motivation | Craig T. Owens

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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!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 2 Corinthians, Book of Acts, Christmas, culture, God's favor, Gospel, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Halloween, Jesus Christ, light, motivation, Paul, poetry, salt, witnessing. 5 Comments »

Yummy

August 25, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

It’s noon, He’s hot and thirsty after a lengthy journey and some intense ministry, so Jesus sits down by a well to get a drink. He’s hungry too, so He sends His disciples into town to buy some lunch. Along comes a woman from the town, whom Jesus engages in conversation about eternal life. (It’s a really cool story—read the whole thing here.)

While this woman runs back into town to invite others to come hear what Jesus has to say, the disciples return with lunch.

“Here, Jesus,” they say, handing Him some food, “eat something.”

“No, thanks,” Jesus replies, “I’m not that hungry right now.”

The disciples start talking among themselves, “What? Where did He get food? Did someone bring Him something to eat?”

Jesus overhears them and makes this fascinating statement:

The food that keeps Me going is that I do the will of the One who sent Me, finishing the work He started.

What nourished Jesus was feeling the Father’s approval.

What energized Jesus was seeing other people begin to understand the Father’s love for them.

What motivated Jesus was to take every opportunity to tell someone else about God’s love.

Finishing the work that God started is good and good for you.

It’s yummy and it’s nourishing!

So I’m asking myself:

What nourishes me?
What energizes me?
What motivates me?
What is so fulfilling that I cannot go a day without it?

My prayer—my heart’s desire—is that the answer to all of these questions every single day is finishing the work of God in my generation.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: energizing, food, Gospel of John, Jesus Christ, ministry, missional, motivation, nourishment. 1 Comment »

4 x 4

June 25, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever heard the statement, “He’s so thick-headed you have to hit him over the head with a 4-by-4 to get his attention”? Sometimes I’m that guy.

Okay, I’m not that dense (or maybe you should check with Betsy on that), but sometimes I do need some help. Especially in the area of setting and accomplishing goals.

So Betsy and I are working on something new. We picked four goals to accomplish in the next four weeks (4 goals x 4 weeks = 4×4).

We took one verse of Scripture about the life of Jesus as our guide: And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). This one verse shows the balanced way in which Jesus grew, so we have set our four goals in these areas:

Wisdom—a mental goal
Stature—a physical goal
Favor with God—a spiritual goal
Favor with men—an emotional/social goal

Even though we’re only four days into our first week, having this 4×4 is really keeping me motivated and on task. I’ll give you an update when we’ve finished our four weeks.

Another thought that’s keeping me focused during this is what’s happening in me during the process of pursuing these 4×4 goals. Zig Ziglar said it this way, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

Do you have any big goals you’re working on? What do you do to keep yourself motivated and focused on your goals?