Darryl Dash's Blog, page 90
August 16, 2018
Attempt Great Things for God?
Very few of us enter the ministry with a desire to be famous. But the heart is deceitful, and it’s easy for our hearts to become proud.
I thought of this recently as I preached from Mark 3:13-19. Jesus calls twelve disciples; seven of the twelve make their only appearance in Mark’s gospel in this passage. What a bummer. Jesus chooses you out of the crowds to be one of his twelve. You enter the stage and exit just as quickly. No fuss, no great stories, no fame. Fame and applause is not what fo...
August 14, 2018
Your Life Matters
I don’t know if I’m allowed to have a favorite chapter in How to Grow. I guess it doesn’t matter, because I do. My favorite chapters is the last one, called “Pursue Growth Together: Our Call to Disciple Others.”
In this chapter I rehearse some of the people who have influenced my life most: my Sunday School teacher, Don Taylor, and my childhood pastor Denis Gibson, for instance.
I suspect that they both questioned the value of what they accomplished. They both served in a small church. There...
August 11, 2018
Saturday Links
Links for your weekend reading:
Bill Hybels and the Future of the Church After #ChurchToo
Our addiction to success, to grandiosity, to winning has gone unchecked. We forgot that we were followers of a suffering servant, bearers of the Cross, participants in a cruciform story.
Church Planting Is a Roller Coaster
Some days, the joyous thrill will make you want to scream ecstatically from the top of your lungs. Other days, you’ll be so low that you’d rather just stagger off and puke.
August 9, 2018
Out of Step
My pastor seemed hopelessly out of date. It was sad, really.
I’m sure that he measured up in his day. But things have changed. It’s time to appeal to a new generation. We need more relevance. We won’t change anything substantive, of course. We’ll keep the same theology. But the style has to change, everything from clothing to way we preach.
While we’re at it, it’s probably good to learn what we can from business. Let’s face it: churches have to learn how to market too. The business world has...
August 7, 2018
My Book “How to Grow” Is Now Available
Today marks the release of my book How to Grow: Applying the Gospel to ALL of Life.
I began writing this book to unpack a theologically rich and yet intensely practical approach to spiritual growth. I wanted to provide a resource for people who want to grow in every area of life, but feel stuck, or at least that they could be farther along than they are.
My goal: to help people understand how to grow so that they can enjoy God more and make an eternal difference in the lives of others.
This b...
August 4, 2018
Saturday Links
Links for your weekend reading:
Silicon Valley Is Not Our Model for Church Planting
As you listen to StartUp, remember, God’s gonna find, call, and resurrect people the algorithm can’t.
Can You Imagine Jesus Delivering a TED Talk? No, Me Either.
The best Christian preaching is rough, guileless, and unsophisticated. But it’s also marked by authenticity, truth and beauty.
5 Things to Look for in a New Church
Find a good church so you encounter Jesus and help others encounter him.
August 2, 2018
Pastors and Depression
I posted a link to an article on pastors and depression last Saturday. I received this message in response.
The person who wrote this is one of the best people I know. I’m grateful for his message, and I benefited by reading it, just as I have books like Spurgeon’s Sorrows. It’s such an important issue, and one that can’t be ignored.
Here’s his response:
It was the title of Rainer’s article that made me click on it in your Saturday Links. I went there with a certain amount of skepticism.
Tho...
July 31, 2018
Two Truths We Find Hard to Grasp
Lola was a slave.
She grew up in a poor family in a rural part of the Philippines. She was penniless, unschooled, and gullible. Her parents wanted her to marry a pig farmer twice her age, but she was unhappy at the prospect. When a lieutenant approached her with an offer, she couldn’t resist: she could have food and shelter if she would commit to taking care of his young daughter.
Lola agreed. She had no idea she had signed up to become a slave for life.
Lola lived with that daughter, and eve...
July 28, 2018
Saturday Links
Links for your weekend reading:
Pastoral Burnout: Its Causes & Cures
A new journal from 9Marks
5 Reasons Pastors Get Depressed (and Why They Don’t Talk About It)
Depression is real with pastors. It seems to be pervasive. May we who serve alongside them, staff and laity alike, take a few minutes a day to pray for our pastors.
Pastor, Take a Vacation — for the Good of Your Church
You are not the linchpin holding your congregation together.
Every Christian Must Be a Theologian
There are at least...
July 26, 2018
Top Quotes and Takeaways From Expositional Preaching
As part of A Year of Books on Preaching, I’m posting a review a month of a preaching book, and then a list of quotes and takeaways.
I posted a review of Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God’s Word Today earlier this week. Here are some of the top quotes and takeaways from his book.
Top Ten QuotesBiblical exposition does the heavy lifting of building up a church. (Kindle Locations 118-119)
Expositional preaching is empowered preaching that rightfully submits the shape and emphasis of the...
