My book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter releases September 28, 2021. This is just one of the topic I address…
Podcast: Leaders And Friends
August 24, 2021 — Craig T. OwensOn this episode of “The Craig And Greg Show” we talk about:
some people wear the cliche “It’s lonely at the top” like a badge of honor, but it’s not [0:40] - the best leaders are always developing new leaders [1:25]
- do people say, “It’s lonely at the top” because they don’t want others alongside them or because they don’t know how to develop people? [1:55]
- some people are talented in leading but not talented in friending … what kinds of friends do leaders need? [2:52]
- what are the differences and similarities between friends, peers, and colleagues? [4:57]
- a huge leadership challenge in a new position or a new organization is quickly identifying your allies [6:00]
- a teammates’ participation in team sports can give a leader great insights into that teammates’ leadership potential [7:00]
- leaders that try to fly solo set themselves up for failure … what are the common traits of leaders who successfully raise up new leaders? [8:08]
- Greg confesses a leadership mistake he had to correct in himself [9:20]
- character is vital in emerging leaders [10:59]
- compassion is valuable in emerging leaders [11:44]
- consistency helps emerging leaders develop into solid leaders, and it helps the team leader to excel … great insight from Patrick Lencioni about being present [12:15]
- teams must embrace diversity and find commonality [13:08]
- I elaborate on Greg’s point about a leader’s presence and consistency [14:10]
- the team leader has to take the initiative in identifying and raising up new leaders [15:47]
- leaders need to continue to replenish themselves [17:22]
- Greg shares a great leadership example from the life of Moses [17:50]
- we are here to encourage you—check out information on our leadership huddles [18:20]
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Podcast: Are We Using The Right Metrics?
August 10, 2021 — Craig T. OwensOn this episode of “The Craig And Greg Show” we talk about:
Greg toots my horn for me! [1:00]- I talk about how my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter came into being [1:45]
- Greg wonders why leaders get trapped using metrics of success that don’t really matter [4:10]
- I talk about why the subtle shift from “servant leadership” to “shepherd leadership” is important [4:50]
- Greg and I discuss the tension between a leader’s confidence and a leader’s humility [6:25]
- I explain how my wife helped me see my leadership in a better light [8:00]
- my favorite definition of humility comes from C.S. Lewis [9:45]
- Greg asks how leaders can develop the right kinds of relationships that will help them continue to grow [10:35]
- I share the dangers when leaders try to fly solo [11:40]
- Greg talks about the vital need for leaders to refresh themselves [14:00]
- who will benefit from reading Shepherd Leadership? [14:50]
- I share a humorous story of a way I advised a church to grow their numbers overnight [16:54]
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Podcast: Leaders Love
February 16, 2021 — Craig T. OwensOn this episode of “The Craig And Greg Show” we talk about:
Greg won’t pick a husband for his daughter’s arranged marriage - Gary Chapman’s outstanding book The Five Love Languages
- if leaders don’t love what they’re doing and they don’t love the team around them, are they really leaders?
- Greg challenges leaders to go beyond the Golden Rule in communicating with others
- leaders naturally communicate in their native love language but they must learn how to communicate in the languages of their teammates
- once you start speaking someone else’s love language consistently, you fill their love tank and then all of the love languages become effective
- servant leadership is defined as learning and speaking the love languages of my teammates
- how leaders can use love languages to more effectively transmit a vision or announce a new project
- download the free Love Languages assessment → 5 Love Languages assessment
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Poetry Saturday—The Lovetobutcants
January 23, 2021 — Craig T. OwensListen to this post as a podcast by clicking here:
I have a disease calledThe “lovetobutcants”—
I think it’s time I told it.
I’d love to help with that garbage can
But my fingers just can’t hold it.
Hand me a bag of groceries and
My wrists just turned to jelly.
Cuttin’ grass and hedges
Gives me flutters of the belly.
The smell of paint will make me faint,
Sweat makes my eyes start itchin’.
Dishwater on my little hands
Will start ‘em shaky-twitchin’.
Pickin’ clothes up off the floor
Would paralyze my shoulder.
I must not try to close the door,
At least not till I’m older.
So though I’d love to join the work—
Till this disease is done,
I’ll have to lie here in the shade
While you have all the fun. —Shel Silverstein
Do I Have Standing?
January 20, 2021 — Craig T. OwensListen to this post as a podcast by clicking here:
If it is true that I have gone astray, my error remains my concern alone (Job 19:4).
Why do we find it necessary to stick our noses in where they are not wanted? Why do we feel like the other person needs to hear our opinion?
The law dictionary defines “standing” as the right to file a lawsuit or file a petition under the circumstances. In legal terms, Job’s three friends had no standing to bring charges against him. Job himself even said he didn’t want to hear their opinions. Instead, all Job asked for was, “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity.” He goes on to ask, “Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?”
And then Job gives this warning: “If you say, ‘How we will hound him, since the root of trouble lies in him,’ you should fear the sword yourselves.” Despite this warning, Zophar still begins his argument by stating, “I hear a rebuke that dishonors me so I have to speak up.”
There are indeed times when our friends may be going astray and the loving thing we can do for them is speak a word of truth, but that is something entirely different than feeling compelled to share an opinion or sticking our noses in where they don’t belong. A good question to ask ourselves before speaking: Do I have standing here?
Far better for us to apply the Golden Rule this way: Treat others in their condition the way I would want to be treated in the same condition. And if I do feel as though I have standing, and need to speak a loving word, I need to examine myself first.
Job tells his friends, “You are miserable comforters, all of you!” (16:2). One of the best things they did for him was to simply sit silently in mourning alongside him. It was when they felt compelled to argue that they not only disappointed Job, but they dishonored God too.
My checklist before speaking:
- Do I have standing?
- Have I examined myself?
- Can I speak truth in love (and not just air my opinion)?
- Have I considered the Golden Rule?
If I can answer “Yes” to all four questions, then speak; otherwise, it’s far more loving to remain silent.
Poetry Saturday—Make My House A Home
November 21, 2020 — Craig T. Owens
The house is quiet
And I don’t like it
It just feels like a house
My stuff is all here
It’s all in its place
It just feels like a house
I need some banter
Perhaps some laughter
To make this house my home
Some hugs would be nice
Maybe a cuddle
To make this house my home —Craig T. Owens
Think On This…
August 21, 2020 — Craig T. Owens
Here’s the seed thought for this episode of Think On This…
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)
Think on this:
- Do I have a solid relationship with this person?
- Do I need to respond for their benefit?
- Can I ask any clarifying questions before I speak?
- Can I respond in love?
Poetry Saturday—Out Of Touch With Your Lord
August 1, 2020 — Craig T. Owens
Only a smile, yes, only a smile,That a woman o’er burdened with grief
Expected from you; ‘twould have given relief
For her heart ache sore the while;
But weary and cheerless she went away,
Because as it happened, that very day
You were “out of touch“ with your Lord.
Only a word, yes, only a word,
That the Spirit’s small voice whispered, “Speak”;
But the worker passed onward, unblessed and weak,
Whom you were meant to have stirred
To courage, devotion and love anew,
Because when the message came to you,
You were “out of touch“ with your Lord.
Only a note, yes, only a note,
From a friend in a distant land;
The Spirit said, “Write,” but then you had planned
Some different work, and you thought
It mattered little, you did not know
‘Twould have saved a soul from sin and woe;
You were “out of touch“ with your Lord.
Only a song, yes, only a song,
That the Spirit said, “Sing tonight—
Thy voice is thy Master’s by purchased right“;
But you thought, “Mid this motley throng
I care not to sing of the City of Gold,”
And the heart that your words might have reached grew cold;
You were “out of touch“ with your Lord.
Only a day, yes, only a day!
But, oh, can you guess, my friend,
Where the influence reaches, and where it will end
Of the hours that you frittered away?
The Master’s command is, “Abide in Me,”
And fruitless and vain will your service be,
If “out of touch“ with your Lord. —Jean H. Watson
Poetry Saturday—Brothers And Sisters The Same
July 25, 2020 — Craig T. Owens
Look around at the sign of the times,
churches are closing their doors.
Is it because God has left them
or because of internal wars?
There‘s people trying to find the Savior
but they don’t know where to go.
One says, “This church is a good one,”
another says, “No, it ain’t so.”
What happens when the doors lock?
What happens to the lost soul?
Is this what Jesus was all about?
Was fancy carpet His real goal?
Does anyone know where God truly is?
Did He tell you while deep in prayer?
Does He need stained glass windows
for Him to be present there?
If Jesus Himself came to your church
do you think that they’d let Him in?
Or would they say, “That‘s outrageous,
the people He’s with commit sin!”
Do you think that you’ve overcome,
that you‘re a sinner no more?
If that’s what you think, I’m sorry,
Jesus has something for you in store.
We all are sinners each and everyone.
None of us are innocent and pure;
if you think that you are different,
I don’t think that you are so sure.
So before you go pointing your finger,
before you go laying the blame,
remember what it says in the Bible:
we are brothers and sisters the same. —Barney Fritcher
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