Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

Daniel Im

The Most Important Question When Discerning Your Next Steps

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Not making the decision isn’t the issue. The issue is not even having the option of making the decision.

It’s not that I don’t like double negatives, it’s just that they can sometimes be tricky to navigate—much like decision making. And boy, was this last year ever a year for decision making.

Five years ago, when we moved down to Nashville to serve the Church in her mission of making disciples with LifeWay Leadership, I never thought we’d be back up in Canada this soon. In fact, we had just gotten permanent residency in the States, which was a long, complicated, and expensive process.

But last Fall, Christina and I began sensing that change was on the horizon. There was this unsettledness in our hearts that couldn’t be explained. We loved everything about our lives in Nashville. Our community was incredible, our church was healthy and growing, our podcast was impacting marriages and families, and my work at LifeWay was affecting and changing church practice. I was also in the middle of writing my third book, while continuing to accept invitations to speak on my previous one. In other words, there was no human reason for us to move, or even consider a change—especially if you’re an Enneagram 3 like I am. In fact, I even heard some people remark that I had their dream job.

So you can probably anticipate how surprised I was when, only a few months later, Christina and I started praying about coming back to Beulah Alliance Church—especially since it was in the middle of an Edmonton winter (#ifyouknowyouknow). And to be crystal clear, this wasn’t some trite little “prayer” that we carelessly tossed up to God. No, this was one of those all-hands-on-deck, get-on-your-knees, everything-is-up-for-grabs, I-can’t-believe-I’m-actually-praying-this kind of prayer.

Here’s why it was one of those prayers.

When Keith Taylor, the Lead Pastor of Beulah for the last 28 years, asked us to pray about coming back, it wasn’t just to fill a gap. He had been asking God to unsettle the right person’s heart who was going to come alongside him and lead Beulah into the future.

Unsettle?

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What Mazda Can Teach You About Core Values

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With so many options out there, how do you choose?

I remember the first time I went grocery shopping without my parents and feeling paralyzed by all the different options for salad dressing. I only had one job—to buy salad dressing—yet I couldn’t make the decision.

Do I go for classic ranch or caesar? What about garlic caesar? And why are some cheaper than others? Raspberry vinaigrette sounds good too, but balsamic vinaigrette is the safer option.

And now with Amazon and online shopping, it’s even worse. There are over 8,000 results for “salad dressing” on Amazon!

Well, fast forward several years later, I felt the same way when shopping for a new car…

…but this time, I saw the leadership lesson underneath the surface.

Did you know that clay is still used to design cars? No, I’m not referring to a small lump of clay or Play Doh that you model into a miniature car. I’m referring to full life sized models of cars made out of clay!

Okay, to be honest, I didn’t know that clay was ever used to design cars, but it makes sense as a medium…of the past. From 1927 to the end of the 1950s, Harley Earl of General Motors used clay to design cars. But that was then! These days, car companies have 3D printers, design software, and virtual reality at their disposal, so why would they still use such an archaic method for design?

I didn’t understand why, until I came across this one particular Mazda commercial.

Now, is Mazda the only car company using clay to design their vehicles? By no means! Yet, that commercial helped me see Mazda cars as sculptures of art, rather than hunks of metal or utilitarian modes of transportation.

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How to Create a Discipleship Pathway

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After surveying and studying the discipleship pathways of thriving churches across North America for my book No Silver Bullets, I discovered that ownership matters when it comes to creating a discipleship pathway.

Most discipleship pathways are typically organized around what the church can do for individuals. This is because churches typically see their discipleship pathway as the ways disciples are formed through the ministries of their church: weekend services, classes, events, groups, and serve opportunities. And while I don’t disagree that the church needs to offer environments and opportunities for individuals to get plugged in and grow, I’ve come to discover that the goal for a discipleship pathway is never to get someone through it; the goal is to get individuals to own it.

The goal for a discipleship pathway is never to get someone through it; the goal is to get individuals to own it.

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Authenticity vs. Excellence

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If you had to choose one, which would you choose?

If you were only known for one of these values, which would you prefer?

If your team could be marked by either authenticity or excellence, which would you rather?

Unless you wrestle through black and white polarizing questions like these ones, you’ll never uncover your true bias.

After all, most leaders would publicly choose both, but when push comes to shove, often lean in one direction or the other. So which direction is that for you?

And that’s the thing. It really is a direction. Authenticity and excellence are not opposites. I’ve been a part of worship services that have been both authentic and excellent—in mega, medium, and micro churches. The same is true for concerts, small groups, staff meetings, service projects, and block parties. All of those gatherings can be simultaneously authentic and excellent, but they often lack one or the other—or both.

Authenticity and excellence are not opposites.

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So if you had to choose one, which would you choose? Or better yet, if authenticity and excellence were on the opposite ends of a spectrum—even though they’re technically not in opposition to one another—where would you mark yourself?

If you had to choose one, which would you choose?

Let’s explore the implications of both choices for the teams that you’re on and the teams that you lead.

1. Choosing excellence over authenticity

Teams that are led with a bias toward excellence over authenticity are often high pressure. Workaholics thrive on teams like this. Enneagram 3s and 8s would be attracted to these environments. Projects are prioritized over people. Hard growth metrics are more important than emotional health. You are judged solely on your public persona—as long as you keep your private life private.

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Discipleship in the Local Church

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When I spoke at the Calvary Chapel Global Pastors and Leaders Conference last year, I had the privilege of being on “Things That Matter” with Brian Brodersen, who is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.

Check out this episode where he interviews me on my faith story, the role of discipleship in the local church, spiritual maturity, and how we can define maturity differently.

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