Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

Articles

Green McDonald's and Missional Living

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Reserved parking spaces for hybrid cars, tables and chairs made from recycled milk and detergent containers, and vegetative green roofs – these are a few of the 20 features that McDonald’s has conjured up to attract the eco-concious population (see Korea Times Article).

Green McDonald's

On top of that, today’s McDonald menu is vastly different from its menu 20 years ago.

Why are they changing? What’s motivating them? Is it working?

One word – culture.

It’s all about culture.

For example, 20 years ago, were large companies really concered about their carbon footprint? Of course not! And that’s why we never heard much about carbon footprints back then.  It just wasn’t a concern to the wider culture.  However, what about today? Don’t you find that it’s hard to come across many companies that aren’t “going green?”

So why does this issue matter?

Well, if Christians are to really be genuine and not hypocritical, then that means that sharing the good news of Christ is essential.  The amazing thing is that the good news of Christ is timeless, whereas the method of sharing it isn’t.

And that’s exactly it.  Culture changes! Therefore, the method of sharing the good news of Christ must change as well.

Yesterday, my wife and I finally found a place to live in Korea. After 3 days of searching, and many hours of mediocre places, we finally found a place that’s perfect for us.  We have a large living room, so we can have people over to entertain them (since the apartments are so small in Korea, it’s very uncommon to have people over), and we even have a second bedroom, so that we can house visitors.  And the location?  It’s right in the center of the international community in Seoul.

As a pastor, it’s really easy to hide in the church.  There is always an endless amount of work to do, and a countless number of Christians that need discipleship.  As a result, there is always the danger that pastors will live in a “Christian bubble,” lose touch with the culture, and become hypocrites.  In other words, the danger is that pastors will stop sharing the good news of Christ with those who don’t know it and desperately need it.

My prayer is that I would never become that kind of pastor.  Perhaps that’s why God blessed us with such an amazing place in the center of the international community in Seoul?  We’re definitely not going to be hard pressed to find people in our neighborhood who need the hope of Christ.

Our prayer (my wife and I) is that we can be like a shining city on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5).  A city on a hill that is so bright, that it dispells the darkness surrounding it.  (Isn’t it ironic how our apartment is actually on a hill?)

Ministry and Life Transitions

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3 days remain.

I only have 3 more days in Canada.

There are only 3 more days until my wife and I begin our new life in Seoul, Korea.

How did it get this way? How did we end up leaving our ministry and our life in Montreal to move to the other side of the world?  How were we so sure that this is where God was calling us? How did we know that this was God’s will for our lives?

[Read more…] about Ministry and Life Transitions

Sex Trafficking

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“The CIA estimates that between 50 000 and 100 000 girls, boys and women are trafficked annually into the United States to be pimped out or sold for forced sex.  Worldwide more than 1 million people are trafficked across international borders against their will.”

“We are not finding victims in the United States because we’re not looking for them.” – The U.S. State Department’s Advisor on Trafficking.

An image from the movie - Trade

The movie Trade does an excellent job in opening one’s eyes to the horrors and reality of the modern day sex trafficking industry.  In other words, if one were to parallel the movie Blood Diamond to the movie Trade, it would go like this: Trade is to the sex trafficking industry, as Blood Diamond is to the diamond industry.

If this is such a serious problem, why are so many people unaware of it?

When people hear about sex trafficking, most people are disgusted at the thought of buying another human being for sex.  After all, how can we treat other human beings as objects?  This conjures up thoughts of slavery and dehumanization.

However, when you speak to pimps or people actively trading other human beings for sex, you will never hear them say that this was their dream job growing up.  In the same way, when you speak with rapists or pedophiles, they will always admit that they never thought they would get this far.  I’m sure you can agree with me when I say that there are no children who dream about growing up, raping others, and having sex with children.

Then how do people get to this point in their life?

“…each of you is tempted when you are dragged away by your own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full–grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:14-15)

In other words, it’s a progression.

When you ask pedophiles, rapists, and pimps how they got to that point in their life, they will all say the same thing – it started with viewing others as objects.  In other words, when one views pornography, one isn’t looking at a human being anymore, one is looking, lusting, and fantasizing over an object.

You don’t believe me?  Well, here’s a question to all of you who have looked at pornography before: When you were looking at pornography, did you ever stop to think about that person’s life story?  Does that person have parents? Brothers? Sisters? Children? A spouse? Where does that person live? Is that person doing it voluntarily or are they also forced and chained into the sex industry?  What if that person was your daughter? Would you still look at those images?  The fact is, no one ever thinks about those questions when they look at pornography because those who view pornography have begun to see people as objects.

However, there comes a point when pornography isn’t enough.  Therefore, those individuals go to strip clubs.  The same thing happens in strip clubs.  Even though one is viewing real human beings, one still doesn’t ask those questions or consider that person to be a human being.  As a result, one will not treat the stripper as a human being, but only as an object that can be bought for one’s own entertainment.  It’s dehumanization.

After that, strip clubs won’t be enough either.  Therefore, those individuals will begin to buy prostitutes.  And the same thing will happen again.  After that, prostitutes won’t be enough either, etc.  The cycle just keeps on spiraling down and down.  You get the point, right?  It’s a progression.

The fact is, sex trafficking exists because there’s a demand.  Prostitutes exist because there’s a demand.  Strip clubs exist because there’s a demand.  Pornography exists because there’s a demand.

Are you fueling that demand?

If you are, you are fueling sex trafficking.

exploiting the poor?

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Is this exploitation of the poor? A saavy marketing campaign? A political statement? Or just plain cruel?

