Darryl Dash's Blog, page 33

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...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Seeking Revival Is the Pastoral Task

In at least four key ways, pastoral ministry is a renewal-seeking enterprise.

Spurgeon on Building a Culture of Evangelism

Spurgeon gives three basic principles for building a culture of evangelism: Patience, Pastoring, and Prayer.

The Two-Bar Strategy: How to Have Ambitious Goals Without Overwhelming Your Days

How do we set ambitious goals without being disappointingly unrealistic in our daily plans?

Give Humble Counsel

Here a...

Don't Start the Race to the Bottom

I’ve heard Seth Godin use the phrase “race to the bottom.” Once you start to compete on being the cheapest, someone else can undercut you. You’ll find that you’ve entered a race based on cutting corners and getting the lowest possible buy-in from customers.

He warns:

…the problem with the race to the bottom is that you might win.
You might make a few more bucks for now, but not for long and not with pride. Someone will always find a way to be cheaper or more brutal than you.

The same applies to mini...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

The Godliness of a Good Night’s Sleep

For those prone to productive self-reliance, the bed is a desk in God’s school of humility.

Our Missions Approach Is Too Western

If Western missionaries are to be faithful stewards of this treasure, we must avoid the individualism, egalitarianism, and consumerism that mark our culture.

Pray the Directory

One of the practical things you can do to ensure that you pray for all of the people in your church is to pray through you...

How to Autograph a Book

How should you respond when you’re asked to autograph a book?

I guess you sign it, at least if you are the one who wrote the book. But as you do, you battle the temptation to pride. One way to do this is to remind yourself of a biblical truth that helps you keep perspective. A Christian author from the past signed a book this way.

Merrill Tenney was his name. He was a professor of New Testament and Greek, and author of several books. He was the general editor of the Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dicti...

God Fights (Joel)

Big Idea: God fights for his people, but he will fight against those who reject him.

Have I told you what I really appreciate about people? I like people who care enough to fight.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like fighting. I hate it. I avoid argumentative people who love to start squabbles. I don’t have time for that. There’s a line from the movie 1917: “Some men just like the fight.” Avoid people like this. In fact, the Bible tells us to guard the church against people like this. “As for a person...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Efficiency in Churches

Pastors aren’t managers, they aren’t CEOs, they are gardeners, they are shepherds.

Advice from a Retiring Minister

Some words of advice for young (and old) pastors from John Samuel after 37 years of church ministry.

You Don’t Know When Your Last Sermon Will Be

Every pastor will preach his last sermon — but unlike Jesus, most of them won’t know it. Here are a few examples from history.

What I’ve Learned

From Anglicans, Baptists, and Presbyter...

Personal Update

I have some personal news to share.

Concluding a Ministry

On Sunday, July 16, I announced that I’ll be concluding my ministry at Liberty Grace Church on our tenth anniversary Sunday at the end of September.

I still can’t believe this news. We knew this day was coming, but it’s still hard for me to grasp. From the beginning when we helped start the church, we knew that, with God’s help, I would one day find a successor to take over my role. We’ve had the privilege of seeing God work over the past te...