Pastors, this is good counsel for all of us…
“Think yourself empty, read yourself full, write yourself clear, pray yourself keen—then enter the pulpit and let yourself go!” —W.H. Griffith Thomas
Thursdays With Oswald—Exhausted For God
February 16, 2012 — Craig T. OwensThis 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.
Exhausted For God
Jesus said to Peter, ‘Feed My sheep,’ but He gave him nothing to feed them with. The process of being made broken bread and poured out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you to the dregs. Be careful that you get your supply, or before long you will be utterly exhausted. Before other souls learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus direct, they have to draw on it through you; you have to be literally ‘sucked,’ until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and His sheep as well as for Himself.
Has the way in which you have been serving God betrayed you into exhaustion? If so, then rally your affections. Where did you start the service from? From your own sympathy or from the basis of the Redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually go back to the foundation of your affections and recollect where the source of power is. You have no right to say, ‘O Lord, I am so exhausted.’ He saved and sanctified you in order to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that your supply comes from Him. ‘All my fresh springs shall be in Thee.’
From My Utmost For His Highest
He saved and sanctified you in order to exhaust you. I want to be continually filled up and poured out for God. But in order to be of any good to others, I have to keep going back to the Source of life. If I’m not filled up with God’s presence, I will be exhausted, but not in the right way.
I have shared quite a bit about the correct way for godly leaders to be replenished through self-care. Check out these posts.
Answer (Wo)Man
February 10, 2012 — Craig T. Owens
“Hey, pastor, I have a question for you….” As a pastor, do you feel like you need to have all the answers, all the time, to everyone’s questions? I’m not saying that as pastors we shouldn’t always be studying and learning and growing, but I think it’s a dangerous trap for us to feel like we need to have every answer.
Here’s what John Calvin wrote in The Institutes of the Christian Religion—
“And since the Holy Spirit always instructs us in what is useful, but altogether omits, or only touches cursorily on matters which tend little to edification, of all such matters, it certainly is our duty to remain in willing ignorance.
“…Let us here remember that on the whole subject of religion one rule of modesty and soberness is to be observed, and it is this, in obscure matters not to speak or think, or even long to know, more than the Word of God has delivered. A second rule is, that in reading the Scriptures we should constantly direct our inquiries and meditations to those things which tend to edification, not indulge in curiosity, or in studying things of no use.
“…The duty of a Theologian, however, is not to tickle the ear, but confirm the conscience, by teaching what is true, certain, and useful.”
Study for edification, not curiosity. Teach what is true and helpful, not what is tickling ears. And don’t feel like you need to have all the answers.
Start It With Me
February 3, 2012 — Craig T. Owens
Pastors, I wrote earlier about the idea that you have to preach your message to yourself before you preach it you’re your congregation. But I want to back up a step to the motivation for that.
These words from William Law are challenging—
“The first business of a clergyman awakened by God into a sensibility and love of the truths of the Gospel, and of making them equally felt and loved by others, is to thankfully, joyfully, and calmly adhere to and give way to the increase of this new-risen light, and by true introversion of his heart to God, as the sole Author of it, humbly beg of Him that all that he feels a desire of doing to those under his care may be first truly and fully done in himself.”
God, if You want to do something in my congregation, start it with me. Right here, right now, in the privacy of my study, begin with me. When I come before my congregation this weekend, may my life be the example of the work You want to do in us all.
A Sharper Sermon
January 27, 2012 — Craig T. Owens
It’s a lot of work preparing a sermon (and even that is a major understatement!). So if we pastors are going to put all of this effort in, isn’t it right to believe for a great return on that investment?
I’ve got good news and bad news for you—and they’re both the same. Pastor, after all of your hard work preparing your message, there is only one thing you can do: pray.
Sounds simple, right? But if it’s so simple, why are so many church attendees unmoved by the sermons they hear each Sunday (check out this Barna report)?
Here is some good counsel of how we should pray—
“Of what efficacy would be the exterior word of pastors, or even the Scriptures themselves, if we had not within the word of the Holy Spirit giving to the others all their vitality? The outward word, even of the Gospel, without the fecundating, vivifying, interior word would be but an empty sound. ‘It is the letter alone that kills (2 Corinthians 3:6), and the Spirit alone can give us life.’” —Francois Fenelon
“Does anyone of us desire to help the Church of Christ? Then let him pray for a great outpouring of the Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can give edge to sermons, and point to advice, and power to rebukes, and can cast down the high walls of sinful hearts. It is not better preaching, and finer writing that is needed in this day—but more of the presence of the Holy Spirit.” —J.C. Ryle
If I can add my two cents’ worth to these eminent theologians:
- Pray before you write your sermon
- Pray while you’re writing your sermon
- Pray before you deliver your sermon
- Pray after you deliver your sermon
And then watch what the Holy Spirit does with your sermon!
