Pastor, Do You Enjoy Pastoring?

August 10, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Phillips Brooks was a pastor, teacher, and songwriter. These words of his should be read very carefully and thoughtfully by every pastor…

     “I think, again, that it is essential to the preacher’s success that he should thoroughly enjoy his work. I mean in the actual doing of it, and not only in its idea. No man to whom the details of his task are repulsive can do his task well constantly, however full he may be of its spirit. He may make one bold dash at it and carry it over all his disgusts, but he cannot work on at it year after year, day after day. Therefore, count it not merely a perfectly legitimate pleasure, count it an essential element of your power, if you can feel a simple delight in what you have to do as a minister, in the fervor of writing, in the glow of speaking, in standing before men and moving them, in contact with the young. The more thoroughly you enjoy it, the better you will do it all. 

    “This is all true of preaching. Its highest joy is in the great ambition that is set before it, the glorifying of the Lord and the saving of the souls of men. No other joy on earth compares with that. The ministry that does not feel that joy is dead. But in behind that highest joy, beating in humble unison with it, as the healthy body thrills in sympathy with the deep thoughts and pure desires of the mind and soul, the best ministers have always been conscious of another pleasure which belonged to the very doing of the work itself. As we read the lives of all the most effective preachers of the past, or as we meet the men who are powerful preachers of the Word today, we feel how certainly and how deeply the very exercise of their ministry delights them.” (emphasis mine)

Pastor, what unspeakable joy should thrill us to know that God Himself called us to do what we do!!

I know that being in full-time ministry is tough. I know the demands on our time. I know that we are often targets for criticism. But still, this should never diminish our joy in being God’s ministers!

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the calling to be a pastor! Today I pray for pastors who don’t feel the joy they once felt. Holy God, will You reconfirm Your call on their lives. Reassure them that they are doing what they are doing because You called them to do it. And I ask that Your Holy Spirit would reinvigorate them with holy joy. Let the hands that hang low be lifted up in praise! Let mouths that have been tightly shut open wide in holy laughter! Let Your joy be their strength and encouragement. May You be glorified in joy-filled pastors!

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7 Quotes From “Secret Power” Especially For Pastors

August 3, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

D.L. Moody’s book Secret Power is addressed to both individual Christians and church leaders (you can read my full book review by clicking here).

I posted some quotes for individual Christians to consider yesterday. Here are seven quotes especially for pastors and church leaders:

“The Gospel proclamation cannot be divorced from the Holy Spirit. Unless He attend the Word in power, vain will be the attempt in preaching it.”

“Skeptics and infidels may say they don’t believe in it. It is not our work to make them believe in it; that is the work of the Spirit. Our work is to give them the Word of God; not to preach our theories and our ideas about it, but just to deliver the message as God gives it to us.” 

“It is not the hard work breaks down ministers, but it is the toil of working without power. …If you ministers have not the Spirit of God, you had better not preach, and your people had better stay at home. I think I speak not too strongly when I say that a church in the land without the Spirit of God is rather a curse than a blessing. If you have not the Spirit of God, Christian worker, remember that you stand in somebody else’s way; you are as a tree bearing no fruit standing where another fruitful tree might grow.”

“Man cannot preach effectively of himself. He must have the Spirit of God to give ability, and study God’s Word in order to testify according to the mind of the Spirit.”

“Thousands and thousands are sitting in darkness, knowing not of this great Light, but when we begin to preach Christ honestly, faithfully, sincerely and truthfully; holding Him up, not ourselves; exalting Christ and not our theories; presenting Christ and not our opinions; advocating Christ and not some false doctrine; then the Holy Ghost will come and bear witness. He will testify that what we say is true. When He comes He will confirm the Word with signs following.”

