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Bill Owen

congregational coach, consultant, speaker, and ministry specialist

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spiritual growth

Getting to Know God Again

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I think it would be great if every three years or so people would forget whatever they have learned about Jesus and begin learning all over again. I say that to simply say — no matter how much we feel we may already know, for those with the eyes to see, Jesus often has something more.

A few years ago, advertisers for the Coca-Cola Company came up with a cool idea. During commercial breaks from the Super Bowl, Coca-Cola would put messages on the screen giving clues to a terrific treasure. As I watched I wondered why, when I expected to see these exciting clues, all I saw was a red rectangle at the bottom of the screen. It was not until someone handed me a pair of these tinted glasses (you got them by springing for a six-pack of Coke!), that I finally could see. The tinting in the glasses filtered out the color red, revealing the message that had been there all along.

Have you ever felt like, despite reading the Bible that you that you just couldn’t see God in it – couldn’t get anything from it. We’ve all felt that way at times.

If that describes you, and even if it doesn’t, here are seven questions you might bring with you each time you read the Bible. Ask yourself —

 

1.  Is there an example here for me to follow?

2.  Is there something here that I am being encouraged to avoid?

3.  Is there a promise meant for me?

4.  Is there a prayer here worth praying on my own?

5.  Is there a challenge for me to face?

6.  Is there a command to be obeyed?

7.  Is there a verse here that I would profit from memorizing?

 

Try this. You may see something you never did before. This Easter put on the glasses of faith. Get to know God all over again!

Question—What helps you most when you read the Bible?

 

Home Improvement

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Cindy and I watch more TV than we used to—now that we are in the empty nest years. Some Saturday mornings we’ll turn on the FOOD Channel and cook whatever might whet our appetites.

Maybe you’ve tuned in to HGTV – the network completely dedicated to home improvement. From kitchens and bathrooms to landscapes and gardens—it covers it all. On ABC millions watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

I love it when families with a particular need return to find that the place they call home is transformed beyond their wildest dreams.

For all the commercialism and varied tastes expressed in these shows, there’s something exciting about watching someone enter a home or yard in need of help, and turn that place around. You look at the “before” pictures and then the “after” shots and you just shake your head. Wow!

That’s what I love about so many of the stories in the Bible. We see God at work, seeking to renovate and restore. We meet real people—builders and gardeners, so to speak, who look at what’s broken down or barren and go to work—to see these realities completely transformed.

I love it when I see that here in our church, here in Cross Plains where I live—to see those I know re-formed, re-made, brand-new. Wow!

This is God’s plan for every church and community—to enter every human life and keep working there – room by room, row by row.

Have you read…?

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This past Saturday morning I was meeting with our web design team at church. In a couple of weeks we go public with our new website. We are pretty excited about it.

Part of the package will include a revamp of this site—name change and a move to WordPress. It will continue to be my personal blog. CrossPlainSpeaking will transition to a new emphasis on church and community life here in Cross Plains. Like I said, we are pretty pumped—not just about the new design but the potential for engagement inside and outside the church.

During the meeting Josh, our site design expert (what a great guy), suggested that I include on my personal blog a list of books I am currently reading. My immediate response was, “Sure, that would be cool.”

I do love books. For years the church has afforded me a library stipend allowing me to buy books regularly. Mt. Carmel knows instinctively that you can’t lead if you don’t read! Joe, our UPS driver, knows me well—there are few weeks that pass without a delivery from Amazon.

Which leaves me with the question (maybe you can help me)—is it better to read widely or read deeply?

Fellow leaders/pastors and church members frequently ask “what are you reading?” or “have you read…?” So I am constantly striving to stay current. As a result, Cindy periodically reminds me to clean up—pointing to the “leaning tower” of books around my chair at home. My desk at church isn’t much better!

Add blog posts to the books, newspapers and magazines and it can be staggering. Think about it—we have more information available through the click of a mouse than anyone before us had in their entire lives. So no matter how much I read (or buy) I still feel guilty about not reading enough.

So here’s the best single piece of reading advice I’ve seen. It comes from Dallas Willard. When it comes to reading—aim at depth, not breadth. If you aim at depth, you will get breadth thrown in. If you aim at breadth, you’ll get neither depth nor breadth.

I know that if I constantly am skimming the surface of what I read, not much sticks. Someone asks you if you liked a particular author or book, and you say, “yes,” but you can’t remember why.

So I recommend that you think carefully about what you’re most devoted to. And read that repeatedly, on a regular basis, until you gain a sense of how that particular author thinks and what the key ideas are. It’s best to read deeply.

Come to think of it—that’s not a bad approach when it comes to life in general — following Jesus in particular!

