Posts by Daniel Darling
Five Responses to President Obama’s Relection
So the election is over and many evangelicals are disappointed. So now what? Here are five responses.
Read MoreThe Sin About Which No One Will Speak
Envy is like a fly that passes all the body’s sounder parts, and dwells upon the sores. – Arthur Chapman There is a sin that nobody in our world really wants to discuss. It’s the fashionable sin, that fuels our great social movements and has become an engine of our politics. It’s the sin of…
Read MoreThe Surprising Fruit of Balance
It would be hard to find a more boring word in ministry circles than “balance.” There is a lot of talk about being “radical”, “edgy”, “relevant”, etc. But balance sounds rather unhip. But I’m finding this word may be the key to lifelong, steady, sustained ministry success. There is a part of all of us…
Read More5 Things Leaders Can Learn From the Presidential Debates
So the Presidential debates are about a week behind us. This election is heading toward it’s conclusion (Thankfully). Unlike previous election years, the debates have had a dramatic effect on the race. Personally, I have found them fascinating and interesting. And I wonder if Christian leaders can draw some lessons from these debates as we…
Read MoreWhy I’m Voting, Who I’m Voting For, and Why
We’re heading down the homestretch of this election. There are a lot of questions for American Christians. Should we vote? Who should we vote for? Should we place so much trust in a political party? We’ve seen both candidates endure months of grueling campaigning, be ridiculed about gaffes, and we’ve read enough tweets and Facebook…
Read MoreWhen We Add Stuff to the Bible, We Hurt People
Orthodox evangelicals believe in something called a “closed cannon.” In other words, we believe the Bible as it is presently constructed-39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament-are the complete, written, inspired, inerrant Word of God. This matters for lots of reasons, but two big ones: a) we have all…
Read MoreHow You Can Best Help Your Church
If you’re a Christian, whether you realize it or not, you are called, by God, to be on mission in the world. This is the essence of the gospel call, that you were not simply saved from death but also saved for a purpose (Ephesians 2:10). That purpose is to make disciples (Matthew 28:16-20). And the way God has…
Read MoreWhy You Should Tithe To Your Church
One of the hardest message a pastor is tasked with giving is the message on giving. I don’t like talking about giving at our church. I don’t like urging people to give. But giving is clearly a concept that runs through the Scriptures. And if we don’t talk about, we miss an opportunity to learn…
Read More3 Reasons Your Pastor Probably Doesn’t Preach Politics
I’ve written on this issue before, but it’s probably worth revisiting in an election season. And new research has been released by Lifeway that affirms what I’ve always believed: generally Bible-believing pastors shy away from overt political endorsements and preaching politics in the pulpit. I wrote a piece for Relevant not long ago on this subject in…
Read MoreLes Lofquist on Leadership and Preaching
I especially loved this piece by Les Lofquist on how to respond to a criticism of preaching: I think the only way is to be determined to be prayed up and studied up the next time you’re in the pulpit. Resolve to get up early each day the next week and pray as a man…
Read MoreChocolate Faith
Within the church of the living God, we must become excited about the gospel. That’s how we pass on our heritage – D.A. Carson If you want to impress the woman you love and happening to be traveling through the northwest suburbs of Chicago, my advice to you is to spend a significant amount of…
Read MoreThree Dangers of Simplistic Evangelistic Methods
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, undoubtedly you’ve been exposed to one or more “proven” methods of sharing your faith. In my lifetime I’ve been exposed to a few of these. They have been helpful in narrowing down the message, helping me get more comfortable sharing the gospel, and summarizing the…
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