Darryl Dash's Blog, page 62
December 5, 2020
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
The Gospel Coalition 2020 Book Awards
Congratulations to the winners of our The Gospel Coalition 2020 Book Awards.
Its fun to listen to a book closely rather than skimming for highlights you can tweet or blog about. Reading should be pleasurable, and slow reading is, for me anyway, the way I get the most pleasure from it.
How a Former Radical Sparked the New Calvinist Movement
If we try to take short cuts, to do ministry and to...
December 1, 2020
My Plea to Those Who Hold Strong Views on Masks and Lockdowns
I’ve felt the tension most of the year. Good friends hold very different views on whether the pandemic exists, how the government should respond, and what churches should do. And they aren’t afraid to share them!
I’m grateful for my friends. I’m also grateful for how they are making me think through various issues related to the church. And I like them a lot.
But here’s my concern: that we are in the process of creating two streams of churches divided over our view of the pandemic — mo...
November 28, 2020
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
If You Can’t be with the Church You Love, Love the Church You’re With
As your church leaders make difficult decisions, oftentimes landing on solutions you don’t necessarily agree with, how should a mature Christian process the disappointment?
My Threshold for Civil Disobedience in a COVID19 World
I believe that we would be justified in disobeying the government’s protocols with respect to COVID19 in the following circumstances.
November 24, 2020
A Message to Weary Pastors
We just entered the second lockdown this year here in Toronto. We can’t have more than 10 people gather for worship. Churches are weighing how to respond, but this move certainly limits our options. It feels a lot like March 15 again.
You may not be in lockdown as we are, but I know you’re dealing with the pandemic too. And it’s tiring.
Thom Rainer has written, “The vast majority of pastors with whom our team communicates are saying they are considering quitting their churches.” I don’t co...
November 21, 2020
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
I think I want to pursue more kindness in my preaching, and I think that, if you preach, you should too. Here are three reasons why.
Why Church Leaders Should Write More Handwritten Notes
Take the time to write a handwritten note. Make it a weekly habit. You might be surprised at the fruit from such a simple discipline.
The Government Says We Can’t Sing! What Should We Do? (A Forum)
I hope this forum models the kind ...
November 17, 2020
Every Moment Holy
I didn’t always see the value of written prayers until I attended an Anglican church one summer. I discovered the beauty and depth — not to mention the Scriptural content — of well-designed written prayers. That opened the door for me to discover books like The Valley of Vision and Piercing Heaven (affiliate links).
A friend one day gave me a book of written prayers called Every Moment Holy (affiliate link), “a book of liturgies for the ordinary events of daily life … These are ways of re...
November 14, 2020
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Why You’d Be Disappointed With a Visit to the Early Church
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to visit one of the earliest churches? If you stopped in on a service, I think you’d likely be disappointed. In fact, I doubt you’d ever go back.
It is a Weakness of Faith to Refuse to Mourn the Death of Loved Ones
As believers, we should not grieve like those who have no hope, but that does not mean we should not grieve at all (1 Thes. 4:13)...
November 10, 2020
The Church I Get to Enjoy
One of my pastoral heroes taught me this: celebrate the church you’re privileged to pastor. Stand up on Sunday and communicate, genuinely, that it is the privilege of your life to be their pastor. Tell them that you’ve been waiting all week, and you can’t believe that you get to be with them.
A pastor who believes this can’t help but love that congregation. That love will probably be enough to transform that church, at least a little.
It’s true, too: every pastor is privileged to be en...
November 7, 2020
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
How the Pandemic Opens Doors for Evangelism
The pandemic has revealed multiple emotional entry-points to the better story of Jesus. It’s time to leverage them.
The Hidden Discipline of John Stott
Only through labored effort did his apparently effortless clarity result.
My best memories are of simple things I didn’t think someone as important as J. I. Packer would say or do.
November 3, 2020
Nobody Like Him
“I have no one like him,” Paul writes about Timothy (Philippians 2:20). Immediately I’m curious. What set Timothy apart? Left to guess, I’d probably imagine that he was unusually gifted or had personal charisma.
But that’s not what set Timothy apart. “I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 2:20-21).
I dare you to dig through leadership books for this trait. You’ll find that...
