Daniel Darling, author, pastor, speaker

Daniel Darling is a bestselling author, pastor, and podcast host.

Passing The Plate In a Digital Age

September 28, 2021

I saw an offering plate before I was even old enough to attend church. My father was a lay elder and church treasurer. This usually meant I got to stay and play with my friends long after the services were finished, because Dad was counting the offering. The offering plate is as indelible in my mind as any image from over four decades of attending church—that smooth wooden bowl with a felt liner that got passed down the row every time we gathered for worship. I also remember watching my father help pass the plate on Sundays and hearing my…

What We Learn from Peter’s Epic Fail

April 6, 2021

One of the most poignant scenes in the Easter narrative was written by someone who was not there, but who investigated the claims of the Christian movement and was able to paint for readers an agonizing scene of shame and betrayal. Luke, a medical doctor by trade and commissioned to chronicle the Jesus movement, zooms in on the ashen visage of Simon Peter as he utters his final denial of Jesus. Alone among the gospel writers, Luke captures Jesus’ slightly turned face, his eyes catching one of his most loyal lieutenants in his worst moment. Simon Peter seemed the least likely to feign…

What Are You Building?

March 8, 2021

Too often our politics is one of mere deconstruction. Our advocacy is less about building coalitions of support to advance human flourishing or to advocate for a vulnerable people group but is instead a kind of performative activism. This is why often the fights we see play out in the public square are less between opposing ideas but between people who, on a political Venn diagram, actually agree with each other. Building something takes hard work and ingenuity and patience. But online purity tests, launched with memes and snark, are easy. Today, our politics, our “speaking out” is not really…