Daniel Darling's Blog, page 45

The Way Home: Episode 67 featuring Keith Getty

Keith and his wife Kristyn Getty have sparked a hymn-writing and hymn-singing revolution in the evangelical church. Today, songs like “In Christ Alone”, “The Power of the Cross,” “Oh, Church Arise” and others are a regular part of worship at churches and Christian conferences across the world. Keith has appeared on CBS, PBS and the BBC and performed at venues ranging from Ryman Auditorium and Carnegie Hall to the Pentagon. Today Keith joins me to talk about his exciting new project, “Facing a Task Unfinished,” modern hymn writing and the state of contemporary worship music.

Show Notes

Website: gettymusic.com
Twitter: @gettymusic
New album coming in 2016: Facing a Task Unfinished

Learn more about the 2016 ERLC National Conference here.

Get Caught Up on Church History

Followers of Christ should know their church history, not so you can win trivia games at the church potluck, but to get a sense of the sweep of God’s work in building His church in the last 2,000 years. Furthermore, a sense of church history keeps us grounded in good ways, from seeing our moment in time as ultimate. Lastly, church history helps keep us anchored to the “old paths” of truth, the orthodoxy that has been passed and preserved from generation to generation. Dr. Matt Hall, vice-president at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has a good short video here explaining why church history is relevant to our present-day Christian lives.

Thankfully, there are some great, accessible, understandable resources out there to study church history. Here are a few that I’ve benefited from:

[image error] Church History Made Easy by Timothy Paul Jones. 

This is a terrific resource. Dr. Jones, is a professor and associate vice-president at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This book, which also is available as a video-based small group study, is one of the most easy-to understand resources on church history I’ve ever seen. The book is colorful, full of charts, timelines, and illustrations. What’s more, Jones writes in such a compelling and clear way that makes studying history not like studying history.

Church History Lectures on Itunes U

If you don’t know about iTunes U, you should. It’s a free app on your iPhone and has thousands of free lectures on a variety of subjects. Here are a few, relating to church history:

Dr. Carl Trueman is a professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary. He has three series of lectures available: The History of the Reformation and Medieval Church and Church History
Covenant Theological Seminary has several courses available: Reformation and Modern Church History and Ancient and Medieval Church History
Knox Theological Seminary has an excellent series by Dr. Gerald Bray: Church History, Ancient and Medieval and Church History II: Reformation and Modern Era.

Church History Lectures on Youtube

I just stumbled on an excellent series of lectures on Youtube by Dr. Ryan Reeves, Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. On his Youtube channel, Dr. Reeves has a variety of church history lectures. If you want to study a period in sequential order, I’d recommend clicking on the “Playlists.” Right now I’m listening to some of the lectures from “Reformation and the modern era.” I’m particularly interested in his extended treatment of early colonial American church history up until the present time.

The Way Home: Episode 66 featuring Mark DeMoss

Mark DeMoss is Founder and President of DeMoss, the nation’s largest public relations agency serving Christian organizations and causes. One hundred of the largest non-profit organizations in America count on DeMoss for counsel and support in the areas of communications, media relations, marketing, and crisis management. Mark is also an author whose 2007 book The Little Red Book of Wisdom. Mark has been a champion for civility in the public square, even engaging in a much-publicized bit to get public officials to commit to disagreeing agreeably. Mark was recently in Nashville for the National Religious Broadcasters Convention and took some time to sit down and discuss the shape of the evangelical engagement, civility and the lessons he learned from his late father, Arthur DeMoss.

Show Notes

Website: demoss.com
Twitter: @markdemoss
Book: The Little Red Book of Wisdom

Learn more about the 2016 ERLC National Conference here.

The Church of the Future

Most of the time, expert musings about what the worldwide church will look like involve demographic surveys, technological advancements, and philosophical reflections. Bestselling authors and popular conferences focus on future trends.

It’s important for churches to be part of this discussion so they can freshly apply the gospel to the moment and help their people think through inevitable ethical challenges.

Yet, when future-casting, leaders can often be ironically shortsighted. Our strategizing thinks in terms of 15, 20, and 30 years down the road. We worry about the church we will leave our children and grandchildren. We talk about investing in the next generation.

