Craig T. Owens

May 2026
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Thousands Of Haven’t Miles

September 23, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I just spent two days away from home. After leaving at 6:00 in the morning and driving for 2+ hours, I sat through two days of intensive training. The following day I was anxious to get back to my family. My trip back home should have been a little over two hours, but I ran into several construction zones which made the trip so much longer. As I turned onto the homestretch I began to get more excited about finally being home.

And all of a sudden the expressway became a parking lot!

Just minutes before I turned onto that expressway, a serious accident took place just ahead of me. It then took me 30 minutes to travel the next mile, as all of the traffic was rerouted off the expressway and onto the side roads.

And then I began to rejoice. I have really been racking up the miles lately, so I began to rejoice that all of my miles have been incident-free miles.

I began to thank God for the accidents I HAVEN’T been in.

I gave praise for the times my car HASN’T broken down.

I rejoiced for all the flat tires I HAVEN’T had.

It’s natural to be thankful after a near-miss, but I want to do a better job of being thankful always—especially for the stuff that HASN’T happened.

What about you? What things HAVEN’T happened that you are thankful for?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: accident, break-down, flat tire, gratitude, rejoice, thankfulness. Leave a Comment »

Deadly Viper Character Assassins

September 22, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

The dictionary defines an assassin as “one who murders by surprise attack.” No assassin worth his/her salt sends you an announcement to say, “I’ll be stopping by your office tomorrow morning to kill you. If that’s not a convenient time for you, please let me know.” Of course not! Assassins never tell you that they’re coming.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.”

So a “character assassin” is something that sneaks up and takes out the essential factor that could have made us successful and effective in life. This is why Deadly Viper Character Assassins is such a vital resource.

Here are the two pulls in my life:

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour [assassinate]. (1 Peter 5:8)

You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

If I keep our character intact, I’ve developed a foundation that will sustain me for the long haul. In my experience, here’s what I’ve done to keep developing my character:

Be more concerned about my character than my popularity.
Regularly look myself in the mirror of God’s Word to see chinks in my armor.
Make myself accountable to godly friends.

Don’t wait until the assassin has already taken a shot at your character, but begin to protect yourself now. Continue to grow in the character Jesus Christ exhibited for us.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Peter, accountability, character, friendship, Gospel of Matthew, integrity, introspection, Jesus Christ, Jud Wilhite, maturity, Mike Foster, popularity, quotes, self-control, spiritual warfare, Theodore Roosevelt. 1 Comment »

Dirty Dishes

September 21, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

My folks came to our home for dinner after our Sunday church service. It’s always great to have them around.

Aside from the good fellowship and great food, I noticed something else: there were a lot of dishes to be cleaned. Not only was the dishwasher filled and run twice, but there were other dishes that had to be washed by hand. At first, I began to grumble about all of the extra work to do, but then I thought, “Dirty dishes are a good thing.”

Lots of dirty dishes means that lots of people graced our home.

Lots of dirty laundry means that my kids are running around and enjoying life.

Lots of trips to the grocery store means that friends and family are coming over to hang out with us.

Lots of studying means that I have lots of opportunities to invest in others.

There are so many things that I could choose to grumble about, but instead, I’m choosing to focus on the blessings. I’d much rather have dishes to clean, clothes to wash, errands to run, and hours to study than the alternative, wouldn’t you?

Look on the bright side this week: turn those grumbling opportunities into opportunities to give thanks.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: blessing, family, gratitude, grumble, investment, relationships, thankfulness. Leave a Comment »

Treating People Like Pesticides

September 18, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

So I spent all day yesterday studying for my exam which is required in my new tentmaking position. I was reading all about pesticide laws, protective equipment, governmental oversight, properly-formatted labels, and the like. I’m trying to remember it all for my exam with the Department of Agriculture in a couple of weeks.

