Darryl Dash's Blog, page 57

Saturday Links

Podcast: I enjoyed talking to Rich Villodas about his book The Deeply Formed Life on the Gospel for Life podcast.

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Make This Your General Rule of Thumb When Binding the Conscience of Others

Could every believer, in every place, across all time, people’s and cultures, both now and forever, do this thing?

Manners for Social Media in Polarized Times

Describing others with demeaning epithets is arrogant and unbecoming. Let’s run as far from it as...

The Double Danger of Scorn

In the Canadian TV comedy series Corner Gas, residents of Dog River hate neighboring town Wullerton so much that they spit on the ground whenever the town is mentioned. The local newspaper refers to the town as “Wullerton (SPIT).”

Their spitting is a form of scorn, “the feeling or belief that someone or something is worthless or despicable.” Scorn reveals itself through mockery and contempt for others, and a sense of one’s own superiority to the other group.

It’s funny on Corner Gas,...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

In a World of Narratives, Be Radically Committed to Reality

I’m convinced that the biggest emerging fissure in Western culture is not necessarily between political left and right as much as those fiercely committed to reality (even when it goes against the narrative) and those who elevate the narrative (whether left or right) above reality.

Progressive Christians: Where and How They Differ with Jesus

Spending time at a theologically liberal Chr...

High Conflict in the Canadian Church

Conflict is good. Actually, the right kind of conflict is good. As Amanda Ripley writes in her new book High Conflict, healthy conflict “can be serious and intense but leads somewhere useful.” It “does not collapse into dehumanization.”

High conflict, though, is bad. It “becomes self-perpetuating and all-consuming, in which almost everyone ends up worse off.” It’s “typically an us-versus-them conflict.”

Ripley’s book tells stories of high conflict: a town council in California, a gang ...

Saturday Links

Podcast: I enjoyed talking to Kevin Vanhoozer about the role of theology in discipleship on the Gospel for Life podcast.

Curated links for your weekend reading:

The Danger of Being Driven By “Distant Drama”

Let’s not be so consumed with “distant dramas” that we fail to “look local,” and then lose sight of the fields of service where we can actually make a difference.

How Not to Debate Ideas in the Public Square

Here are eight bad ideas when it comes to communicating our ideas in p...

My Vertical Neighborhood

Around the time we began the process of planting a church in a condo community, I met Lynda MacGibbon, who had also moved into a condo community. She’s previously lived in a small city in eastern Canada. In her new condo, she, along with a friend, decided to build community in her building through weekly dinners, a writing group, Christmas morning brunches, and even Bible studies.

I loved hearing her stories. I invited Lynda and her friend to speak to our launch team at our new church, an...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

The Winsome Christian

The word “winsome” is not in the Bible. Yet it’s worth pondering this old-fashioned concept as it relates to the witness of the modern-day church.

A winsome life is attractive and inviting, exactly the sort of life every Christian should aim to lead.

Aren’t All Religions the Same?

Sure, there are minor theological variations, but aren’t all religions working toward the same goal, namely, to make the world a better place?

...

The Chicken and Egg of Church Planting

Truth often exists in tension. One example is which comes first in church planting: evangelism or the church. The answer is both.

Here’s why.

Evangelism Precedes Church Planting

J.D. Payne writes: “Biblical church planting is evangelism that results in new churches. There are many ways to plant churches; however, the model in the Scriptures is one that begins with evangelism and ends with those new churches following the Lord in obedience.”

In other words, don’t start with a chur...

Saturday Links

Podcast: In the latest Gospel for Life podcast, I talked to Jared C. Wilson about Discipleship and Gospel-Driven Ministry.

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Christianity Can Be the Safest Space for Truth-Seeking Intellectuals

Christianity has an opportunity to again become the most fertile intellectual ground — as it was for most of the last 2,000 years (until fairly recently).

Humility on the Opinion Front

Please my brothers and sisters. Join me in:

giving more care to your ...

Cross-training for Pastors (and Everyone Else)

If you’ve played sports, you’re probably familiar with the idea of cross -training. It’s training in sports other than your main one. Your preferred sport develops only some muscle groups. To counteract that imbalance, it’s best to engage in other activities that eliminate that imbalance.

Cross-training is important for pastors too.

In his book The Art of Pastoring — a great book to read if you’re a pastor — David Hansen observes how much he benefited from reading certain kinds of theo...