Daniel Darling's Blog, page 13
November 5, 2020
The Way Home: Kristen Wetherell on fighting an unhealthy sense of fear
Fear has been an ever-present part of our lives in 2020. It’s true that we have a lot of things to fear – the COVID-19 virus, economic shutdowns, unrest, racism, and more – but Christians are often tempted to give way to an unhealthy sense of fear. Kristen Wetherell joins me on The Way Home podcast to talk about her book, Fight Your Fears, how fear has played out in her own life, and what encouragement she has for people going through this interesting and difficult year.
This episode of The Way Home Podcast is sponsored by Faithful Counseling. At Faithful Counseling, you’ll find professional mental health counseling from a Biblical perspective. Visit faithfulcounseling.com/wayhome for a 10% discount off your first month.
Show Notes
Guest Biography: Kristen Wetherell is a wife, mother, and writer. She is the author of Fight Your Fears: Trusting God’s Character and Promises When You Are Afraid, co-author of the award-winning book Hope When It Hurts: Biblical Reflections to Help You Grasp God’s Purpose in Your Suffering, and editor of 12 Faithful Women: Portraits of Steadfast Endurance. She has contributed to several compilation books and writes regularly for digital publications such as The Gospel Coalition, Revive Our Hearts, and Unlocking the Bible.
Kristen also enjoys teaching God’s Word to women of local churches. She and her husband, Brad, live in Chicagoland, are members of The Orchard, and are parents to Joanna and John. You can connect with Kristen on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Twitter: @KLWetherell
Website: kristenwetherell.com
Latest Book: Fight Your Fears: Trusting God’s Character and Promises When You Are Afraid
Why It’s Okay To Cheer on Good Economic News
This year has been gut-wrenching for many on almost every level: a global pandemic sweeping through our country has left well over 200,000 dead and many other sick, the restrictions many states have enacted have left many others without work, especially those who labor in the service and hospitality industries, and political and social unrest has roiled the country. The headlines every day are rarely encouraging.
Many pastors and church leaders are leading from a position of uncertainty, especially economically. While many of our ministries have stabilized because of the faithful giving of Christians, still we are nervous about future economic stability.
What economic flourishing points toward
Christians often have a tense relationship with the economy. On the one hand, we understand that missions and ministry is supported by the generous giving of God’s people. It takes money to hire and train and employ and publish. And yet we understand that a love of money, an all-out obsession with dollars and cents can be thoroughly corrupting.
What’s more, Christians in prosperous countries like the United States can easily become too conformed to the age, too pursuant of a materialistic life that robs them of the cross-bearing, self-denying call to follow Jesus into his mission in the world. Pastors are right to call their people away from an obsession with the American Dream and into a life of holiness and sacrifice for the kingdom of God.
And yet, as much as prosperity can be corrupting, we shouldn’t necessarily root for economic despair in our country either. Economic flourishing in a society means that people in our communities have meaningful work, jobs that help them fulfill their God-given dignity and contribute to healthy, vibrant communities.
Seek the common good of the city, not its destruction
Recessions and depressions have real world consequences that can be crushing: men and women who can’t support their families, the poor who get even poorer, and the accompanying physical and mental toll that often results in more social brokenness.
Of course we know that God can often use such times of despair to get people’s attention, to revive his church and to awaken a sense of their own mortality to draw people to himself. And during times of despair, we should earnestly pray and plead for the Spirit of God to visit us in this special way. Revival often follows times of national suffering. These moments can wrench us away from our idolatries.
Still, I don’t think we should root for bad economic news that crushes our neighbors. What’s more, I think we should root for our communities to flourish in every way, economically, socially, and more. If the Jewish exiles in Babylon were instructed by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 29) to “seek the welfare of their cities” and if Paul instructed Timothy to pray for the wisdom of our leaders (1 Tim 2:1-3) if we take seriously Jesus’ command to “love our neighbor as ourselves,” we should pray for and take joy in good economic news. A good economy means our neighbors have meaningful work, our families are provided for, and the network of public and private institutions are funded to be able to care for those who are under-resourced. A good economy means our churches and institutions have resources to do their best work. A good economy means that many escape the idleness, despair, and crime that often result from unemployment and poverty.
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photo credit: Mike Cohen
October 31, 2020
How to Keep Your Friends In An Election Season
I recorded this video for Lifeway Voices on keeping your friends in an election season. I give four reasons:
1) Determine not to let politics be a litmus test for friendship.
2) Listen to those who disagree
3) Look beyond the election
4) Take the long view
October 30, 2020
The Way Home: Alister McGrath on the power of apologetics and the life of J.I. Packer
Alister McGrath is an Oxford scholar and a prolific writer and great thinker. He joins me on The Way Home to discuss the power of apologetics, the life of J.I. Packer, and his new book, Born to Wonder.
