Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

Books

Expanding + Expounding on No Silver Bullets

By

Is there a 2.0 version of No Silver Bullets?

I am deeply grateful that the message of No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry is still helping churches around the world figure out how to create a discipleship pathway, and make micro-shifts that lead to macro-changes.

But it’s been 8 years since the book released, and since then—my goodness how our world has changed!

Today, our world is arguably more divisive, more political, more indifferent, and more impatient than it’s ever been. We are living in a post-truth, post-Christian, post-pandemic, and pretty much post-everything world.

So to my question above—yes there is a 2.0 version of No Silver Bullets! It’s called The Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World where I expand and expound on No Silver Bullets:

  • In it, I revisit the structure of a discipleship pathway that I unpacked in No Silver Bullets, and then expand and expound on how to create one in the world that we’re living in today. 
  • On top of that, I unpack the biggest shift that’s taken place over the last 70+ years of church strategy and structures in North America, and how we must adapt today. 

So if you thought No Silver Bullets was helpful, then I want to encourage you to pick up a copy of my newest book, The Discipleship Opportunity.

Top Quotes on Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today by John Stott

By

Of all the books on preaching out there, this is my favourite one.

Published in 1982 by John Stott (1921-2011) who was a pastor to pastors, theologian, integral to the Lausanne Movement, and the author of more than 50 books, this book is an oldie, but definitely a goodie.

At Beulah, I bring all of our preacher’s together (current and aspiring) four times a year for our Preacher’s Learning Community. Between Two Worlds by John Stott is required reading as it’s comprehensive in the theology, art, craft, and calling of preaching.

In my opinion, here are the top quotes from this classic. Enjoy!

[Read more…] about Top Quotes on Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today by John Stott

Ideas to Develop Your Staff and Ministry Team in 2025

By

If we don’t live with intentionality—both in life and leadership—then time has a way of stealing the years away from us.

A year passes by and we’re still facing the same ‘ol problems. New year, new you? Not necessarily. It’s more like new year, same you. It’s a year later and while it might seem like you’re dealing with seemingly new problems, they’re really just the old ones with a different face.

So for 2025, instead of coming up with a fancy New Year’s resolution, why not just resolve to read more? After all, I find that reading sparks new ideas, and reading can help us get out of ruts. I love how Margaret Fuller once put it, “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” Or the words of Dr. Seuss, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

So to kick off this new year, I want to recommend five books that will help you step into this new year with intentionality. Five books that will help you grow yourself and your staff and ministry team with rigorous intentionality.

1. LEADING SELF

In order to lead others well, we need to be committed to constantly growing and leading ourselves. So the first book that I want to recommend is Chuck DeGroat’s new one, Healing What’s Within. Christina and I interviewed him on Episode 186 of our IMbetween Podcast where we unpacked the importance of self-awareness, loneliness, disconnection, and healing. This book will help you discover how to heal the hidden hurt in your life that might be keeping you back from moving forward.

Healing What’s Within: Coming Home to Yourself—and to God—When You’re Wounded, Weary, and Wandering, by Chuck DeGroat

2. LEADING OTHERS

This next book is a classic. It reads like the book of Proverbs from the Bible. And when it comes to leading others, this book has gems of wisdom throughout. No wonder it’s sold over 1 million copies! Topics include the cost of leadership, the responsibility of leadership, the qualities and criteria of leadership, and how to reproduce leaders.

Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer, by J. Oswald Sanders.

3. LEADING LEADERS

I’ve coached over 1000 people through the StrengthsFinder assessment (now called the CliftonStrengths Assessment), as it’s one of the best scientifically researched tools to help you lead yourself, lead others, and lead leaders. If you haven’t taken it, definitely do so, and here’s a great complimentary book that will help you understand and implement the results from your assessment. 

Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow, by Tom Roth and Barry Conchie

4. LEADING DEPARTMENTS

If you’re a departmental or divisional leader, then you need a quick and sure way to recognize and remember the differences between your teammates, and a way to help you integrate their work with one another. And that’s why Patrick Lencioni’s Working Genius assessment is my recommendation for this category. Here’s an article I wrote describing the differences between the Working Genius and StrengthsFinder.