Preach It To Yourself
January 24, 2012 — Craig T. Owens
Before I am a pastor sharing with my congregation, I am a saved sinner standing before God.
Before I open the penetrating brilliance of God’s Word to my church, I must stand in the spotlight of His Word.
In other words, I should never stand before my church with my finger pointed at them. Instead, the finger of God should be squarely pointed at me. Only then can I share with my congregation what God is doing in my life.
I’ve always tried to pastor this way, but recently I read this passage in John Bunyan’s autobiography which made this truth even more real to me—
“Sometimes I have been about to preach upon some smart and searching portion of the Word, I have found the tempter suggest, What! will you preach this! This condemns yourself; of this your own soul is guilty; so don’t preach any of it; or if you do, mince your words, as to make way for your own escape; lest instead of awakening others, you lay that guilt upon your own soul, that you will never get from under. … It is far better that you judge yourself, even by preaching plainly unto others, than that you, to save yourself, imprison the truth in righteousness.”
So, pastor, preach the Word to yourself first. Then go share with your congregation about what God is dealing with you.
Copartnership
January 20, 2012 — Craig T. Owens
Do you want your church services to be more engaging?
Do you want your pastor to preach more effectively?
Do you want to come away from church more energized?
If so, you need to enter into a partnership. E.M. Bounds, in his fascinating book The Weapon of Prayer, wrote this—
“Prayerlessness, therefore, as it concerns the preacher is a very serious matter. If it exists in the preacher himself, then he ties his own hands and makes the Word as preached by him ineffective and void. If prayerless people be found in the pew, then it hurts the preacher, robs him of an invaluable help, and interferes seriously with the success of his work. How great the need of a praying church to help in the preaching of the Word of the Lord! Both pew and pulpit are jointly concerned in this preaching business. It is a copartnership.”
If you want more engagement, effectiveness, and energy at your church, partner with your pastor in prayer.
If you don’t have a church home, I hope you can partner with me this Sunday at Calvary Assembly of God as I continue a series called The Danger Of Prayerlessness.
Pastor Dad (book review)
January 9, 2012 — Craig T. Owens
I recently read a free ebook from Mark Driscoll called Pastor Dad. You can read it or download it for free by clicking here.
One of the Bible verses that I claim as one of my life verses is this—I have no greater joy than knowing all of my children walk in the truth (3 John 4). I don’t want to be so busy with my church and community work that I miss out on one of the greatest joys: Being my kids’ Dad and leading them in their walk with Jesus!
Pastor Mark’s book is a very helpful reminder and resource for Dads, to make sure we are doing what God has entrusted us to do. It’s not a lengthy nor difficult read, but it is both convicting and challenging.
Dads, I encourage you to check this out.
Men, Not Boys
December 6, 2011 — Craig T. OwensThis is an in-your-face, no-punches-pulled, right-on-target message. Watch it, think about it, and share your thoughts in the comment below…
A Pastor’s Work
September 28, 2011 — Craig T. Owens
I have blogged before about how heavy I feel the responsibility of being a pastor. When I think of the awesome responsibility God has given me as His under-shepherd to His precious people, I am humbled.
Humility is a good thing.
Since the pastor is “out in front” at every gathering, speaking to the people, leading the church in a particular direction, people tend to view their pastor as their leader. And without humility, the people’s esteem can “puff up” a pastor. Unfortunately, I’ve been around pastors who have gotten a little too, shall I say, “puffy.”
So this dose of godly wisdom from J.C. Ryle is just the preventative medicine I need:
“We should beware of resting our claim to the people’s attention on our outward [pastoral] call only. It will never do to tell our people, ‘We are your ordained ministers, and therefore you must believe and follow whatever we tell you.’ On the contrary, we must tell them to prove our teaching by Scripture, and not to receive it unless it is scriptural. That man has no right to expect the attention of his people, who does not preach the Gospel and live the Gospel. The rule of Paul is clear on this point. He told the Thessalonians to esteem their ministers very highly ‘for their work’s sake’ (1 Thessalonians 5:13). When there is no ‘work’ done, it is vain to expect the people’s esteem.
Pastors, do the work of humbly working as God’s servant to His people. Use your position to serve, not to presume upon others.
Church attendees, make us pastors “prove our teaching by Scripture.” We don’t get to say, “Because I’m the pastor and I say so!”
UPDATE: This post went into my thinking for my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.
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