“I believe the reason why God makes use of so few in the Church, is because there is not in them the power that God can use. He is not going to use our ideas, but we must have the Word of God hid in our hearts, and then, the Holy Spirit inflaming us, we will have the testimony which will be rich, and sweet, and fresh, and the Lord’s Word will vindicate itself in blessed results. God wants to use us; God wants to make us channels of blessing; but we are in such a condition He does not use us. That is the trouble; there are so many men who have no testimony for the Lord; if they speak, they speak without saying anything, and if they pray, their prayer is powerless; they do not plead in prayer; their prayer is just a few set phrases that you have heard too often. Now what we want, is to be so full of the Word, that the Spirit coming upon us shall bring to mind—bring to our remembrance—the words of the Lord Jesus.”

“I have lived long enough to know that if I cannot have the power of the Spirit of God on me to help me to work for Him, I would rather die, than live just for the sake of living.”

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Pastoral Submission

August 3, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

What do you think of when you hear those words pastoral submission?

We may not be on the same page about this yet. I don’t mean people in a congregation submitting to a pastor. I mean something deeper than that.

Allow me to start with an unusual verse for this topic. Paul wrote,

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face… (Galatians 2:11).

First of all, this is the proper way to handle an issue like this. Paul didn’t talk to others, nor run to the leaders in Jerusalem, but he went one-on-one with Peter.

Consider Paul’s relationship to Peter if there was a “corporate flowchart” for the First Century Church—Peter would have been Paul’s superior. Yet, Peter not only received this correction from Paul but continued to speak highly of Paul.

Beginning in the first chapter of Galatians we see Paul’s level of accountability. He answered to God, but he also submitted to other church leaders. Not only that, but this passage (Galatians 2:7-9) tells us that other church leaders submitted to Paul.

When I know God has called me, and I am doing my work for His approval alone, and when I know God has called others, and they too are ministering only for His approval then we can mutually submit to one another.

It’s not a top-down hierarchy in the church, except for Jesus being the Head and all others are below Him. All others (clergy and congregation) in the Body of Christ are on equal standing—no one is more important than any other. Therefore, as we submit to Christ’s Headship, we can also mutually submit to others in the Body.

What keeps us from doing this? Pride! We say, “What will others think of me if I submit?” Pastors think, “If I submitted to someone in my congregation, how could I ever lead this church? People will take advantage of me! No one will ever listen to me again!”

Not true!

When I am fully submitted to Christ, there is no stronger grounds for SERVANT leadership.

I don’t pastor to lead; I pastor to serve. 

I’m not building my church; I’m building Christ’s church. 

I’m not growing my followers; but followers of Jesus. 

Holy God, help me to know who I am in You. You have called me to pastor, so I am Your servant. Help me kill my pride! Help me serve and submit. Help me to build Your Church.

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

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8 Quotes From “Secret Power”

August 2, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

D.L. Moody’s book Secret Power is addressed to both individual Christians and church leaders (you can read my full book review by clicking here).

Here are eight quotes for Christians to consider.

“Joy is love exulting; peace is love in repose; long suffering is love on trial; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love at school; and temperance is love in training.”

“Before we pray that God would fill us, I believe we ought to pray Him to empty us.”

“The reason why the Church cannot overcome the enemy is, because she doesn’t know how to use the sword of the Spirit. People will get up and try to fight the devil with their experiences, but he doesn’t care for that, he will overcome them every time. People are trying to fight the devil with theories and pet ideas, but he will get the victory over them likewise. What we want is to draw the sword of the Spirit. It is that which cuts deeper than anything else. …The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, and what we need specially is to be filled with the Spirit, so we shall know how to use the Word.”

“The fact is, we are leaky vessels, and we have to keep right under the fountain all the time to keep full of Christ, and so have a fresh supply.”

“The Holy Spirit tells a man of his faults in order to lead him to a better life. In John 16:8, we read: ‘He is to reprove the world of sin.’ Now, there are a class of people who don’t like this part of the Spirit’s work. Do you know why? Because He convicts them of sin; they don’t like that. What they want is some one to speak comforting words and make everything pleasant; keep everything all quiet; tell them there is peace when there is war; tell them it is light when it is dark, and tell them everything is growing better; that the world is getting on amazingly in goodness; that it is growing better all the time; that is the kind of preaching they seek for. …It is my work to preach and hold up the Cross and testify of Christ; but it is His work to convict men of sin and lead them to Christ.”

