Archive for Dan Darling

Dec
15

Let’s Celebrate Well this December

by newhope

by Randy Bishop

Beyond My Church by Jason C. Dukes is a wonderful book to highlight this Christmas season. When we think beyond ourselves and beyond our particular local congregations, then the kingdom of God can grow in exciting ways. When we think and live in unity with other Christ followers across all sorts of dividing lines, then our message will be authenticated to a waiting world.

The message of the newly released Beyond My Church fits perfectly with our December theme on New Hope Digital: Celebrating Christmas in a World of Need. In addition to a free download of the first chapter of Jason’s book, look for two columns and a podcast from him as well this month.

A number of our New Hope authors have stepped to the plate (nice to think of baseball in the winter, you know) this month and contributed a variety of articles on the theme of celebrating Christmas well. Great work has been contributed by Dan Darling, Kathi Macias, the Singletons, and several others. I truly hope you’ll both enjoy and be moved by these pieces.

And don’t miss a new column from Mary R. Snyder and an update on the grandmother blog by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our visitors a joyous, peaceful, and Christ-honoring Christmas. Let’s celebrate well—enjoying God’s gifts to us with our families and friends. May our days also be marked by giving to the needy, praying for the lost, and going to those who need to hear the glorious message of Immanuel.

“When the King of kinds exchanged His majestic robes for swaddling clothes, surely it was the most beautiful, awe-inspiring moment in all eternity.”—from Pursuing the Christ by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Randy Bishop
Dec
7

Return to Christmas Joy

by newhope

This is the second in a series of articles from New Hope authors this month on the theme Celebrating Christmas in a World of Need.

by Daniel Darling

Lately many Christians in the US seem to have developed either one of two attitudes about Christmas.

Either we get hooked into the overheated “war on Christmas” rhetoric fueled by conservative media outlets and certain activist organizations that feel it necessary to justify their existence around the holidays. We get cranky. Christmas means whining constantly about the tired and overworked Walmart cashier who didn’t say merry Christmas.

This means we’ve reduced our interest in the story of the Incarnation (and our concern for the world) to a mostly meaningless phrase at the checkout line. Not good.

Or we take the opposite approach to Christmas. We get sucked into the consumerist, gotta-get-all-those-gifts mentality that makes the season of God’s miraculous entrance into the world about last-minute deals, scarves that nobody wants, and plastic gift cards. Of course, gift-giving can be redemptive and point to the story of the ultimate gift of Jesus, God’s Son. But often the greatest Gift gets shoved into the closet because it (actually, He) gets in the way of so many other seemingly important gifts.

Ouch! Immanuel treated like the aftershave bought for that cranky uncle who whines about the Walmart greeter.

A Different Way to Celebrate

I think both approaches miss the majesty of Christmas. Yes, the Western world is increasingly secularized and dismissive of Jesus. But that’s why we are still here. We are the ones who have been eternally transformed by the Incarnation. And we are to bless others in His name.

If we want the guy at the checkout to be excited about the real story of Christmas, why not let the gospel pour from us so he visibly sees Christ in us? If the message of Christmas is getting obscured, let’s shout it joyfully from our own little platforms. Maybe, just maybe, the secular world would take notice.

And let’s reset our priorities. Yes, there is an element of holiday stress we can’t avoid. I don’t quite recommend following John Grisham’s advice and skipping Christmas altogether. But we don’t have to let gifts, trees, and parties overwhelm the real story.

Let’s marvel that our calendars still force us to pause, one month out of the year, and stand in awe of God’s breaking into our world, deity in the flesh. Let’s not shove the breathtaking mystery of Jesus’ birth to the side.

Let’s put that front and center, in our own heartsLet’s beam with the joy of knowing the God-man. Let’s be the people who light up on Christmas and delight to tell the world about God’s love expressed in the Savior.

Daniel Darling is the senior pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. His latest release is iFaith: Connecting with God in the 21st Century. He can be reached at www.facebook.com/danieldarling; www.twitter.com/dandarling; www.danieldarling.com.

1 Categories : Articles
Sep
7

6 Things Your Children Need This School Year

by newhope

By Dan Darling

This is back-to-school season. In some areas, children have been climbing aboard the bus and heading to school for weeks; in other areas, like New York City and Boston, that ritual starts today or tomorrow.

