Night Of Worship

October 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I am so excited to invite you to a special night of worship. Dilip is a great friend of mine, and an incredibly gifted musician and song writer. His debut CD The Great Reversal will be released soon, and you are going to have a chance to hear these songs live!

Dilip will be presenting music from his album, and other worship songs, as we join together for a night of worship.

Friday, October 28 at 7pm

You will love his music, but you will especially appreciate his heart for worship. This is going to be an incredible night! Friday, October 28, at 7pm at Calvary Assembly of God.

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Do You Have Weekend Plans?

October 7, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Do you have plans for this weekend? If you’re around Cedar Springs this weekend, let me suggest a few great things you might be able to do:

1.  Take a bag (or two) of groceries to North Kent Community Services. This is the last week of the county-wide food drive. Your food donation will help two food pantries right here in Cedar Springs.

2.  Go see Courageous. The movie had a great opening weekend because it is a great movie!

3.  Come to Calvary Assembly of God on Sunday morning. We’re starting a new series called Total Freedom, exploring the incredible freedom that comes through forgiveness. I cannot wait to experience this freedom with you on Sunday.

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Thursdays With Oswald—The Mountain & The Valley

October 6, 2011 — 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 Mountain And The Valley

    It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley (see Mark 9:14-18). We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life—those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. We feel that we could talk and live like perfect angels, if we could only stay on the mountaintop. Those times of exaltation are exceptional and they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware to prevent our spiritual selfishness from wanting to make them the only time.

     …The moments on the mountaintop are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.

     …The height of the mountaintop is measured by the dismal drudgery of the valley, but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mountain, but we never live for His glory there. It is in the place of humiliation that we find our true worth to God—that is where our faithfulness is revealed.

From My Utmost For His Highest

God gives me mountaintop experiences to prepare me to live for Him in the valley experiences. So I must never doubt in the valley what God revealed to me on the mountain. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.

It is true: it is in the valley that I have to live for the glory of God. Otherwise, my experience on the mountaintop was meaningless.

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(Un)Forgiveness

October 5, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Charles II had a slight problem with unforgiveness

A couple of weeks ago I asked our church a simple question. So let me ask you the same thing: Anyone ever not been burned by someone, taken advantage of, or hurt by somebody else? Anyone? I didn’t think so. We’ve all been hurt, but the real issue is what we do with those hurts.

In January 1647, Oliver Cromwell captured King Charles I during the British Revolution. But a few months later, Charles escaped and managed to raise another army. In August 1648 Cromwell’s army defeated Charles’ army and once again Charles was taken prisoner. Cromwell had Charles tried for his crimes, and after the guilty verdict was issued, Charles I was executed. A total of 59 people signed his death warrant.

Eleven years later Cromwell’s son Richard had taken his place as Lord Protector of England, and there was great discontent with his leadership. As a result, the Loyalists were able to sweep Charles II into power. Charles II wanted the 59 death warrant signors put on trial, but 15 of them had already died. Charles II ordered their bodies exhumed, placed on trial, convicted, and then hung.

I’m no psychologist, but I think it’s safe to say that Charles II might have had a problem with unforgiveness!

It’s highly unlikely that you have dug up any dead bodies and put them on trial lately.

        Or maybe you have…

When someone has hurt us, we tend to keep the pain alive. Sometimes even after that person is long-gone from our life, we still exhume the corpse of their injury, put them on trial, convict them, and punish them all over again. But this process is actually punishing YOU. As long as you keep the hurt alive, you are trapped in the past.

The key to freedom is easy and yet hard: forgiveness.

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Praying For Your Pastor

October 4, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

For the past few years, October has been designated as Pastor Appreciation Month. Honestly, I feel appreciated by the great folks at Calvary Assembly of God every single week! I can only pray that other pastors feel the same love I feel.

Here’s a simple way you can show your pastor appreciation both in October, and all year long: Pray for him or her. Multiple times the Apostle Paul wrote pray for us (Colossians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1). Prayer is SO NEEDED for your pastor!

Here’s what the eminent pastor Charles Spurgeon wrote:

The members of the body of Christ should have a care for one another, but especially should the minister receive the prayers of his flock. I have sometimes heard his duties called arduous, but that word is not expressive enough. The works in which he is occupied lie quite out of the region of human power. The minister is sent to be God’s messenger for the quickening of the dead. What can he do in it? He can do nothing whatever unless the Spirit of God be with him through the prayer of his brethren.

He is sent to bring spiritual food to the multitude, that is to say, he is to take the loaves and fishes, and with them, few as they are, he is to feed the thousands. An impossible commission! He cannot perform it. Apart from divine help, the enterprise of a Christian minister is only worthy of ridicule. Apart from the power of the Eternal Spirit, the things which the preacher has to do are as much beyond him as though he had to weld the sun and moon into one, light up new stars, or turn the Sahara into a garden of flowers. We have a work to do concerning which we often cry, “Who is sufficient for these things?” and if we be put to this work but have not your prayers, and in consequence have not the supply of the Spirit, we are of all men the most miserable.

Show how much you appreciate your pastor by upholding him/her in prayer every day.