I was deeply engrossed in the chapter on “Pesticides and the Environment,” sorting out all of the terms I needed to keep in mind…

Solubility
Adsorption
Persistence
Degradation
Volatility
Vapor drift
Toxicity
Particle drift
Permeability

…and all of sudden it hit me how specifically each pesticide is treated. When you take into account the active and inactive ingredients, the concentrations, the particle sizes, the atmospheric conditions at the time of application, along with all of the factors I just listed above, it’s almost as though each pesticide application is unique.

We consider all of these factors for a chemical, yet we are so quick to put people into well-defined boxes with nice, neat labels:

“Well, you know, his parents were…”
“Of course she’s a…”
“I wouldn’t trust him because he…”
“Didn’t you know? She once was a…”

Neat labels that keep people in their place. Yet God says every person is unique. What if we took enough time to get to know people—I mean really get to know them. I think the more we know about others, the less likely it is we’ll put them in one of our convenient boxes.

Here’s what I’m thinking about today: Do I want others to neatly label me? Or do I want to be treated as a unique individual? What if I treated people as carefully and with as much attention to the fine details as I must with my pesticides? Hmm, treating people like pesticides: not a bad idea.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Creator, Department of Agriculture, pesticide, Psalm, uniqueness. 1 Comment »

Working Like A Dog?

September 17, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

The next time someone tells me, “I’ve been working like a dog” …

I’m going to ask, “Do you mean like this?” 😂

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: dogs, puppy. 2 Comments »

UnZone

September 17, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

UnZone

We kicked off our Bigger Than Me series last night talking about one of my favorite Bible stories where Jonathan and his armor-bearer pick a fight with the Philistines.

What I love about this story is the contrast between Jonathan and his father Saul. King Saul was enjoying life as the king, hanging out with his friends, sitting under a pomegranate tree, far away from his enemies. Life was good for Saul, life was familiar and risk-free. Saul was living in his comfort zone.

But the comfort zone is a lousy place to stay. In the comfort zone you only tell stories, but never live an adventure. In the comfort zone, you only hear about what God has done for others. But Jonathan wasn’t willing to stay in this comfort zone.

Jonathan stepped out into The UnZone. He went into unfamiliar territory, with an unusual battle strategy, and uncertain results. Jonathan said, “Perhaps God will help us.” But he didn’t stop there. Jonathan quickly added, “I don’t know how, but I know God can come through.”

After Jonathan stepped out of his comfort zone into The UnZone, God not only gave him a victory but encouraged the entire Israelite army. This never would have happened if Jonathan had stayed in his comfort zone.

In The UnZone you don’t just tell stories, you live adventures.

In The UnZone you don’t just hear about God’s power, you experience it firsthand.

I challenged our youth group last night to step out of their comfort zones and into The UnZone. How cool it was to see all of the uncomfortable, unfamiliar, uncertain, unusual things they wrote down on their UnZone cards and tacked up on our bulletin board. I’m looking forward to seeing our bulletin board covered with these cards over the next few weeks.

What about you? What comfort zone is God calling you out of? What UnZone do you need to step into? The Apostle Paul said, “When I am weak then I am strong.” In other words, “When I step into my UnZone, I step into God’s Strength Zone.”

The UnZone is a great place to live, so step out today.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Samuel, 2 Corinthians, apostle Paul, comfort zone, God's strength, Jonathan, King Saul, uncertainty, unfamiliar, victory. 4 Comments »

Tick, Tock! Drip, Drop!

September 16, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Tick, Tock! “There just is never enough time in my day!”

Tick, Tock! “Wow, this day has just flown by and I got nothing done!”

Tick, Tock! “Why do I always have so much To Do List left at the end of my week?”

May I suggest that instead of Tick, Tock! you focus on Drip, Drop!

(The data compiling website Flowing Data has a fascinating look at how men and women of all ages spend their time throughout the day.)

I’ve gotten some great insight on time usage from Paul Meyer. Check it out:

“Most time is wasted, not in hours, but in minutes. A bucket with a small hole in the bottom gets just as empty as a bucket that is deliberately emptied.”

Usually our time doesn’t just Tick! by, it Drips! by. In other words, it’s really easy to spot the huge time-wasters; it’s much more difficult to find the time-leakers. But they can be found and plugged. Listen to more good advice from Dr. Meyer:

“Time is usually wasted in the same way every day.”

