(Un)Forgiveness

October 5, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Charles II had a slight problem with unforgiveness

A couple of weeks ago I asked our church a simple question. So let me ask you the same thing: Anyone ever not been burned by someone, taken advantage of, or hurt by somebody else? Anyone? I didn’t think so. We’ve all been hurt, but the real issue is what we do with those hurts.

In January 1647, Oliver Cromwell captured King Charles I during the British Revolution. But a few months later, Charles escaped and managed to raise another army. In August 1648 Cromwell’s army defeated Charles’ army and once again Charles was taken prisoner. Cromwell had Charles tried for his crimes, and after the guilty verdict was issued, Charles I was executed. A total of 59 people signed his death warrant.

Eleven years later Cromwell’s son Richard had taken his place as Lord Protector of England, and there was great discontent with his leadership. As a result, the Loyalists were able to sweep Charles II into power. Charles II wanted the 59 death warrant signors put on trial, but 15 of them had already died. Charles II ordered their bodies exhumed, placed on trial, convicted, and then hung.

I’m no psychologist, but I think it’s safe to say that Charles II might have had a problem with unforgiveness!

It’s highly unlikely that you have dug up any dead bodies and put them on trial lately.

        Or maybe you have…

When someone has hurt us, we tend to keep the pain alive. Sometimes even after that person is long-gone from our life, we still exhume the corpse of their injury, put them on trial, convict them, and punish them all over again. But this process is actually punishing YOU. As long as you keep the hurt alive, you are trapped in the past.

The key to freedom is easy and yet hard: forgiveness.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Integrity At Home

August 30, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I read this verse the other day in my devotions, and it’s really been doing a number on my heart.

…I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. (Psalm 101:2 NLT)

I would hate it if I was considered a hero at work, but considered a zero in my own home.

Here’s what I’m processing:

  • Do I earn the same level of respect at home as I do at the office?
  • Do I put in the same diligence into growing my home life as I do growing my career?
  • Am I as forgiving with my family as with friends and coworkers?
  • Do I have the same level of preparation at home as I do at work?
  • Am I learning the craft of being a husband and father like I’m learning the craft of being a pastor?
  • Do I honor my commitments at home like I do with others?

I don’t want to live as John Bunyan described Talkative in Pilgrim’s Progress: “He was a saint abroad and a devil at home.”

Instead one of my life verses is this: I have no greater joy than knowing my children all walk in the truth (3 John 4).

The only way this will be possible is if I led a life of integrity in my own home.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Work Out

August 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In order to grow muscle, it has to be stretched beyond what we usually use. Muscles don’t grow unless they are worked out.

The same is true for us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. If we only do easy things—if everything is rosy all the time—we’ll never grow. In fact it’s worse than that: if we’re not challenged, we will actually atrophy and shrink back.

So with that in mind, here are some encouraging words for your spiritual work out.

“By affliction God teaches us many precious lessons, which without it we should never learn. By affliction He shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world and makes us long for heaven.” —J.C. Ryle

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. …Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. —Apostle James

“God does not give us overcoming life—He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength.” —Oswald Chambers

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. —Apostle Paul

I pray that you will gain strength in your spiritual work out today.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Marriage Math

July 25, 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.

Martin Luther said:

“There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage.”

Unfortunately our culture has watered-down and diminished the value of marriage. Far too often marriage is seen as something which diminishes life, instead of enhancing it.

Perhaps this is because we have been viewing marriage with the wrong math.

Marriage is NOT ½ + ½ = 1

That makes sense mathematically, but it’s inaccurate. God didn’t create us a half-people. God created us whole and complete. So our spouse is not our better half, he/she is our better whole.

Marriage is NOT 1 + 1 = 2

Again, this makes sense mathematically, but it is not biblical. Why? Because 2 is divisible, and the Bible makes it clear that a man and woman who are married are one flesh.