But is our vision sufficiently large? What if we dreamt about the next 10,000 years? What if we prepared our people for living as citizens of God’s future kingdom?

Sometimes, in our quest to create cutting-edge churches, we sacrifice our long-term futures for short-term benefits. I’ve often felt this way as I’ve walked into vibrant, well-known churches or as I attend popular evangelical conferences. It seems that we are often creating a church for the young, hip, and sexy. It’s as if we want our message to the world to be something like, “See, church is the place where the cool people gather on Sunday.”

But the kingdom of God takes the opposite approach.

Jesus said it is the poor, the downtrodden, and the marginalized who have a prominent place in the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:3, 20:16). Paul reminded his churches of the shocking ordinariness of God’s people (1 Cor. 1:26). James scolded those in the church of Jerusalem for their tendency to favor the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the poor (James 2:1-13).

Do our congregations look like outposts of this radical kingdom? Do people enter our congregations and wonder to themselves, How did these disparate people get here? What possible thread unites people so vastly separated by age, race, political affiliation, and class? Why is it that old and young, black and white, disabled and able-bodied, rich and poor, prominent and anonymous gather together every Sunday?

Read the rest here at Christianity Today’s Local Church

The Way Home: Episode 65 featuring Mindy Belz

Mindy Belz is the senior editor of World Magazine. Her journalism has taken her across the globe. She has covered war on almost every continent. Lately she’s covered the driving of Christians from their ancestral home in places like Syria, Iraq, and Libya. She is also the author of the important new book,  They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians in the Middle East .

Today’s podcast with Mindy features a look at her journalism career, how she grew interested in the story of Christian persecution, and what ISIS wants.

Show Notes

Website: worldmag.com
Twitter: @mcbelz
Book: They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians in the Middle East

Learn more about the 2016 ERLC National Conference here.

Is Speaking Your Mind a Christian Virtue? Ten Thoughts from Scripture

We live in an age where “speaking your mind” is considered a virtue and a hailed as a sign of good leadership. But is this trait something the Bible commends? Should Christians be known for “speaking their mind?”

There are several truths about our speech we should consider from Scripture:

