Don’t Just Sit There

March 26, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I’m convinced that in my pursuit of a deeper relationship with Christ, neutral is the most vulnerable position I can take.

I can pursue God with all I’ve got. Every day I can learn a little more what it means to love God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength.

Or I can make a decision that I’ve gone as far as I can in my relationship with Jesus. I can say, “I’m not willing to be stretched any further. I’m comfortable with where I am.” But when I get into this neutral position, I’m more likely to slide away from God than I am to move closer to Him. It’s hard to even stay where I was. Check this out:

BLESSED—HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable—is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly—following their advice, their plans and purposes—nor stands submissive and inactive in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down to relax and rest where the scornful and the mockers gather.

It’s when I become inactive that I am vulnerable to ungodly counsel.

It’s when I sit down to relax that I can easily slip into the cynical banter of the scornful.

If I want to avoid the downward slide away from God, I can’t just sit still. I’ve got to be actively, passionately, wholeheartedly moving toward Him. Solomon wrote:

Make your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and incline and direct your heart and mind to understanding—applying all your powers to the quest for it.

Don’t just sit there! Keep on moving closer and closer to Jesus every day.

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Comparative Religion Class In Sudan

March 22, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Guest Author: Dick Brogden

There is a wonderful Egyptian Mission agency active in Sudan that exists to give Christ’s living water to the last, least, and lost.  One annual ministry they provide is a Book and Bible exhibition in the middle of downtown Khartoum.  They sell Christian books and Bibles, show Christian films, and host lectures on aspects of the Christian faith.  The exhibition is set up in an empty lot that opens on the major downtown avenue and is open to all.

Last month during the exhibition, five buses pulled up and 150 veiled-to-the-eyes Muslim women plodded out.  They were the first year students from a local Islamic University.  Their professor of comparative religion, Dr. Yathrub, decided they needed to interact with some Christians.  The 150 women were respectful, participated in the events, and took home some free literature as a gift.  Dr. Yathrub asked if she could return with the 4th year students.

A couple days later, five more buses, and 150 more Muslim women, most veiled-to-the-eyes showed up.  One hundred of them marched right to the lecture tent and asked if the lecturer could address the issue of the unity of God and the Trinity.  The staff obliged and a wonderful question and answer time followed.  Again, all the students were kind, earnest, and respectful in their interaction.  They too were given a free Christian book titled, “Did Jesus ever claim to be God?” and went home happy.  Dr. Yathrub asked if she could bring the entire year 2 and 3 students, and of course the staff of the event agreed.

The next day Dr. Yathrub called to apologize.  She could not make it nor bring the other students.  Evidently, 300 veiled Muslim women marching around the campus happily reading, discussing, and sharing Christian material was too much for the administration and they opened an investigation of censure against Dr. Yathrub.  To her credit she did not back down, insisting that in comparative religious studies you must be free to compare religions.  A novel and dangerous idea.

Would you join us in praise and prayer.  Praise God that 300 Muslim women were gracious and brave enough to visit the exhibition.  Pray that the words they heard, and the literature they now posses, would be used of the Holy Spirit to delight their hearts in Jesus and unveil their spirits.  Praise God for the courage for Dr. Yathrub.  Would you pray with us that God would reward her with Himself and unveil Jesus to her.  Praise God for the Living Water Team.  Please pray that they continue to be bold and loving in witness and that as a result they too experience a mighty refreshing.

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Land Of Combustion

February 16, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Guest Author: Dick Brogden

Wilson is a Southern Sudanese Christian who heads the bio water filter project in Eastern Sudan. Made from local materials (cement, gravel, sand) these three-foot-high filters can provide clean water to whole families. In the last two years, Wilson has made and placed over 600 filters, primarily in Muslim homes. This service has opened the door for him to share his faith in Jesus.

A few weeks ago, a Muslim family approached Wilson with a problem. Their home was full of demonic activity. Furniture would be moved around in the night, items in the house would spontaneously combust, the bursting flames destroying many family possessions.

The Muslim family consulted a Muslim Sheikh who demanded $10,000 to exorcise the house. He came, did his Islamic chants, and left a Koran for the family to use to ward off the evil. That night, the Koran burst into flames and was destroyed. In desperation, the family turned to Wilson.

Wilson turned them to Jesus. He explained that protection follows Lordship and that the family had to repent of sin and turn to Jesus as Savior in order to be under His covering. Not rushing things, he took adequate time to walk the family through what it meant to be a sinner and for Jesus to be the only Savior. The family openly confessed their sin, repented, and invited Jesus to be Lord and Savior. Only then did Wilson walk through the house praying over every room.

