Darryl Dash's Blog, page 29

How to Live in Exile (Daniel)

Big Idea: To live well in exile, draw a line, hold a big picture of God, and believe that history is headed somewhere.

There’s a thing in sports called the home field advantage.

You know what it’s like to attend a game at home. At the Rogers Centre, most of the crowd is wearing Jays gear. At the start of the game, they announce the visiting team like they’re reading the phone directory. When they announce the Jays, it’s like they’re announcing an all-star rock band.

The audience is very clearly on ...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Is Pastoral Work Uniquely Difficult?

No, yes, and it’s complicated.

5 Misconceptions About Dechurching in America

Here are five misconceptions about dechurching that church leaders need to hear.

5 Ways the Digital Age Is Transforming the Way You Think

The question is not whether we will be shaped by the Web; the question is, How is the Web shaping us, and how do we respond?

What Your Church Needs This September

If you’re like me – tempted by the fast, famous, and ...

The Point of Thinking About Eschatology

There was a time when people cared — really cared — about eschatology. They held conferences. They formed denominations. They created study Bibles. Thinking about eschatology — the doctrine of what happens in the end times — was a big deal.

No more. I hardly hear anyone talk about end times anymore. In some ways, that’s good. Sometimes we were a little too ready to fight over eschatology before. In other ways, it’s sad. I wonder if we really care as much as we should.

I’m struck by what Paul wrote...

When God Will Live Among Us (Ezekiel 43:1-12)

Big Idea: God will restore the world, and the center of this new creation will be God living with us, and this should change how we live.

When you write a book that tells a story, there’s a formula you’re supposed to follow.

First, you set the scene. You introduce the characters and the setting in a way that you begin to care about the characters.

Then you introduce the conflict. No great story can exist without some form of conflict. You need the characters to get into some kind of trouble. For a ...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

The Invention That Changed Everything

If I were to ask you to name the most important invention of the last thousand years, what would come to mind?

Number Your Days: Or Why Books Remind me of Death

Books speak before I even crack the cover, saying something like, “You’re running out of time, choose wisely.”

When You Don’t Want to Read Your Bible

If we limit our engagement to a “quiet time” format, we not only fall into false guilt and discouragement but also mi...

What I’ve Learned in the First Ten Years of a Church

Almost ten years ago, we held our first service as a new church. God willing, our anniversary service will take place on September 24, my last day as pastor of that church.

Over the years, we’ve seen God move. I have so many stories of his faithfulness and provision this past decade. We still continue to see God move. That’s one of the things that makes it hard to move.

Here are five things I’d do differently, and five things I’d do again.

Five Things I’d Do DifferentlyAssemble a stronger launch te...

Our Greatest Hope (Ezekiel 11:17-20)

Big Idea: Our problem is severe. The solution is that we need a new heart from God.

Sometimes the worst parts of life are very closely tied to the best parts.

Today I want to do something simple: I want to look at one of the worst moments in the entire Bible with one of the best promises in the whole Bible. The two belong together. The two give us a really good window into the Christian faith.

So let’s look at one of the worst moments, and then let’s look at one of the greatest promises.

One of the ...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Pastors and Social Media

If I were on a church’s pastoral search committee, one question I would have for each candidate is:
What social media accounts do you use, how often do you publish on them, and who in your life has total access to your page and your private messages and could confront you, if necessary, about anything on there?

Are You a Cheap Pastor on Social Media?

Pastoral counsel that leads to meaningful change should usually be earned through a rel...

Don't Begin With the Needs of Your People

I used to begin with the needs of people and then go to Scripture. I figured that the place to begin as a preacher is with the needs of the people in front of me.

I still see the value in this approach. The wise preacher considers the needs of the congregation. We need to know our people and their struggles, and build a preaching diet that’s appropriate to the needs of our people.

But there’s also a danger in this approach. Taken too far, the needs of people — not Scripture — will dictate what we ...

God’s Word to the Weary, Discouraged, and Ambitious (Jeremiah 45)

Big Idea: Life is hard, but God cares. Things might get worse, but it’s not about us. It’s about God.

Alan Noble has written a book recently called On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living. Noble argues that normal life involves a great deal of suffering. “Tremendous suffering is the normal experience of being in this world. Beauty and love and joy are normal, too, but so is suffering.”

He says what many of us have felt: sometimes, getting out of bed in the morning can be incredibly ha...