The Bible commends honest speech. Proverbs 6:17 names a “lying tongue” as one of the things God hates. The prophet Zechariah instructed God’s people: “These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another. Paul commands the new covenant people of Ephesus, “Let everyone of you speak truth to his neighbor.” (Ephesians 4:25). Lying is a sin, the product of a fallen nature. Lying is the work of the enemy (John 8:44). So truthful speech is the sign of a redeemed heart.
The Bible commends truthful speech for rebuke. Faithful, the Proverbs says, are the wounds of a friend (Proverbs 27:6). Flattery is the tool, not of someone looking to deepen a relationship but to leverage proximity for personal gain (Proverbs 29:5). God used the courage of the prophet Nathan to confront David over his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:17). Jesus in Matthew 18 gives instructions on redemptive confrontation designed to restore a sinful brother into loving community (Matthew 18). Paul considers this a sign of love, from one brother or sister, to another (Galatians 6:1).
The Bible commends public arguments against sin and heresy. Jesus very publically, throughout the gospels, confronted errant religious leaders. When the heart of the gospel message was at stake, Paul was unafraid to confront Peter publically (Galatians 2:11-13). And much of the New Testament, the inspired canon of Scripture, consists of public letters that contain, at times, stinging rebuke of sin. Paul says that polemics are not only important within the church, at times, but also without, as we are tasked with engaging the reigning worldview arguments and presenting alternative, biblical worldview (2 Corinthians 10:5).
The Bible seems to commend the use of satire and other forms of creative engagement. Elijah playfully taunted the false prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:27). Jesus employed the use of parables, metaphors, and similes in communicating truth. Paul was often acerbic in his rebuke of the Corinthians. Sharply worded polemics, uplifting satire, and, at times, sarcasm, can be employed in a way that reflects faithful Christian witness. However, this must be done within the boundaries of what is considered civil and wise speech (see below).
The Bible commends civility and respect in speech. In the Scriptures, kindness, respect, and good manners are not simply “nice” things for certain people, but are considered Christian virtues. Peter, in a letter written to address the persecution and marginalization of Christians, exhorts God’s people to be both courageous and civil (1 Peter 3:15). Later Peter reminds us to treat every single human being with dignity (1 Peter 2:17). In the Pastoral Epistles, you will notice that one of the cornerstone characteristics of qualified church leaders is gentleness (Titus 1; 1 Timothy 3).
The Bible commends wise and informed speech. The way we speak is a oft-repeated theme in Scripture. James devotes almost an entire chapter to the power of the tongue (James 3). Words have power. Words matter. Words can either be life-giving or life-crushing. King David’s prayer was for a mouth that offered words that were “acceptable” in the sight of God (Psalm 19:14). Proverbs affirms the value of applying just the right word in the right moment (Proverbs 25:11) and, like James (James 1:19), rebukes those who speak before thinking (Proverbs 17:28; 29:20).
The Bible says that the mouth is a good barometer of the heart. Luke records Jesus words: “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45). Words are not neutral; they reflect either good or evil. Nobody can really say, “I didn’t mean that.” It’s better to say, when we misspeak, “Those words come from an unsanctified part of my heart.” What’s more, speaking my mind may not reflect speaking that is true or virtuous, because the Christian mind is in constant state of needing to be renewed by the gospel (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 10:5).
The Bible commends the wisdom of not sharing everything with everyone all the time. Proverbs says trustworthy people keep confidential information confidential and it is a sign of low character to reveal secrets (Proverbs 11:3). Later, Proverbs extols the “prudent man” who knows to keep information to himself and rebukes the “heart of fools that speak folly” (Proverbs 12:23). Sharing everything all the time to anyone who listens is not a sign of “authenticity” but a sign of foolishness.
The Bible commends humility as a sign of grace. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” – this maxim is mentioned three times in Scripture (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6,1; 1 Peter 5:5). What does this have to do with our speech? I tells us, I believe that graceful, measured, civil speech is a sign of God’s grace and proud, boastful speech is a sign of God’s resistance. Humility means speaking with recognition of our own fallenness. It means resisting the urge to speak out of turn. It means we have the self-awareness to know if we are the right person to speak on a particular issue at a particular time.


The Bible commends speech that edifies. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, says that Christians can either speak words that destroy or words that build, words that are given with a desire to build up the body of Christ or words that are wielded as carnal weapons of destruction (Ephesians 4:29). There is a difference, even, between verbal and written engagement meant to crush and winsome polemics meant to inform or rebuke.

So, is “speaking your mind” a Christian virtue? Not if “speaking your mind” implies unfiltered, uninformed foolish talk that hurts and destroys. Let’s pray for Holy Spirit power to seek after God in the way we use the gift of language and pray for repentance when our mouths reveal as-yet unsanctified parts of the heart.

 

image courtesy of Patrick

The Way Home: Episode 64 featuring Joni Eareckson Tada

Joni Erickson Tada is a real-life hero. A diving accident at the age almost fifty years ago might have made her a quadriplegic, but it didn’t destroy her soul. For the next nearly half-decade, Joni has shown the world what it means to suffer well, with pain, to advocate for those who are disabled, and to give human dignity to those who might otherwise be discarded by society. Her ministry, Joni and Friends is broadcast across the country and has donated wheelchairs to disabled people all over the world. She’s been a counselor to Presidents and leaders across the country. Most of all, her and her husband Ken have shown the church what it look like to live in dependence on God. Today Joni sat down with me and discussed human dignity, suffering well, and what has sustained her through many years of ministry.

Show Notes

Website: joniandfriends.org
Twitter: @joniandfriends
Book: A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty and Beyond Suffering Bible NLT: Where Struggles Seem Endless, God’s Hope Is Infinite

Learn more about the 2016 ERLC National Conference here.

The Way Home: Episode 63 featuring Sam Storms

Sam Storms is a reknowned author, scholar, and pastor. He’s the editor of the popular ESV Men’s Devotional Bible and recent Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit I ask Sam about two things: gospel-centered men’s ministry and the impact of J.I. Packer upon his life.