When Wilson left, he gave the family a Bible. “Oh no,” they said, “We do not want this to burst into flames as well.” Wilson gently told them that this was the real Word of God, and that as the house now was under the protection of Jesus all would be well.

The next morning the new believers called Wilson. “This is great!” they said. “No demons, and nothing has happened to the Bible.”

Water and Fire. What a great combination.

Dick Brogden and his family have served as missionaries in Sudan for 14 years.

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The Barbarian Way (book review)

February 15, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

With so many to follow or listen to, Erwin McManus is one of the select few pastors I tune into on a regular basis. I was never really sure what it is about Erwin that so resonates with me until I read The Barbarian Way. Now I have a reason for what I’ve always felt: I’m a barbarian too.

Religion bores me.

Religious people are de-motivating.

Denominations spend too much time with the already-churched.

Civilized Christianity is unremarkable.

Keying in on the life of John The Baptizer, Erwin takes an entirely different tact. John was so out of the religious mainstream: a long-haired, weird dresser who lived in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey, and preaching about Jesus. And, by the way, his ministry drew both the seeker and the civilized God-follower.

The seekers were both fascinated and motivated by John’s message. The religious were repulsed at the barbarity of John’s call to repentance. It was the same with Jesus’ ministry: the seekers were energized and liberated by Christ’s words; the religious were incensed.

What about me? Are my message and lifestyle barbaric enough to resonate with those seeking a relationship with Christ? Does it draw them into that relationship? Or do I live so tamed and civilized that only the religious people like my lifestyle?

Here’s how Erwin puts it:

“Civility focuses our energy on all the wrong places. We spend our lives emphasizing our personal development and spiritual well-being. We build churches that become nothing more than hiding places for the faithful while pretending that our actions are for the good of the world. … It may seem counterintuitive, but the more civilized we seem to become, the more detached from the pain of others we end up finding ourselves. The most civilized churches have really no practical concern for people outside their congregations. The brokenness of a lost and unbelieving world is not enough to inspire the painful changes necessary to make the church relevant to the world in which we live.”

I love the barbarian way of living. The Barbarian Way simply put words to what my heart was already crying out.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

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Is My Church Worldly?

February 4, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I read this quote this morning from David F. Wells. It’s very challenging. I believe my responsibility as a pastor is to always be wrestling with issues like this.

What do you think about this quote:

“. . . Where Christian faith is offered as a means of finding personal wholeness rather than holiness, the church has become worldly.

“There are many other forms of worldliness that are comfortably at home in the evangelical church today. Where it substitutes intuition and feelings for biblical truth, it is being worldly. Where its appetite for the Word has been lost in favor of light discourses and entertainment, it is being worldly. Where it has restructured what it is and what it offers around the rhythms of consumption, it is being worldly, for customers are actually sinners whose place in the church is not to be explained by a quest for self-satisfaction but by a need for repentance. Where it cares more about success than about faithfulness, more about size than spiritual health, it is being worldly. Where the centrality of God to worship is lost amidst the need to be distracted and to have fun, the church is being worldly because it is simply accommodating itself to the preeminent entertainment culture in the world.

“Is it not odd that in so many church services each Sunday, services that are ostensibly about worshiping God, those in attendance may not be obliged to think even once about His greatness, grace, and commands? Worship in such contexts often has little or nothing to do with God.” —David F. Wells

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Stand Up For Life

January 29, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

It’s a sad reality that Christians are known more for what we’re against than what we’re for. But we can change this perception if we’ll find some positive things to support.

Here’s a great opportunity:  Focus On The Family has helped to get a commercial on the air during the upcoming Super Bowl. The commercial will feature a woman named Pam, a mother who will tell how doctors recommended that she have an abortion after discovering some complications with her pregnancy. She refused to have an abortion.

Pam then gave birth to Tim—Tim Tebow, that is, who went on to become one of the most successful college football quarterbacks ever.

Pro-abortion groups are already lashing out. They are trying to bully and intimidate CBS into pulling the ad from the Super Bowl. Even though they haven’t even seen the commercial yet they are convinced that airing it will be a bad thing.

Here’s what you can do to help. Email Sean McManus, the President of CBS News and Sports, and tell him, “I want to see this ad during the Super Bowl.”

Don’t let a vocal minority intimidate CBS.

