Posts by Daniel Darling
Champions for Life In Every Generation
As I think about the fight for life, I’m struck by the fact that this is a cause every generation of Christ followers must embrace. Every age, until the full consummation of the kingdom, will be beset by brokenness and feature incursions on the Imago Dei.
Read MoreThe Way Home – Episode 3 featuring Joe Rigney and Joseph Williams
On today’s show, I speak with Joe Rigney, Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Worldview and Institutional Writer at Bethlehem College and Seminary about his new book, The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts. We talk about these questions: Can a Christian enjoy the things of this earth and still glorify God? When does enjoyment of things become idolatry?
Then I discuss religious liberty issues with Joseph Williams, associate counsel at American Center for Law and Justice and ERLC Research Fellow. Why Christians should care about religious liberty? Why Christians should care about religious liberty for other religions, such as Islam?
Read MoreAddressing Cultural Issues in the Pulpit
How do pastors preach on contemporary cultural issues? Or should they? This is a question every pastor faces as he contemplates both the spiritual needs of his congregation, the questions swirling in society, and the weighty commission to preach the Word of God. When I pastored, I constantly wrestled with when to address certain topics, how…
Read MoreEnjoying God’s Good Gifts
Is it okay for a Christian to, gulp, enjoy a nice steak, the laughter of good friends, or, even a football game between two good teams? Joe Rigney says yes. He’s not a new book out, Things of Earth, Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts. Last Friday I had the chance to interview him about this:
Read MoreThe Way Home – Episode 2 featuring Bethany Goodman and Dean Inserra
Listen to this week’s episode of The Way Home Welcome to the second episode of my podcast The Way Home. Today’s episode features Bethany Goodman, assistant director at March for Life Education and Defense Fund, and my friend Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Fla. Show notes: Bethany Goodman segment starts at 2:24 Twitter: @beth1027 Website: bornwithabeautifulpurpose.com…
Read MoreDrive-By Discipleship
Paul had earned the right to speak into the lives of the believers at Colossae. Not because he had a PhD from a seminary. Not because he was on the NYT bestsellers list. Not because he had 100K followers on Twitter. Those things can all be leveraged for influential good. But the real spiritual growth transfer happens in deep and caring relationships. This Church and these people would listen to what Paul had to say because Paul had been invested deeply in their lives and cared for them.
Read MorePastors Who Press On
Discouragement: it maybe the leading cause of failure in pastoral ministry. How do pastors keep from growing weary in their work? I had the chance to talk to an experienced ministry practitioner, Travis Collins. Travis has held a variety of ministry roles and is the author of a new book: For Ministers About to Start or…
Read MoreThe Way Home – Episode 1 featuring Karen Swallow Prior and Matt Chandler
Welcome to the first episode of my brand-new podcast: The Way Home. My hope with this podcast is twofold: to give you some compelling conversations with pastors, church leaders, authors, and influencers. This first episode features my friend, Karen Swallow Prior, a fantastic voice. She’s an English professor at Liberty University and her work appears in places like The Atlantic, Hermeneutics, and others places. She’s also an ERLC Research Fellow.
Matt Chandler needs no introduction. He’s the pastor of Village Church in the Dallas Fort Worth area and a popular conference speaker. His sermon podcast is one of the most downloaded on iTunes. Most of all, he is a faithful preacher of the Bible and a man who loves Jesus.
Read MoreAlzheimer’s and the Imago Dei
Alzheimer’s may be the most feared disease of any in our culture because of the slow and painful way it sucks the life of out of people we love and the burden it places on caregivers. How should Christians think about this disease in a way that’s unique from the rest of the culture? How does the Christian concept of imago dei force us to consider the dignity of those held by the grip of Alzheimers? This is a question I posed to Dr. Benjamin Mast, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and an Associate Clinical Professor in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Louisville. He’s the author of a brand new book, Second Forgetting, Remembering the Power of the Gospel in Alzheimer’s.
Read MoreHow NOT to Read the News
We live in a time where we are exposed to more news headlines than at any time in human history. In the ancient days of news, anchors checked the AP newswire for stories and reported on them and people in their homes watched or people in their cars listened to radio. Today, everyone, is essentially checking the wire, all day, through social media. We also live in a time when it’s has never been easier to publicly express an opinion. Before the Internet, if something happened, you might have picked up the phone to call someone or perhaps you might discuss it at work, around the water cooler. But today we are all pundits, all with commentary on what is happening right now.
Read MoreThey hear you when you’re speaking
Right before I got married, a wise man, married for many years, gave me a piece of advice. He said, “Dan, always talk favorably about your wife when she is not around. She can hear what you say about her even when she is not around.” This is a maxim I have tried to follow…
Read MoreOn Halloween, Don’t Be That Parent
So it’s Halloween and parents everywhere are finalizing their plans for next week. Candy is purchased and placed in the requisite pumpkin bucket near the front door. Costumes are selected and purchased. And evangelical car trunks stand ready to be decorated for the church parking lot. It’s go time. But before you venture out at the…
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