Marriage IS 1 X 1 = 1

Not only does this work mathematically, but biblically too. God sees marriage as one whole man and one whole woman coming together to make one whole marriage.

Not coincidentally, X (chi) is the first Greek letter of the name Christ. When Christ is at the center of a marriage, and when the husband and wife are more in love with Him than they are with their spouse, then a wholeness exists in the marriage.

1 X 1 = 1 is the type of marriage that glorifies God.

1 X 1 =1 is the type of marriage that is so lovely, friendly, and charming.

If you are single, keep yourself pure so you can bring your “oneness” as a gift to your future spouse. If you are married, keep the X—Jesus Christ—at the center of your marriage.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments »

How To unDo unChristian

July 18, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday at Calvary Assembly of God, we continued our series called In It Not Of It, in which we are considering how to biblically engage our culture. In alarmingly high numbers, more and more people have thoughts that are positively unChristian toward those who call themselves Christian.

How do we undo this cultural bias? I think we have to be people of overwhelming grace.

Being grace-filled people is the only way I can see for us to unDo the unChristian mindset. To see how Jesus did this, see His interaction with a particular woman in John 8:2-11.

The Apostle Paul also gave us a good example of grace-filled living. In his letter to the Romans, Paul says he is indebted to all mankind, which makes him eager to preach the Gospel (Romans 1:14-15). I love Oswald Chambers’ commentary on these verses:

“Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding EVERY unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness. …

“Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. This is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine IN REAL LIFE.”

I am committed to living a life of overwhelming grace poured out for EVERY unsaved soul. And I am SO BLESSED to be able to pastor a church that feels and acts the same way! We’re not going to be passive reactionaries to the unChristian cultural bias … we’re going to live IN REAL LIFE as proactive, grace-filled people, so that we can unDo unChristian!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Hard Times

July 13, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why do I have to go through these difficulties?” Or maybe: “What is being accomplished through this pain and heartache?” I know I’ve asked these questions of myself—and of God—numerous times. I have come to three conclusions why Christians must go through hard times:

  1. So that I know that I can trust God to help me pass this test.
  2. So that God will be glorified in helping me pass this test.
  3. So that others will know that God can help them pass their test.

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when [not “if”] your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. (1 Peter 1:7)

Others will see this and be encouraged to trust God too! Look what Thomas Paine wrote in The Crisis:

“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”

So to help in your hard times, may this prayer from Charles Spurgeon encourage you:

The graces of the Christian character must not resemble the rainbow in its transitory beauty, but, on the contrary, must be established, settled, abiding.
 
May your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an inscription upon the rock!
 
May your faith be no baseless fabric of a vision.
 
But may it be built of material able to endure that awful fire which shall consume the wood, hay, and stubble of the hypocrite.
 
May you be rooted and grounded in love.
 
May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest.
 
May your whole life be so settled and established, that all the blasts of Hell, and all the storms of earth shall never be able to remove you.

UPDATE: I shared a series of messages on this topic called Where’s God? You can check them out by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments »

Empowering The Team

June 22, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In reading Leadership Is Dead, one passage particularly stood out to me:

“The wise leader understands that sharing the burden benefits the entire team over the long term. Empowering others makes tasks manageable while also allowing team members to sharpen their skills and build upon their strengths. When a leader refuses to share the load, he brings disservice to the organization because those on his team are not allowed to develop their own leadership skills, and the next generation of leaders are not developed properly for future organizational success.”

Think back to the first two kings in Israel’s history: Saul and David. Both stood out from everyone around them as a strong leader. But only one of them left behind a lasting leadership legacy.

Both Saul and David had men who were immediately attracted to them. Saul was surrounded by valiant men, while David was surrounded by society’s rejects. But clearly David was an empowering leader, and Saul was not. Want proof?

The Bible gives a lengthy list of David’s mighty men, along with quite a résumé of their heroic accomplishments. The list of Saul’s mighty men is: .

