Daniel Darling's Blog, page 49
November 5, 2015
The Way Home: Episode 42 Featuring Jason Duesing
Listen to this week’s episode
Show Notes:
Twitter: @JGDuesing
Websites: jgduesing.com and MBTS
Book: Seven Summits in Church History
Register for Evangelicals for Life and use coupon code WAYHOME.
October 29, 2015
The Way Home: Episode 41 featuring Jefferson Bethke
He burst onto the scene with the viral video: Jesus > Religion. Since then, Jefferson Bettke has been a creative gospel witness online and to audiences around the country. His videos have been seen by tens of millions on Youtube and his books have reached the bestseller lists. So what is it about the digital world that offers unique opportunities to communicate the gospel? I’ll talk to Jefferson about this and about his new book, It’s Not What You Think
, where he tackles several misunderstood spiritual topics in light of Christ’s coming kingdom.
Listen to this week’s episode
Show Notes:
Twitter: @JeffersonBethke
Website: notwhatyouthink.tv
YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/bball1989
Book: It’s Not What You Think: Why Christianity Is About So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die
Register for Evangelicals for Life and use coupon code WAYHOME.
October 23, 2015
ICYM: Some recent articles
In case you missed it, here are some recent articles I’ve written:
No Quick Fixes – In Touch Magazine
A. W. Tozer famously said, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” Maybe this is what Paul was referring to when he told the believers at Corinth that God uses the comfort we receive in times of trial to comfort others (2 Cor 1:4). Comfort, I learned, is not a five-step process and it doesn’t come quickly … or easily. Read the Psalms and hear the lament of men like David who longed for God to come near, to hear the pain, to usher in hope. Hear the wails of Job, the most righteous man on earth, as he scratches around for some fragment of faith. Or Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Or Isaiah, a man of woe.
This isn’t to say that spiritual friendship doesn’t mean applying Scripture and encouraging the act of prayer. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t point people to the hope of their resurrected Lord. But genuine, Christ-like empathy doesn’t push people through a spiritual assembly line. Instead, it drips with grace, is spoken through tears, and comes wrapped in the patient presence of brotherly (or sisterly) love.
The Essential Art of Forgiveness – Leadership Journal
Forgiveness is not ancillary to spiritual leadership. It’s vital. A leader’s ability to forgive others directly impacts his ability to lead others. I’m convinced of it, not only from the life of Joseph who became a wise and capable leader in Egypt.
I had to forgive those who had hurt me deeply not only for my own personal spiritual growth, but also because I had a congregation of people watching me. How could I preach of the forgiveness Christ offers and yet harbor bitterness in my heart? How could I help my people apply the gospel to their own relational struggles if I ignored what the gospel was telling me?
I’ve seen bitterness tear at the heart of a leader and poison his leadership. I’ve seen it up close in ministry and I’ve read about it in countless biographies. Look closely at tyrannical leaders–in ministry, in government, in business, anywhere—and you’ll find a common trait. Somewhere in their past was a deep hurt that wounded them so deeply they couldn’t move on. Bitterness and cynicism became embedded in their psyche, making them insecure and power-hungry.
When we can’t or won’t forgive, we communicate something other than the gospel we claim to declare. We say, with our lives, that God is less than all-powerful and that our circumstances are outside of his control. What’s more we offer a limited gospel, one that only heals certain kinds of pain. Ultimately, we lead our people away from the living water their hearts crave.
The Possibility of Beautiful Orthodoxy – Christianity Today
Beautiful Orthodoxy matters because of both words. Beauty originates, not with the artists and poets who stir our emotions with their work, but with the Creator who created us to create. Beauty, regardless of the intent of its human maker, always points back to the Triune God, the original artist and craftsman. And orthodoxy matters because it is the body of truth passed down from generation to generation, through 2,000 years of church history, that tells us about ourselves, how we relate to God, and about the world. To wed the two: beauty and orthodoxy is what Christianity Today does best. Holding fast to “the faith once delivered to the saints” and communicating this in a way that tells the beautiful story of salvation history in Christ.
photo credit: Epicantus
October 22, 2015
The Way Home: Episode 40 featuring Matthew Hall
Matthew Hall serves as the Vice President for Academic Services at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
Listen to this week’s episode
Show Notes:
Twitter: @matthewjhall
Bio: sbts.edu/students/vice-president-for-academic-services
October 15, 2015
The Way Home: Episode 39 featuring Alan Cross
How should Christians think about immigration, the refugee crisis, and race? Today, my friend Alan Cross joins me to discuss these important issues. Alan is a Southern Baptist pastor in Montgomery AL, an author, blogger. He’s the author of a great book When Heaven and Earth Collide.
Listen to this week’s episode
Show Notes:
Twitter: @alanlcross
Website: alancrosswrites.com
Book: When Heaven and Earth Collide
October 8, 2015
The Way Home: Episode 38 featuring Jonathan Howe
How should pastors conduct themselves on social media? Should pastors blog and if so, why? And what does it take to get a good podcast off the ground? These are questions I posted to Jonathan Howe, a very good friend and an expert on creating, publishing, and posting digital content. Jonathan is Director of Strategic Initiatives for Lifeway Christian Resources. He’s the creator and cohost of the popular Christian podcast, Rainer on Leadership and the host of the new and popular, SBC This Week podcast.
