Not Playing It Safe

February 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

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Sometimes I like to think about counterfactual history. That means thinking about the “What ifs” of historical events. What if George Washington had been killed in battle? What if a congressman had voted a different way? And so on.

Here’s one I was thinking about as I read the Book of Acts: What if Paul had prayed, “God, keep me safe”?

Over the last few chapters of Acts, Paul has the opportunity to share the gospel with…

  • the Jewish Sanhedrin
  • Claudius Lysias, a Roman garrison commander
  • two Roman governors (Felix and Festus)
  • Ananias, the high priest in Israel
  • Tertullus, a noted attorney
  • King Agrippa and his wife Bernice
  • a Roman centurion named Julius
  • Publius, the chief Roman official on Malta
  • the leading Jews in Rome
  • and the Roman Caesar

That’s quite an impressive list! But here’s the deal: Paul only got to speak to these high-ranking and influential people because he was a prisoner.

Paul could have prayed for a “safe life.” He could have run away. He could have disobeyed. Instead, he was willing to let God use him anytime, anyplace, anyway.

Isn’t that really the opening line of the Lord’s Prayer? Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.

Is that what I really want?

Or do I want to play it safe?

Phillips Brooks had another thought about how we should pray:

“Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle; but you shall be a miracle.”

I don’t want to play it safe. I want to be strong enough, obedient enough, and willing enough to let God use me anytime, anyplace, anyway. I hope you will join me in that prayer.

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United Redux

August 29, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

What a fantastic day we had yesterday! All of the churches in Cedar Springs joined together in a united worship service—which was very appropriately named UNITED.

In the book of Acts there is a great word that characterizes the first Church: together.

They all joined together constantly in prayer (1:14)

They were all together in one place (2:1)

All the believers were together and had everything in common (2:44)

Every day they continued to meet together (2:46)

They raised their voices together in prayer to God (4:24)

They gathered the church together and reported all that God had done (14:27)

We came together to break bread (20:7)

I love the fact that the other pastors in the Cedar Springs Ministerial Association want to work together. We realize that it will take our combined efforts to make a significant impact in our community for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our annual UNITED service is a visible reminder of what’s going on year-round in Cedar Springs. We are together to bring glory to Christ.

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What’s Your Take On “Church”?

June 17, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Here’s what I want to see…

From the book of Acts:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47, New Living Translation)

Here’s how N.T. Wright puts it:

“The life of believers, individually and collectively, is intended to incarnate the biblical reality of human dignity. The church is called to be an alternative society, living in contrasting style in the midst of the world. Its members are, in God’s design, not self-promoting, as the world is; they are not competitive, as the world is; they do not advance at the expense of others, as the world does; they do not take advantage of the weakness of others, as the world does. They love one another and do good to and for one another. Failing that, there is no compelling reason for the world to pay attention. Which is to say that the only means by which Christians can commend a truly godly vision of human rights is to incarnate them in their individual and collective lives, to announce God’s actions and intentions that constitute the Gospel, and to act justly in the name of God.”

And Rubel Shelly’s take:

“It is a mistake of monumental proportions to think that the priestly ministry of the church is a Sunday-focused event. It is the whole life of the whole church that is our living-body sacrifice to the Lord. Sunday praise is to be joined with Tuesday work and Thursday golf, Wednesday family life and Saturday yard work. Everything in the life of a Christian is to be seamless in terms of its appropriateness for displaying the excellence of God’s heart and character.”

What’s your take?

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The Right Person For The Job

December 13, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Employers and pastors both have the important task of putting people into positions of responsibility. Employers do so to make their businesses more profitable; pastors do so to expand the Kingdom of God.

But employers do something that pastors often miss: They hire the right person for the job.

Check out this verse:

Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.

Simply put: Kenaniah was in charge of the singing because he could sing; he could carry a tune; he had skill; his singing was pleasant to the worshippers in the tabernacle. This word skillful also implies that he knew how to teach others too.

You give someone the job because they are skillful at it. Not because their feelings would be hurt if you gave the job to someone else, not because you hope giving them the job will boost their self-esteem. This is just as true in the church as it is in the business world.

The way I read the Bible, everyone has a talent. One of the roles of a shepherd leader is to find the right place for every person’s talent. Pastors do a disservice to both the individual and to the whole church body when they give someone a job for which they do not have the God-given talent.

