Daniel Darling's Blog, page 39

Equipping Students for Ministry in a Post-Christian Age

Facebook may not seem like a discipleship tool to most pastors. But when I served my congregation in northern Illinois, this social networking tool provided me with an unexpected assist in discerning the spiritual lives of my parishioners, particularly the students. Facebook provides a platform for young people to share what they really think, liberating them in ways they may not feel comfortable with in front of parents or other influencers.

One night I was scrolling my timeline and I came across a shocking post from a kid I thought I knew. This was a young person I thought I knew. She had regularly attended youth group and church. But what she posted—about a major cultural issue—was in direct opposition to the gospel truth she heard on Sundays. It reminded me of how important my job was as a pastor. I couldn’t assume the young people in my circle of influence knew and understood how to apply the gospel to their daily lives.

Pastors and church leaders must be intentional about addressing issues kids are already addressing. And there is nothing more controversial, more up for discussion in our culture, than the issue of marriage and sexuality. But we have to get beyond the old-school, top-down type of teaching we might be used to. Instead, we must engage our students and equip them to both answer their own questions and to champion biblical values in their often-secular environments. I believe there are three important values we should endeavor to pass on:

Intentionality

Leaders should be intentional about engaging their students on the questions of sexuality, marriage, and religious liberty. Good pastors do this with a pastoral heart, unselfishly seeking to equip the next generation to fulfill the mission of God in their day.

We do this two ways, I believe. First, we ensure they own their faith. We have a tendency to assume our kids know what they believe and why, simply because they are our kids and are going to church with us. But this paradigm is a failing one. Instead, we should creatively and proactively train them as if they don’t know much about Christianity. Secondly, we do this by demonstrating to them the importance of loving their cities and their neighbors enough to help shape the culture. It’s impossible to say we want, as Christians, to shape our cities while ignoring the policies and politics that affect human lives. Every Christian, from pastors to students, has a responsibility to steward their God-given influence.

Courage

We should teach students the value and definition of courage. Courage is not the stubborn willingness to do what we want to do. It’s not the absence of fear. Courage is the willingness to obey the voice of God, even if it costs us something.

Jesus told his disciples that following Him would bring a high cost. Sometimes this involves social pressure to conform to the prevailing trends. Christians shouldn’t seek persecution, but we shouldn’t avoid conflict either. The sooner we equip students to bear up under unpopularity, the sooner they will be ready to face a world that may not agree with the demands of the gospel.

Kindheartedness

Lastly, but perhaps most important, we should both model and teach the value of kindheartedness. It is easy to get so caught up in raising awareness of an issue and forget Jesus call to love those with whom we disagree. We teach our kids this important value by first resisting the kind of fear-based, apocalyptic messaging that so often accompanies activism. If Christ is risen from the grave and is in the process of renewing all things, we should not be gripped by fear, but motivated by love.

Adults teach this well by first modeling it in their own activism. We should love those who disagree, we should not consider them enemies to be vanquished, but precious creatures made in the image of God. And we should consider ourselves, who were once alienated from God and now redeemed by His grace.

When we model kindness, we show the next generation how to joyfully engage the world. Christians are called to speak with truth and grace, courage and civility.

This post was originally published at Focus on the Family. 

The Way Home featuring Bryan Chapell

How is the idea of grace worked out in the life of a church? Bryan Chapell joins me to discuss his new book, Unlimited Grace[image error]. Chapell is the senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Ill. For many years he served in leadership at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, the last 20 as its president. I’ve been greatly influenced by Chapell’s work, particularly his books, Christ-Centered Preaching[image error] and Christ-Centered Worship[image error]. We will talk to him about his transition from seminary leadership to local church ministry and what advice he has for young pastors today.

Show Notes

Website: gracepres.org
Book: Unlimited Grace: The Heart Chemistry That Frees from Sin and Fuels the Christian Life [image error]

Some Things I’m Reading Right Now

First I tweeted this and then I got the idea to share a short post on some things I’m reading lately.

