Daniel Im

Book Review: The Great Omission – Dallas Willard

January 19, 2013 By Daniel Im

In The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship, Dallas Willard magnificently preaches a simple and basic message on discipleship, of which is commonly missing and misunderstood in many churches today.

I love the way that he breaks down the misconception that there are different levels in being a Christian, since this is the exact problem that has made discipleship an option, rather than a baseline requirement for being Christian (i.e. this is the great omission that he is talking about). I appreciate the fact that he is not just calling Christians to change, but that he is actually expanding the scope and call to all people by emphasizing that following Christ is “the fulfillment of the highest human possibilities” (Location 312).

Hitting Restart: A Different Perspective on the New Year

January 18, 2013 By Daniel Im

Hitting Restart
Don’t you ever wish there was a restart button on life?

When we search through the Scriptures, there is a profound moment where the absence of a restart button sunk in and all the consequences of a particular choice began to appear. It was a moment when full perspective was gained, and this man…Judas Iscariot… realized what he had done to Jesus.

Although we all may agree that Judas wished there was a restart button on life, have you ever wondered why Judas would do such a thing? Why did he betray Jesus? His rabbi? His teacher? What did Jesus ever do to him to deserve this?

By listening to this sermon, that I preached at Beulah Alliance Church on Dec 29/30, 2012, we might find a clue as to why Judas might have done it. And really, it’s probably not what you think. It’s deeper than that – perhaps Judas betrayed Jesus because there was something deep within him that was dictating his life.

Check out this message to learn more.

Hitting Restart – Daniel Im.mp3

Is relocation required for urban ministry?

December 18, 2012 By Daniel Im

A picture I took in downtown Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics

Did you know that in 2010, slightly over half of the world’s population lived in major urban centres, but that by 2050, the estimate is 70%?

What are the implications of this massive shift? Well, this scale of an urban migration can often lead to the separation of families due to work and a loss of a communal identity. It can also lead to ecological challenges, increasingly concentrated areas of poverty, and a decrease in family support systems.

Thus, cities need to be on our radar, since this massive shift IS happening.

Doing ministry in the city is going to be an increasingly talked about issue in the 21st century, but is it actually necessary to move into the city? Or is it possible to have an effective and fruitful ministry in the city, while living in the suburbs and just driving in?

Ray Bakke, in his book, A Theology as Big as the City (click here for a book review), has a strong view on this issue. He deeply believes that there is no substitute for “the conscious relocation of Christians to set up residency and witness in the midst of the evil” in the cities. He even goes as far to say that there exists a relationship between the preservation of urban communities and the presence of the godly.

Book Review: Primal Leadership – Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee

November 28, 2012 By Daniel Im

The following is an analytical book review of Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee’s Primal Leadership.

The thesis of Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee’s Primal Leadership is that it is neither a high IQ nor masterful skills that truly make a leader – the key essence is a high level of emotional intelligence.

This emotional intelligence helps leaders create resonance, which is “a reservoir of positivity that frees the best in people” (Location 46). Leaders can do this by moving between the six different leadership styles, while also increasingly growing in the four emotional intelligence domains. If leaders grasp these truths, then the impact across their lives, teams, organizations, and society will be revolutionary. [Read more…] about Book Review: Primal Leadership – Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee

Incarnational Ministry in the Inner City

November 17, 2012 By Daniel Im

During my recent visit to L.A., I visited Macarthur Park with my classmates. It was originally built in 1880 as a vacation destination for the rich, but then it degraded into a gang banging, drug filled, crime scene from the 1960’s-1980’s. Now, it is a cleaned up multicultural neighborhood that is predominantly Mexican and Central American.

While I was there, I visited Innerchange, which is an incarnational Christian order among the poor with locations across the world. They are communities of missionaries who are intentionally choosing to live in marginalized neighborhoods in order to live out the Gospel there, in both word and deed. It’s because of their presence in that neighbourhood, along with Mama’s Hot Tamales, that MacArthur Park is now what it is.

What impacts me the most about this experience is how Innerchange is not just in the neighborhood to temporarily fix a problem, but that they are there living in the neighborhood with the people.

They are ministers amongst the poor who are critically thinking about how to transform problems into assets.

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