Brave Enough

August 19, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

If God asks me to give $1, I can quickly and easily say, “Yes!”

If God asks me to give $10, I say, “Okay!”

If God asks me to give $100, I say, “Um, well, if You say so.”

If God asks me to give $1000, I say, “I need to pray about this ‘faith promise.’”

If God asks me to give $10,000, I say, “As soon as You bless me, I’ll be able to do this.”

This same principle holds true for anything else:

  • Used clothing? Sure. Brand new stuff? I’m not so sure.
  • Volunteer an hour? Okay! Make a commitment for an hour every week? Let me pray about it.
  • Pray for someone? No problem. Add them to my daily prayer list? Whoa!
  • Support missionaries? Yes! Become a missionary? Well….

It’s easy to obey when we think the stakes are low. But the more “zeroes” that get added to the amount, the higher the stakes seem. Am I brave enough to obey then?

This is what tripped up Saul, Israel’s first king. He was supposed to devote everything from the defeated Amalekites to God. “Devote” means a complete and irrevocable giving to God. When the stakes were low, he obeyed, but when he perceived the stakes being too high, he lost the courage to follow through:

Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality. (1 Samuel 15:9 NLT)

He captured Agag, king of Amalek, alive. Everyone else was killed under the terms of the holy ban. Saul and the army made an exception for Agag, and for the choice sheep and cattle. They didn’t include them under the terms of the holy ban. But all the rest, which nobody wanted anyway, they destroyed as decreed by the holy ban. (1 Samuel 15:9, The Message)

Ironically, because Saul held on to what he thought was valuable, he lost something invaluable: a close relationship with God. His cowardice led to disobedience, and his disobedience led to his ultimate collapse.

I pray that I’m brave enough to obey just as quickly when the stakes are higher as I do when the stakes are lower.

What about you? Are you brave enough?

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Worth It

April 4, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

We went big for our Resurrection Sunday celebration. Instead of our usual format, we had two services, we provided breakfast for everyone, and we wrote and presented an original Easter drama. It was a stretch for us. Going big means:

  • More nights and weekends spent writing and rehearsing.
  • Recruiting more nursery workers.
  • Asking those nursery workers to give up being in the service to minister to our kids.
  • Spending Saturday setting up tables and chairs.
  • Spending money on food that we wouldn’t normally spend.
  • Asking our music team to come earlier and stay later.
  • Speaking twice.

But it was so worth it! At the end of the morning, 18 people invited Jesus into their life!

Since Jesus gave His life for these folks, I think it is a small sacrifice for us to give the money and time and effort that we gave.

I’m so proud of my cast and crew, and kitchen workers, and worship team members, and nursery workers. Not to mention all of our church members who invited family and friends to come to our Easter breakfast drama this morning.

Ah, yes, it is so worth it!!

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Prayer Works

December 29, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Prayer works. This phrase is powerful on so many levels—

  • Prayer is effective.
  • Prayer makes changes in me.
  • Prayer makes me work better.
  • Work is made better with prayer.
  • It takes a lot of work to pray.

Most Christians give the first day of each week to God. I’m challenging myself and our congregation to give the first week of the new year to God. January 3-9 will be a week of working in prayer. We’ve called this week Total Access: When we pray, we have total access to all of God’s blessings. He wants to bless us so that…

1. We can be more fruitful.

2. We can bless others out of our overflow.

3. We can glorify God.

Why don’t you join us in giving your first week of the year to God. It’s work to pray, but prayer works.

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Sharper

December 18, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday was one of those days that I was in “receive” mode. As a pastor, I usually spend more days in the “dispense” mode: teaching, counseling, advising. But yesterday I was blessed to sit back and soak in some great counsel. And I’m sharper for it.

It’s too bad that many people never take the time to allow others to advise them. Or, if they do go through the motions of “listening” to advice, they never put that counsel into action.

I met with a seasoned pastor yesterday morning. He asked me several questions to assess where I was personally and professionally, and then he gave me some invaluable insight. He’s one of those “been-there-done-that” guys who has learned the lessons of history well, and he was gracious to share with me.

Last night I invited my Impact teaching team over to my house. After sharing dinner together I listened as they weighed in on our upcoming series in our youth services. Since they are closer in age to our students, their insight into the teenage mind was so keen. They were able to help me better understand the challenges and culture of middle and high school students. And I’m sharper for it.

