influence | Craig T. Owens

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Links & Quotes

July 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Some interesting reading from today…

“A gracious Hand leads us in ways we know not, and blesses us not only without, but even against, our plans and inclinations.” —William Wilberforce

A cool article about George MacDonald’s influence on C.S. Lewis.

Ken Davis uses an optical illusion to make a fantastic point in his post Perception Or Reality?

The son of a Hamas founder confirms that this terrorist group targets civilians.

[INFOGRAPHIC] This is a win-win: Benaiah featured on The Overview Bible Project.

Praise God!! Millions of Muslims converting to Jesus Christ!

“Commend me to the Christian who says, ‘I bless God I am saved; now what can I do for others?’ The first thing in the morning he prays, ‘God help me to say a word to some soul this day.’ During the day, wherever he may be, he is watching his opportunity, and will do good if he can.” —Charles Spurgeon

“There’s a great deal of trust in the love of God, and a great deal of love in the trust of God.” —John Piper

Happy Mother’s Day

May 11, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Here are a dozen of my favorite Mother’s Day quotes…

“All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.” —Abraham Lincoln

“A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” —Tenneva Jordan

“I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine—she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.” —Adabella Radici

“My mom is a never-ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.” —Graycie Harmon

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” —Elizabeth Stone

Augustine wrote in Confessions that his mother Monica “wept to God for me, shedding more tears for my spiritual death than other mothers shed for the bodily death of a son.” In the midst of her prayers, Monica shared her concerns with Ambrose, bishop of Milan, and he said, “It cannot be that the son of those tears be lost.”

“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” —Abraham Lincoln

“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” —George Washington

“The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive. O woman, great is thy power!” ―Charles Spurgeon

“I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” —John Wesley

“Your motherhood is in God’s sight holier and more blessed than you realize.” —Andrew Murray

“To be a mother is the greatest vocation in the world. No being has a position of such great power and influence. She holds in her hands the destiny of nations, for to her is necessarily committed the making of the nation’s citizens.” —Hannah Whitall Smith

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Murray, Augustine, Charles Spurgeon, children, Christianity, George Washington, Hannah Whitall Smith, Happy Mother's Day, influence, love. Leave a Comment »

Counterculture Christian

March 30, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve been pondering these quotes for the past few days. They describe a view of Christianity that is biblical, but highly countercultural. What do you think?

“If we obey the Lord, He will compel our adversaries to see that His blessing rests upon us. … It is for saints to lead the way among men by holy influence: they are not to be the tail, to be dragged hither and thither by others. We must not yield to the spirit of the age, but compel the age to do homage to Christ.” —Charles Spurgeon

“I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven.” —A.W. Tozer

“The symbols under which Heaven is presented to us are (a) a dinner party, (b) a wedding, (c) a city, and (d) a concert. It would be grotesque to suppose that the guests or citizens or members of the choir didn’t know one another. And how can love of one another be commanded in this life if it is to be cut short at death?” —C.S. Lewis

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, blessing, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Christian, Christianity, counter-cultural, Heaven, influence, Jesus Christ, quotes, servant. 2 Comments »

God-Pleasing Sermons

October 18, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Lemuel Haynes

Sadly, I talk to far too many pastors who tell me their sermon topics have been selected by others. They don’t say this exactly in those words, but they talk about needing to prompt someone to do something differently, or of a parent who thinks the youth need some correction, or a board member who says the giving needs to be increased.

Sometimes it’s the opposite: pastors will say they won’t preach on a certain topic because it’s too sensitive, or it might make some people upset, or it might be offensive to some with an opposing viewpoint.

Whatever happened to preaching the Word as the Holy Spirit directs?

“A minister who watches for souls as one who expects to give account will have none to please but God. When he studies his sermons, this will not be the enquiry, ‘How shall I form my discourse so as to please and gratify the humors of men and get their applause?’ but ‘How shall I preach so as to do honor to God and meet with the approbation of my Judge?’” —Lemuel Haynes (emphasis added)

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: God's approval, Holy Spirit, influence, intimidation, Lemuel Haynes, man's approval, popularity, preaching, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Leaking Influence

March 22, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Jim Collins has great advice for leaders: When things are going well, look out the window (at your people); when things aren’t going well, look in the mirror (at yourself). This is as true for business CEOs as it is for pastors.

Pastor, you leak.

I leak.

We all leak.

It’s impossible to just maintain where we are. There needs to be a constant refreshing, a constant refilling. We need to keep learning, keep changing, keep renewing. If we don’t, well, this is how Oswald Chambers described it—

“If you are in a position of authority and people are not obeying you, the greatest heart-searching you can have is the realization that the blame does not lie with them, but with you; there is always leakage going on spiritually. Get right with God yourself, and every other one will get in touch with God through you.” (my emphasis)

Pastor, don’t wait: Look in the mirror today, get right with God, replenish what’s leaked out of you, and then watch to see how others in your congregation will begin to move toward God themselves.

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: influence, Jim Collins, leadership, Oswald Chambers, pastoring, pastors, quote, renew. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Two Dangerous Extremes

September 27, 2012 — 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.

