Daniel Darling's Blog, page 38

The Way Home featuring Erik and Catherine Parks

How should Christians approach movies? What does our art tell us about the world? Erik and Catherine Parks join me to discuss their favorite movies of 2016, what moves them, and how to evaluate cinema as a Christian. Catherine Parks is a writer who contributes to Christianity Today, Gospel Coalition, and other places. Erik is a well-regarded filmaker and writer.

Show Notes

Twitter: @Erik_Parks1 and @CathParks
Website: cathparks.com and awalkintheparksmovieblog.blogspot.com
Book: A Christ-Centered Wedding: Rejoicing in the Gospel on Your Big Day [image error]

Editor Series: David Bennett on the impact of storytelling

This year I’m starting an occasional series of interviews with editors. I’ve had the privilege of knowing, writing for, and learning from many fantastic editors in my writing career. In my view, good writers are good because they have good editors. Today I interview David Bennett.

My friend David is a terrific editor. He serves at Lifeway Christian Resources as managing editor of Homelife, where I’m privileged to write a monthly column. I’ve been working with David for many years and am grateful for the way he’s sharpened my writing.

Dan Darling: Let’s talk about your calling. Has writing and editing been a lifetime pursuit or something you picked up late in life? And if so, what first interested in you in words? 

David Bennett: I’ve always loved stories. From my earliest preschool memories, I spent a great deal of time spread out on the floor of my family’s living room illustrating and writing. I could have gone either way, but writing began to consume me.

DD: We live in an age when anyone can be published instantly via social media, personal blogs, book reviews, etc. Explain, then the value, of a good editor? 

DB: The role of editor is more than proof reading. Editors can help writers tell their stories or get a message across more effectively. They also provide accountability, which is necessary for many creative types. In the end, everything is about relationships. The writer-editor relationship can provide friendship, encouragement, and challenge.

DD: Is there a distinctly “Christian” way you do your work? In other words, does your personal theology affect the practice of writing and editing? 

DB: Although I often fail miserably at it, Christ’s compassion motivates much of what I do. The work I do does not accept unsolicited manuscripts, but I find myself more and more giving someone “that chance.” I am aware of the truth that my ideas, relationships, and work should honor God. Working with faith-based publications can either keep me focused on my relationship with Jesus or give me a pass on my personal time with God … I mean, after all, I encounter God’s Word everyday, all day as I work as an editor, so do I really need to take time to spend time alone with my Father? (Yes, I do.)

DD: When you are making decisions about content to publish, how are you evaluating the writer, the piece, and the publication?

DB: Trustworthy content is the key. Conservative evangelical is the message. More than ever before, I go to social media to prayerfully consider if a prospective writer is (intentionally or unintentionally) distracting from God’s message of grace, love, and forgiveness. Once printed, the smallest distraction can turn into a huge ordeal. I feel like I need to be a good keeper of the Word.

DD: Who are some of the formative writing influences that have shaped the way you go about your work? 

DB: The piece I am editing at the time teaches and influences me. At one time it was curriculum. Then it was short-term studies. Now it’s magazines and devotionals. Each format is unique. My favorite writers don’t seem to impact the work I do. I seem to have formative writers that have shaped who I am and then other influences that inform what I do. Writers —mostly classic and “dead poets” — make me who I am. Unnamed processes guide the actual work I do.

DD: What is one piece of advice you would like to give aspiring writers as they seek to get published? 

DB: Your work will be rejected, but don’t take it personally. You aren’t being rejected. There are many ways to get your message out. Don’t just shoot for the big publishers. And whatever you do, hit your deadlines.

The Way Home featuring David Prince

What does our love of sports teach us about God? Can sports be used to glorify God and introduce others to him? David Prince, author, pastor, and professor joins the podcast to share from his excellent new book, In the Arena: The Promise of Sports for Christian Discipleship[image error]. He says that we make one of two mistakes with our relationship with sports: we either idolize sports or we dismiss sports. He says there is a better way. Prince also offers helpful tips for parents in making youth sports decisions and with pastors and their preaching and application. If you love sports (like I do) you will enjoy this podcast. And if you don’t love sports, you will still enjoy this podcast.

