How to Grow

I first met Darryl Dash when I took his class in seminary on preaching. He talked about the purpose and the practice of the exposition of scripture in ways that I had not heard before. It was a class that blessed me greatly, and changed the way that I think about communicating the word of God to the people of God. But we're here to talk about growth, and the book that Darryl has written on the subject. While Darryl has moonlighted as a professor, he is first a pastor. He has committed his life to following God, and leading others in doing so. Aptly titled How to Grow, his inaugural book discusses the gospel and the means of grace that help us to grow spiritually, as well as in other aspects of our lives. The book has three significant qualities:

1) Accessible. Darryl doesn't assume that people know what the Day of Atonement was, or who Martin Luther is. He doesn't even assume that every reader will be a Christian. And perhaps best of all, he doesn't assume that people understand the gospel. Before he tells us about the gospel's effects, he tells us about the gospel's reality, in meaningful, natural language.

2) Practical. The book is not only practical in having questions for discussion and “next steps,” but the book has a deep practicality. There is evidence of deep study, both exegetically and psychologically, but the book answers the immediate questions of how to grow. It has almost a life hack feel to it: how do you hack your habits and your thought processes to move you closer to the places where you will meet God's transformative grace. It's a book that tells you what to do and how to do it, while never feeling like a “quick fix.”

3) Encouraging. There is not a trace of “try harder!” in this book. Darryl suggests that such sentiments are unhelpful (p. 45). Indeed, a book rooted in right gospel teaching won't tell people to “try harder,” as the gospel message teaches us that we are unable to fix ourselves. But neither does he fall into the trap of “let go and let God.” He calls us to make what effort we can: to use habits to place ourselves in the path of grace (p. 99).

I believe that no review is complete without some critique. It is yet another indication of the excellence of this book that I have a difficult time coming up with something that Darryl could have added or changed or done differently, without the result weakening the work. Possibly the book – particularly his chapter “Know Where You Are,” – could have benefited from a session on stagnation: what if you feel like your growth has stalled or hit a rut? He describes a good model for Christian growth, but as I looked for where I generally fell in his system, I realised that I only felt like I was there half of the time, and wondered where in his system fit “feeling stuck and not sure how to move forward.”

This book is full of grace and wisdom, much like its author. You will be blessed by reading it.

And finally, a few gems from the book itself:

“Hard things somehow seem easier when we know we're loved.” (p. 27).

“Our greatest problem isn't that we lack freedom. We've been offered freedom and unimaginable wealth through the gospel. Our problem is that we have a hard time living as if it's true.” (p. 37).

“Growth isn't about changing our behaviour or controlling ourselves when we're tempted to sin. It goes much deeper....We miss out if we settle for merely acting differently if it's not flowing from inner transformation. God wants to accomplish much more in us.” (p. 46-47).

“You were made to grow. Not only that, but you can grow. God has given us means by which we can experience his grace and be transformed....He's given us his Spirit and his people to help us to grow. So let's pursue growth, for ourselves and our churches. You were made for this.” (p. 51).

“What we miss so often is that the Bible isn't written to solitary individuals but to the church. More often than not we could read "y'all" rather than "you." The Christian life doesn't make sense when lived alone. We were meant to live it in community with others.” (p. 91).

(For the sake of full disclosure and all that: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I'm sad to say that the rest of you will have to visit a local Christian bookstore or click here to buy it, but it'll be worth it.)