Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

Articles

stanley cup baptism

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Upon winning the Stanley Cup, Detroit Red Wings’ Tomas Holmstrom decided to let his cousin use the Stanley Cup as a baptismal font to baptize his 7 week old daughter. Now that’s probably never been done before.

Growing up in a Korean Presbyterian Church, I was baptized as a child, and I was confirmed as a teenager. However, in the Evangelical tradition, they disagree with infant baptism because they believe baptism to be a symbol that one has made a confession of faith. As a result, since babies can’t make confessions of faith, infant baptisms are null. (My line of argument is more or less simplistic.)

This brings me to my current situation. I know that I am saved, and I have made a confession of faith through my confirmation. However, since I am currently attending a church that lines itself up with the Evangelical Tenets of Faith (as do I), is there a necessity to receive water baptism?

what exactly is sin?

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Sin – you’ve probably heard the word before, but what is your definition of it?

According to Oxford dictionary, sin is “an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.”

If you go to Church, sin is typically defined as “disappointing God,” or “disobeying God,” or “breaking his rules.”

This is what Soren Kierkegaard in Sickness onto Death says,
“Sin is building your identity on anything but God.”

But what exactly does that mean? In short, we all have people, things, reputations, etc. that we feel like we need to have. For example, a certain job, a specific title, a specific type of girlfriend/boyfriend, etc.

We all have things that we feel like we need to have.

However what happens when we actually get those things? Timothy Keller says that “you’ll be[come] enslaved to it.” Furthermore, “when you actually get it, it won’t actually satisfy the hole in your heart, and if in anyway you fail it, it’ll curse you for the rest of your life.”

Consequently, rather than considering sin as breaking a set of rules, what if we began viewing sin in the same way Soren Kierkegaard does? “Sin is building your identity on anything but God.”

What would change?

Here’s another question – How do you view sin

blessings from God

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I just read an awesome and insightful entry by Pete Wilson, which you can check out here.

The following are my thoughts on a similar topic:

We are blessed. Having the technology, time, and money to access the internet and view this post means that you are blessed. I probably don’t even have to convince you regarding how much you are blessed. Just look at the clothes you’re wearing, the things in your house, the fact that you have a roof over your head, the people in your life, etc.

As a result, there are a few different types of people. There are those who don’t even consider themselves blessed, in comparison to others, and have this insatiable desire for more. These people don’t feel like they have enough as it is, and are always thinking about what else they could buy.

On the other hand, there are those who consider themselves blessed, but still want more regardless.

We hear and read about all the people in the world who are suffering. The fact that one child dies every five seconds from hunger related causes (that’s 16 000 children everyday). The fact that 12 million people have been orphaned by AIDS, across sub-Saharan Africa, by the end of 2005. The fact that 10.1 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday in 2005. And the fact that approximately 30 000 people go to bed hungry everyday.

Sure we read and hear about these facts, but is our heart moved? Are we compelled to act? Maybe…maybe not.

I believe that if we do the following and make a paradigm shift in our thinking, our actions will follow suit:

[Read more…] about blessings from God

healing power of God

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Does God still heal people today?

Watch this short clip – it’s a testimony to what God still does today.

I believe that God still heals people today. However, we need to understand that God doesn’t just heal us for the sake of healing us. He will heal us, of whatever we have, whether it’s a sore thumb or cancer, IN ORDER TO ____________ (fill in the blank). God always has a reason. We may never discover the reasons, but he always does have them. We may even discover one of the reasons, but God is so much more multi-dimensional than us. Even when we think he has healed us in order to do ________, he might have even healed us in order to ___________, _____________, _________________, etc.

My prayer is that you will be encouraged through watching this clip and that you would discover the ways that God has been pursuing you your whole life. I pray that you would understand and experience the almighty power of God.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/aZ_ny8hMgRY&hl]

am i asian or am i western?

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In many Asian cultures, false humility is rampant. Helen Lee, in Growing Healthy Asian American Churches, describes false humility to be “humility in the guise of deference.” For example, in a situation when a person is asked to perform a respectable task, many Asians will automatically reply with a humble “no,” even though they know that they are more than competent to do the task. In the same situation, a Westerner would typically jump at the opportunity to get ahead of the pack. Why is there such a difference? What’s the motivation?