Show Notes

Twitter: @davideprince
Website: davidprince.com
Book: In the Arena: The Promise of Sports for Christian Discipleship[image error]

Editor Series: How reading made Jamie Hughes a better editor

This year I’m starting an occasional series of interviews with editors. I’ve had the privilege of knowing, writing for, and learning from many fantastic editors in my writing career. In my view, good writers are good because they have good editors. Today I interview Jamie Hughes.

I’ve worked with my friend Jamie for many years. She’s the managing editor of In Touch Magazine, a beautifully edited and designed magazine. Jamie is a first-rate editor and a lover of words.

Dan Darling: Let’s talk about your calling. Has writing and editing been a lifetime pursuit or something you picked up late in life? And if so, what first interested in you in words? 

JH: I’ve always enjoyed playing around with words and escaping into stories. I spent more time in sixth grade reading whatever book I had squirreled away in my lap than I did learning long division, so accountancy wasn’t in my future. Thankfully, my favorite classes were literary ones and I was pretty good helping others understand the things we were reading in them, so I decided to become a high school English teacher and adjunct professor. I taught for more than a decade and planned on doing so well into curmudgeonly old age, but God had other plans and moved me into publishing in 2011.

DD: We live in an age when anyone can be published instantly via social media, personal blogs, book reviews, etc. Explain, then the value, of a good editor?   

JH: In her poem “Enough Music,” Dorianne Laux says, “Maybe it’s what we don’t say / that saves us.” I can’t help but think that’s what we’ve lost in this era of publishing on demand—the ability to hold words in reserve and share them responsibly.

Anyone can crank out a blog post, hit “publish,” and add to the blather, but truly good writing takes time. More often than not, it’s in the slower, more meticulous period between writing and publishing that the actual work is done by both writer and editor. During revision, sentences are sharpened or softened until they’re just right; other times, they’re removed entirely.

When editing, I often think of the opening lines of Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays.” He writes, “Sundays, too, my father got up early / and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,”. The best word—the one that does the most work—isn’t “blueblack” (though it’s mighty fine). It’s “too.” Instead of saying, “My father got up early every day” or “My father got up early each day, including Sunday,” one simple word carries the weight of the father’s life. It tells the entire story in three letters. That’s good writing.

As an editor, I take pride in enhancing a sentence or paragraph or removing whatever is in the way of helping a piece be its best. I try to bring an unbiased, critical eye to something a writer thought was finished and help usher it into its final form. That is exacting, knuckle-cracking work sometimes, but man oh man, is it ever worth it.

DD: Is there a distinctly “Christian” way you do your work? In other words, does your personal theology affect the practice of writing and editing? 

JH: I wouldn’t say that I edit in a particularly “Christian” way, but I do strive for excellence with everything that comes across my desk. Whether it’s a cut line for a photograph, an editorial note, a short article, or a feature, the words matter because God can use anything to reach people—even the things we do by rote.

It might sound trite, but Colossians 3:23-24 is a good principle to live by as an editor: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” When I’m tired and tempted to “phone something in,” I remember that everything I help craft has the power to change a life forever, and that refocuses and reenergizes me. Being an editor of a Christian publication is an incredible honor, and I never want to lose sight of that.

DD: When you are making decisions about content to publish, how are you evaluating the writer, the piece, and the publication?

JH: Wow, that’s a huge question! I don’t know that I can answer it succinctly, but I will say that technique and execution are paramount. Ecclesiastes 3:1 is so true: “There is nothing new under the sun.” However, just because something has been said before doesn’t mean it isn’t worth revisiting. That’s why I’m always looking for writers and pieces that say something in a fresh way or compel me to revisit Scripture from a different perspective. We serve the living Christ—the Word who was with God and who was God and through whom all things were made. He is inexhaustibly creative, so there is no excuse for complacency on our part.

DD: Who are some of the formative writing influences that have shaped the way you go about your work? 

JH: I remember publishing a poem about calla lilies in my elementary school’s “literary journal” when I was in fourth grade and seeing my thoughts in print for the first time. I believed my entry was a slice of fried gold until I read a short story, written by an older boy, about a widower in a nursing home crying over a bowl of lumpy mashed potatoes that were inferior to his late wife’s. I read it twice in my bedroom, sobbing uncontrollably, and that visceral emotional reaction made me realize just how much more I had to learn about the craft. I’m constantly trying to recreate that experience—both for myself and for readers.

