Darryl Dash's Blog, page 42
October 22, 2022
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
The Four Quadrants of Church Life in the Gray Zone
A pastor needs a plan- a program– for discipleship, and in our church we’ve been feeling like we needed a different approach for some time.
Lost Art of Attentive Sermon Listening
What if an undiagnosed problem in our churches is that many in the pews are poor listeners?
Stop Throwing Pastors Under the Bus
Don’t throw pastors under the bus. Get on the bus with them. Help them repair flat tires and avoid potholes....
October 18, 2022
Random Reminders for Pastors
I regularly need these reminders. You may too.
The Lesser Place is a Good PlaceIf I had my way, every pastor would read The Lord's Work in the Lord's Way and No Little People by Francis Schaeffer once a year. And then I’d have them underline these words. “The Scripture emphasizes that much can come from little if the little is truly consecrated to God. There are no little people and no big people in the true spiritual sense, but only consecrated and unconsecrated people.”
And then, if I had my way...
October 15, 2022
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
What to Say to Someone Suffering like Job
Although doubtless our words will vary from person to person, the following can be helpful to keep in mind.
What Does It Mean To Be Winsomely Reformed?
While every branch of evangelical Christianity needs to be winsome, I think it is fair to say that Reformed folks certainly need that reminder as much as anyone.
5 Things You Should Know about Creeds
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the nature, history, and purpos...
October 11, 2022
May the Lord Make Me Truly Thankful
We just finished Thanksgiving weekend up here in Canada. Yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving earlier than Americans, perhaps because the harvest ends a little earlier up here, or because we’re greedy and want to celebrate our Thanksgiving and the American one later too.
When we were kids, we’d recite grace by memory:
For what we’re about to receive
May the Lord make us truly thankful.
Amen.
We were hungry and didn’t have time to waste. We said this prayer so often that we slurred the words together, compr...
October 9, 2022
Don't Stop Focusing on Jesus (Colossians 2:6-15)
Big Idea: Keep your focus on Jesus, because he’s everything you need.
By now you’ve seen the meme. A couple is walking down the street holding hands, but there’s a problem. The guy is looking back at another girl, and he is in trouble. He’s been caught looking at someone else rather than the one he’s with.
I don’t know how it’s become a meme, but it’s everywhere. It’s hard to go a week without seeing it.
That is the human problem. No matter what we have, we are tempted to look away from what we hav...
October 8, 2022
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Hearts Painted by the Word Again and Again
As the workers paint the Golden Gate Bridge stroke by stroke, similarly I paint my heart with the Word of God verse by verse. It is a never-ending process.
Want to Survive College? Join a Church.
I always urge young people — and I’m urging all college students now — to be committed members of a local church.
If you’re one of those who thinks pastors whine too much and work too little, I want to share...
October 4, 2022
We Know Our Enemy’s Plans
I’ve been fascinated to read The Monuments Men, a book about a special forces team of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others who risked their lives to preserve the finest art treasures in Europe in World War II.
As I read the book, one passage hit me:
Monuments Man S. Lane Faison Jr. once commented that Hitler “wrote a book called Mein Kampf. And if people had just read it carefully, every single thing that’s happened was already predicted… the whole Jewish sit...
October 2, 2022
Why We Exist (Colossians 1:24-2:5)
Big Idea: We exist to tell people about what Jesus has done.
I have a friend who became the pastor of a large church here in Toronto.
When he started, he went around and asked people, “Why do we exist?” People looked at him funny. The most common answer they gave was, “Because we’re…” and then they gave the name of the church. In other words, we exist simply because we exist.
That wasn’t a good enough answer, so he’d repeat the question. Why do we exist? He drove people crazy. But out of that quest...
October 1, 2022
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
God’s design includes a responsibility for one another.
The Local Church Is Your Spiritual Gifts Test
For generations, the only effective means of assessing one’s spiritual gifts has been the local church.
What Small Churches Teach Us About Meaningful Membership
There are three relational dynamics present in small churches that are crucial for developing a meaningful membership.
What Job Titles Should Churches Use? Two Simple Rules
The...
September 27, 2022
Fall Update
Every year around this time, I find myself shocked that the summer’s over, and that we’re less than 100 days from the New Year.
It seems like it might be a good time for a brief personal update.
Liberty Grace ChurchThis past Sunday, Liberty Grace Church celebrated its ninth anniversary.
Over a decade ago, I sensed a growing burden to see churches started in downtown Toronto. I didn’t think I would ever plant a church; I felt too old and too unqualified. I actually thought I was on my way to joining...