This episode of The Way Home Podcast is sponsored by Faithful Counseling. At Faithful Counseling, you’ll find professional mental health counseling from a Biblical perspective. Visit faithfulcounseling.com/wayhome for a 10% discount off your first month.
Show Notes
Guest Biography: Alister McGrath is a scholar and writer who is presently Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University. After initial work in the natural sciences, McGrath moved into the field of Christian theology. He is best known for his definitive and widely used textbooks on Christian theology and his authoritative biography of C. S. Lewis. As a former atheist, McGrath is fascinated by the interaction of faith, science, and atheism, and writes regularly on these themes. McGrath was born in Belfast in 1953, and holds both Irish and British citizenship. He lives in the Cotswolds near Oxford.
Twitter: @alisteremcgrath
Facebook: Alister McGrath
Website: alistermcgrath.net
Latest Book: Born to Wonder: Exploring Our Deepest Questions
October 22, 2020
The Way Home: Benjamin Watson on the continuing abortion divide and why he speaks out
This episode of The Way Home Podcast is sponsored by Faithful Counseling. At Faithful Counseling, you’ll find professional mental health counseling from a Biblical perspective. Visit faithfulcounseling.com/wayhome for a 10% discount off your first month.
Show Notes
Guest Biography: Benjamin Watson is a Super Bowl champion tight end, a writer and speaker, and a widely read and followed commentator on social media. An NFL legend, Watson was a key playmaker for teams such as the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and the New Orleans Saints. With 547 receptions and over 6,000 yards in his career, he was a model of consistency and talent through his 16 years in the league.
Watson was honored as a Walter Payton Man of the Year Finalist in 2015 and 2017 and received the prestigious Bart Starr Award in 2017. Watson also served on the executive committee of the NFL Players Association and is the founder of the nonprofit One More foundation along with his wife, Kirsten. They live in New Orleans with their seven children.
Twitter: @BenjaminSWatson
Facebook: @BenjaminWatsonOfficial
Documentary: Divided Hearts of America
Book: Under Our Skin
October 15, 2020
The Way Home: David French on the increasing problem of polarization and what we can do about it
This episode of The Way Home Podcast is sponsored by Faithful Counseling. At Faithful Counseling, you’ll find professional mental health counseling from a Biblical perspective. Visit faithfulcounseling.com/wayhome for a 10% discount off your first month.
Show Notes
Guest Biography: David French is a senior editor for The Dispatch and was formerly a senior writer for National Review. David is a New York Times bestselling author, and his next book, The Great American Divorce, will be published by St. Martin’s Press later this year. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, the past president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and a former lecturer at Cornell Law School. He has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom. David is a former major in the United States Army Reserve. In 2007, he deployed to Iraq, serving in Diyala Province as Squadron Judge Advocate for the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He lives and works in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife, Nancy, and his three children.
Twitter: @DavidAFrench
Latest Book: Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation
October 14, 2020
How to Navigate the Election at Work
Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but we are in a divisive election season, perhaps one of the strangest and nastiest in recent memory. Politics is dividing people in churches, families and even in workplaces. But it doesn’t have to. As God’s people, we should model for the world what it looks like to love and get along with those who think differently than we do, to be both courageous and open-handed, convictional and humble at the same time in neighborly love.
So here are three warnings for employees as we head down the home stretch of this election.
1. Don’t lose your job
You are passionate about your political opinions and want to speak on behalf of the issues important to you. I get it. I think it’s important for Christians to speak up and speak out in times like this, to bring the truth of the gospel to bear on the world around us. And yet we need to be wise in the ways that we speak out. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 urges us to “Have an answer for every person for the hope that lies within us, but do it with gentleness and kindness.” It matters not just what we say, but how we say it and especially so on social media platforms.
There are a lot of ways to easily get in trouble on social media and even jeopardize your job by posting something in a fit of adrenalin and rage. It’s important to understand that your personal social media profile represents your company in some way. It’s important to understand your organization’s social media policy. Even if it is fairly permissive, remember that if you post something intentionally provocative or insensitive, you put your company in a difficult position. This doesn’t mean we should be silenced or not speak up, but we need to be wise about how we do it. Courage doesn’t mean being obnoxious or embarrassing our coworkers.