But that kind of result doesn’t come without an amazing amount of effort. You may not agree with Stephen King’s subject matter or style, but you can’t argue with the man’s work ethic. I read somewhere that he writes at least ten pages every single day—even now—and that discipline has helped him crank out an impressive body of work. If a man with a net worth is $400 million still goes to the salt mines every day, I better darn well do it too. That’s why I try to read a book a week and write and/or edit at least 1,000 words a day.

DD: What is one piece of advice you would like to give aspiring writers as they seek to get published? 

JH: Read at least twice as much as you write. I say this for two reasons. First, it helps you know what’s already been said, so you won’t waste your time (or an editor’s) saying it again. Second, everything you read informs how and what you write. Read the classics certainly and spend time with great fiction, but don’t limit yourself to the genre in which you write. I cannot tell you how many times a historical fact, a sentence from an essay, or a poetic phrase has informed my work. Having a wide body of information and styles to draw from will make your writing so much more nuanced and rich (and you’ll be way more fun at parties).

Sanctity of Life Sunday Resources

This Sunday, January 15th, many churches around the country are acknowledging Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Some churches are doing this the following week on January 22nd. This is a good time for the people of God to stand up for the unique dignity of human life, from conception to natural death.

If you are planning these services, we have some resources that might be helpful:

Here is a bulletin insert/handout I wrote, published by ERLC.
Here is a small group study guide I wrote, published by Lifeway’s Gospel Project

Leader guide
Personal study guide


Here is a great video explaining the concept of the imago dei, produced by ERLC.
Here is a terrific video by Focus on the Family

Also, don’t forget to register (if you haven’t already) for the Evangelicals for Life Conference, January 26-28th in Washington, D.C.

The Way Home: James K. A. Smith

How do our habits form our desires? The author of You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit[image error] joins us to discuss the role of routines and rhythms, even those cultural liturgies we may not recognize. James K. A. Smith is a professor of philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the widely respected author of several books, including his popular Cultural Liturgies series. He’s also the editor of Comment magazine and a frequent speaker at conferences around the country.

Show Notes

Twitter: @james_ka_smith
Website: jameskasmith.com
Book: You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit [image error]

Editor Series: How writing changed Marvin Olasky’s life

This year I’m starting an occasional series of interviews with editors. I’ve had the privilege of knowing, writing for, and learning from many fantastic editors in my writing career. In my view, good writers are good because they have good editors. Today I interview Marvin Olasky.

I’ve been reading World Magazine for almost two decades and have been reading Marvin Olasky’s work at least that long. Marvin is the editor-in-chief of World. He is the distinguished chair of journalism and public policy at Patrick Henry college. Marvin has also trained and mentored hundreds of journalists.

Dan Darling: Let’s talk about your calling. Has writing and editing been a lifetime pursuit or something you picked up late in life? And if so, what first interested in you in words?

Marvin Olasky: My lifelong internal call has been to be a second baseman on the Boston Red Sox. I haven’t received an external call, though, which makes sense since my 6th grade baseball coach cut me from the team.

My fallback since high school has been writing and editing, in part because it was the only thing I was good at, in part because when my high school had a fire I could go behind the scenes with my press pass.

What first interested me in words was letters: As a very small child I received the applause of aunts and uncles for being able to recite the alphabet backwards. Later, what interested me more than words was events: Nabbing a front row seat at the circus.

As a Communist in my early 20s I thought words had revolutionary power. When I became a Christian at age 26 I realized they had evangelistic power. But I still don’t know whether my primary motive in writing is to glorify God, as it should be, or to go to interesting places, meet interesting people, and be good at something. God can use those selfish motives also.

DD: We live in an age when anyone can be published instantly via social media, personal blogs, book reviews, etc. Explain, then the value, of a good editor? 

MO: Good writing comes from good rewriting.

Some excellent writers develop a good internal editor and can self-edit, so most of the time they only need someone to look over their work and fix typos. They also need an honest person to probe them about thought-o’s, assumptions they’ve made or implications they haven’t thought of.

Most writers don’t have a good internal editor, so they need structural as well as line-by-line help. They especially need someone who will tell them what will move readers and what readers will skip.

People often think online writing is easier because the space constraints of a printed page aren’t a concern, but actually online writing should be more concise: Readers aren’t committed to continuing to read the same way they are when they’ve purchased a book or a magazine. 