You cannot add more Tick, Tocking! time to your day, but you can keep more of your day from Drip, Dropping! away. Here are two things I’ve done which have really helped me:

For one week (7 full days) I kept a log of how I spent every 15-minute increment. This might sound like a Drip, Drop! thing to do, but I was amazed at how many leaks I discovered after a week of doing this.
Then I prayed the same prayer Moses prayed, “Give me wisdom to use my days the right way.”

If you can identify the time leaks, God can give you the wisdom to help you plug them. When you can control the Drip, Drop! you’ll get more out of your Tick, Tock! each day.

UPDATE: The thoughts in this chapter became a whole chapter in my book Shepherd Leadership. The chapter is called ‘Can’t, Won’t, or Don’t,’ and it addresses the three attitudes that hold us back from stewarding our time.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Moses, Paul Meyer, prayer, Psalm, quotes, shepherd leadership, time, time management, to do lists, wisdom. 3 Comments »

Big, Big World

September 15, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Bigger Than Me “The smallest package in the world is a person who is all wrapped up in himself.” —Billy Graham

We have a tendency to get so wrapped up in ourselves. If we are feeling down, no one is happy. If we don’t like our job, everyone has a lousy job. If we have a toothache, the whole world is hurting. But as John Maxwell says, “The whole world—with one minor exception—is made up of other people.”

On Wednesday in our Impact youth service, we’re beginning a new series called Bigger Than Me. It’s a reminder, a wake-up call, an eye-opener to remind our students that the world is big. Bigger than them. And in need of someone who is not all wrapped up in himself.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Billy Graham, Calvary Assembly of God, Impact! youth group, John Maxwell, quotes, worldview. 1 Comment »

Back To Tentmaking

September 14, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike.”

I can relate to this story.

For 10 years I worked in Grand Rapids doing sales work in our family-owned business. I left our business and West Michigan when God called me into full-time ministry. Now I’m back home in West Michigan, thrilled to be pastoring Calvary Assembly of God. And for this season in my life, I also need to be a “tentmaker.”

My “Aquila and Priscilla” are two brothers named Chuck and Steve Russell. They own Eradico Services, and have graciously offered me a job back in my old “tentmaking” field of sales in the Grand Rapids area. I am so grateful to these men for this opportunity.

Just as Paul made tents during the week and was at church each Sabbath, I will be doing the same thing. It was not a coincidence that Paul had an occupational skill that he could use, nor that God provided a job for him in Corinth. This kept Paul in Corinth doing what he was called to do: telling others about Jesus. So too for me. None of this is coincidence or luck, but God has opened these doors, and I am praising Him for it as I begin making tents again today!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Paul, Calvary Assembly of God, Eradico Services, tentmaking. 2 Comments »

Smarter Work

September 11, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I met this morning with my teaching team. These are some great leaders-in-training who are helping me both think through what we need to talk about with our students in our youth group, and they help teach some of these points as well. This morning we refined the next series that we want to deliver. I had a pretty good idea going in, but my teaching team made it so much better!

I love leadership teams. The New Testament frequently uses the phrase one another to show that “all of us” is a lot better than “one of us.”

My team helps me think of things I may have missed on my own
My team challenges me to clarify my words
My team gives me perspectives that I wouldn’t have caught
My team makes my good ideas better
My team gives me a chance to invest in and train up the next generation of leaders

Do you have a good team around you? Do you have people challenging you to think in new ways? Do you have people who can sharpen you? Do you have people around you that pour into your life, and allow you to invest in them too?

Two great team quotes from some coaches who knew what they were talking about:

“The freedom to do your own thing ends when you have obligations and responsibilities. If you want to fail yourself, you can, but you cannot do your own thing if you want to have responsibilities to your team members.” —Lou Holtz

“The main ingredient in stardom is the rest of the team.” —John Wooden

I promise you “all of us” makes you look a whole lot smarter than just “one of us”! If you’re not already, start developing a team—you’ll be glad you did.