“I think there is no way so sure to win our families and our neighbors, and those about whom we are anxious, to Christ, than just to adorn the doctrine of Jesus Christ in our lives, and grow in all these graces. If we have peace and joy and love and gentleness and goodness and temperance; not only being temperate in what we drink, but in what we eat, and temperate in our language, guarded in our expressions; if we just live in our homes as the Lord would have us, an even Christian life day by day, we shall have a quiet and silent power proceeding from us, that will constrain them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But an uneven life, hot today and cold tomorrow, will only repel. Many are watching God’s people.”

“Love will rebuke evil, but will not rejoice in it. Love will be impatient of sin, but patient with the sinner. To form the habit of finding fault constantly, is very damaging to spiritual life; it is about the lowest and meanest position that a man can take.”

“Oh, the privilege, the blessed privilege, to be used of God to win a soul to Christ, and to see a man or woman being led out of bondage by some act of ours toward them. To think that God should condescend to allow us to be co-workers with Him. It is the highest honor we can wear.”

(You may also be interested in quotes from this book that are especially for pastors and church leaders, which you can read by clicking here.)

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Secret Power (book review)

August 1, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Dwight L. Moody is my kind of pastor: he said exactly what was on his mind. He wasn’t worried about political correctness, or couching his words in comfortable words. He was a modern-day prophet of his day, clearly stating, “Thus says the Lord!” Thankfully for us in our day, D.L. Moody’s books sound just like his sermons. In Secret Power, Moody calls Christians and churches back to a fuller understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Moody writes:

“How much we have dishonored Him [the Holy Spirit] in the past! How ignorant of His grace, and love and presence we have been? True, we have heard of Him and read of Him, but we have had little intelligent knowledge of His attributes, His offices and His relations to us. I fear He has not been to many professed Christians an actual existence, nor is He known to them as a personality of the Godhead.”

I am convinced that this is true. The Holy Spirit seems “spooky” or out-of-date or inapplicable in many churches. Moody explains this is the reason why our churches are not experiencing the same miracle-working power that was seen in the New Testament church.

As a result, individual Christians are lacking in power in their personal lives, too, because they are not being taught about the role of the Holy Spirit in their churches. As a result, Christians are not soul winners as were New Testament Christians.

A secondary title for this book is “The Secret Of Success In Christian Life And Work.” That success can be yours today if you will only allow God to operate in your life and church in all of His fullness. 

If you are thirsty for this sort of fuller relationship with the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to read this book! You may also want to check out some quotes I shared from this book here and here.

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God’s Truth, Not Your Comfort

June 8, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Some time ago I was asked to speak in a church setting outside of my church. The audience was a blend of people from all different church backgrounds, and perhaps even some without any church background. I talked about the hopelessness of trying to pay-off our sin debt on our own, and the amazing love that Jesus showed when He paid our debt in full.

After the service, a couple of pastors in the audience wanted to speak with me about my message. They were moved by what they called “the impact” of the message, and especially about the way I called sin “sin.” As I spoke with them further, I discovered that they were somewhat hesitant to speak so openly and plainly about sin, because it unsettled some people in their congregations.

But here is the sober reality—

The Word of God IS unsettling because we cannot read it or hear it and remain unchanged.

Our job as pastors or preachers is to speak the Word. When we do, the Holy Spirit will bring the necessary conviction and pull hearts toward repentance. Here’s what Oswald Chambers wrote about this:

“When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from Hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.

“In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out—it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.”

Pastor, just speak the truth. You’re not trying to win a popularity contest, but to share with people how to step into a deeper relationship with God Almighty!

One final thought from Chambers: “Never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it.”

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What Is Successful Church Ministry?

June 1, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I like to keep asking myself and my leadership team this question: How do we know if our church is successful? 

