This Sunday we kick off a two-part series around Thanksgiving. I know it’s a day we celebrate once per year, but thankfulness is also the soil that grows excellent things in our lives. Come and join us at 10:30 AM on November 22 and November 29. And in the meantime, start counting your blessings.
The Soil Of Thanks
November 19, 2009 — Craig T. OwensRespected Mentor
November 18, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
Last week I was listening to an interview with former Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy on the Catalyst podcast. In this interview, he had some amazing things to say about his relationship with Michael Vick.
Then this evening I opened up the latest issue of Sports Spectrum, and in the opening article, I read some more about the relationship between Coach Dungy and Vick.
In his Catalyst interview Coach Dungy said, “I felt like I let Michael down. Our schedules never coordinated for us to spend a day fishing. If I would have been able to spend a day with him, perhaps it would have come up in conversation about some of the poor decisions he was making. If I had the time to spend with him, maybe I could have given him some counsel that would have helped him make a different decision.” Wow!
Then Sports Spectrum reports that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell allowed Michael Vick to be reinstated into the league only on the condition that Tony Dungy would be Vick’s mentor. “Michael needs that right now,” Goodell said, “And I’ve asked Tony Dungy to play a more formal role on my behalf, but also on Michael’s behalf, to serve as a mentor to Michael and help him and guide him through some very difficult decisions he’s going to have to make going forward.”
So I’m thinking…
- Would I put my reputation on the line for someone like Michael Vick? Would you?
- Would someone even think to ask me to be his mentor?
I hope that you and I are both willing to mentor others, and that others will give us the chance to do so.
I Am What I Think I Am
November 17, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
Years ago I read a book that transformed the way I read and studied. This one book probably caused me to become a more discriminating reader than any other factor. Although it’s less than 50 pages long, As A Man Thinketh by James Allen revolutionized my thinking. Over the last couple of days, I’ve been listening to the audiobook as I have been driving around.
Here’s a quote from James Allen:
“A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. … A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike thoughts.”
This is what the Bible says about the seeds of great thoughts:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
What are you thinking about today? What’s going in? You are making yourself by what you are thinking, so choose those thought-stimulators wisely.
Derailed (book review)
November 16, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
As I read Dr. Tim Irwin’s latest book, Derailed, I thought about a quote from John Maxwell: “A wise man learns from his mistakes. A wiser man learns from others’ mistakes. The wisest man learns from others’ successes.”
The subtitle of this book is “Five lessons learned from catastrophic failures of leadership.” In this, we learn from others’ mistakes. But then Dr. Irwin goes on to show us successes that we can learn from as well. Combining the insight from successful—or should I say “non-derailed” leaders—with his own discernment, Dr. Irwin shows us how to stay on the rails.
When I first noticed that the examples in the book were all high-profile CEOs, I thought, “What could I learn from them? After all, I’m not the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.” But Dr. Irwin does an excellent job of bringing the four qualities of character—authenticity, self-management, humility, and courage—down to a pedestrian level where even we non-CEO-types can benefit from his wisdom.
Although the principles in Derailed can benefit anyone in leadership, or aspiring to a leadership position, this book still might not be for everyone. The six case studies in the book are all derailed CEOs, and unless you have a penchant for the business world, you might not find them very enjoyable reading. However, for those of you who enjoy business history, there is much to gain from a careful reading of Derailed.
I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.
Be Real
November 13, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
Masks just for fun
A quick show of hands: how many of you like a phony? Uh-huh, I didn’t think I’d see any hands raised on that one. We may like to see our favorite actor/actress play a convincing role on stage or on screen, but when it comes to real people we interact with on a daily basis, we want the real deal.
Sadly, the people who have the most “realness” to offer often go about it in a phony way. I’ve observed way too many people who claim to be followers of Christ put their masks on:
- They put on their laughing mask when their coworkers are telling crude jokes. Then switch to their disgusted mask when they tell their church friends how vulgar their coworkers are.
- They put on their silent mask when someone talks about how they don’t really believe in God. Then they switch to their wise counselor mask when they tell someone else what they should have said.
- They put on their fake smile mask when someone asks what they think of the boss’s announcement about possible layoffs. Then they put on their pray-for-me mask when they ask someone in church to intercede for them about their future.
Since God has so generously let us in on what He is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.
Be real. Always. In all circumstances. Masks are for parties. Realness is for people’s souls.