DD: Is there a distinctly “Christian” way you do your work? In other words, does your personal theology affect the practice of writing and editing? 

MO: Yes, Christianity heavily influences what I write about, how I approach the subject, and how I think about writing as partly self-expression but primarily a service to readers. That’s also true regarding editing: As a fallen and sinful person I err often, but I’m very conscious of the question, “Does this glorify God?” Sub-questions are then: Does this help people to approach a problem biblically? Does it introduce them to some interesting person, place, or thing that will help them to see the wonder of God’s creation?

DD: When you are making decisions about content to publish, how are you evaluating the writer, the piece, and the publication?

MO: The most important evaluation is of writers: Biblically grounded? Trustworthy? Then the piece: Does it move? Good description, good action, specific detail, human interest, low on the ladder of abstraction? Then the publication: World covers a little of almost everything, but we want to go deep on seven: Life issues, Education, Arts, Poverty-fighting, Family issues, Origins (intelligent design), and Religious liberty. For an acronym: LEAP FORward.

DD: Who are some of the formative writing influences that have shaped the way you go about your work?   

MO: From the Bible: Genesis, I and II Kings, Daniel, Acts, Romans (Clear worldview, tight writing, action.)

People: Jacqueline Wollan, high school journalism teacher. Carl Kaufmann, extraordinary speechwriter for Du Pont Company executives. (I was the inexperienced underling.) Susan Olasky (my wife and best editor).

Authors: Whittaker Chambers, Leo Tolstoy

Columnists: Thomas Sowell, Peggy Noonan.

DD: What is one piece of advice you would like to give aspiring writers as they seek to get published? 

MO: Don’t write about yourself, write about the fascinating world exterior to you, and keep trying to get published even if you get turn-downs: “If you don’t run, you can’t win.” (Chariots of Fire).

The Way Home featuring Trillia Newbell

In this 100th episode, Trillia shares her compelling story of race, conversion to Christianity, and pro-life activism.

Trillia Newbell is our director of community outreach, but more than that she is a gifted author, an inspirational speaker and Bible teacher and one of the most encouraging people I know.

We are going to talk to Trillia about her life story, growing up as a black woman in the South, her conversion to Christianity in college, what changed her views on the pro-life issue, her interracial marriage, and her new book, Enjoy[image error] on what it means to truly enjoy the good gifts from God.

Show Notes

Twitter: @trillianewbell
Website: trillianewbell.com
Book: Enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight Daily in God’s Good Gifts [image error]

James K. A. Smith on the importance of the dinner table

I’m reading through James K. A. Smith’s excellent new book, You Are What You Love. I highly recommend this book. Here are some of Smith’s thoughts on the formative power of families eating dinner together:

For example: never underestimate the formative power of the family supper table. This vanishing liturgy is a powerful site of formation. Most of the time it will be hard to keep the cathedral in view, especially when dinner is the primary occasion for sibling bickering. Yet even then, members of your little tribe are learning to love their neighbor. And your children are learning something about the faithful promises of a covenant-keeping Lord in the simple routine of that daily promise of dinner together (132).

Smith continues:

The table at home is an echo of the Lord’s Table; the communion of the saints is given microcosmic expression in the simple discipline of daily dinner together. There is an ongoing dance between the rhythms of gathered worship and the rhythms of our “sent” lives Monday through Saturday (138).

photo credit: Jessie

Do You Really Believe This? On Santa Claus, Jesus, and the Unbelievable

It is during this season, the glorious Christmas season, that my wife watches her favorite channel the most. Unfortunately for me, that channel is not one of the ESPN family of networks, but the Hallmark Channel. I’m generally a fan of Hallmark’s usually wholesome television programming, stuff you can actually watch with your nine-year-old in the room, so please don’t misunderstand what I’m about to say.

Here it is: The endless string of Christmas rom-coms I’m forced to watch with my wife makes me want to channel William Wallace in Braveheart, rip off my shirt, and yell, ”Freedom!”

Maybe it’s the very simple plot lines (wealthy developer wants to tear down a small town’s sacred institution to build condos–oh, the horror–until a scrappy heroine saves the day with a pitched local campaign and then falls in love with the formerly evil developer), the overwrought sentimentalism, or the poor acting. Or maybe it’s just the difference between men and women. My wife can’t get enough of the Hallmark Channel at Christmas.