For all of us, this time of year signals a new season of schedules, carpooling, and learning. I’m guessing you’re busy checking off the items on your checklist: new backpacks, number 2 pencils, plenty of lunch items, and new wardrobes.

But have you considered a spiritual checklist? As your child enters the school season, here are some things you will want them to have as part of their spiritual portfolio:

  • A healthy dose of gospel-grounded confidence. For some, school is a new adventure, a challenge, a chance to grow and learn. But for many kids, it’s intimidating. Will my teachers like me? Will I be accepted by my classmates? Can I master a new grade level? As parents, it’s important to give your children the confidence they need to succeed, grounded in the gospel. Wherever they land in the hierarchy of the school’s “in”crowd and wherever their grades fall, they are loved, valued, and created uniquely by God. Remind them daily that, no matter how they feel, they are loved by their Creator and Savior.
  • An understanding of and ability to apply God’s Word. Nothing will help them navigate choices at school, peer pressure among friends, and challenges in their studies like the power of God’s living Word in their hearts. Remind them daily that God’s Word is their source of life. Perhaps you might drop in their lunchboxes daily or weekly Scripture notes that inspire, encourage, and challenge them at school.
  • Assurance of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. If they have trusted Jesus as their Savior, the Holy Spirit lives inside of them. Remind them that God goes with them wherever they go. He can comfort when they’ve been hurt by a friend. He can guide them during a challenging class or dealing with a difficult teacher. He can empower them to make right choices when they’re tempted to cheat or lie or steal.
  • A Christ-centered home life. The best gift you can give your children is a safe, Christ-centered, loving refuge when they come home from school. You should encourage them to work hard to use their God-given gifts and talents, but remind them daily that you love them regardless of performance. At the end of a bad school day, home should be the one place where they know they are loved and they are safe.
  • The listening ears of loving parents. As your children grow older, they increasingly need you to take time to listen intently to them as they share their joys and sorrows. This is often difficult. Our natural human tendency is to jump in with well-meaning advice. There will be a place for Spirit-guided wisdom, but we must be judicious in dispensing it.
  • Prayer cover. Are you bringing your children in prayer before the Lord each day? They need your intercessory communication with God during the school year, perhaps more than at any other season. These are challenging times for all of us.

Editor Randy’s recommended reading:

Youth
Crash Course by Dan Darling
Power(full) by Chandra Peele
Becoming a Young Woman Who Pleases God by Pat Ennis
Body. Beauty. Boys. by Sarah Bragg

Parents
Love Notes in Lunchboxes by Linda J. Gilden
Let It Shine! by Greg and Martha Singleton
Soul Shaping by Kimberly Sowell
Coach Mom by Brenna Stull
Cracking the Parenting Code by Laura Lee Heinsohn

Daniel Darling is the senior pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.  His latest release is iFaith: Connecting with God in the 21st Century.

 

 

 

0 Categories : Articles
Aug
23

Dan Darling: Building a Foundation of Faith

by newhope

 Are your values the world’s values or the kingdom’s values?

Doctrine matters. Our beliefs determine our decisions.

This is true for all of us. Author and pastor Dan Darling applies it to teens today in Crash Course, a fast-paced, 100-day devotional for the next generation.

What doctrine is under the fiercest attack in 2011? Listen to the podcast to hear Dan’s take.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
Aug
10

New Hope Publishers App Now Available

by newhope

(Birmingham, Ala.)—August 10, 2011—New Hope Publishers is pleased to announce the release of the New Hope Digital app. The app features all of New Hope Digital’s podcasts, Voices columns, and the publisher’s blog. Download from iTunes or from Android Market.

“Our desire is for readers and retailers to have convenient access to information from and about our authors,” says publisher Andrea Mullins. “The app will be an excellent tool for retailers wanting to help a customer know more about an author or a book from New Hope Publishers. Readers will enjoy delving into current missional issues. We are exploring every possible means for making quality Christian content available to everyone.”

