Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Without a doubt, a leader plagued by feelings of guilt is a leader that is operating well-below his or her full potential.
One of the best ways to avoid these feelings of limiting guilt is for the leader to admit that he or she isn’t an expert in every aspect of their organization.
In this short clip, Karl Vaters and I are specifically addressing pastoral leaders, but the principles can be applied to leaders of any organization.
You can check out more clips from this interview by clicking here.
The two related blog posts I made reference to in this video are:
“When the Lord chose His twelve disciples, it was ‘that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach’ (Mark 3:14). A life in fellowship with Him prepared them for the work of preaching. …
“The law of their first calling remained unchanged: their unbroken fellowship with Him was the secret of their power to preach and to testify of Him. …
“The same principle stands for all His servants, for all time: without the experience of His presence with us, our preaching has no power. The secret of our strength is the living testimony that Jesus Christ is every moment with us, inspiring, directing and strengthening us. …
“But remember that this power is never meant to be experienced as if it were our own. It is only as Jesus Christ as a living Person dwells and works with His divine energy in our own hearts and lives that there can be power in our preaching as a personal testimony. …
“For it’s only when His servants show in their lives that they obey Him in all His commands can they expect the fullness of His power and His presence to be with them. Only when they themselves are living witnesses to the reality of His power to save and to keep from sin can they expect to experience His abiding presence, and the power to train others to the life of obedience that He asks.
“The living experience of the presence of Jesus is an essential element in preaching the gospel. If this becomes clouded, work becomes a human effort, without the freshness and power of the heavenly life. Nothing can bring back the power and blessing but a return to the Master’s feet so that He may breathe into the heart, in divine power, His blessed word, ‘I am with you always!’” —Andrew Murray
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Jesus began to speak to them in parables… (Mark 12:1).
What Jesus relates here in the 12th chapter of Mark’s Gospel is only the fourth parable that Mark records, and as the final parable that Jesus shares, it brings His public ministry to a close.
Jesus concludes this parable by quoting from Psalm 118. This Psalm is the last of the “Hallel Psalms” that were sung at the conclusion of the Passover celebration. This song specifically looks eagerly forward to the arrival of the Messiah. It contains the words that the crowd used on Palm Sunday: “Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 118:25-26). By quoting from the same Psalm—that was perhaps hundreds of years old, but had just been sung and shouted by the crowd—Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah longed for in that Hallel Psalm.
As you may recall, these shouts from the crowd and the activities of Jesus as He cleansed the temple got the religious leaders riled up! They, in essence, asked Jesus, “Who do You think You are?!” His answer is contained in this parable of Mark 12.
At the conclusion of this parable, the religious leaders “knew He had spoken this parable against them” (Mark 12:12).
Pastors, if you want to deliver soul-shaking, life-transforming, eye-opening, heart-melting sermons, you must follow this example of Jesus: Stick with the Scripture!
We don’t need to try to be clever or witty or even memorable. We just need to speak the Word of God that is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and then allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate that inspired Word to each person’s needs. As Randy Pope noted, “Preaching is not talking to people about the Bible; it is talking to people about themselves from the Bible.”
I don’t want to try to make my voice impress people, but I am desperate for God’s voice to impact people. Nearly every week as I prepare a sermon, I’ll pray this prayer from Oswald Chambers: “In my preaching, cause Thy glorious voice to be heard, Thy lovely face to be seen, Thy pervasive Spirit felt.” My dear pastor, I would encourage you to make this your prayer as well.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
In my book Shepherd Leadership, I take five chapters to unpack the lessons we can learn from the health of Jesus. Yes, Jesus was mentally, physically, spiritually, and relationally healthy.
On the 200churches podcast with Jeff Keady we talked about a chapter in my book called “The Pinnacle of a Shepherd’s Health.” In that chapter I wrote—
The phrase Dr. Luke uses about Christ’s growth is, “Jesus grew in favor with men” [Luke 2:52]. People liked having Jesus around. The word Luke uses for favor is from the same root word that is also translated “grace.” Jesus was a graceful Man. Or we could say that He was a Man so full of grace that when He was jostled, only grace spilled out of Him.