If there’s a message in every new Christmas special (and perhaps every Christmas movie ever made), it’s pretty simple: Do you believe? By “believe,” we typically mean that really joyful, spirited, wonderful people put their faith in Santa Claus at Christmas. And this faith injects a spirit into a normally grouchy, stressed, terrible world.

Christians have historically been all over the map with Santa, from denouncing him as a work of the devil (Santa = a rearranged version of Satan!) to moderate disgust, to passive participation. The latter is where I’d guess most evangelicals are now. And if you’ve read my work for long, you’ll know that I’m no Santa grouch. Like most parents, we make the annual pilgrimage to the mall to have our kids sit on the fat man’s lap. I’ve yet to talk to a prodigal who identified Santa as the catalyst for his departure from the faith, so I think an honest engagement with Santa Claus is mostly harmless and fun.

But I want to circle back to the theme of most Christmas movies: Do you believe? It seems absurd to most rational people that a man in a red suit lives in a cozy home workshop at the frigid North Pole, and that he could possibly worm down every chimney and deliver gifts to good kids. It’s a pretty far-fetched idea. So rational people don’t actually believe it. Yet this part of Christmas makes us really want to believe it. Because, the story goes, if this were true, all would be right in the world.

Does that not sound just a wee bit familiar to another argument? I’m not suggesting the Santa myth is a perfect allegory of the Christian story or that to believe in Christ is the same as believing in Santa. We know the gospel narrative is not “be good for goodness sake” but that Christ was good for us, satisfying the law’s righteous demands and absorbing the punishment of a just God on our behalf.

But this question, Do you really believe this? Is this not the same question asked of us by the world about the Christian story?

Of course, the substance of the Christian question is a more robust, more unbelievable premise than Santa: Do you believe God became a man, entered space and time, was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, was unjustly crucified, stayed dead in a rich man’s tomb for three days, and then miraculously was raised to life and is now the reigning King of the world?

The Christian story is buttressed by solid circumstantial evidence (many infallible proofs), and yet it is an unbelievable narrative. Perhaps we American Christians have gotten so used to the gospel story that we’ve forgotten just how incredible it is. But an increasingly secular society is asking us the question, Do you really believe this? It’s not an intellectual question they are asking. It’s not a search for archeological proof. It’s a rhetorical question of near incredulity. You can’t possibly believe this.

Because rational people, educated people, progressive people just don’t believe that this man Jesus was the Son of God, that there really was a virgin named Mary, that the ugly intersection of humanity and divinity at the cross really is the pivot point of human history. Young people spend their parents’ hard-earned money at our finest educational institutions learning just how preposterous this is. Scientists write strongly worded rebuttals to the biblical narrative, because things like this just don’t happen.

And yet…what if it were true? Imagine if the story the Bible tells about Jesus is not allegory or myth, but actual historical record? What if the 500 witnesses who saw the nail-scarred Jesus after his resurrection were right? If this is true, then the world really will be made right. Evil really has been defeated, and a new kingdom awaits those rescued by the King. Lamb and lion really will lie down together. All races will one day come together in praise of God’s glory. Creation will once again be restored from its tumult.

In other words, if the real story of Christmas, the Incarnation, is true, it changes everything. In fact, I would argue, even if you don’t believe it to be true, you might wish it to be true. Maybe this is why we cling to fantasies like Santa Claus, like the Disney fairy tales. It reflects within each of us a deep, heart-felt longing for things to be made right.

Could it be that the nostalgia for the good old times is really us missing our original home, Eden, before sin and death destroyed what God made perfect? Could it be that our hopes for a world where things are magical and beautiful is a yearning for heaven? Perhaps this inspired Phillips Brooks when he wrote the famous words of “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” and the line, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee (Christ) tonight.”

To believe in Santa defies logic, to be sure. But to believe in the Christian story is also to believe the unbelievable. Not that Christianity cannot be logically explained. Not that the wisest believing scholars haven’t given it weight. But at the end of the day, to follow King Jesus, to be a Christian, is to bow the knee to a baby turned man, God in the flesh, fully human and fully divine. And the question of Christmas becomes rhetorical: Do you really believe this?

Yes, with my life, my heart, and my mind, I do. And I hope you do, too.