Show Notes

Website: samstorms.com
Twitter: @Samuel_Storms
Book: Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit

Learn more about the 2016 ERLC National Conference here.

The Surprising Power of a Public Apology

“I’m sorry.”

These two simple words from Paul Ryan, Republican Speaker of the House, came rumbling down the Capitol steps, scrolling across social media timelines, and into the news cycle last week.

In a campaign year besotted with the crass and profane, in a culture that seems to rewards pride and hubris, Ryan’s words were a breath of fresh air.

There is little incentive these days for leaders to publicly admit their mistakes. Supporters see this as cowardice and opponents see this as an opportunity to capitalize on weakness.

What Ryan offered, in the midst of a speech on civility, was refreshing. While speaking out against the coarse nature of the presidential campaign, he admitted his own descent, at times, into less-than-inspiring rhetoric. He recalled previous comments about “makers and takers” in society, and confessed that his previous characterizations were born out of ignorance, “I didn’t come out and say all this to be politically correct. I was just wrong.”

When was the last time we heard a famous figure say, with sincerity, “I was just wrong?” Unlike so many public apologies, Ryan didn’t equivocate, didn’t sidestep, didn’t turn his contrition into an attack on his foes. This kind of leadership offers a stark contrast with the bombastic hubris we’ve seen so much of in 2016. Ryan’s humility cuts against the narcissism of our age.

Public contrition is not just important for politicians. It’s important for any of us who hold positions of power. It’s necessary, though sadly rare, for ministry leaders.

A few weeks ago, we saw this kind of public grace exhibited by well-known mega-church pastor, Andy Stanley, A clip of Stanley disparaging the ministry of small churches went viral, resulting in quite a bit of pushback from small church pastors.

Stanley’s response was as refreshing in that it was unequivocal. No hedging. No defensiveness. No explaining. Stanley not only tweeted his remorse, he allowed Christianity Today to interview him further.

For a Christian, a genuine apology is a sign of something deeper going on in the soul, an admission of fallenness, a nod to our need for the redemptive grace found in Christ. Of course, public contrition can be narcissistic and selfish, an opportunity to save face and move on, without any deep reflection. But when authentic, an apology can be empowering. Narcissists may have short-term victories, but in the long haul of leadership, people follow leaders willing to admit what everyone already knows: leaders are human. This is true regardless of the size of the platform. It’s important for national leaders. It’s important for prominent pastors. It’s important for those who lead in obscure positions unseen by the masses.

I’ve found genuine apologies empowering in my own roles as husband, father, executive, and pastor. In Scripture we are told, several times, that God “resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34; I Peter 5:5).” I’d rather experience God’s grace than his resistance.

The humility to apologize reflects a heart bent toward God. This is why King David, despite his egregious sins, was considered a man after God’s own heart. If you read Psalm 51, you don’t find a man with his chest puffed out, boasting about sin and eschewing repentance. You find a broken soul. Contrition starts this way, in the heart, as the result of godly sorrow that works repentance. Then it works its way out toward those who’ve been hurt the most.

The kind of courage it takes to publicly apologize is not learned in seminary or in business school or at leadership conferences. Humility is a discipline developed in the school of prayer, forged over a lifetime of self-reflection and dependence on the Spirit of God. The most mature leaders understand that humility is not a sign of weakness, but of strength.

This is why the people worth following are often not those with the loudest voices or the most clever turns of phrase, but those human enough to stand up and say those two simple words.

“I’m sorry.”

photo credit: George Skidmore

The Way Home: Episode 62 featuring Lauren Chandler

Lauren Chandler is a speaker, author, and recording artist. She is married to Matt Chandler, lead pastor of Village Church in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Several years ago Matt was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. This shocking news and subsequent journey through pain and suffering led Lauren to write her latest book,  Steadfast Love . Today Lauren talks about suffering, expectations, and life as a ministry wife.

Show Notes

Website: laurenchandler.com
Twitter: @laurenchandler
Book: Steadfast Love: The Response of God to the Cries of Our Heart

Matt Chandler will be speaking at the 2016 ERLC National Conference. Learn more here.