As for books, I just finished the brilliant Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. I highly recommend it. I did the audiobook version. Now I’m onto another audio book, this time, Churchill, A Life by Martin Gilbert. This last year I’ve picked up audiobooks in earnest, listening on my commute, long drives, and my daily walks (yes, I sound like an old man, but what can I say?). Audiobooks allow me to consume even more material and are a way to hear the text in a fresh way.

I’m also reading–physically reading–two other books. First, I’m making my way again through Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton. I love this book. He is so adept at pointing out the paradoxes of Christianity and setting Christianity over and against its critics in a way that is still amazingly relevant in 2016. I’m also reading Confessions in a kind of slow, devotional way. Everyone should, in their lifetime, read Augustine. I’m amazed at how this church father still speaks truth to us today.

As for other kinds of reading, I do a lot of long form reading on my phone. I don’t know why other than when I see good, substantive storytelling and journalism I usually save it with the Safari feature “Reading List” and come back to it when I have time. A few long reads that I’ve enjoyed lately:

The Last Unknown Man – New Republic
Reggie Miller Talks That Talk – The Undefeated
The Short, Rags to Riches Life of Jack London – Smithsonian Magazine

Lastly, I regularly read a few publications in print. I always read Christianity Today cover to cover. I read most of Foreign Affairs every issue. I read First Things and Touchstone and Providence Magazine and peruse World and Fortune.

photo credit: Sam Greenhalgh

My New Project on Human Dignity

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve just signed a contract for my next book project. I’m pleased to be working with The Good Book Company on a book on human dignity. I’m deeply grateful for my agent, Erik Wolgemuth and for The Good Book Company for believing in this idea. I’ve been impressed with TGBC, both in the quality resources they publish and in their great interest in this project. It’s an honor, not a right, to have a publisher willing to publish my work.

The issues of human dignity have captured my attention for a while. I’ve been writing on this theme for some time. I believe that the Christian story offers something unique to the world: this idea that every human being was created in the image of God. In this book. I plan to explain, for a lay audience, what the imago dei means and then to help flesh out the implications for a wide variety of issues.

So please pray for me and for this project. The tentative release date is sometime in 2018.

photo credit: Spanish Virtually 

Evangelism After the Bible Belt: Why Sharing Christ is Both Easier and Harder in a Post-Christian culture

Evangelism is the one topic that is guaranteed to get the most amens in church and yet produces the most fear and guilt in those of us called to share the good news of the gospel. And today, in an increasingly post-Christian culture, the job of fulfilling the Great Commission seems more impossible than it was a generation ago. But there is good news for Christians: the same Holy Spirit who empowered the first century church and breathed life into every generation of the Church since is still active today. God is not surprised by your Muslim neighbors, your gay coworkers, and your stubbornly atheist sibling. And he is calling you to be the very announcement of the gospel to them.

So how do we do this? Three things must happen to a follower of Jesus to motivate him to become a bearer of good news in his circle of influence:

1)   Enraptured by Jesus

It strikes me that Jesus’ words to the disciples in Matthew 28 don’t necessarily emphasize the “go”, but the word “teach.” Most Greek scholars agree that go is sort of an English construction designed to help us understand Jesus’ words. The emphasis is on the teaching part. Jesus assumed the disciples would go and tell. After all, they’d just witnessed the bodily resurrection of the Son of God. Nobody experiences that and doesn’t tell someone.

In a sense we are all evangelists. Even the most introverted person can quickly get animated if the subject is right. Think back on your last few conversations. What dominated those conversations? Perhaps a good experience, like attending a conference, going on vacation, or with someone who served you in a surprisingly good way. I’m guessing you didn’t have to be prompted to retell your story to those close to you.

It works this way with negative experiences as well. Take your car to a repair shop and if they don’t treat you well, you are likely to tell five of your closest friends not to patronize that establishment. And so it goes. You’re an evangelist of the things that matter most to you.

