The Pastor And The Holy Spirit

June 28, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’m sure I’m not the only pastor that feels occasionally (all right: frequently) overwhelmed by the heavy responsibility of sharing God’s Word with others. After all, the Apostle James said it pretty clearly: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1).

“Judged more strictly”? Yikes!

But I take great consolation in knowing that if God called me, He will equip me. Just as He did with Jeremiah—The Lord reached out His hand, then He touched my mouth and said, “I am giving you the words to say” (Jeremiah 1:8)—I know He will do for me.

I also draw great confidence in knowing the Holy Spirit is helping me. Check out these words from Francois Fénelon:

“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 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 that alone kills (2 Corinthians 3:6), and the Spirit alone can give us life.”

Then A.B. Simpson shares this encouraging story of the Holy Spirit’s help:

“They that possess this power will not always be popular preachers, but they will always be effectual workers. Sometimes the hearer will almost think that they are personal, and that someone has disclosed to them his secret sins. Speaking of such a sermon, one of our most honored evangelists said that he felt so indignant with the preacher under whom he was converted that he waited for some time near the door for the purpose of giving him a trashing for daring to expose him in the way he had done, thinking that someone had informed on him. Let us covet this power. It is the very stamp and seal of the Holy Spirit on a faithful minister.”

YES! I do covet this power of the Holy Spirit in my life. Without His help, I would be fearful to ever open my mouth to speak to others about the things of God.

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I Didn’t Choose This

June 8, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Hello, my name is Craig Owens and I’m a pastor. I wasn’t a PK (pastor’s kid). This isn’t the profession I chose for myself. I envisioned myself doing other things, but God had different plans for me.

He called, and I said “yes.” He called me to be a pastor and so He equipped me for the pastorate. I can relate to what the Apostle Paul wrote—

By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving Him by spreading this Good News. (Ephesians 3:7)

Paul, too, didn’t choose be a minister telling people about Jesus Christ. But God had different plans for him.

And so, since God has called me to do this, I must do it to the best of my ability. I don’t have the natural ability for it, I simply have God’s grace and mighty power. And to that grace and power I must add my best effort—

Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15, AMP)

I like the counsel of Charles Spurgeon:

“Again, the theme of a minister should be Christ Jesus in opposition to mere doctrine. Some of my good brothers are always preaching doctrine. Well, they are right in so doing, but I would not care myself to have as the characteristic of my preaching doctrine only. I would rather have it said, ‘He dwelled much upon the person of Christ and seemed best pleased when he began to tell about the atonement and sacrifice. He was not ashamed of the doctrines; he was not afraid of threatening. But he seemed as if he preached the threatening with tears in his eyes, and the doctrine solemnly as God’s own Word. But when he preached of Jesus, his tongue was loosened, and his heart was at liberty.’”

I didn’t choose this, but God chose me. And for that I am extremely humbled and grateful.

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Three For Pastors (book reviews)

May 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I consider it such an awesome privilege—and a heavy responsibility—to be called to be a pastor. Despite the challenges, I love doing what I’m doing! And although I don’t want this message to become diminished by over-use, I truly do mean it: I ♥ My Church!

Because I want to be the best pastor I can be, I frequently study the lives of historical pastors, and I try to keep current on thoughts from my contemporaries as well. So, if you are a pastor (or if you want to better support your pastor), here are three books I recently read which I would highly recommend to you.

The Heart Of A Great Pastor by H.B. London and Neil B. Wiseman emphasizes how pastors need to take personal responsibility to make sure they are continually giving their best. From revisiting the call of God on their lives, to maintaining a vibrant private prayer and devotional life, to organizing ministries in the church, pastors can never coast. I love this insight from the authors:

“The God-initiated summons takes us [pastors] into life’s main arena where people wrestle with ultimate issues such as birth, life, death, sickness, broken relationships, health and hope, as well as ambiguities and apprehension. This partnership with God takes us to private and public places and to sorrowful and cheerful places. It is our lifetime ticket to represent Jesus at weddings, hospital waiting rooms, grave sites, baptisms, Holy Communion and life-shaping questions that good people have reason to ask, such as ‘Where is God now?’”