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Exhaustion Relief

October 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I was reading and meditating on Matthew 11:28-30. These are the notes just as a jotted them down in my journal. I pray they will be as helpful for you as they were for me.

Come—without delay

to Me—Jesus is my only Source

all—no one is ever excluded from Christ’s call

you who are weary—I feel like I have been working hard, but gaining little ground

and burdened—and my conscience is bugging me because I feel I’m falling short of what God requires

and I will—only Jesus can do this

give you rest—a quiet, calm, patient expectation of a better future

Take—I need to apply what Jesus says to my life right now

My yoke upon you—Christ’s power to fulfill God’s requirements

and learn from Me—I must get in the habit of doing things His way

for I am gentle—strong enough to help me, but in a way that doesn’t overwhelm me

and humble in heart—He has the perfect attitude toward our Heavenly Father, and He can show me how to live this way too

and you will find rest—an intermission from my struggles

for your souls—the real me

For My yoke is easy—virtuous and pleasant

and my burden is light—relieving my conscience from worry and guilt

Why do I wait until I am wearied and burdened before I come to Christ? Why don’t I just take His yoke upon me daily? It’s my self-imposed burdens, from trying to do things my own way, that wear me out and beat me up! O stubborn pride! that keeps me toiling away, trying to do life my way. Submit and be free, O my soul!

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Weekend Thanks

October 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I am so thankful to God for such a full and rewarding weekend!

  • We went to see Courageous on Friday. Although this was my second time seeing this movie, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. And I loved seeing how many people were attending! In fact, Courageous was fifth in the box office after only three days being out. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, go see it!
  • For my Cedar Springs friends, I found out that the Kent Theatre will be showing Courageous soon.
  • Brandon and I got to attend Lecrae’s Rehab show on Friday night. I was so blessed by the way these highly talented artists — Andy Mineo, Thi’sl, Trip Lee, and Lecrae — exalted the name of Jesus. It was unmistakable that they were there to lift up the King.
  • Saturday was Red Flannel Day in Cedar Springs. God gave us beautiful weather. And I was so proud of the way Cedar Springs represented itself — what a great city!
  • And the Red Flannel parade float for Alpha Family Center that I helped build won second place in our category!
  • Life Challenge and Jeff Bonzelaar were such a blessing to Calvary Assembly of God yesterday! The testimonies of God’s grace, the powerful music, and the timely word Pastor Jeff brought were amazing!

I love walking with God — that is all I need. And then He showers these special gifts on my life too?!? How blessed am I!

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It’s Time To Be Courageous

September 30, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Courageous opens today. I cannot urge you strongly enough to go see this film this weekend.

Leaders in every sphere — political, medical, educational — have acknowledged that the breakdown of the family is one of the leading factors in the breakdowns in government, physical and emotional health, and in our schools. This movie deals with our family situations head-on. More to the point, this movie calls on men to make a bold, courageous stand for their families.

I had a chance to view this movie several months ago, and I still can’t wait to go see it again. You will be challenged and energized by this film. Find showing times near you by clicking here.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Judging A Life

September 29, 2011 — 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.

Judging A Life

     God holds us responsible for the way we judge a young [Christian] life; if we judge it by the standards by which we would judge a mature life, we will be grossly unjust. … Be as merciless as God can make you towards the vices of a mature life, but be very gentle and patient with the defects of a growing life.

From Biblical Ethics

It’s a delicate balance that requires true discernment from the Holy Spirit. The ‘defects’ that we see in those who are new in the Christian walk need gentle correction, but the ‘vices’ of those who should know better by now need to be dealt with forcefully.

I see both the gentle and forceful in Paul’s words to the Corinthian church:

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)

My prayer: God, help me to be perfectly balanced and directed by You. I don’t want to be too forceful with the young, nor too gentle with the mature. I want to see everyone growing in their relationship with You.

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A Pastor’s Work

September 28, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I have blogged before about how heavy I feel the responsibility of being a pastor. When I think of the awesome responsibility God has given me as His under-shepherd to His precious people, I am humbled.

Humility is a good thing.

Since the pastor is “out in front” at every gathering, speaking to the people, leading the church in a particular direction, people tend to view their pastor as their leader. And without humility, the people’s esteem can “puff up” a pastor. Unfortunately, I’ve been around pastors who have gotten a little too, shall I say, “puffy.”

So this dose of godly wisdom from J.C. Ryle is just the preventative medicine I need:

“We should beware of resting our claim to the people’s attention on our outward [pastoral] call only. It will never do to tell our people, ‘We are your ordained ministers, and therefore you must believe and follow whatever we tell you.’ On the contrary, we must tell them to prove our teaching by Scripture, and not to receive it unless it is scriptural. That man has no right to expect the attention of his people, who does not preach the Gospel and live the Gospel. The rule of Paul is clear on this point. He told the Thessalonians to esteem their ministers very highly ‘for their work’s sake’ (1 Thessalonians 5:13). When there is no ‘work’ done, it is vain to expect the people’s esteem.

Pastors, do the work of humbly working as God’s servant to His people. Use your position to serve, not to presume upon others.

Church attendees, make us pastors “prove our teaching by Scripture.” We don’t get to say, “Because I’m the pastor and I say so!”

UPDATE: This post went into my thinking for my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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