A few thoughts from some other wise counselors:

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.” —Proverbs 1:5 (KJV)

“Those who will not be counseled, cannot be helped. More souls are ruined by pride than by any other sin whatever.” —Matthew Henry

“Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.” —Proverbs 11:14 (The Message)

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” —Proverbs 15:22 (NIV)

“To accept good advice is to increase one’s own ability.” —Goethe

Are you getting sharper? Are you listening to good advice?

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I Went Back To Middle School

December 11, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday morning was the second annual Parent Shadowing Day at Cedar Springs Middle School, so I got to follow my daughter for a couple of hours. It was a little weird being back in middle school after 30+ years, but I had a lot of fun being with my daughter.

Here are a couple of thoughts on my day:

First hour band

  • Got to sit in my old section: percussion. It was all I could do to keep from jumping in on the marimba!
  • A little painful to listen to middle schoolers working their way through a song, but slowly Feliz Navidad and Greensleeves begin to emerge.
  • I love the way band teachers explain music verbally. Mr. Green said to the brass, “You’re supposed to start with a strong staccato ‘Tah!’ but you’re giving me a slurred ‘Blaaah.’”

Second hour computers

  • When I was in middle school we had precisely zero computers … in the whole building! Now each student is sitting at their own workstation.
  • I’m amazed at how fast these students are on the computer (but I’m still faster!)
  • Some kid just sneezed into the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Nice catch! He says, “Eww, gross!” I say, “Better your sleeve than your computer monitor!”
  • My overachieving daughter just completed her project that isn’t due for another two weeks!

Third hour writing

  • I used to dread going to writing class in middle school, but now I love writing. I’m thankful to Mr. Cochrane who encouraged and invested in my writing skills.
  • The class welcomed a new student who just moved to Cedar Springs. It’s got to be tough to be “the new kid.” I need to remember how that feels so I can make new people feel welcomed.
  • Cool! This class throws around a Koosh ball to help identify who’s supposed to be talking. It’s like having gym in writing class.
  • I love the peer-to-peer editing of each other’s research papers. They have to write down PATS: Praise, Ask a question, Tell something that sticks in their mind, and give a Suggestion. Encouraging encouragement is way cool.
  • The students here are much more quiet and respectful of their teachers than we were in middle school. I’m just saying….

Fourth hour science

  • Fascinating how a folded piece of pre-printed paper and a brass brad can help students learn the position of the sun relative to our latitudinal position in Michigan. And I’m amazed at how quickly the students grasp the concept.
  • We got to leave science early to wish student teacher Miss Nicki a fond farewell. She’s graduating and now looking for a full-time teaching assignment. We celebrated with Tootsie Pops.

What a wonderful experience. It’s so cool to “walk in someone else’s shoes.” I need to make that a more regular discipline in my life.

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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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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.

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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.

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Destinations

April 7, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace, that
where there is hatred, I may bring love;
where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
where there is error, I may bring truth;
where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
where there is despair, I may bring hope;
were there are shadows, I may bring light;
where there is sadness, I may bring joy.” —Francis of Assisi

There are times when I go through a difficult spot in my life and I can see the areas where I am growing as a result of successfully navigating the challenge. However, the tough time I just went through wasn’t one of those times.

The quote above resonates with me. I want to be someone who brings out love, forgiveness, harmony, truth, faith, hope, light, and joy in other people. So although this challenging time I’ve gone through hasn’t been pleasant for me, it has been such a joy to see others “step up,” mature, stretch, and grow as they have been alongside me.

One more quote—”It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one of these destinations.” —C.S. Lewis

To which destination are you helping those around you? What characteristics are you bringing out in those alongside you?

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Saturdays At Panera

November 22, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

“A mentor has been defined as someone whose hindsight can become your foresight.” —Richard Edler

For almost three years I have had the privilege of being mentored by Hank Zampa. Once a month we meet at Panera and Hank pours into my life. Sometimes he simply lets me unpack my frustrations, sometimes he asks me challenging questions that cause me to rethink my current strategy, sometimes he gives me a word of encouragement or a book to read. His hindsight has been my foresight time and time again, and I am a better man because of that. And all of this came about because I simply recognized the need for a wise man to speak into my life, and I asked Hank if he would be willing to invest in me. I am so grateful he said “yes.”

Who are you allowing to speak into your life?

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