What does it mean when someone is graceful? It means they are pleasant to be around. It means you feel safe around them, knowing they will never belittle you or put you down. It means that their focus is on your agenda, not their own agenda. It means they are a “there you are!” person, not a “here I am!” person. The bottom line: grace-full people are full of grace for others.
Let’s return to our perfect example in Jesus. He was treated rudely and spoken to condescendingly, even by people who should have been His allies. Then there were those on a constant mission to try to trip Him up or get Him to say or do something that would have undermined His credibility. Yet Jesus never spoke inappropriately nor acted childishly. Jesus never had to say, “My bad, I misspoke there,” or “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
We can make all of our plans to behave in loving ways toward the sheep under our care, but what happens when the sheep ignore us, bite us, or leave us? As boxer Mike Tyson noted, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Surely the best indication of our overall healthiness and servant-like attitude is not so much our actions but our reactions.
If your reactions are less than what you would like them to be, I believe you will find a lot of excellent content in my book that can help you.
If you want to catch up on some of the other clips I’ve already shared from this interview, you can find them here, and I’ll be sharing more clips from this 200churches interview soon, so please stay tuned. Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter is available in print or ebook, and in audiobook through either Audible or Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I’ve discussed quite a bit the two ways that organizations—especially churches and non-profit ministries—can measure success: By quantity or by quality. And I think a good case can be made for both of these metrics from the Bible.
My bigger concern is when we try to use bigger numbers as the sole gauge of success. In a training time I had with some ministry interns, we took a deep dive into the reasons why the metric of bigger and ever-increasing numbers became the sole measurement for success in our churches. During this training time, I took these interns to Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians and two Old Testament examples where people got this wrong. Take a listen…
Jeff and I spent a good chunk of our time talking about the health of pastors. I think it is very important for shepherd leaders to be wholly healthy because we cannot give to our flocks what we don’t possess ourselves.
One of the things that is very interesting to me is the parallels between maintaining our physical health and maintaining our spiritual health. When it comes right down to it, our physical health can be optimized by getting a handle on four key elements: (1) proper diet, (2) regular exercise, (3) appropriate rest and recovery, and (4) regular times of evaluation and adjustment.
Our spiritual health is optimized with these same four elements.
As my friend Josh Schram reminded me, “Health is not just a big one-time choice. Health is small daily choices.” Jesus made these daily choices to eat well, exercise regularly, rest when needed, and make the adjustments His Father spoke to His heart. He set us an example for healthy spiritual growth that will keep us in a place to grow our shepherd leadership capacities.
I have found that we are much more likely to make and stick to a plan to get physically healthy when we have a workout friend or someone who is holding us accountable. The same is true for our spiritual health. So pastor, don’t try to get and stay healthy on your own, but get a trusted friend or two working out alongside you.
In my book Shepherd Leadership, I have five chapters that focus on a leader’s mental, physical, spiritual, and relational health. I hope you will pick up a copy to help you operate at peak healthiness.
If you want to catch up on some of the other clips I’ve already shared from this interview, you can find them here, and I’ll be sharing more clips from this 200churches interview soon, so please stay tuned. Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter is available in print or ebook, and in audiobook through either Audible or Apple.
In my book Shepherd Leadership, I tell a humorous but very enlightening story of a student who called me “Pasture Craig.” It was done innocently enough, but it taught me an invaluable lesson.
Check this out…
And since that day, I have never minded being called Pasture Craig because it reminds me of what I’m really supposed to be doing!
If you want to check out another hilarious story about my alter-ego Plungerman, please click here.
Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter is an excellent resource for both pastors and non-profit ministry leaders and is available in print or ebook, and in audiobook through either Audible or Apple.