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Photo credit: Robert Agthe
What The Bible Says About Working for Religious Liberty
In America, unlike many places around the world, people of all religions can, for the most part, practice their faith freely without government intrusion or invention. This is a blessing that we often overlook and, at times, forget we enjoy. Many of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world worship God under threat of death. They gather in secret, in homes, in caves, sometimes underground at great risk to their lives. In America, we not only can gather freely, but we have access to a flood of spiritual and theological resources. We have Christian schools, parachurch ministries, mission agencies, and other institutions that serve the church.
If you, like me, have grown up enjoying religious liberty, it might be tempting to think it will always be here. But just like previous generations of Americans fought to preserve religious liberty, it’s important for our generation to do that same work, to ensure our children can live out their faith freely in a pluralistic society.
But increasingly many Christians are questioning the value of religious liberty as an unqualified good. Increasingly the idea of religious liberty has become polarized, especially as it conflicts with the sexual revolution. Christians making arguments for religious freedom are often labeled intolerant and out of step. And sometimes Christians make arguments for religious liberty that are less than civil. So many in the church today are wondering if the fight is even worth it.
Because Jesus called us to take up our crosses in self-denial, to lay down our lives for others. So it can seem incongruent to then appeal to our civil authorities, to work to elect people who promise to protect religious liberty. It seems this is at odds with gospel mission. But is it? What does the Bible say about religious liberty?
Obviously, the Scriptures were written in a very different setting than the one we currently enjoy. Followers of Jesus in the first century didn’t have the opportunity to shape their governments like Christians in democracies like ours enjoy. And yet Scripture is not silent on the power of the state and the importance of protecting the human conscience.
Here are four Biblical justifications for fighting for religious liberty:
1. Jesus addressed religious liberty.
When approached by two fighting religious factions about the morality of paying Caesar’s tribute, Jesus offered an interesting response: “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s (Mark 12:17). Most of us read this as Jesus telling us to pay our taxes. He is doing that, but he’s doing so much more. Jesus is making a bold declaration about the power of the state and the primacy of the human conscience. He is saying that there is legitimate power delegate to civil authorities by God for human flourishing (Romans 13), but that there are certain things that the state has no right to take and control. Caesar is not Lord of the conscience. Belief that is coerced is a denial of the basic human dignity of the individual, an assault on the imago de. So Jesus, in a seemingly innocuous statement about taxes, reminds the powers that be that their authority is limited. Jesus also, in his trial, was unafraid to appeal to his rights as a Roman citizen when they were wrongly denied (John 18:23)
photo credit: Ted Mielzarek
Church Unity and The Presidential Election
We’re living in one of the most divisive years in American history, with a raging pandemic, racial tension and a contentious election.
When I talk to pastors, they’re grieved at the way brothers and sisters in Christ are so divided—grieved at the way people are talking to each other and about each other. So how do pastors lead people through this season?
I can’t say authoritatively how every pastor should lead in their own context, but here are three broad principles:
1. ADDRESS THE MOMENT
A temptation for pastors in this moment is to never mention politics or the moment we’re in.
The fear is that no matter what a pastor says, there will be opposition. This may be true, but as shepherds of God’s people we can’t afford to ignore what our people are talking about.
This doesn’t mean we have to rewrite our sermons every week to match Twitter timelines or cable news, but we should be ready to help people navigate politics as Christians.
This involves two things. First, we should address important issues where the Bible speaks: race, the sanctity of life, character, poverty, etc. Faithful Christians disagree on specific strategies and policy positions.
It’s not the pastor’s job to get in the weeds on marginal tax rates or the size of the social safety net, but should bring the Word of God to bear in a way that helps Christians live out their faith in our democracy.
Second, we need to guide people in navigating politics itself. It’s important we help people understand how to engage well in the public square, to make arguments—not enemies, to oppose evil, but love those with whom we disagree.
If we are to equip people to live on mission for God, we should equip them to approach politics in a redemptive way. We should do this by being both pastoral and prophetic.
A lifetime of faithful and present ministry helps us challenge people in ways that will help them think well.
photo credit: kgroovy
October 8, 2020
The Way Home: Trevin Wax on the dangers of looking outward and inward for identity
Our culture tells us that the secret to personal happiness is following our hearts. But what if this path to personal happiness leads to a dead end? Trevin Wax, the senior vice president of Theology and Communications at LifeWay, joins me on The Way Home podcast to discuss the dangers of looking outward and inward for our identity.
Show Notes
Guest Biography: Trevin Wax is senior vice president of Theology and Communications at LifeWay Christian Resources and a visiting professor at Wheaton College. He is the general editor of The Gospel Project, and the author of multiple books, including Rethink Your Self, This Is Our Time, Eschatological Discipleship, and Gospel Centered Teaching.
Twitter: @trevinwax
Latest Book: Rethink Your Self: The Power of Looking Up Before Looking In