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Engaging Culture

September 29, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I read something very interesting: Next to Christmas, more money is spent on Halloween than on any other holiday event. Halloween?!? Wow! We’re in the midst of planning our church’s role on Halloween night, so I’ve been thinking quite a bit about engaging our culture.

It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

So here’s how I think followers of Jesus Christ should light a candle to engage culture:

(1) Have the right motivation. In Jesus’ inaugural sermon, He said He was coming to preach the Good News about God’s love. He purposely left out the part of Isaiah’s prophesy that talked about God’s coming judgment. There will be a time for that, but for now, our motivation should be to make known the favor of the Lord.

(2) Get out of your box. If you only hang around with Christians, your ability to effectively engage culture will be diminished. If you never get around others, it’s sort of like salt that sits in the saltshaker too long. Paul told the Athenians that he had been walking around their city looking at their culture.

(3) Listen. As Paul talked to the Athenians, he quoted their poets to them. He knew what they were listening to because he was listening too. What are people watching on TV? What movies are they talking about? What music are they listening to? You can find the key to their heart by knowing something about what interests them.

(4) Collaborate. There are lots of other faith-based organizations, non-government organizations, and churches that are already active in your community. Join forces with them.

(5) Just be there. Go to local restaurants, cheer on the local sports teams, join a rec league team, attend the city council meetings, volunteer at a shelter or food pantry. Just be there! After a while, people will begin to ask you why you are so involved, and you’ll have a great platform to speak to them.

It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

Are you engaging your culture? It’s time to go shine!

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Outlive Your Life (book review)

September 10, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

When I hear “Max Lucado has a new book coming out,” I’m like a kid waiting for Christmas! And just like those kids on Christmas morning, when I received Outlive Your Life, I tore into this book, and scarcely put it down until I devoured it.

I love the concept: The impact your life makes can live on far after your physical life has ended here. To make his case, Max uses the example of Jesus’ first disciples whose dedication to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ has far outlived their first-century lives. Specifically, Max uses the first twelve chapters of Acts as the disciples begin this work right after Jesus has ascended back into heaven.

Max uses examples from 33 AD to show us a 2010 AD life application. What the original disciples did then, we 21st-century disciples can do now. As always, Max digs such timely truths out of the Scripture that makes it seem so relevant for today. For right now!

At the back of the book is a discussion and action guide which opens with the words, “Max wants you to do more than read about the book of Acts. He wants you to live out the twenty-ninth chapter, writing the story of the church for your generation.” I found both the discussion questions and action ideas personally challenging, and great conversation-starts for a small group or a Bible study.

It’s almost automatic that I give Max Lucado’s books an unreserved five-out-of-five stars, and this book is no exception. You’ll find so much in this book to apply to your life, your church, your ministry. And here’s another bonus: Max Lucado is giving 100% of his royalties to charities such as World Vision who are helping to make a life-changing difference in our world.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

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Two Helpful Questions

April 19, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Some people tell me that they don’t read the Bible for themselves because they don’t understand parts of what they read, or they don’t know what to do with the parts they do understand.

To which I reply, “That’s understandable.”

The Bible is filled with timeless principles given to us by an Eternal God. The principles may be timeless, but their application is not universal. For example, God’s timeless principle of, say, honoring your parents may be applied one way by someone living in the 12th century B.C. and applied completely differently by someone living today.

Same principle. Different application.

This is easy to say, but much harder to put into action. But I believe it is imperative that we continue to read God’s timeless principles in His Word and find daily application for our lives. So I’d like to suggest two questions to help you in this pursuit. They are the same two questions that people asked the day of Peter’s first sermon after the birth of the Christian church. Try these the next time you read your Bible:

  • What does this mean? (Acts 2:12)
  • What should I do? (Acts 2:37)

Don’t avoid reading the Bible. And don’t approach the Bible the way Søren Kierkegaard said some people do: “Many read the Bible the way a mouse tries to remove the cheese from a trap: trying not to get caught.”

I’m still learning too. Two things that help me immensely: (1) Pray before I read my Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate His inspired Word, and (2) Talk with other wise friends about the application questions I have.

If you have some strategies that are working for you, please share them in the comments below.