“Twenty-first-century technology provides us with exciting new avenues to stream timeless gospel truth,” says Daniel Darling, author of iFaith: Connecting with God in the 21st Century. “Many of us in this generation get the bulk of our content in digital formats. That’s why I’m glad to see New Hope continue to be at the cutting edge of faith and tech. As an avid iPhone user, I’m excited to use this digital app and continue to enjoy the rich biblical content from New Hope Digital.”

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). Find out more at www.newhopedigital.com.

—30—

0 Categories : News
Jul
29

Dan Darling: Teen People of the Bible (Part 2)

by newhope

Dan Darling, author of Teen People of the Bible, shares his insights on the lives of young people mentioned in God’s Word. In this podcast, Dan focuses on Leah and Miriam.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
Jul
28

Dan Darling: Teen People of the Bible (Part 1)

by newhope

Dan Darling, author of Teen People of the Bible, discusses what he’s learned from studying the lives of young people mentioned in the Word. This podcast focuses on the youth of David, among others.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
Jul
20

Shouting at God: Praying in ALL CAPS

by newhope

by Daniel Darling

How do you feel about people who send digital messages in ALL CAPS? Do they annoy you like they annoy me? Oh, good. I’m not alone.

I worked for quite a few years as an editor with a large Christian ministry. I was the first line of defense for the emails that came into the ministry. Most people would write and express their support, but occasionally we’d receive angry missives typed in all capital letters, single-spaced, with no lack of vitriol. It was hard to take their grievances seriously.

Using all capital letters in the digital world can be likened to shouting in a library. It’s jarring, annoying, and should only be done in emergencies.

But let me ask you something. Have you ever wanted to fire off one of those angry screeds to God? Have you ever wanted to punctuate your prayers with big, bold, single-spaced, uppercase letters. You know, just to make sure He heard what you were saying? Just to let Him know you were pretty ticked off?

I have. When a group of Christian attacked my integrity for no apparent reason, I wanted to fire off one of those. Or when my wife languished on the couch for six months in agony, and no doctors could figure out what was wrong with her back. And when one of my best friends succumbed to cancer at just 33 years old.

Yeah, sometimes I wish I had a big fat “send” button in life, so I could send God an email that shouts.

Guess what? I’m finding out that I can. In fact, God has set us up with the original message system: prayer. Sure, it’s not like email, and I’m not sure God needs a PC (Mac, maybe). But unlike me, you, and the rest of the normal digital world, God isn’t annoyed when we shout. Read the Psalms. David does a lot of shouting. Read Genesis and Exodus. You find Abraham, Moses, and all the spiritual giants shouting. Habakkuk basically themed his entire book with the rather spirited, potentially all-caps question, “How long, Lord?”

The Bible is full of men and women of God regularly reaching for their spiritual “caps lock” and “send” buttons. God never punishes for asking tough questions, for being upset. He’d rather we are talking to him in a loud voice than acting as if He doesn’t exist.

In iFaith I profile the obscure psalmist, Asaph. He wrote one of the most challenging prayers in all of Scripture: Psalm 78. He was a good man, someone who faithfully followed Jehovah. Yet he was suffering while the wicked in his country seemed to enjoy unending prosperity.

Asaph asked pointed questions of God, wondering if God was true to His word. By the end of the psalm, you find that by asking questions of God, Asaph found the answers. He left with his theology corrected, his faith intact, and a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.

So if you’re tempted to fire off one of those angry all-caps screeds to me or anyone you know, I’d strongly urge you to reconsider. But if would like to send one to God, feel free. Because shouting, digital or otherwise, doesn’t bother Him.

Daniel Darling is the senior pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.  His latest release is iFaith: Connecting with God in the 21st Century. He can be reached at www.facebook.com/danieldarling; www.twitter.com/dandarling;  www.danieldarling.com. We recommend not using all caps in your response to Dan.

0 Categories : Articles
Jul
15

Dan Darling: Proverbs and the Web

by newhope

Dan Darling fields a question related to Proverbs 10:19 and the nonstop nature of the Web. Read more about God and new tech in iFaith.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
Jun
16

Daniel Darling: Faith and Technology

by newhope

Has the digital and technological revolution made us more impatient? Author Dan Darling takes a look at prayer and faith in the twenty-first century, calling us to a place of rest, silence, and peace with God.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
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