iFaith: Connecting With God in the 21st Century [Paperback]

Daniel Darling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2011

We’re a generation raised on instant: Instant formula. Disposable diapers. Satellite TV. GPS navigation. Online check-in. Automatic everything.
We’re always plugged in and wired. We’re accustomed to having answers at the snap of our fingers. We’re used to being in control.
How does this affect our communication with God? This is the question iFaith seeks to answer. What has life at warp speed done to our souls? Has faith been replaced with a false sense of security? Has the digital and technological revolution made us more impatient with the God who delights in making His people wait?
iFaith is a unique look at prayer and faith in the twenty-first century, calling us back to a place of rest and silence and peace with God.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Appealing to teens and young adults, especially when writing about religion, takes more than just appropriating their lingo and dropping a few pop culture references. Darling, columnist for Crosswalk.com and pastor at Gages Lake Bible Church in suburban Chicago, is astutely aware of this and brings some substance along with his punchy prose. The question the author addresses is a vital one—how does technology affect one™s relationships, especially with God? Darling warns young people against using technology to insulate themselves from the realities of life, as this results in missing where God is most present. He urges that they embrace an œunsafe life and take some chances, because people who are outside of their cocoons of comfort feel God™s presence most acutely. A young, tech-savvy audience will be challenged but not threatened by the author™s suggestions, and they will find the reflection questions at the conclusion of each chapter especially helpful. The final chapter offers wise advice for living as a person of faith in a technologically driven world. Both young and old could heed these words. (Jan. 3)
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Review

Darling . . . brings some substance along with his punchy prose . . . offers wise advice for living as a person of faith in a technologically driven world. Both young and old could heed these words. 

--Publisher's Weekly

Daniel Darling is a serious young man of faith, worthy of a careful reading.

--Jerry B. Jenkins, bestselling author of 175 books, including the 700,000,000 selling Left Behind series.

Reading this book can reboot your prayer life and open a high-speed connection with God.

--Dr. Ray Pritchard, President, Keep Believing Ministries, Author, An Anchor for the Soul, Man of Honor, The ABCs of Wisdom

 In this book, Dan Darling offers a guide for finding connection and community in an age of pixels and bandwidth. Read and consider.

----Russell D. Moore, dean, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Many question whether the ancient truths of Christianity connect with the instant expectations of postmodern culture. iFaith is the perfect response. 

---Dillon Burroughs, professor and bestselling author of What Can Be Found in LOST

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: New Hope Publishers (January 3, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596692944
• ISBN-13: 978-1596692947
• Product Dimensions: 0.3 x 5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,532,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Daniel Darling is the Senior Pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and is the author of Teen People of the Bible, Crash Course, iFaith, and Real. His work has been featured in evangelical publications such as Relevant Magazine, Focus on the Family, Marriage Partnership, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley. He has guest-posted on leading blogs such as Michael Hyatt, The Gospel Coalition, OnFaith (Washington Post), and others. He has been profiled by The Chicago Tribune. Daniel is a contributing writer to Zondervan's Couples Devotional Bible. Publisher's Weekly called his writing style "substantive and punchy." Dan is a contributing writer to Christian Today's online magazine, Kyria as well as Lifeway's men's devotional, Stand Firm. He also maintains a blog at patheos.com, entitled, The Friday Five, where he interviews leading evangelicals.

Dan's columns appear weekly at Crosswalk.com and monthly for the local Lake County Journals. Dan has been interviewed on TV and radio outlets across the country, including 100 Huntley Street, Moody Broadcasting Network, Harvest Television, The Sandy Rios Show, American Family Radio, the Salem Radio Network, and a host of other local and national Christian media.

Daniel has a bachelor's degree in pastoral ministry from Dayspring Bible College and is currently pursuing his Master's degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He traveled extensively to India and the Middle East. He and his wife, Angela, have three daughters and a son and reside in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Daniel is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Literary Agency

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Be Fooled. This Little Book Is Filled With Practical Truth January 12, 2011

By W. Terry Whalin

Format:Paperback

Don't Be Fooled. This Little Book Is Filled With Practical Truth

Our world thrives on instant communication and instant connections. Yet how do you connect with God in today's world? It's a subject that Daniel Darling tackles in his highly readable book.

Daniel points out the distinguishing factors for his book in his introduction, "This book is a journey with some of the real people in the Bible who didn't Twitter, text, or tote a Blackberry or iPad, but who learned how to communicate with God in a powerfully intimate way. Let's hope their lessons encourage us moderns to rekindle love with the timeless spiritual disciplines." (page 17)

Biblical truth is retold in contemporary language with chapter titles like Blue-Screen Faith or Your Divine Hotspot. Whether you read this book as a daily devotion or consume it cover to cover in several sessions, I believe this little book will pack a power punch to your life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review of iFaith March 10, 2011

By Keiki Hendrix VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Daniel Darling has his finger on the pulse of today's technology. In his newest book, iFaith: Connecting with God in the 21st Century, he speaks to the "card carrying members of the instant generation" among us with sound biblical advice on the basics of Christianity.