Listen to this week’s episode
Show Notes:
Twitter: @Jonathan_Howe; @sbcthisweek
Rainer on Leadership website and podcast: thomrainer.com
SBC This Week: sbcthisweek.com
Jonathan’s Website: howeoriginal.com
October 3, 2015
The Great Commission Versus the Church Calendar
From my latest piece for In Touch:
“It’s not simply the pastor’s job to make disciples, it’s the job of the whole church,” I had said for the umpteenth time in a message on discipleship. When my sermon was finished, I headed to the back of the auditorium, as I’ve always done, to shake hands with people as they left.
I’ll never forget the look of one faithful church member. It was that of ministry fatigue. We had just finished a series of weeklong ministry projects—a monumental undertaking at our church—and this lady was reflecting the exhaustion that our people felt. She didn’t say anything to me, but the combination of seeing her tired face and the words I’d just preached were used by God to speak powerfully to my soul. Perhaps the reason your people aren’t making disciples is because you have kept them too busy with church activities.
It’s a hard pill for most pastors to swallow. This especially for leaders like myself, who like to plan and dream. My intentions had been sincere: I wanted to do all I could to equip the people of God through training, small groups, and Sunday school. My desire was to facilitate times of fellowship and togetherness through dinners and potlucks and shared experiences. And I hoped to conduct attractive events that would draw the community in order to gain an audience for the gospel.
What I hadn’t realized, till this point, was just how taxing my overambitious schedule was for already-busy people. Not only was it sapping away their joy and robbing them of needed spiritual rhythms of rest and meditation, it was stealing away precious time—time that could be spent pursuing relationships in the community.
Read the whole thing here
photo credit: studio curve
October 1, 2015
The Way Home: Episode 37 featuring Courtney Reissig
Courtney Reissig is the author of The Accidental Feminist: Restoring Our Delight in God’s Good Design
.
Listen to this week’s episode
Show Notes:
Book: The Accidental Feminist
Twitter: @courtneyreissig
Website: cdtarter.blogspot.com
September 25, 2015
ICYMI: Trust, Engagement, Mission
In case you missed it: some of my latest articles:
Three Important Ways to Build Trust – Lifeway Pastors
What is the most important character trait for a pastor? A preaching gift? Theological education? Leadership skills? Vision? Communication saavy? A shepherd’s heart?
All of these things are important and essential for the ministry, but none of them will be used effectively if the pastor doesn’t possess the one thing that will determine the rise or fall of his ministry: trust.
Trust matters. When people first walk through the doors of a church, they enter with a bit of fear. Most likely they have had a stressful, busy, difficult week. As pastor Mike Glenn once said, “People use up all of their faith just getting to church on Sunday.”
They want to know: Can I trust the pastor? Can he lead me well? This is especially important in an age of distrust. In the last several decades we’ve seen our venerable institutions fail us: our banks, our government, our religious organizations, our sports leagues, our schools, our media. People are skeptical of leaders at all levels.
Ironically, I think pastors have a unique opportunity to lead in this environment by demonstrating the unique kind of shepherding, nurturing, winsome leadership so absent from all other institutions. But trust can’t be learned in a book. It can’t be taught. It has to be both earned and then practiced.
Read the rest here
How Christians Should Engage This Election – Relevant Magazine
Whether we like it or not, the 2016 U.S. Presidential election cycle is upon us. Some greet this with a weary sigh while others, like me, love the drama of another historic moment in America’s story.
Regardless of where you fall on the scale of interest, the most important question is how Christians should conduct themselves during this election season. The world is watching God’s people, not just for how they vote, but for how they act both online and in conversations with family and friends.
Read the rest here:
Your Neighbors Are Not Who You Think They Are – Lookout Magazine
“We are Muslims,” my neighbor told me after I knocked on his door to greet him a few days after his family moved into our neighborhood. “There are some things we hold dear to us,” he explained. “I hope you understand.”
Our families have since become friends, and he and I have engaged in some meaningful conversations about religion. His presence in our Bible-belt city, bursting with immigrant growth from several countries, is a reminder that our communities look vastly different, in every way, from the communities of our parents. Some followers of Christ see this new reality—what some are calling a post-Christian era—as a threat to our way of life. But seen through Great Commission lenses, the rising opposition to Christianity and the influx of other religions presents us with a fresh opportunity to do what we should have been doing all along: sharing the gospel story with new audiences.
What does evangelism look like for Christians in the West in the 21st century? The gospel message is still the same. The mandate to make Jesus known hasn’t changed. And the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives hasn’t abated.
What must change is the way Christians apply the gospel to the culture to which we are called. This means we not only must reconcile ourselves to our new status as a minority, we must embrace the people God is sending into our spheres of influence, forging deep and lasting relationships that allow gospel opportunities. But what does this look like?
Read the rest here
September 24, 2015
The Way Home: Episode 36 featuring Laura Story
What happens when God doesn’t fix what you want him to fix? This is the question Laura Story faced recently. Laura Story is an award-winning Christian singer and songwriter. She has written some of the most beautiful songs for worship: “Blessings”, “Indescribable” “Mighty to Save”, “Friend of Sinners.” She recently wrote a book: When God Doesn’t Fix It.
We had a chance to talk to Laura about her journey with God and finding faith when God doesn’t answer in the way you’d like. I was joined on this podcast by my colleague, Lindsay Swartz.
Listen to this week’s episode
Show Notes:
Book: When God Doesn’t Fix It
Music: laurastorymusic.com/music
Twitter: @laurastorymusic
Website: laurastorymusic.com