Many Asians do this, Helen Lee states, “to avoid potential conflict or embarrassment.”

In other words, many Asians (mostly Confucian-based Asian Cultures) are influenced by the motto – “The nail that sticks up gets nailed down.” However, the motto in the West is – “The early bird gets the worm.

That’s all fine and good, but what about people like me? I’m neither Asian nor Western – I’m both! So how do I reconcile these seemingly contrary qualities?

Well, as a Korean-Canadian, the Asian side of me seems to be much more dominant than the Western side. In other words, my soul hates conflict and doesn’t like to stand out, but my brain knows that I need to put my foot forward if I want to thrive in this Western culture I live in. So is there a constant battle going on within myself? Is there this constant struggle between my Asian “ness” and my Western “ness”? Do I have symptoms of schizophrenia??

Haha…no’p!

Here is how I reconcile it: Instead of placing my foundational identity in my Asian “ness” or in my Western “ness”, I place the roots of my identity in Christ Jesus. I find my identity and my acceptance in Him. After that, I do whatever I need to do to thrive (notice that I’m saying thrive and not survive) and work in excellence.

Thus, although I hate conflict, when I know that someone or something needs to be confronted, I will suck it up, and I will do it. When I know that there is a significant opportunity to advance my knowledge or my experience, I will put my foot forward and volunteer myself. Is that because I am more Western than Asian? No, I don’t think so. I believe it’s because I’ve learned to mold the two cultures into one – a uniquely Korean-Canadian Daniel Sangi Im.

What about you?

understanding our culture

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I just read a great post from murphy24p about the relationship between culture and church.

He had these four categories “un-churched,” “de-churched,” “over-churched,” and the “churched.” As I was reading this post, I noticed that the centre point of his discussion was how individuals related to the church. Then I wondered, what would these relationships look like if we placed the cravings of the human soul as the centre point?

Here are my categories:

The Unreflective: These individuals have an understanding of the Church and Christianity that is based mostly on second-hand knowledge. In other words, their perception of the Church and Christianity is from pop culture, weddings, and funerals. Therefore, they never go to church, nor examine the claims of Christianity because they believe they already know what it’s all about.

The Hurt: These individuals have personally been hurt by Christians and/or by Churches. As a result, they see Christians and the Church as a bunch of hypocrites. They resonate with Karl Marx in believing that “religion is the opium of the masses.”

The Seeker: These individuals are more in tune with their self-identity and realize that they have these unquenchable cravings and thirsts in their life. As a result, they seek to quench these cravings in any way that they can, including through the examination of Jesus Christ.

The Sojourner: These individuals realize that life does not end when they die, but that there is eternal life through Jesus Christ. As a result, they see their time on earth as temporary and mission-oriented. There is more to life than this.

changing the perception of church in Quebec (radio appearance)

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I just came back from discussing, ‘Conversations with the Homeless,’ in a radio interview with Jeffrey Mackie on CKUT 90.3 FM. If you missed it, you can listen to it here. I come up a few minutes after the clip begins.

In the interview, I also mentioned the church that I am currently serving as a Youth Pastor in River’s Edge Community Church. At River’s Edge, part of our core mission is to change the perception of Church in Quebec. This isn’t some randomly chosen mission statement, but it is uniquely tailored to our situation here in Quebec because of all the past church-related hurts and scandals that have affected and misconstrued the perception of church in Quebec.

As a result, rather than following the line of many churches today in constructing a modern facility to house our church gatherings, Lorenzo DellaForesta (our Lead Pastor) decided to go the route of obtaining and meeting in an abandoned Catholic Church. River’s Edge is not Catholic, and it is in fact the Catholic Church that many Quebecers have been hurt by. As a result, why we would we meet in a Catholic Church? Isn’t that the stupidest thing to do? Sure, maybe it would have been stupid to do it 10-15 years ago. However, considering the times we are in now, it is actually one of the most strategic things to do.