Elite Prayer Warriors by Dave Williams is a renewed call to prayer. I grew up with a cliché ringing in my ears and my heart: The church moves forward on her knees.  If this is true for the church (and I firmly believe it is), it is even more true for pastors who serves the church as her under-shepherd. Elite Prayer Warriors encourages pastors  to raise up a team of people who will commit to the spiritual battle of praying for their pastor.

Then Pastor Dave Williams addresses an area that can derail a church in Toxic Committees And Venomous Boards. I’ll let the cat out of the bag right up front: Pastor Williams states unequivocally that committees are unscriptural. After showing the biblical basis for his claim, he then makes the case for a scriptural form of pastoral support: teams. He says, “Committees meet; teams score!”

I also like this quote in the book from Rick Warren:

“Committees discuss it, but ministries do it. Committees argue, ministries act. Committees maintain, ministries minister. Committees talk and consider, ministries serve and care. Committees discuss needs, ministries meet needs.”

Three outstanding books to help you be the best pastor that God has called you to be.

I am a Decapolis book reviewer.

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Baaaa!

February 18, 2011 — 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.

Of all the things God could have used as a picture of our relationship with Him, He used an animal. And, no, it wasn’t an animal that seems particularly powerful or smart or noble.

He picked a sheep.

A fuzzy, sometimes dimwitted, needs-a-lot-of-help animal.

I’m a sheep. Baaaa!

But then I have the great picture of God as my loving Shepherd. How wonderful to know that the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want!

As a pastor I am called to be the shepherd to God’s flock of sheep under my watchful eye. Jesus set the example for me:

But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.

And Solomon said:

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.

Pastors, here are the questions I’m asking of myself, and I invite you to ask them of yourself too:

  • Do my sheep recognize my voice? Or am I trying to sound like someone else?
  • Do I know all my sheep by name?
  • Are my sheep following me as I follow Jesus?
  • Am I willing to go first?
  • Do I find fresh pastures and clean water for my sheep? Or is it recycled food I’m serving them?
  • Am I spending enough time with my sheep to know the condition of each one?
  • Do my sheep get my undivided attention?

What a privilege to be a pastor! What a responsibility! What a joy to know my sheep and to be known by them!

Baaaa!

UPDATE: This post was one of the seed thoughts that went into fashioning my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? ◀︎◀︎

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Thursdays With Oswald—The Test Of A Preacher

February 3, 2011 — 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.

The Test Of A Preacher

       The test of an instructor in the Christian Church is that he is able to build me up in my intimacy with Jesus Christ, not that he gives me new ideas, but I come away feeling I know a bit more about Jesus Christ. Today the preacher is tested, not by the building up of saints but on the ground of his personality.

From Facing Reality

It’s natural to want to be popular. To that end, we often choose charisma over character, style over substance, entertainment over intimacy. Even those who are called to preach the Gospel can fall prey to this.

My prayer: Heavenly Father, I want to know You more; I want to become more intimate with You. As I do, may I always preach out of the overflow of that relationship. Never preaching just to please people, but merely sharing with others how much I love You. Search my heart, Holy Spirit, for any shred of envy that I’m not as popular as the-other-guy. The only applause I live for is that from the nail-scarred hands of my Savior Jesus Christ.

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Freely Given

January 24, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

There have been so many people who have invested in my life, so I love when I have the opportunity to give back to someone else.

On Sunday mornings, my typical “style” is to present a 2- to 6-week series. That means multiple messages all built around a common theme. To help make the theme attractive and memorable, I usually develop a graphic/logo for each series.

Just recently a couple of pastors have asked me if I would provide them with my notes and graphics for a series. I answered with a wholehearted Yes! I feel these messages and logo ideas were freely given to me, and so I’m more than happy to freely give them to anyone who asks for them.

If you want anything I’ve designed or taught, it’s yours… all you have to do is ask.

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Pray First, Then Preach

January 6, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, not only is this a week of prayer for our church, but I have also declared 2011 to be The Year Of Answered Prayer. As a result, I’m reading and studying more about prayer, and praying more too.

This post is mostly for my fellow pastors.

Pastors, I came across two quotes this morning to which we should pay careful attention. The first is from Augustine’s On Christian Teaching, and the second is from E.M. Bounds’ Power Through Prayer.

