Darryl Dash's Blog, page 74
September 17, 2019
Time to Rewrite Our Leadership Playbook
I’m blown away by Paul’s honesty in 2 Corinthians.
People in Corinth expected leaders to look successful. They didn’t have a category for someone like Paul. Weakness wasn’t in their leadership vocabulary.
Paul refused to play that game. Just as Jesus taught his disciples about a Messiah who suffers, Paul teaches the Corinthians (and us) about Christian leaders who struggle. He lists his sufferings (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). He boasts not in his strengths but his weaknesses (2 Corinthians 11:30...
September 14, 2019
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Why Small Things Are Often The Greatest Things
We don’t need to “go big” for God to have an eternal impact. In fact, that may be what’s getting in the way.
Pastor, Prepare Yourself—and Your People—to Suffer
Church planting is not for the faint of heart. Therefore, church planters must not only anticipate hardship—they must prepare themselves and their people for it.
You are not alone in suffering, should not be shamed by it, and that one day y...
September 10, 2019
To Know the Love of Christ
What do you pray for your church?
I find Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians interesting:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and l...
September 7, 2019
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
This One Simple Trick Makes Everything Faster and Easier
Here it is, tested, effective and worthwhile:
Stop chasing shortcuts.
An Elevator Pitch for Church Membership
Is church membership in the Bible? Show me a Christian in the Bible (other than the Ethiopian eunuch, who is in the middle of a desert) who is not committed to a local church.
The Importance of Theological Education
I’m increasingly convinced that there’s something peculiar to our “cultural...
September 3, 2019
Shepherd the Flock of God That Is Among You
I don’t know how many times I’ve read Peter’s instructions to elders in 1 Peter 5. This past week, though, the first part of verse 2 jumped out at me: “shepherd the flock of God that is among you…”
It’s not too different from Paul’s instructions to the Ephesian elders: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…” (Acts 20:28).
“The flock that is among you.” What an amazing phrase. Not some other flock somewhere else. Not the mass...
August 31, 2019
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
The Church: Love It, Don’t Leave It
When tempted to hit eject on the local church long term, we should be careful. There are always good reasons why it is better to stay with Christ’s church than it is to leave her.
Top Ten Tips on Leading a Time of Prayer
A friend recently asked me for advice on leading a time of prayer. Here’s what I came up with.
How to Prepare to Plant a Church Among the Poor
Many church planters and established pastors wonder how t...
August 27, 2019
The Work of the Pastor
I love learning from old, faithful pastors. We’re often drawn to the young and charismatic. I’m learning we need the veterans who served and finished well.
William Still was such a pastor. He served for forty years (1945 until shortly before his death in 1997) in Gilcomston South Church in Aberdeen, Scotland. Still gave five lectures on pastoral ministry in 1964 and 1965, which became the basis for his book The Work of the Pastor.
Still has a simple purpose: to remind pastors to focus on the...
August 24, 2019
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Daily Slogging in the Power of the Spirit
I am not impressed by young pastors who seem too eager to publish books and speak at big events and build “a platform.” What impresses me is my dad’s daily slogging, year after year, in the power of the Spirit, with no big-deal-ness as the goal or the payoff.
Ten Principles for Personal Productivity
Throw Out Comparisons Focus on Great Possibilities Mind Your Seasons…
August 20, 2019
The Hidden Life of Trees (and Churches)
I picked up a book on vacation: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from A Secret World. I was camping in a forest, so it seemed like an appropriate book to read.
I learned a lot. I’ve never given much thought to trees. “It seems to us that trees are static beings, only slightly more active than rocks.” The main reason for this view, according to the book, isn’t that trees don’t do anything. It’s that their timeline is much slower than ours.
The main rea...
August 17, 2019
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Gratitude leads to joy. Give it a try. It works.
Ray Ortlund and Sam Storms on Endurance in Ministry
So, this brief word today is primarily for the wives of pastors. Don’t ever underestimate the impact you have on your husband and his endurance in ministry.
Hey Church: A Fallow Year Ain’t A Bad Idea
Just as a farmer leaves a field fallow – unsown – for one season, in order to give the ground time to rest and render it more product...
