Darryl Dash's Blog, page 67

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Is Preaching Online to an Empty Room Really Preaching?

Virtual worship and its sermons are for a limited time. They come with an expiration date. And, along with other eager pastors, I’ll be glad when that day arrives.

The Measure of Missionary Success

Remember, the one who reports the most speedy results may not in fact be the most successful worker.

The faithful missionary has their eye on the best and most lasting harvest, which will come in ...

Permission to Ignore the Gurus

Let’s get this out of the way so I’m not misunderstood: if you’re in pastoral ministry, I hope you’re working hard. Really hard.

Paul worked hard (Acts 20:35). He was able to speak of his hard work to the Thessalonian church (2 Thessalonians 3:7-8). He could say, “For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:9). Nobody could accuse Paul of b...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Thank You, Pastors

When the light wanes tonight over Toronto and people clang their thanks to essential workers: pastors, I’ll be thanking God for you.

The Coming Pastoral Crash

I don’t want to be a prophet of doom, but as a minister in touch with many ministers, I see a coming pastoral crash. And I’m not sure we can stop it.

(I hope he’s wrong.)

Fingerprints

I confess that I always harbored the hope that one day, if we remained faithf...

Second Mountain Pastoring

In his book Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life, David Brooks says that life seems to have a two-mountain shape.

[image error] The First Mountain

On the first mountain, we get out of school, begin a career, perhaps start a family, and establish an identity. People climbing that first mountain spend a lot of time thinking about reputation management. They are always keeping score. How do I measure up? Where do I rank? The goals on that first mountain are the normal goals that our culture endorses...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Blowing Up the 3 Bs

What are the metrics for a churchs success? For decades now, pastors have joked about the three Bs: bodies, buildings, and budgets.

But what if the three Bs were never a great metric for understanding the health of a local church?

Questions for Church Planters About Reopening

Here are a few questions to ask before you reopen your church plants.

What Theological Hills Should We Be Willing to Die On?

How do we distinguish between...

The Minister’s Wife

You could argue that Im not the most qualified person to review a book called The Ministers Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Doubt, Friendship, Loneliness, Forgiveness, and More by Karen Stiller, but I happen to know one ministers wife very well. So maybe Ill take a shot.

[image error]

Here are three reasons why I think you should read this book, regardless of whether youre a pastors wife or not.

The Honesty

If youre a pastor or a pastors wife, youll recognize yourself in this story. Youll be amazed that Stiller...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Ministry Is Never Just a Job

Some years ago, a young pastor kindly asked me for advice as he was launching into ministry. I proposed to him three commitments that will not fail to give any pastor strength for the journey.

The De-conversion of Saruman: Five Lessons to Learn

Perhaps one of the most remarkable (and often overlooked) examples of apostasy is Saruman in Tolkiens Lord of the Rings. We can learn a lot about the way de-conversions work through...

God’s Sovereignty and Our Responsibility

A young woman asked the great preacher Charles Spurgeon if it was possible to reconcile Gods sovereignty and mans responsibility.

I wouldnt try, he said. You dont reconcile friends.

Its hard for us to understand the relationship between Gods sovereignty and human responsibility, just as its hard to understand how light seems to act like waves and particles. Just because somethings hard to understand, though, doesnt mean that its not true.

In the Bible, divine sovereignty and human...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

For the Churchs Sake, Dont Let this Crisis Go to Waste

Church leader/ Pastor Elder, can you feel it? Feel that uncertainty of being launched out into the unknown? We have collectively, in the last month in the North American Church, been forced to try and redefine what we think successful ecclesiology looks like.

See part one of this two-part series as well.

Navigating Different COVID-19 Recovery Convictions

Navigating our varying COVID convictions is a...

The Bible in 40 Days

Someone at our church suggested that we read the Bible over 40 days. Some of us took up the challenge, and we learned a lot.

Here are a couple of blog posts (part one and part two) describing the challenge.

Reading the Bible at this pace didnt take as long as youd think. I found that it took me anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes each day. Some days were more challenging. The plan allowed for a day off each week, which allowed for some time to catch up if necessary.

My Plan

I invested in an...