I think David was secure in the fact that God called him to lead, while Saul was constantly second-guessing.

  • This made David generous, and Saul jealous.
  • David liberated his men, and Saul contained his men.
  • David encouraged, and Saul controlled.

In the end: David left a legacy, and Saul did not.

What kind of leader do you want to be?

UPDATE: Being secure to serve is one of the main points I tackle in my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter. Check out this short clip—

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Leadership Tension

June 7, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Along time ago I was studying the virtues that the Greek philosophers taught. To the Greeks, the virtue was considered the “golden mean” between two opposite extremes. It was the ability to balance the tensions that produced the virtue.

In areas where I have leadership responsibilities, I try to find the virtue of leadership as the balance between these two tensions:

  • Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. (1 Timothy 3:1)
  • Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. (Jeremiah 45:5)

On the one side: desire leadership. On the other side: don’t desire leadership. Do your best at it, but be ready to give it up.

I love this statement on leadership from John Maxwell—

Leadership is the willingness to put oneself at risk.
Leadership is the passion to make a difference with others.
Leadership is being dissatisfied with the current reality.
Leadership is taking responsibility while others are making excuses.
Leadership is seeing the possibilities while others are seeing the limitations.
Leadership is the readiness to stand out in a crowd.
Leadership is an open mind and an open heart.
Leadership is the ability to submerge your ego for the sake of what is best.
Leadership is evoking in other the capacity to dream.
Leadership is inspiring others with a vision of what they can contribute.
Leadership is the power of one harnessing the power of many.
Leadership is your heart speaking to the hearts of others.
Leadership is the integration of heart, head, and soul.
Leadership is the capacity to care, and in caring, to liberate the ideas, energy and capacity of others.
Leadership is the dream made reality.
Leadership is, above all, courageous.

I am trying to balance the pulls of leadership, but while I do I’m loving the leadership tension!

UPDATE: This idea of leadership tension became one of the key seed thoughts for my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter. 

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments »

Disagreeing Agreeably

April 12, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple or Spotify.

Why do disagreements have to become so, well, disagreeable?

Is it possible to disagree agreeably?

It’s not easy, but I think it’s possible.

When I was younger I couldn’t stand the idea of “losing” an argument: I always had to be right. I think I’ve matured a bit (at least, I hope I have), and I no longer feel the same way. So here are a few lessons I’ve learned:

(1) Remember the person I’m disagreeing with is my brother or sister. God has created both of us, so that makes us siblings.

(2) Always go for win-win. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too (Philippians 2:4).

(3) Choose your battles wisely. You can’t make everything an issue worth dying over. Thomas Jefferson wisely said, “In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.”

(4) Redefine the “win.” What does it mean to win? Is it to put someone else in their place? That doesn’t seem very healthy. Perhaps a “win” is when values or principles are agreed to, although the way they are applied may be very different from person to person.

(5) Leave the baggage behind. Don’t bring previous hurts into a new situation. Don’t assume this new person will act like someone else from your past.

We’re all different people, so we’re going to have disagreements. The key: let’s find a way to disagree agreeably.

If you have other thoughts about how to disagree agreeably, I would love it if you would share them in the comments.

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

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Taking A Rest

March 18, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

“This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations; but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.” —Westminster Confession

“A holy rest” is usually a hard concept to grasp. When we rest we often feel one of two things:

  • There is something I should be doing <or>
  • I’m just lazy!

But rest is not the same thing as inactivity.

Rest is really different activity—rest is preparation for activity. The rabbis teach that a day of rest is supposed to be a day of distinction: a day that’s so different from the other six days of the week. Creating this day of distinction requires a lot of serious thought to prepare (“a due preparing of their hearts,” as the Confession says).

We need to take time to be OFF. You and I are not wired to be ON all the time. So as you contemplate a Sabbath day of rest for your life, think about this:

I’m going to be OFF tomorrow, so that I can be better ON to start the week.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »