Daniel Darling's Blog, page 41

The Way Home: Episode 86 featuring Bruce Ashford

How can pastors recover the sense of the Lordship of Christ? Bruce Ashford joins me today to discuss Christianity, cultural engagement and his new book Every Square Inch: An Introduction to Cultural Engagement for Christians.

Bruce is Provost and Professor of Theology & Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics.

Show Notes

Twitter: @BruceAshford
Website: bruceashford.net

Join us for Evangelicals for Life in Washington, D.C., January 26-28, 2017.

Teach Us To Pray: Your Kingdom Come

This is the sixth article in a series of blogs posts on the Lord’s Prayer. You can read the previous entries in this series , , here, here, and here. In this post, we will discuss the second request Jesus encourages us to present in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your Kingdom Come.” So what does it mean to pray “Your Kingdom Come?”

1) This kind of prayer involves   

First we acknowledge that we are not God. To pray “Your Kingdom Come” is an acknowledgement that there is another King than the kings of the world. It also acknowledges our dependence on God. We cannot usher in the kingdom of God. We cannot, on our own, make a better world. We are at the mercy of God. This prayer is a desperate plea: Lord, please send your kingdom!

Second, we acknowledge that this world is not as it should be. This is a prayer for a better world. It doesn’t take much effort to look around and realize that this world is not as it should be. Jesus reminds us that God’s people have the promise of a better world. We long for the day our righteous king finally consummates His kingdom.

Jesus’ new Kingdom is inhabited by those who put their faith in him. And His people are citizens of this new Kingdom. Today, the church is a signpost to that world to come. We apply the good news of the gospel by working for justice in our communities, but do this knowing that no human movement can perfectly fix all the problems of the world. We will never achieve utopia. Only our triumphant King, Jesus, will perfectly make all things new when he returns.

2) This kind of prayer affects your perspective

Consider how revolutionary and radical Jesus’ words were. For the Jewish people, to ruled by the Romans in their own land was humiliating. Every day, as they walked in the marketplace, as they passed by the temple, as they went about their daily business the symbols of Roman rule reminded them of how much they had lost as a people. So Jesus words, proclaiming the sovereignty of another kingdom, were a balm to the soul. Caesar is not God, Caesar is not the ultimate king.

Jesus words are a powerful word to every single monarch who has ever lived and who will live. You may rule a certain group of people. You may be a President or Prime Minister or dictator. But you are not the ultimate king. You are subject to the Creator.

As citizens of God’s kingdom, we need not fear history. We need not fear tyrants. We need not fear current events.

The Bible surveys all of human history, it’s wreckage, it’s sin, it’s evil and it’s bloodshed. It makes a radical claim that a man from Nazareth who walked this earth 2,000 years ago is the ultimate King who will come back and restore what is right in the world. The curse of this earth, the curse on creation, the trouble in my own heart, and the evil I see in the world—this has all been defeated and through Christ I can see glimpses of a better world to come.

History didn’t happen by accident. My life didn’t happen by accident. God holds both in his sovereign hand and one day will gather history to its conclusion in Christ’s kingdom.

3) This kind of prayer affects your . . . prayer

To pray, “Your kingdom come” teaches us how to pray, not only for the future, but for the present. It teaches us to pray big prayers. As much as this is a vision of a world to come, it’s also a willingness to yield ourselves to the kingdom way of life Jesus wants us to live while here on this earth.

It’s a prayer that is not only praying for God’s kingdom to come in it’s fullness but that it also breaks in today, in this earth, in my community, in my family, in my church, in my own heart. It’s a prayer for the Church to become a window into the kingdom, to reflect the values and the ethics of the kingdom, to become ambassadors for the kingdom.

4) This kind of prayer affects our practice 

Praying, “Your Kingdom Comes” implies an allegiance to another King and another Kingdom. Jesus didn’t just give us a promise of the consummated kingdom, but he gave us the kingdom now—in that it exists in the hearts of God’s own people.

Jesus said kingdom living involves abandoning building our own little kingdoms and committing to building His, whatever that looks like, however He leads us. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to live this way. And for one thing, it means it reorders our priorities. Jesus said to us in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all of these things will be added unto you.” What are “those things”? These are the necessities of life, your house, your food, your clothing. Things, Jesus said, that your father knows you need.

In a sense, this prayer is a prayer of humility. It’s a prayer admitting that your desires, your will, your efforts are not always kingdom-centered. The problem with most of the world is not anything less than the fact that we want to be kings of our own kingdoms. We want to be our own Lords. But the most joyful, the most freeing thing we can do is to recognize that we were not made to be kings or lords. We need a King and Lord. And submitting to His kingdom frees us to be who we were created to be.

When we pray this prayer, we are saying, “Lord, send your Kingdom, but first begin with me.”

The Way Home: Episode 85 featuring Joel Smallbone

Why is the band, For King and Country speaking out against human trafficking? My guest today is Joel Smallbone. Joel and his brother Luke form the Christian pop band, For King and Country. Since their debut in 2007, these two brothers have won numerous music awards, including two Dove Awards and three Grammy’s. Their music has appeared atop the Billboard charts and they’ve been labeled by some as the Australian version of Coldplay. Joel and his brother have appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show.

Today Joel joins me to talk about his music career, about growing up in a famous family (his sister is singer, Rebecca St. James), and about a new book and movie project, Priceless, that addresses the tragedy of human trafficking.

Show Notes

Twitter: @4kingandcountry
Website: forkingandcountry.com

Join us for Evangelicals for Life in Washington, D.C., January 26-28, 2017.

Some tips on getting published

I often have young writers ask me how to get published. I’ve written some of my advice already here and here and here. But I thought I’d offer a few more practical tips on getting editors to appreciate your work and give you a byline:

1) Research publications you intend to write for. It’s important to read widely and read deeply at the publications you’d like to see publish your work. That way when you pitch ideas, you will know what is a good fit for a specific publication. Over time, this will develop into an instinct, so when you get an idea you will instinctively know the best market. It also makes editors happy when you pitch them pieces that actually fit their publication.

2) Be flexible, within your abilities. Sometimes you will have burning ideas you just need to see in print. But as you develop relationships with editors (and you should be developing relationships with editors) and as you develop a good reputation for delivering clean, fast, creative copy (and you should be developing a reputation for delivering clean, fast, creative copy — see below), often editors will come to you and ask if you can turn around an idea on a tight deadline. If the topic is remotely in your wheelhouse, you should say yes and then figure out a way to get it done. Not only is this an opportunity to stretch yourself, it endears you to editors who will be more open to your nest, fresh, burning idea.

3) Develop a reputation for delivering clean, fast, creative copy. This only comes with time and with lots of writing experience. I worked, for nearly a decade in a role that required me to churn out lots of works in short pieces, on a deadline. This helped me develop writing muscles that allow me to write quick and fast. This is why the best way to become a good writer is to actually write, even if you are writing stuff nobody reads. Write well and write with excellence, but don’t noodle over every blog post as if its your magnum opus. News flash: it’s not. Learn how to write short pieces quickly and editors will love you.

4) Develop a reputation as someone who is willingly edited. Don’t be a diva. Seriously. Give every piece your absolute best effort and then encourage editors to hack away and make it better. Learn to welcome the red pen on your copy. There are times when an editor might edit so much that it removes the spirit of your piece. If so, make good arguments and fight for your perspective. Those times are few and far between. Most of the time you are fighting for a phrase that you think is unadorned brilliance when, in reality, it is pedestrian. Give it up. Let yourself be edited and editors will love to publish you.

5) Carry around a journal or something to jot down ideas. I’m not much for regular journaling. I figured out, a few years ago, that Jesus will still love me and I can still walk with him without having sunlight pages of reflective prose. However, I do keep a small notebook for those times when I’m struck by ideas. I get struck by ideas at odd times. During sermons, during a movie, or other random moments. When an idea strikes, I write it down and I try to sketch out a working outline. Then I revisit it later when I have time to write. Sometimes when I come back to the idea I realize it wasn’t that great. But there are many moments when I find gold in my sudden ideas.

The Way Home: Episode 84 featuring Andrew Walker

How should we read the news? What sources can we trust? Andrew Walker and Dan Darling discuss their favorite magazines, websites, and podcasts and give some instruction on how best to read the news.

Show Notes

Twitter: @andrewtwalk and @dandarling
Website: andrewtwalker.com
Article: Advice to Young Christian Politicos

The Courage to Not Overreact

One of my favorite podcasts is the Washington Posts’ Presidential Podcast. It’s a unique idea: cover one president a week for like 45-50 minutes. They began on January 10th of this year with George Washington. The plan is to continue until Election Day.

I love presidential history. This podcast doesn’t give you a deep dive that a biography or mini-series would, of course, but has been helpful, especially for some of the more obscure presidents in our history.

As the coverage moves into the modern era, there is so much more to cover because there is so much more we know. So the host, Lillian Cunningham, has been forced to cover basics and then choose what issues to dwell on. Listeners will, obviously, disagree at times with what she chooses to cover. I’ll admit some episodes have left me a bit more disappointed that certain things were not discussed. But then again, this is not my podcast.

Today I listened to the most recent one, covering President Dwight Eisenhower. I’ve read quite a bit about Eisenhower, so I was looking forward to it. Presidential chose to cover some of Ike’s leadership traits. One of the guest experts said something that made me think: Eisenhower had the courage to wait before acting. An experienced general, who led the Allies to victory in World War II, Ike was no stranger to leadership in crisis. This well-prepared him for the Presidency, perhaps better than most of our other presidents. Because Eisenhower was confident in his own leadership, he didn’t overreact in key situations. He didn’t listen to the many voices who wanted him to move swiftly when it was more prudent to wait for the right timing and for things to play out.

This is a key leadership principle, I think, not only for Presidents, but for any kind of leader. Too often we are pressured to do something. We live in a fast-paced, social-media driven world. Inaction, at times, seems like we don’t care. To be sure, this isn’t an excuse for laziness, but there is a wise middle course between panicking and passivity.

Leadership often requires quick action, but it requires the right kind of action and the right timing. I’m reminded of James wise words:

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:19). 

We live in an impatient, instant age. The fast pace of the modern world, the pressure to perform and look decisive can injure our ability to lead people well. This affects our ability to listen, to learn, to get all the facts about a situation.

I’ve also noticed how this affects parenting. Sometimes its important to step in and act quickly when our kids act up or something bad is happening. But we should also be wary of the tendency to overreact to situations, to jump in and rescue our kids when, at times, we should let them work things out on their own.

Good leadership knows when to be emotional and when to keep a cool head, when to jump on a situation and when to sit back and allow things to play out. We get this wisdom best when we lean in on the Spirit of God, when we read the Scriptures, and when we are surrounded by good voices who can help us think through critical decisions.

Sometimes courage looks like decisive action. But sometimes courage looks like simply waiting.

photo credit: Eisenhower Presidential Library

The Way Home: Episode 83 featuring Betsy Childs Howard

What does waiting teach us about God? Betsy Howard joins the podcast to talk about her unique journey to marriage, and her new book, Seasons of Waiting. Betsy Childs Howard is an editor for The Gospel Coalition. She previously worked at Beeson Divinity School and Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. She is the author of Seasons of Waiting: Walking by Faith When Dreams Are Delayed[image error].

Show Notes

Twitter: @betsychoward
Website: thegospelcoalition.org/author/Betsy-Childs
Book: Seasons of Waiting: Walking by Faith When Dreams Are Delayed [image error]
Article: One Day He Appeared: My TGC Love Story

Learn more about the 2016 ERLC National Conference here.

The Way Home: Episode 82 featuring Tim Ellsworth

What fuels David Boudia’s Olympic achievements? Tim Ellsworth, a veteran sports journalist, joins me to talk Olympics, writing, and the gospel. Ellsworth has covered four Olympic games for Baptist Press and is now the author of a new book with gold medalist David Boudia, Greater Than Gold: From Olympic Heartbreak to Ultimate Redemption[image error]. 

Show Notes

Twitter: @timellsworth and @davidboudia
Website: timellsworth.com and BP Olympics Coverage
Book: Greater Than Gold: From Olympic Heartbreak to Ultimate Redemption [image error]

Learn more about the 2016 ERLC National Conference here.

The Way Home: Episode 81 featuring Heather Nelson

Is there freedom from guilt and shame? What does the gospel story speak into our brokeness? Heather Nelson, author of Unashamed, Healing our Brokeness and Finding Freedom from Shame joins the podcast. Heather speaks of her own personal crises, how pastors can help their people find healing from their past, and why the gospel is still good news for sinners.