The apostle Paul uses two words to help answer these questions: Quality and Faithfulness.

But each one’s work will be shown for what it is; the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire—the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. (1 Corinthians 3:13)

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

So here are two important questions we need to ask ourselves:

  • Am I doing quality work?
  • Am I faithfully doing my work?

To help answer those questions, I like this thought from Leonard Sweet’s book I Am A Follower:

“The most important metrics we must rely on, the crucial ‘deliverables’ we can present, must focus on the newly formed lives of the disciples we are making, the followers who are following Christ into a place of serving Him by serving others. The most important measure of our faithfulness to Christ must be the extent of transformation into the living image of Christ Himself. …

The quantifiable fruit of our church is not found in the number of people we can gather on a weekly basis. What counts is what is happening in the lives of those who have gathered. …It is quite possible to have a ‘successful’ life—and a ‘successful’ church—without God. But it is absolutely impossible to have a truly fruitful one.”

Again, Paul’s advice here is invaluable:

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes…. (1 Corinthians 4:4, 5)

Pastor, you need to think about these questions about “success.” But they should be questions framed around your quality and faithfulness of work as revealed to you by the Holy Spirit, not by some “expert” or anyone else.

(By the way, if you’re interested in exploring this further, I framed this question a different way in this post.)

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

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It’s Not Me; It’s You

May 30, 2012 — 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. 

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the One Who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

I only want Jesus lifted up; not me.

As Your Spirit gives me words to share, may people turn to You; not me.

May anyone who hears me desire more of You; not me.

May my messages create a hunger and thirst for You; not me.

I want people to find encouragement in You; not me.

May I find my strength to minister in You; not in me.

May people only follow You; not me.

May everyone who hears me be impressed with You; not me.

It’s all about You, Jesus; not me.

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Do You LOVE Your Church?

May 25, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Okay, pastors, here are some tough questions:

  • Do you love your congregation?
  • Do you think they’re some of the greatest people on earth?
  • If you didn’t pastor your church, would you attend your church?
  • Do you enjoy recreating with your church family?

This is an important principle: You cannot treat someone differently than you think about them.

Listen to what Paul said about the church in Rome:

I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14)

Do you hear what high regard Paul had for them? He told them that they were good people, growing in their relationship with Christ, and were competent to be teachers themselves!

Not only did Paul write this to them, but he bragged about them to others too:

Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you. (Romans 16:19)

Pastor, Jesus called us to feed and care for His sheep. We can do this so much more effectively if we think so highly of those precious people.

I pray that you can answer a resounding, whole-hearted “YES!” to those four opening questions. I think that’s what Jesus would want.

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The Hard Word

May 18, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As a pastor, you are going to have to deliver the hard word from time to time. You will have to address touchy subjects, both corporately and privately. It is very instructive to see how the apostle Paul approached the hard word.

In Romans 9, Paul is getting ready to address one of the most sensitive subjects of his day. The Jews felt they were “in” with God just because they were Jews, and the Gentiles were “out” with God just because they weren’t Jews. Paul is going to have to deliver the word that both Jews and Gentiles can be accepted by God because of what Jesus did on the Cross.

So notice how he begins:

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

1. I speak the truth in Christ. It wasn’t his opinion, but the word from God. I must settle this matter before delivering the hard word. Far too often we can put our preferences on par with God’s Word. I cannot do this!

2. My conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit. Before I speak a hard word that people may not like to hear, I need to make sure my conscience is right before the Holy Spirit. He alone confirms His Word. The reaction of the audience, however, may or may not confirm what God says.

3. I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. It should be a major red flag if I looked forward to delivering a painful/challenging/correcting word. I need to put myself in their place, not try to put someone else in their place!

My job as a pastor is not to condemn, nor even to convict; the Holy Spirit will do that. My job is to (a) hear God’s truth, (b) get my conscience right with the Spirit, and (c) empathize with people as I lovingly speak the truth to them.

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