“He should be in no doubt that any ability he has and however much he has derives more from his devotion to prayer than his dedication to oratory; and so, by praying for himself and for those he is about to address, he must become a man of prayer before becoming a man of words. As the hour of his address approaches, before he opens his thrusting lips he should lift his thirsting soul to God so that he may utter what he has drunk in and pour out what has filled him.” —Augustine

“The character of our praying will determine the character of our preaching. Light praying will make light preaching. … The preacher must be preeminently a man of prayer. His heart must graduate in the school of prayer. In the school of prayer only can the heart learn to preach.” —E.M. Bounds

Before you prepare it, pray it.

Before you preach it, pray it.

After you preach it, pray it some more.

Pastors, let’s be men and women of prayer before we’re men and women of words.

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Thursdays With Oswald—Whose Approval?

December 30, 2010 — 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.

Whose Approval?

     The Gospel of Jesus Christ awakens an intense craving and an equally intense resentment. Base on personal love for the Lord, not on personal love for men. Personal love for men will make you call immorality a weakness, and holiness a mere aspiration; personal love for the Lord will make you call immorality devilish, and holiness the only thing that can stand in the light of God. The only safety for the preacher is to face his soul not with his people, or even with his message, but to face his soul with his Savior all the time.

From Approved Unto God

As a pastor, if I endeavor to please men, I cannot call sin “sin,” nor can I call people to holiness before God. If I love the approval of people more than I love the approval of God, I must naturally water things down.

I must live for the applause of nail-scarred Hands alone.

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12 Rules For Preachers

December 22, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

This was written by John Wesley nearly 270 years ago, but these twelve rules for preachers are just as applicable today. I’m going to mull these over a bit as I head into the new year, and I encourage you to do the same:

1.  Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never while away time, nor spend more time at any place than is strictly necessary.

2.  Be serious. Let your motto be, “Holiness to the Lord.” Avoid all lightness, jesting, and foolish talking.

3.  Converse sparingly and cautiously with women, particularly with young women.

4.  Take no step towards marriage without solemn prayer to God and consulting with your brethren.

5.  Believe evil of no one unless fully proved; take heed how you credit it. Put the best construction you can on everything. You know the judge is always supposed to be on the prisoner’s side.

6.  Speak evil of no one, else your word, especially, would eat as doth a canker; keep your thoughts within your own breast till you come to the person concerned.

7.  Tell everyone what you think wrong in him, lovingly and plainly, and as soon as may be, else it will fester in your own heart. Make all haste to cast the fire out of your bosom.

8.  Do not affect the gentleman. A preacher of the Gospel is the servant of all.

9.  Be ashamed of nothing but sin; no, not of cleaning your own shoes when necessary.

10.  Be punctual. Do everything exactly at the time. And do not mend our rules, but keep them, and that for conscience’s sake.

11.  You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those who want you, but to those who want you most.

12.  Act in all things, not according to your own will, but as a son in the Gospel, and in union with your brethren. As such, it is your part to employ your time as our rules direct: partly in preaching and visiting from house to house, partly in reading, meditation, and prayer. Above all, if you labor with us in our Lord’s vineyard, it is needful you should do that part of the work which the Conference shall advise, at those times and places which they shall judge most for His glory.

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The Right Person For The Job

December 13, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Employers and pastors both have the important task of putting people into positions of responsibility. Employers do so to make their businesses more profitable; pastors do so to expand the Kingdom of God.

But employers do something that pastors often miss: They hire the right person for the job.

Check out this verse:

Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.

Simply put: Kenaniah was in charge of the singing because he could sing; he could carry a tune; he had skill; his singing was pleasant to the worshippers in the tabernacle. This word skillful also implies that he knew how to teach others too.

You give someone the job because they are skillful at it. Not because their feelings would be hurt if you gave the job to someone else, not because you hope giving them the job will boost their self-esteem. This is just as true in the church as it is in the business world.

The way I read the Bible, everyone has a talent. One of the roles of a shepherd leader is to find the right place for every person’s talent. Pastors do a disservice to both the individual and to the whole church body when they give someone a job for which they do not have the God-given talent.

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