Show Notes

Twitter: @heatherd_nelson
Website: heatherdavisnelson.com
Book: Unashamed: Healing Our Brokenness and Finding Freedom from Shame [image error]

Learn more about the 2016 ERLC National Conference here.

Teach Us to Pray: ‘Hallowing’ God’s Name in Our Lives

(This is the fifth post in a ten post series on The Lord’s Prayer)

As we continue looking at the second part the verse, “hallowed be your name,” we see this is a prayer for God to work through His Spirit in us to reveal the name of Christ. So when we pray “Hallowed be your name” we are praying that our lives would hallow, sanctify, and magnify God’s name. It’s an important prayer to pray of ourselves, for this is our mission in the world. Our mission is to make famous the name of Christ.

Specifically, I think there are six ways in which we hallow God’s name by our lives:

First, it begins with the power Christ. We must understand that we cannot spread the fame of God’s name. We cannot be ambassadors in our own power and strength. We must do it in the power of Christ. While we should employ all of our creative gifts and resources to do God’s ministry, if we are not empowered by the Spirit of God in prayer, we will fail. 

Second, we must worship and reverence God. Today, I think there is a tendency in evangelicalism to be flippant about the way we worship God. We tend to exalt ourselves instead of Christ. I even think about how we are tempted to treat worship on Sunday. We casually come in late during the time of worship. We feel this is okay as long as we don’t “miss the good stuff” – meaning the preaching of the Word. This demonstrates a casualness about our worship. We should come and make sure we are here for all of the worship service, every song, every verse. This is how we hallow God’s name.

Third, we must live out the commands of God. We honor God’s name by living out his commandments. As Christians, we represent the name of God to the world. We are the Christ they see. So what does my life tell them about what God looks like? We are a called-out community, intentioned to reflect the values of another kingdom, of another king. We should pursue holiness because we bear Christ’s name.

Fourth, we hallow his name by not profaning his name by using God as a swear or by attaching God to our false ideas and ambitions. This is the third commandment, to not take the name of the Lord in vain. We do this not simply by using God as a pejorative, but by attaching God’s name to political platforms and things in a way that twists the words He said. We honor God by rightly dividing the Word of Truth—by not twisting what God said to make it fit our ends.

Fifth, we hallow his name by being a conduit of grace to the world by living on mission. When we do acts of mercy, when we serve the less fortunate, and when we lovingly share the message of the gospel, we are hallowing Jesus’ name. Sometimes we live as if we are here for our own names. We can’t hold high the name of Jesus and, at the same time, disdain our brother or sister around us. We can’t magnify God’s name and ignore suffering around us. We hallow God’s name by living out our unique calling on this earth, by fulfilling our mission to this world, wherever we are called.

Sixth, we hallow his name by making him preeminent in our lives. You will notice this prayer didn’t start with our needs. It starts with God’s concerns. When we make God’s concerns our concerns, we hallow his name. We take ourselves off the throne and put God in his rightful place as Lord. This doesn’t’ mean diminishing our status as a child made in the image of God and redeemed by His grace. It simply means living our life fully for the glory of God. I think of John the Baptist’s declaration, “He must increase and I must decrease.”

We hallow his name by surrendering to the call he has put on our lives. By doing good work in our daily vocations, by being faithful to our families, by loving and caring for our communities and our cities. We hallow his name by surrendering to his Lordship in all areas of our lives. It’s saying to God, “Use my gifts and my talents and my life for your glory and honor.”

In fact, praying this prayer, Hallowed be thy name sounds innocent and sort of nice and religious at first. But now that we know what it means, it sounds a bit dangerous, radical, counter-cultural. It means we apply the Lordship of Christ to every area of life: our careers, our finances, our sexual lives, our families, our children, and our thought life. In everything, we pray God make his name known through us.

Hallowing God’s name means suffering for the name of Christ. It means we care less about our name. It means, in a world that hates the name of Jesus, we’re willing to suffer. Ultimately, we’re sanctifying something. We’re hallowing something. It’s either self or its God. It’s either His name or ours. One day, every knee will bow before the name above all names, Jesus. Until then we pray, and live, as God’s representatives on earth, seeking to establish the fame of his name.

In the next post we will look at the first part of Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come,”