In the August 2008 issue of Vogue India, there is a controversial 16 page advertising campaign that uses the countries poor to sell products meant for the countries rich.

In the image below, you see a picture of a poor husband and wife marketing a $200 Burberry umbrella and an Etro handbag.

[Read more…] about exploiting the poor?

the definition of laziness

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Laziness.  We all feel it.  We’ve all experienced it.  It’s something that really isn’t that foreign to most of us.  But why do we struggle with it so often?  Some of us, due to our laziness, choose to go on the internet, watch tv or a movie, instead of doing what actually needs to get done.  Others choose to sleep or go play sports instead of taking care of their responsibilities.

We all have times of laziness. But where does laziness originate from?  Why is it so easy to be lazy?

The dictionary defines “lazy” as being “unwilling to work or use energy.”

My wife and I have an arrangement – If one of us cooks, then the other person has to clean up.  As a result, there are often many times when I, full of laziness, don’t want to clean up even though it was my wife who cooked.  However, just because I don’t want to clean up doesn’t mean that I don’t do it – I eventually get to it.

But one time when I was trying to coax my wife into cleaning the dishes, she came back with a statement that cut through my heart and is, when you think about it, pure genius. She said,

“Laziness is not a condition, it’s a choice.”

Perhaps the thing that separates greatness from mediocrity is a simple choice.

What choice are you making?

the full story – Michael Guglielmucci’s Deception

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Almost a month ago, Michael Guglielmucci, a pastor in Australia who had written and sung “Healer” on the latest Hillsong album, came out and confessed that he had been living a life of deception.  For the past two years, he had deceived everyone, his wife and parents included, and told them that he had terminal cancer.

When I first heard what had happened, I went into absolute shock and I began grieving.  I couldn’t understand how he could do such a thing – especially as a pastor and a follower of Christ.  And how could he lie like that to his wife and to his parents? However, I resisted the urge to blog about it and tell everyone until I heard the full story.

Here is the full story and statement of confession.

Here is also an exclusive interview (video) where Guglielmucci came out and made a public statement,

[Read more…] about the full story – Michael Guglielmucci’s Deception

animals and spirituality

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As you can see in this picture, my wife and I have a puppy – his name is Teddy and he’s almost 6 months old.

Teddy - Our Dog
Teddy - Our Dog

For the past couple of days, we have been babysitting Christina’s parent’s two dogs and it’s been fascinating to see the interaction between the three of them.

The most significant thing that my wife and I keep on noticing is the interplay between love and jealousy.

  • When we come home, the dogs love us. But when we begin to pet one of them, the other two become jealous.
  • If we are going to give them all treats, they love us.  But when we give the first one out, the other two are jealous.
  • If we hold one of the dogs, that dog loves us.  But the other two walk towards us and either whine or look at us with eyes of jealousy.

How often, as human beings, are we also like that?

  • When we receive a gift from a loved one, we love that person.  But when our loved one gives a gift to someone else and forgets us, we become jealous.
  • When we complete a project or a task and people positively acknowledge our work, we love them.  But when the only work being acknowledged is someone else’s, we become jealous.

What exactly is the relationship between love and jealousy?

I believe it’s a battle between our human/sinful nature and a life that is fully devoted to God.

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: …jealousy…But the fruit of the Spirit is love…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:19-25)

Which side is winning in your life?

how to memorize scripture…

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While listening to a sermon by John Piper, I was encouraged by the way he explained how he meditated on scripture.  For in Psalm 19:14 it says, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my redeemer.”  And it also says in Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

As a result, when he would spend his daily time with God – reading scripture and praying – he would always strive to pick a verse that he could meditate on throughout the day.  He would do that through memorizing the verse, repeating it, and praying through it in the course of the day.

I started doing it yesterday and it has been a great encouragement.

Yesterday I memorized Galatians 1:10 – “Am I now trying to win human approval or God’s approval?  Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

And today I memorized Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Lord, grant me the perseverance to continue this discipline so that I may meditate on your word always and hide your word in my heart.

an image of faith

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Faith is such a lofty word and it’s hard to imagine what a life of faith would look like.

The following is a description of my mental image of faith…

Imagine a cliff – high up, isolated, dusty, and majestic.
The wind is blowing and the clouds are within arms reach.
You walk to the edge and you hear the frightening yet soothing sound of wind.
You then take a few steps back and you begin running full speed towards the edge.
As you draw closer to the edge of cliff, you are trusting that God will catch you because…
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

You are sure that God will catch you even though you might not see him over the cliff.
That’s faith.  And faith is freedom.

Let me end by quoting my beautiful and insightful wife:

“What’s so wrong with being afraid when you know you are in the embrace of the one who created the universe?”

a random blessing?

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A Note of Blessing
A Note of Blessing

Last Friday, I was sitting at a popular bagel restaurant for breakfast with one of the students in my youth group – it was the beginning of a one week internship that he wanted to do with me. Midway through our meal our waitress brings us this note telling us that some person wanted to give it to us.  It seemed pretty random because we didn’t even know who it was.  We thought it might have been someone who saw us pray before we ate.  Anyway, we were grateful for the note and continued our meal and conversation.  When we were getting ready to leave, I was wondering why our bill hadn’t come yet.  I thought they might have forgotten about us (since we stayed for such a long time) so we got up and I was going to pay at the cash register.  When I asked for the bill, the cashier told me that it was my lucky day because someone had already paid for us.

The person who left us the note must have paid for us!

Wow. That’s amazing.

But why? What motivated that person to bless us so anonymously?

Why can’t we all be more generous and loving like that anonymous person?  If we were, I wonder what this world would look like?