Learning Tough Lessons
November 11, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
In my role as a book reviewer, I am presently reading Derailed. This book has really jolted me wide awake!
Dr. Tim Irwin is walking through the profiles of six high-profile business leaders who got derailed on their path to success. These CEOs seemed to have everything: talent, opportunity, great ideas, a proven track record of success. In short, everything they would need to be successful.
Yet they got derailed.
Here’s the wake-up call for me: The same thing can happen to me. The Apostle Paul wrote his own “derailed” story about the Israelite leaders:
These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
I don’t want to get derailed, so I’m focusing on God-confidence today.
How Do You Study?
November 10, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
In our Impact youth service, we’re exploring the study of the Bible. To help me with a little “sermon prep,” can you please comment below to tell me how do you study your Bible:
- Do you highlight?
- Underline?
- Write notes?
- Read a chapter at a time?
- Systematically go through the Bible?
- Read from the same translation every time?
- Write in a journal?
- Memorize verses?
Anything you would like to share would be very helpful.
Lots Of Stairs
November 10, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
Sometimes it’s hard to find a block of time to set aside exclusively for exercise, so I try to build some exercise opportunities into my day. My during-the-day exercise usually is trying to find more ways to walk. Like…
- Parking at the back of the parking lot
- Walking down the hall to someone’s office instead of sending an email
- Taking the stairs
Lately, I’ve been in lots of places with stairs, and yesterday my legs were really feeling it. I learned something from climbing all those stairs: It’s a lot easier going down than it is going up.
Up gets my heart pumping more. Up works up a sweat. Up makes me breathe deeper. Up builds my leg muscles. Up is painful (but it’s a good pain).
The soreness in my legs is a reminder that I’ve exercised, that I’ve done something that’s giving me long-term benefits, that I’ve prepared myself for a healthier future.
Solomon wrote, “The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave.”
Spiritually, I can say up brings life.
Up makes me wiser. Up keeps me from going down. Up is painful (but it’s a good pain).
If you haven’t been spiritually sore lately, perhaps you’re shying away from a healthy workout.
Let God take you up today. You might be a little sore tomorrow, but the soreness will remind you that you’ve exercised, that you’ve done something that’s giving you long-term benefits, that you’ve prepared yourself for a heavenly future.
Satisfied Service
November 9, 2009 — Craig T. OwensI started a conversation last week about being a servant (you can catch up here).
Serving should be a two-way street. Contrary to the way that some people look at servanthood, being a servant is not the same thing as being a doormat. Consider two key verses:
- Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)
- Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)
We should look equally to others’ needs as well as our own needs. Zig Ziglar says it this way, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
This can be manipulation if you’re simply looking to someone else’s interests as a form of flattery or as a quid pro quo. But if you are truly serving—if you truly have the other person’s best interests in mind—if you are willing to submit to them out of reverence for Christ, serving can be liberating.
Last week Rick Warren tweeted, “The more self-centered I am, the more unsatisfied I’ll be.” I retweeted with this addition, “So the more I serve, the more satisfied I’ll be.” I believe that.
Try it for yourself—it works!
Loving Servanthood
November 6, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
Over the past couple of days I’ve been thinking a lot about something: What does it mean to serve? Or more specifically, what does God say about how we should serve?
The typical image that comes to mind when someone says “servant” is a person of lower status—someone who is at the lower end of the organizational chart, someone who is expected to do more with less, someone who doesn’t have many opportunities for advancement (or even a day off), or maybe someone who is expected to be tuned into everyone else’s needs but seldom has his own needs met.
Is being a servant the same thing as being a doormat?
Consider Jesus:
He now showed them the full extent of His love…. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.
Jesus was the most important person in the room: Jesus KNEW that the Father had put all things under His power. He was also the most love-filled person in the room. What did He do with all of His love and power? He served others.
When He finished, John writes that He returned to His place, and asked His disciples a question, “Do you understand what I just did?” Then in the only instance of Scripture where Jesus Himself said this, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done.”
Servants are people who use the power they have to lovingly serve others.
Servants don’t serve because someone else forces them to serve. Servants serve because the love of God empowers them to serve.
Do you love your spouse enough to serve him/her? Do you love your family enough to serve them? Do you love your coworkers enough to serve them? The greater the love we have for others, the greater the empowerment to serve. Love empowers us for service.
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