The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team, by Patrick M. Lencioni.

5. LEADING ORGANIZATIONS (or your church)

Jesus never said to “go and make country club members, social justice advocates, or religious institutions.” He said to “go and make disciples.” Disciples! Disciples who make disciples who make disciples. Do you have a way to do that in your church? A deliberate and intentional pathway to make disciples in our post-pandemic, post-Christian, and post-everything world? This is precisely why I wrote The Discipleship Opportunity, and why my hope is that you will take the vision setters and decision makers in your church through it.

The Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World, by Daniel Im.

Preface to the Korean Version of Planting Missional Churches

By

The book I co-authored with Ed Stetzer, Planting Missional Churches (2nd edition), is now in Korean! A huge thanks to 설훈 and 요단출판사 for their work to translate our book.

I had the opportunity to write a new Preface for the Korean edition. Here’s what it says in English:

I am who I am today because of church planting. My love for Jesus is stronger, my faith is rooted deeper, and I believe my ministry has experienced a greater measure of fruitfulness because of the church plant I grew up in, and the church plants I’ve been a part of.

My parents (Byongnam and Soonim) immigrated to Canada in the 1970s from South Korea. They brought their faith in Jesus, their love for the church, and their desire to start afresh and anew to Canada. Because of a desire to be in community and on mission, they helped plant the church that I grew up in, The Philadelphia Church of Vancouver.

Growing up, I didn’t know anything else. Of course you would start new churches to reach new people. Of course you would sacrifice your time, talent, and treasure to help the church grow. Of course you would have people over to your house to fellowship, worship, study the Bible, and pray. Of course you would be incredibly welcoming and evangelistic to reach the lost. Of course life would revolve around the church.

I didn’t know that Christians lived any other way. I didn’t know that for many Christians, faith is a once or twice a month commitment if it suits their schedule. I didn’t know that some could call themselves Christians simply for the social benefits that it gives them. I didn’t know because church planting was my all and everything.

The first two churches I served in were church plants. The third church was a global church planting church. And the church that I’m now the Lead Pastor at, Beulah Alliance Church in Edmonton, Canada, has planted over 30 churches in its 100 year history.

I love church planting because it’s one of the most powerful means of spreading the gospel. Ed Stetzer and I are convinced that church planting is, and will always remain, a key part in the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

Now while Ed and I worked on this book together, we’ve chosen to write the rest of the book in first person and in Ed’s voice. However, since I’m a second-generation Korean Canadian, and this is the Korean translation of the book, we decided that I, Daniel Im, would write the preface.

So before we get into the book, let me end this preface with a story about a heroic church planter.

He rises up early in the morning—earlier than anyone else like Jesus did (Mark 1:35)—to pray and seek God’s face for the salvation of his city. He single-handedly raises more than enough finances to cover all of his church plant’s expenses for five years because of his earnest faith in our Father who gives us our daily bread (Matthew 6:10). His church plant quadruples in size every single year because of his anointed preaching and dynamic worship services (Acts 2:41-47). Every month, he plants church after church after church because the fields are ready for harvest and he’s cracked the code on rapid multiplication (John 4:35).

Do you know anyone like that? Is this who you want to become? This person sounds incredible, don’t they? Intimacy with Jesus and fruitfulness in ministry—what else would you want as a pastor?

The only problem is that it’s a myth!

Now let me clarify before you close this book, or throw it away.

I’m not saying that intimacy with Jesus and fruitfulness in ministry is a myth. I’m saying that the individualistic heroic church planter who single-handedly accomplishes and grows their church plant because of their own skills and abilities is a myth! Growing spiritually and ministering effectively is not a solo endeavour. And the key to success isn’t charisma and a master plan. 

The path to planting missional churches that multiply for God’s glory is one that can only be taken together with others, with Jesus as the Head, and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. And that’s the path that we want to take you on in this book. So let’s get started.

Daniel Im

Edmonton, Canada

If you are interested, you can pick up a copy of the book here.