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Charles Spurgeon. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Spurgeon” in the search box to read more entries.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
God Our Healer
O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (Psalm 30:2-3)
God is the best Physician, even for our bodily infirmities. We do very wickedly and foolishly when we forget God. It was a sin in Asa that he trusted physicians and not God (2 Chronicles 16:12). If we must have a physician, let it be so, but still let us go to our God first of all. And above all remember that there can be no power to heal in medicine of itself; the healing energy must flow from the divine hand. …
If our watch is out of order, we take it to the watchmaker; if our bodies or souls are in an evil plight, let us resort to Him who created them, who has unfailing skill to put them in right condition. As for our spiritual diseases, nothing can heal these evils but the touch of the Lord Christ: if we do but touch the hem of His garment, we shall be made whole….
God has created us as a soul with a body. I believe that physical ailments can be attended to by a medical doctor, emotional distress should be addressed by a counselor, and spiritual issues should have the wisdom of a pastor.
But let’s always remember that since God created our body, soul, and spirit, He is the Ultimate Source of wisdom for any areas that are out of alignment. So as Spurgeon says, seek out a doctor, counselor, or pastor, but go to God first.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I have been involved in church ministry in one form or another for most of my life. Even when I was involved in the business world, I frequently helped non-profit organizations, offering my time, finances, and wisdom.
To this day, I remain a huge supporter of what our front-lines non-profit organizations are doing, especially our local churches.
However, there is often a fundamental disconnect between the board of these ministries and the director or pastor. This disconnect can easily escalate into a full-blown clash—believe me, I’ve seen it firsthand when I’ve been called in as a consultant—if this issue isn’t quickly addressed.
The main issue is the mindset of measuring success by quality or by quantity. Both have their place, but often times the board members are thinking primarily in terms of quantity while the director or pastor is thinking primarily in terms of quality.
Here’s how I addressed this topic when I taught a group of ministry interns…
This is a common disconnect in nonprofit organizations and churches. Many of the boards of these organizations are wonderful, godly people who fully believe in the mission of the organization. These board members are often successful business people who have both wisdom and wealth to contribute to the organization. But here’s the problem: the way we define success in a for-profit organization isn’t the same way we define success in a nonprofit organization. And often the way we define success in any of our ministries doesn’t line up with the Bible’s definition.
For both pastors of churches and directors of non-profit organizations, and for their respective board members, I would recommend using Shepherd Leadership as a discussion-starter to address this potentially ministry-derailing topic. Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter is available in print or ebook, and in audiobook through either Audible or Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I once knew a businessman who was one of the most silver-tongued talkers I have ever met! He could persuade just about anyone to join him in one of his “can’t miss” business ventures.
And even after they did miss (which was all of them that I was aware of) he could still convince many of his backers to continue. I never knew him to fulfill what he had promised.
Eventually, this caught up with him. And so did the law, and he ended up serving a prison term.
It has always been intriguing to me how much value we put on the words of leaders. It seems as if they can “talk a good game,” we feel a need to exalt them to a higher level. It’s not the one who gets things done, or the one who has the best ideas, or the one who can bring increased efficiency or effectiveness, but the one who can talk the most convincingly.
I think about in my own profession as a pastor. Churches will select a pastor based on how he sounds from the platform. And yet the sermon is only a tiny fraction of a pastor’s work each week.
The danger comes when the leader thinks that his highest value to the organization is the words he speaks. Inevitably, then, he will put more effort into what he says than into what he does. He will spend a lot of time figuring out the right words to say, and how to move people’s hearts.
The apostle Paul told the Christians at Corinth, “My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:4). And he told the Christians at Thessalonica, “For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:2), not Paul’s own authority.
I don’t want people to be impressed with me. I don’t want my authority to come from my vocabulary. I simply want to be known for speaking the Word of God, and then living a life that matches the Word of God.
As King Solomon said, “A truly wise person usesfew words” (Proverbs 17:27). The wisest words are not mine but God’s. Then “your faith [is] not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5).
Words do have their place. But let’s always make sure that that place isn’t in place of God’s Word.
Craig T. Owens 