Why? Because there is an overriding sense of spirituality that pervades our post-modern culture. As a result, what many individuals crave for isn’t a modern version of Christianity, but a post-modern, spiritually-oriented community of faith that meets in a designated sacred space.

conversations with the homeless (radio appearance)

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This upcoming Friday July 18th, I’ll be appearing on the radio, CKUT 90.3 FM at 8:30 am. You could also listen from the internet by clicking here.

I’ve been asked to appear on a radio show with Jeffrey Mackie to comment on an event we did a month ago with our youth ministry – Conversations with the Homeless.

We did the event for a couple of reasons.

Did you know that there are approximately 2100 verses on the poor and the oppressed in the Bible? That definitely says something in itself. Did you also know that in one of Jesus’ first sermons, he proclaimed that he was not only called to share the good news to the poor, but to also act and set them free from their oppression? (Luke 4)

As a result, I know that all of us have had contact with the homeless. My question to you is: What was your response? Did you ignore them? Did you give them something? Did you demean them? etc.

The easiest “charitable” thing to do for individuals who are homeless is to give them food, right? Well, instead of merely meeting their physical need, and feeling good about our “charitable” work, we thought we would take the next step and do something different – something that many people refuse to do and in many ways, something that is actually more difficult. We decided to give them our time. In other words, conversation.

I hope you can tune in and hear the interview.

mosquitoes, camping, and God

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27 mosquito bites later, here I am sitting at my computer, trying to make sense of what has just happened.

I just came back from an amazing time camping with friends from my church. It was amazing to spend the day at the beach, have bbq sausages, and just talk and talk and talk over the camp fire. It was truly a memorable time. What made the whole time even more memorable was the fact that it rained and everything in my tent got soaked. It was good though, especially since I wasn’t the only one basking in wetness :p

All that said, you are probably wondering what I am trying to make sense of. It’s one thing: Why did God create mosquitoes?

Yeah, yeah, I know the whole food chain answer, and such, but really, why did God create mosquitoes? Was it to make sure we would never enjoy summer camping? Maybe it was because he wanted to teach us how to suffer through pain? Or maybe it was so that we would realize that the world doesn’t actually revolve around us to please and serve us?

Anyway, I better reapply Afterbite – viva la mosquitoes

awakened2run camping trip
awakened2run camping trip

the 21st century north american church (part 3)

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The New Testament and Multi-Ethnic Groups

When examining the incarnation, the apostles, the early church, and the eschatological vision in the New Testament, the ethnic picture is unambiguously multi-ethnic. This is best portrayed by looking at the very first multi-ethnic church.

The Church in Antioch as a Model for the Multi-Ethnic Church

The very first multi-ethnic church in the history of Christianity was not established by the Holy Apostles, but it was a handful of “Christians” (Acts 11:26) who, obeying Jesus’ words in the Great Commission and the Ascension, traveled to the “ends of the earth” – Antioch – to “make disciples of all nations.”

Antioch, the “religiously pluralistic and pleasure seeking” urban port city was “the provincial capital of Syria,” and “the third largest city in the Graeco-Roman empire after Rome and Alexandria.” As a result of the city’s multi-ethnic demographic, there was constant interaction between “Syrians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Persians, Armenians, Parthians, Cappadocians, and Jews,” which created a cultural ethos of “hatred and fear rooted in intense ethnic antagonisms.” Thus, in this global and urban port-city, the first multi-ethnic church was formed.

The church in Antioch was multi-ethnic because it was a community of faith that was composed of more than two different ethnicities, where not one ethnicity held a significant majority. For example, the leadership of the church consisted of one Jew from Jerusalem (Barnabas), another Jew from Tarsus that was also a Roman citizen (Paul), a black African (Simeon who is called Niger), a man from “the capital city of Libya in northern Africa” (Lucius of Cyrene), and the step-brother of Herod Antipas, a Roman tetrarch (Manaen).

Not only was the leadership of the church multi-ethnic, but so was the congregation. And not only was the congregation multi-ethnic, but so was the city.

Obviously, a multi-ethnic church isn’t something that can be realized everywhere, but should they not be much more evident in multi-ethnic metropolitan cities?

(Sources Cited: Ken Shigematsu, Thomas V. Brisco, Michelle Slee, Crutiss Paul DeYoung, Michael O. Emerson, George Yancey, Karen Chai Kim)