Stand up for life.

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Relationship Trumps Religion

December 17, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Last night in our Impact youth service we wrapped up this session of The Q Series: a time where our students submit the questions they want to have answered. I’m always challenged by the questions that get turned into me, they really make me dig deep.

Last night I answered a couple of questions that went like this: “Is Christianity all about keeping the right rules?”

I think there is a misconception that many people have about those who call themselves Christian. One of the most notable ones is: There are way too many rules to follow.

I answered this question with an analogy to my relationship with my wife. If I want a better marriage, would I be better off following a list of rules, or developing a more intimate relationship? I think the answer is easy: relationship always trumps rules.

When we begin to think of Christianity as a relationship with Jesus instead of a religion, there is greater freedom. Look at the change in mindset from religion to relationship:

Clearly, a relationship with Jesus trumps trying to keep religious rules.

Our students got it. In fact, three of them got it for the first time as they prayed to ask Jesus to step into a relationship with them! That never gets old for me, in fact, it’s the greatest thing I get to see!

I hope you’re not bound up by religion, but enjoying all of the benefits of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s the best decision you could ever make.

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Primal (book review)

December 16, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

It’s been quite a while since I have been this excited about a book. Mark Batterson has given us a winner with the release of this third book entitled Primal. I highly recommend that you add this to your 2010 reading list, as this would be a great way to start your new year.

One of the knocks I hear non-churched people level at Christians is, “You have too many rules to follow. It seems like being a Christian is too restrictive.” Unfortunately, far too many people who call themselves Christian live like this. Their definition of Christianity boils down to We can’t do that or We don’t do that or These are the rules.

In Primal, Batterson takes us back to the life Jesus intended for His followers to live. Jesus is asked what it takes to be a follower of God, and He answers with this primal phrase, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is primal Christianity.

Mark then leads us through a reawakening of what it really means to love God fully in these four areas:

  1. Passionate, God-directed, and others-focused love
  2. Wide-eyed, awe-struck, transcendent wonder
  3. A searching, engaged, holy curiosity
  4. Energetic, all-encompassing, servant-hearted work

It’s so simple. It’s so primal. And it’s so liberating to be reminded of the raw essence of living a Spirit-empowered life which is so God-glorifying and Christ-magnifying.

This book gets all five stars from me.

I am a Multnomah book review blogger.

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Confusing Signals

December 9, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

The other day I met a friend for coffee at Biggby Coffee and noticed this sign. In reality, the door did take you behind the counter (that’s the “Employees Only” part), and from the behind-the-counter area is the only other exit door from the coffee shop that could be used in case of an emergency (that’s the “Emergency” part).

But when I put the two parts together, it struck me funny. “Are they saying only employees can use the emergency exit? What happens to the rest of us?”

Is this the message Christians send? “Only Christians who know how to behave themselves in a Christian way can come into the Christians-only area of our church and hear how to exit this world.” Sadly, many Christians act this way.

Or should I call them “Christianists”? After all, true Christ-followers act like Jesus and invite everyone behind the counter to hear the good news. All those who truly love Jesus want everyone to know how to find the exit from all the baggage they’ve been carrying around.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Did you catch that? All of you. The good news about Jesus is for everyone everywhere. Let’s not put a confusing sign on the door, but invite them into freedom in Christ.

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More Than Okay

April 13, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Most mornings when I wake up there is a song echoing in my mind. This morning it was Switchfoot’s song “More Than Fine” (lyrics here).

Lately, I’ve been noticing some clichés in our culture that are survival-oriented—

  • “I’m just trying to make a living.”
  • “Another day, another dollar.”
  • “Ugh, another Monday!”
  • “I just need to make it until the weekend.”
  • “If we can just survive today.”
  • “How are you?” “I’m fine… okay, I guess.”

I suppose for some, this is how they view life. But this should never be the mindset for followers of Jesus Christ.

Jesus didn’t die on a Cross for us, conquer death and rise again so we could have an okay life. He came to give us overflowing life. Of all people, those who are in a personal relationship with Jesus should be the most more-than-okay people of anyone!

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. (Psalm 23:5 NLT)

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). (John 10:10 AMP)

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, His blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! (Ephesians 1:7-8 MSG)

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV)

Today is the only today you will ever get. You don’t have to just survive today, you don’t have to just make it through this day, you don’t have to settle for just okay. You can live for more than okay today, you can experience God’s abundance, and you can revel in the overflowing life Jesus’ resurrection purchased for you!

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