Question—What are you reading? Who’s your favorite author? Is it better to read widely or deeply?

The Pause Button — 3) when I need balance

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Life is fast—sometimes plain crazy. So it’s not unusual when we find ourselves needing to hit the pause button. When I do, it gives me “balance.”

Dictionary.com says balance is mental steadiness or emotional stability. It is the habit of calm behavior and judgment. Who’s not for that?

I have found that the key to life balance begins by getting crystal clear on your priorities. Your list may look like this—it’s the order I find creates the most balance for me:

  1. God 
  2. Self 
  3. Cindy/Family 
  4. Work/Church (boundaries between these merge for me) 
  5. Everything else

If you are a Christian, comes first. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). God is the ultimate priority. Until He is first, everything else will seem out of kilter.

On a practical level, I read the Bible daily. Oh, if I miss a day, I don’t flog myself.  Here’s the greater challenge for me—am I reading for sermon prep or for personal formation—for church or for me?

I also pray daily in the morning at home and on my way to work. In addition, I pray before meals, and throughout the day, and right before I go to bed. Most often, it’s just an ongoing conversation—more casual than formal. One of the growing disciplines for me has been creating space for silence. These 1 to 2 hour blocks of reflection/rest/reading have become reservoirs of renewal.

This may surprise you but I come next. I don’t think this is because I am selfish or egocentric—though I certainly am. I have learned through the years that I can’t take care of others unless I take care of me. If you fly, you have heard the flight attendant say, “In case of an emergency … put the oxygen mask on yourself first before attempting to help others.” 

This is how I do life. This is how I approach my marriage and ministry. First God, then self, and then comes Cindy, church/work and everything else. 
It seems that when I give these first two (God and self) adequate attention—

  • I’m a happier and more loving husband to Cindy. 
  • I’m more effective and fulfilled as a pastor. 
  • And the rest of it often finds its proper place.
It’s a matter of balance.

What do you do to maintain balance in your life? What works for you when life gets crazy?

Gratitude

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Looking for a way to be more consistent in prayer? Here’s a good daily discipline to follow. At the end of each day ask yourself these three questions:

  1. What did I RECEIVE from oth­ers today that ben­e­fit­ed me? This could be any­thing from the grand­est ges­ture to the tini­est detail…a kind word, a piece of long-awaited infor­ma­tion, a smile…. List 5 things.
  2. What did I GIVE to oth­ers today that ben­e­fit­ed them more than it did me? Name 5 and then move to question 3.
  3. What DIFFICULTIES did I cause oth­ers today?

The beauty in this final ques­tion is that it requires you to step back and see the world from another’s per­spec­tive. Don’t just look for “mis­takes” you may have made, instead, think about the impact you had on oth­ers today.

Don’t wait for some­thing “good” or unex­pected to occur to express grat­i­tude to God. Grat­i­tude is a dis­ci­pline.

These sim­ple ques­tions will help you develop gratitude…if you prac­tice it daily. Grat­i­tude should be based on you intentionally seek­ing it, not reac­tively dis­cov­er­ing it.

Upgrades take time and effort….

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Back before Christmas I purchased the upgrade for iPhoto for our Mac at home. We really love this particular software. It manages all our photos so easily and they readily sync with our phones and ipods. It suits grandparents wonderfully!

However, when I loaded the newest version, I recognized I had a problem. This upgrade of iPhoto required another update to my operating system. It’s called Snow Leopard. (That’s about all I know about that). Suffice it to say, I was left with two choices:

1) Pur­chase and load the Snow Leop­ard upgrade, or
2) Con­tinue using the old ver­sion, and ren­der my new copy of iPhoto (which couldn’t be returned because it had been opened) useless.

So I opted to pur­chase and load Snow Leop­ard. With­out the upgrade, I would have missed all of the ben­e­fits of the new soft­ware. More time, more effort and, of course, more money!

One thing I have learned through the years is that whenever I make changes in my life, new challenges present themselves. It’s never as simple as 1-2-3. Change, upgrades, updates—call it what you will—are a process. But it’s worth the effort.

Maybe at the beginning of the year you decided to upgrade your health by los­ing weight, get­ting more rest, or focus­ing on bet­ter nutri­tion. Maybe you decided to upgrade your knowl­edge in some spe­cific area—spiritually, emotionally, or maybe a particular hobby or something specific to your work. Or it could be that you determined a need to improve your atti­tude by look­ing at your cir­cum­stances differently.

Whatever resolutions you made, don’t give up on them just because you’ve run into an obstacle or two. It’s worth it, though it may cost you a bit more than you expected!