Encouragement For Pastors

March 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I thoroughly enjoy the daily devotional I receive in my Inbox each morning from T.M. Moore at The Colson Center For Christian Worldview.

Each morning T.M. Moore shares a verse of Scripture, a quote from a trusted author, and his application of that quote to the pastoral setting. For instance, after quoting a passage from John R.W. Stott, Moore’s thought this morning was:

“Good preachers are good learners, and not just of the Scriptures. They need to understand the times and the ways the times impact the people they are called to serve. Preachers who know their sheep well, as our Good Shepherd exemplified for us, will hear their concerns, understand their thoughts, discern their hopes and fears, and be able to preach in a way that speaks directly to their souls with transforming grace and power. Let us strive to be sons of Issachar when it comes to the ministry of God’s Word.”

UPDATE: Pastor, T.M. Moore has established his own ministry with vastly more resources for us than he had at the Colson Center. Please check out the Fellowship of Ailbe.

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Boring Christianity?

February 15, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I read a lot of reports, books, and surveys that talk about the number of unchurched people in America. Sadly, my experience is that most of these are actually dechurched people. In other words, they are folks who were involved in a church at one point in their lives, but then felt like church wasn’t doing it for them any longer.

I’m not sure that I have the answer that will cure this. Actually I’ve got a lot more questions:

  • Are pastors helping people grow in their faith?
  • Are churches engaging their community in ways that make people want to be involved?
  • Are Christians tackling the pressing needs in their society?
  • Do people in local communities even think of asking the church to help with issues in their hometown?

I think the answer might be “No” to all of these questions.

“I suspect that most Christians today are fairly satisfied with the state of their faith. They have a ‘good enough’ experience of Jesus and they’re not really thirsting for much more. But the job of pastors is to help people realize that splashing around in the mud puddle of faith is nothing compared with sailing on the ocean of God’s grace and power (as C.S. Lewis says). We must whet the appetites of our people for a greater experience of the Lord’s reviving power. When we do, they will begin to seek it more fervently.” —T.M. Moore

“We’ve given people just enough of Jesus to be bored, but not enough to be transformed.” —David Kinnaman

“The outer courts are filled with distraction. It’s hard to hear. The holy place is still. And when you get into the inner courts, all the other voices vying for our attention are silenced. I’m afraid that most of us live most of our lives in the outer courts. We’re too Christian to enjoy sin, but we’re too sinful to enjoy Christ. It’s time to press in. It’s time to press on.” —Mark Batterson

If we are truly living as disciples of Jesus Christ, Christianity should be the most exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling way to live! That’s how I want it to be for me and for my church! What about you?

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