The reason Christians don’t evangelize is not primarily fear or timidity. It’s because we have lost our first love. We’ve forgotten the wonder of that first experience with Christ, when His love flooded our hearts and we were not the same. We’ve moved past the gospel and it’s become as stale as that 15-year old living room chair. It’s part of the decoration, part of the things we are used to seeing.

So the way back to a heart for evangelism is not another pulpit-pounding message from the pastor. It’s not another guilt-inducing Christian book. The way back is to fall in love with the gospel once again. Because when you experience Christ, you can’t help but tell someone.

2)   Embedded in the Community

There is an easy tendency among Christians to gather with other Christians. This is good. There is a need for us to develop rich, deep, lasting friendships with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Furthermore, the life of the church, this Spirit-knit unity brings God glory and shows the world a glimpse of the world to come.

And yet we must recognize that if we are to be God’s instrument in bringing the gospel to the nations, we must embed ourselves in the very communities he’s called us to reach. But we must do more than this. We must fall in love with our communities and with the people of our communities.

This sounds good in an article like this, but it can get messy, even challenging our biases and prejudices. Immigration has brought a wave of new ethnic minorities, changing the color and feel of our neighborhoods. It’s tempting to view this as a threat to our way of life, but if we’re motivated by the gospel, we have changing demographics as a Spirit-directed, God-sent opportunity for us to reach the nations. The nations are coming to our doorsteps. Will we have open hands or a closed fists?

Our calling as evangelists will also require us to build deep friendships with people who might be living in ways that violate our biblical values. We don’t have to condone sin, but if we keep our neighbors at an arm’s length, if we don’t invest our time, resources, and affections, we’ll never get close enough for them to see Jesus in us. We need to embody what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves.

We can’t do evangelism from a distance. Instead, we must commit ourselves to know and love people, to build relationships that lead to gospel conversations. We have to learn how to love people with whom we disagree.

3)   Equipped with a Fuller Gospel

There was a time when tried and true methods, utilizing a few key verses from the New Testament were all it took to lead a person to Christ. Most targets for evangelism had a background in church or at least a working knowledge of Christianity. But today our cities are filled with people hailing from all kinds of religious backgrounds, whose knowledge of and trust for the Bible is minimal.

This can intimidate us. And yet I think it presents us a terrific opportunity to share the whole story of the gospel, from Creation to Consummation. Many have an idea of what they think the Bible says and why they disagree with it. But few have actually engaged it’s compelling story. The Bible makes a powerful claim and gripping narrative—one that answers the deepest questions of human life and experience.

As a lifelong Christian, I used to be intimidated by conversations with people from other religious background. It seemed all the tools I had were useless with someone who doesn’t accept Scripture as the Word of God. But once I started studying and personalizing the story of the Bible afresh—the thin, red line of salvation that runs from Genesis to Revelation—I was arrested anew by the fullness of the gospel.

Evangelism becomes a joy, really, when we recognize God’s role and our own role. It’s not my job to convert the human heart. That’s work only a sovereign God can do through His Spirit. But it is my job to faithfully, joyfully, share the good news of the gospel to those who have not yet heard.

This we can do, not out of guilt, but from a deep reservoir of grace.

This originally appeared in Deacon Magazine.

The Way Home featuring Leslie Leyland Fields

Many of the narratives in the gospels center around water. Leslie Leyland Fields shares with us why that is important. Leslie is an author and editor. She and her family live in Kodak Island, Alaska where their commercial fishing business helps them better relate to the Jesus who both walked on and calmed the water. Leslie talks to me about why water matters to the gospel story, about her own journey with forgiveness, and why parenting is not what we think it is.

