the inestimable value of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

In his book Costly Grace, Jon Walker writes:

“Costly grace justifies the sinner: Go and sin no more. Cheap grace justifies the sin: Everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are.”

Grace is powerful stuff. May we always treat it that way.

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Free To Be A Slave

April 25, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I just love the oxymorons in the Bible! Without the spiritual component, these statements appear to make no sense at all. But through the lens of God’s Word, they are energizing!

Like this one: I can be free to be a slave.

Usually we think of freedom in terms of, “I’m free to do whatever I want to do.” In the natural this is freedom; but in the spiritual it’s slavery.

Think of it this way. When I say, “I’m free to do whatever I want to do,” I’m saying that I am in charge. But I am sinful … selfish … envious … short-sighted … petty … vengeful … and a whole laundry list of other nasty things. So when I want to do what I want to do—when I think I’m free to control my own life—I’m still a slave. A slave to sin.

There’s a price for this “freedom” to be my own boss. The price is death (see Romans 6:23).

But because of what Jesus did for me on the Cross, I don’t have to have this “freedom” that leads to death. I can be free to be a slave. Check this out:

But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. (Romans 6:22)

I have a choice to make:

  1. I can choose to call my own shots (so-called “freedom”), and have to pay the penalty of death; or,
  2. I can choose to be a slave of God, and receive His gifts of holiness and eternal life.

I’m choosing option #2!

How about you?

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