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An Obvious Investment

October 12, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

It’s one of the most obvious investment considerations of all time: Where am I going to get the best return on my investment?

Let’s take a little quiz on your investing savvy. If I gave you some money to invest, and you had to invest it all in just one of these two companies, which would you choose:

  • Company A which has only had one profitable year in the past decade.
  • Company B which has been profitable for nine of the past 10 years.

There’s really not much to consider here, is there? Even the most novice of investors is going to pick Company B.

Project A18In our World Changers group, we have been heartstorming about our role in missions. We’re getting ready to launch Project A1:8. Jesus told His followers to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. In other words, to use the Holy Spirit’s power to make wise investments in people. One of the wisest investments we can make is where the return on investment potential is the highest… sort of like investing in Company B.

How about this profit potential: 90% of people who accept Jesus as their personal Savior do so before the age of 18. Investing in young people is like investing in Company B that was profitable in nine of the previous 10 years. So that’s what we’ve chosen as our Jerusalem.

It was awesome to see our group of World Changers come alive as one idea after another began to bounce around the room about making the investment into kids.

I’m excited to see the return on investment God will give us!

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Your Mission Field

September 1, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Be honest: when you think of “mission field” what are the first images that come to your mind? Africa? India? Primitive living conditions? Non-English speaking people? I think that’s what most people think of. To tell the truth, that’s what I used to envision.

But notice what Jesus said to His followers just before He ascended into heaven:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

The first mission field Jesus directed His followers to was Jerusalem. This was their “home town.” Maybe not the city they grew up in, but it was where Jesus conducted much of His public ministry; a place that His followers were intimately familiar with; the city where they currently lived.

  • They knew the language.
  • They knew the customs.
  • They knew the layout of the city.
  • They knew the elected officials.
  • They knew the religious officials.
  • They knew the local merchants.
  • They knew where the synagogues and schools were.
  • They knew this town.

Jesus didn’t call them first to someplace totally outside of their comfort zone. He called them to begin in their immediate surroundings.

Ponder this: you live in your “Jerusalem” and Jesus has called you to look at your city as your mission field. Your job … your school … your neighborhood … your barbershop … your local restaurants … these are all your mission field.

Don’t misunderstand: Missions is a worldwide endeavor, but don’t miss the point that your hometown is just as much a mission field as the other side of the globe is. 

Strive to always be missionary-minded. Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you, and then go be an effective missionary in your Jerusalem first, and then allow God to expand your missions involvement to the ends of the earth.

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Still Learning

May 26, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I live by the axiom, “If you’re through learning, you’re through.” So I try to learn something new every day.

I just finished a class called New Testament Survey: a quick overview of the 27 books that compromise the New Testament of the Bible. Here’s a couple of interesting factoids I picked up from my studies:

  • The earliest-written book was James. Interesting, because at one point James thought Jesus (his half-brother) was nuts.
  • Only Matthew uses the term kingdom of heaven; all of the other writers use kingdom of God.
  • Mark uses the word immediately more times than anyone else. Perhaps because his source (Peter) was always doing things so quickly… sort of a ready, FIRE!, aim kinda guy.
  • Luke wrote what is called “the global gospel” for everyone, so he included 45 teachings/events that no one else records.
  • John doesn’t record any of Jesus’ parables.
  • John uses the word believe nearly 100 times— way more than any other writer.
  • Luke talks about the Holy Spirit nearly 60 times in the 28 chapters of Acts.
  • Romans is the longest of Paul’s epistles with 7101 words; Philemon is the shortest with just 355 words.
  • With the exception of the pastoral epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus) Paul’s letters are arranged in the Bible from longest to shortest.
  • In 1 & 2 Thessalonians (only 136 verses) Paul refers to God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, or a combination thereof more than 150 times.
  • Paul gives Timothy seven word pictures to describe the kind of pastor he should be: son, soldier, athlete, farmer, workman, instrument, and servant.
  • Hebrews is called “the book of better things” so better is used 13 times. This word is used only six times in the remaining 26 books of the New Testament.
  • James wrote 108 verses but issues 50+ direct commands.
  • In John’s three short epistles he uses the word know 33 times, and the word dear ten times.

Keep on learning! There’s a lot of good stuff out there. What have you learned lately?

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