Show Notes

Twitter: @leslielfields
Website: leslieleylandfields.com
Book: Crossing the Waters: Following Jesus through the Storms, the Fish, the Doubt, and the Seas [image error]

A modest, post-election goal for everyone

We just finished perhaps the most divisive election in modern history. The good news is that the election is over and we are experiencing what few countries experience: a peaceful transfer of power. It was good to see the President and President-elect meet and discuss the transition. But there is still much division in the country that still remains. I can commend a few pieces to you on this. First one by my boss Russell Moore and another by a favorite pastor of mine, Erwin Lutzer. You might also read this great piece at Desiring God and this analysis of the election by Kirsten Powers. I also loved this beautiful gospel testimony by Ernie Johnson.

We are a divided nation and, even if they give it their best, our political leaders and parties and movements cannot bring the kind of unity we need. Only neighbor-love, expressed by the people of God, can help show a better way. Regardless of what happens in Washington, you and me can embody this in our communities one relationship at a time.

So here is a modest goal for myself and, I hope, a goal for you: intentionally endeavor to meet and befriend someone who is different than you, who probably voted the other way. So if you are a proud Trump voter, go meet a minority who might be fearful about the election outcome. If you were a Hillary Clinton voter, go meet and befriend someone with a red hat on. If you were #nevertrump or #neverhillary, perhaps you might need to make two friendships.

And when you meet with someone who voted differently, sit and listen. Try to empathize with the concerns. Resist the urge to combat those arguments. Hold off on the data and the news stories and the talking points. Avoid fighting the last battle.

I’ve been deeply convicted in my own heart about my unwillingness, at times, to listen to those who disagree with me. Listening and emphasizing doesn’t mean we have to compromise what we believe, but it might soften the edges of our arguments a little. It might give us a window into people’s pain. And it may go a long way toward stitching back together the torn fabric of our communities.

After all, we who profess faith in Christ have a God who came down and lived among us in Jesus. A God who is near. We are called on mission to live in and among the people of this world, image-bearers of their Creator. We don’t do this by talking down to people different than us, but by building relationships and loving them with the love of Christ.

So will you do this? Will you, in the coming months, meet and befriend someone who thinks differently than you do?

The Way Home featuring Jon Ward

What is it like to cover a presidential election? What is it like to work in journalism as an evangelical? Why should Christians care about good reporting and storytelling? Jon Ward joins the podcast to talk faith, politics, and his journey into journalism.

Jon Ward is one of the most respected journalists in Washington D.C. Jon is a journalist for Yahoo News. He previously worked for Huffington Post and Washington Times.

Show Notes

Twitter: @jonward11
Website: yahoo.com/author/jon-ward

Five Great Reads on Theo Epstein

If you haven’t heard, the Cubs just won the World Series. No really, they did. The pathway from a team mired in mediocrity to a first-class operation began with the brilliant hire, by new owner Tom Ricketts, of Theo Epstein as president of baseball operations. When Ricketts made this move in 2011, I knew the Cubs were finally serious about building a wining club. I’ve been indulging, lately, in profiles of Theo. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Curious Have Won – a terrific Ringer piece by Rany Jazayerli on the vindication of the gradual move in baseball toward a data-driven approach.
Theo’s Curse Breakers – the Five-Thirty-Eight Treatment. Really the combination of Five-Thirty-Eight and Theo Epstein is like the nerd/analytics/data perfect storm
Theo Epstein is the Man Behind the Cub Season – the Wright Thompson treatment. I love reading Wright Thompson and here he really gets inside Theo’s world. A terrific long read.
How Theo Epstein Broke Another Curse and Built the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs – Jeff Passan. I love Jeff’s MLB coverage. This describes in detail Theo’s method in Boston and Chicago.
Theo Epstein for President – from the Boston Globe. And who can argue? If he can fix the Red Sox and Cubs, could he not fix Obamacare and the national debt? I’m only partially joking here.

photo credit: CHARLES REX ARBOGAST/AP

The Way Home featuring Jason Romano

What is it like to work, behind the scenes, at ESPN? Jason Romano shares about his love of sports and his Christian faith on today’s Way Home Podcast. Jason is a social media strategist at ESPN, specifically working with the Mike and Mike morning radio show.

Show Notes

Twitter: @JasonRomano
Website: jasonromano22.com