Two Dangerous Extremes

Possibly the best illustration we can use is that of a lamp. A lamp unlighted will illustrate individuality; a lighted lamp will illustrate personality. The lighted lamp takes up no more room, but the light permeates far and wide; so the influence of personality goes beyond that of individuality. “You are the light of the world” said our Lord. Individually we do not take up much room, but our influence is far beyond our calculation. …

Individuality, then, is a smaller term than personality. Personality means that peculiar, incalculable being that is meant when you speak of “you” as distinct from everybody else. People say, “Oh, I cannot understand myself”; of course you can’t! “Nobody can understand me”; of course they don’t! There is only one Being Who understand us, and that is our Creator. …

There are possibilities below the threshold of our lives which no one but God knows…. God makes a man know that He is searching him. …

Introspection without God leads to insanity. … The people with no tendency to introspect are those described in the New Testament as “dead in trespasses and sins,” they are quite happy, quite contented, quite moral, all they want is easily within their grasp, everything is all right with them; but they are dead to the world to which Jesus Christ belongs, and it takes His voice and His Spirt to awaken them. …

The path of peace is for us to hand ourselves over to God and ask Him to search us, not what we think we are, or what other people think we are, or what we persuade ourselves we are or would like to be, but, “Search me out, O God, explore me as I really am in Thy sight.”

From Biblical Psychology

There are two dangerous extremes: Never looking within ourselves, and looking within ourselves without God’s help.

If you want your personality to shine far and wide, you must pray regularly as David did: “O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. Now search me again, and reveal to me anything that is offensive or displeasing to You, and then help me to change those things” (see Psalm 139:23-24).

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Holy Spirit, individulity, influence, introspection, Oswald Chambers, personality, prayer, Psalm. Leave a Comment »

A Checklist For Influencers

September 19, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

As the apostle Paul is wrapping up his letter to his friends in the Church at Philippi, he encourages them to be people others want to be around. After all…

The #1 Rule of Influence: You can only influence people who are close to you.

The #2 Rule of Influence: People won’t get close to you unless you are approachable.

So here’s a quick checklist from Paul to Christians who want to be influencers from Philippians 4:4-9:

Rejoice in God. Always.
Be gentlemen and gentlewomen. Manners matter.
Understand God is always with you.
Don’t be anxious or fretful.
Pray about everything.
Be a thank-full person.
Be discerning of what goes in your eyes and ears.
Continue to learn and practice godly, biblical principles.

A short list, but a lifetime of growth opportunities.

The more you exhibit these qualities, the more approachable you will be. And the more approachable you are, the more you can influence people to learn about the life-changing power of a personal relationship with Jesus.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Paul, Christianity, discipleship, influence, lifelong learner, Philippians. Leave a Comment »

Live Like A Star

September 5, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Do you want to influence people?

The first step may sound simple, but it takes a lot of work: People have to want to be around you.

Think about it—it’s hard to influence anyone who doesn’t even want to be in the same room with you, let alone get up-close-and-personal! Here are some wise words:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life… (Philippians 2:14-16)

Here’s what the Bible says we can do to be the kind of person others want to be around:

Don’t be a complainer when things don’t go your way.
Stop arguing about everything. There is a time to stand up, and there’s a time to quiet down. Learn the difference between the two.
Live above reproach. Simply stated: do the right thing all the time.
Live a life that pleases God.
Set an example worth following and people will want to follow you!
Use the Bible as the infallible standard for all of your life choices.

Living this way makes you shine like a star. Not a rock star or a superstar, but a powerful influencer.

Want to see something cool? The dictionary gives this amazing bit of information about the origin of the word influence—

An astrological term which meant the streaming ethereal power from the stars acting upon the character or destiny of men.

If you live the way the Bible says in these three verses, you will not only shine like a star, you will be positively affecting the character and destiny of those in your circle of influence. How cool is that?!

And that is a great reason to live a God-pleasing life!

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: character, influence, lifestyle, Philippians, relationships, video. 3 Comments »

Be A People Person (book review)

August 16, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

John Maxwell’s insights into leading people perpetually astound me. He always finds such simple ways to explain what I know I should already be doing. In one of his earliest books, Be A People Person, I (re)discovered some more great people principles.

Be A People Person perfectly describes this book: It’s all about being a person who is trusted and accepted by other people. This, in turn, puts this people-person in a place to be an effective leader. So Dr. Maxwell talks about confidence, motivation, encouragement, empathy, trustworthiness, mentorship, and so many other people principles.

Because this was one of his earlier books, I see many of the seed thoughts that have become books in their own right later on. But that still didn’t take away from the refreshing insights that I uncovered.

Unless you are a solitary hermit, there is so much to discover in this book to help you grow stronger and more effective relationships with family members, coworkers, and friends.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, empathy, influence, John Maxwell, leadership, mentoring, parenting. Leave a Comment »

Leadership Is Dead (book review)

June 21, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

It’s not that we don’t need leaders anymore; actually, we need more leaders. But we also need the right kind of leaders. It is exactly those right kinds of leaders that Jeremie Kubicek calls upon in Leadership Is Dead: How Influence Is Reviving It.

Many leadership books tend to be very head-oriented. That is, most leadership books give you the how to’s. Jeremie takes a different approach. Instead of leading with the how to’s, he leads with the why. From the opening chapter Jeremie wants his readers to look deep inside to find out why they want to be a leader, or a better leader. Then once that is firmly in mind, he begins to dismantle all of the self-serving motivations, and replace them with the ultimate tool for effective leadership: influence.

In many ways this book is as much a people-skills book as it is a leadership book. But, after all, unless you are leading sheep, you need to know about interacting with people. Rest assured, Leadership Is Dead is not a touchy-feely book; it is an in-your-face confrontation about doing reviving true leadership.

The last chapter is called “Why You Probably Won’t Do This.” In this chapter, Jeremie says, “Most leaders never reach the levels of significant influence because their instincts for self-preservation are too strong.” And then he adds, “True influence comes when you change yourself to change the world.”

Do you want to make a lasting impact on your world? It starts when you can make the changes in yourself that will lead to greater levels of influence on those around you. Because in order to change your world, you’re going to need a lot of help from a lot of other people! This book can help.

(Special thanks to Michael Hyatt for selecting me as a winner on his blog, so that I could get a copy of this book. And thank you as well to Howard Books for making these books available to Michael Hyatt.)