In iFaith, Dan Darling uses the language of social media and delivers sound, biblical truth on a variety of subjects such as waiting on God (Chapter One: Read Receipt), being angry with God (Chapter Three: Prayer in ALL CAPS), and my personal favorite because it includes advice on social behavior in a digital world (Chapter Ten: Friend Me.)

There are several witty illustrations throughout the book, some public and some personal. All are on-point. Scattered throughout are select Bible verses (ESV, NLT, and KJV) and quotes from some of my favorite authors like Josh Harris, E. M. Bounds, Ray Prichard, and Oswald Chambers. The writing is witty, genuine and honest.

Because each of the ten chapters end with a list of discussion questions and a resource list, this book is ideal for a youth or young adult bible study group. The timeless truths presented in the book would make it perfect for any Church library. I recommend it highly.

Reviewed by: Keiki Hendrix
Reviewed for: New Hope Publishing

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Practical Advice on Communing with God in a Connected World February 15, 2011

By Aaron Armstrong

Format:Paperback

Have you ever stopped to consider the pace of your life?

Wake up, check your email, your Facebook, head out the door, meetings, work, phone calls, more email, more meetings, home again and collapse into bed.

If we had to be honest, this would probably be a fairly accurate picture of each of our lives, wouldn't it? (I can't possibly be the only one, can I?)

But, did you notice what's missing? God.

Where is communion with Christ? Time for thoughtful Bible study? Prayer? Rest?

What is the hustle and bustle of our über-connected lifestyle doing to our relationship with our Savior?

That's the question that motivated Daniel Darling, the senior pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church, to write iFaith: Connecting With God in the 21st Century. In this book, Darling examines place, posture and practice of prayer in a world so caught up in the urgent that it's lost the ability to see the important.

iFaith was a much needed wake-up call for me as a reader. I'm far too guilty of frittering away time and getting so caught up in everything else that's going on that I neglect my prayer life. But why is that? In large part because I hate waiting for an answer.

Darling writes, "Waiting is considered loathsome to a generation accustomed to having quick answers, fast results and instant gratification" (p. 28). Ouch.

Think about it for a second though. When you pray, how long do you persist? How long do you continue on in prayer before you give up and decide that God must not be saying "yes" to this one? Darling continues, "But we must surrender our hearts to the sovereignty of God who slows us down, because waiting is not wasted time at all. Waiting is the essence of a faith that pleases Him" (ibid).

This is fundamental to our understanding of everything else when it comes to prayer. If we fail to get this, we run the risk of wasting opportunities to witness to the glory of Christ in our trials and tragedies and, depending on your temperament, perhaps becoming a bit self-righteous when it seems like God's not answering.

Perhaps most convicting to me were chapters five and six. Chapter five deals with the need to stop. To be where we are and "reboot." This is something that's really difficult for me because I'm used to a very hectic pace--and because I'm so used to it, I don't rest well. But, Darling warns, "We have to ask ourselves, Are we really doing God a favor by neglecting the normal, natural care of our bodies? . . . None of us is above the natural breaking down of our bodies. . . . None of us is superhuman" (p. 83).

I suspect this would be something that would make my wife cheer.

Chapter six is equally convicting because it reveals that I have a bit too much of a Martha streak at times, and not nearly enough Mary in me. (And that is the oddest sentence I've written in a long time.) Luke 10:38-42 can fill in the details of the story, but the big idea of this chapter is prayer and priorities. When you're go-go-going all the time, stopping and praying for an hour can seem like a massive waste of time. After all, look at how busy I am? But, says Darling, "Prayer isn't a waste of time; it's the best use of time. It's the very fuel that inspires a life of impact for God's kingdom" (p. 102).

Darling concludes iFaith by offering an answer to the big question that plagues us in our technological age: "How do we harness emerging technology [like Facebook, Twitter, Smartphones] without becoming its slave?"

Darling proposes the following six points:

1. Pursue genuine intimacy with God
2. Pursue genuine intimacy with people
3. Prioritize your technology choices
4. Guard your eyes and heart online
5. Give God the glory with your online presence
6. Unplug, unwind, enjoy the old

These six points seem simple, but are truthfully very difficult (particularly the last one for me). But the truth is, the only way that any of us will avoid being enslaved to the technology we enjoy is by seeing it as a tool to be used for God's glory. We can use our blogs, Facebook and Twitter to build up other believers and to provoke conversation with unbelieving friends and family--but most importantly, we can learn when it's time to step away from them for the night and spend time enjoying God and giving Him thanks.

iFaith is an extremely insightful and practical book on connecting deeply with God in an age satisfied with shallow relationships. Read the book and be encouraged as you re-prioritize the practice of prayer in your life.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided for review purposes by the publisher.