Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

Leadership

The Measure of a Sermon

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Disclaimer: This article is written by a preacher for fellow preachers. If you are not a pastor, I hope that this will provide you with insight to know what your pastor might be feeling after preaching.

“You’re either a winner or a loser.”

While that statement might be true for sports, it’s not true for preaching. The measure of a game—like hockey, football, or basketball—is ultimately determined by the number of points scored. Sure, some games might be more memorable than others because of particular plays, or extraordinary efforts by certain individuals. But when all is said and done, it actually doesn’t matter how many points one team scores, unless they’ve scored more than the other team. In other words, unless there’s a loser, there is no winner.

This obviously doesn’t apply to preaching, right? …or does it?

I recognize that your average church doesn’t have a massive Jumbotron or scoreboard in the auditorium, but why does it still feel like there is one?

Let’s just think about this for a moment, if there were an actual Jumbotron, what would be considered a “goal,” or a “point scored” in preaching?

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You Are What You Do – Audiobook

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As a podcaster, recording an audiobook was such a fun experience. If you find that you don’t have the time to sit down and read, I know that you’ll love listening to the truths inside of my newest book.

If you aren’t already on Audible, click here to get a free trial and download my audiobook for free. Otherwise, click here to see all the different ways you can grab a copy of the book (paperback, kindle, or audible).

Here’s the summary of You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies About Work, Life, and Love

The way that we’ve done things for centuries has been unsettled and unseated. We’re living in a new normal. And while on the surface many of these changes look like the next best thing, there’s actually a complex and fragile web of lies holding it all together:

You are what you do
You are what you experience
You are who you know
You are what you know
You are what you own
You are who you raise
You are your past

In You Are What You Do, author and Pastor Daniel Im considers these seven lies and the context that causes them to flourish. Through personable stories, research, and pastoral insight, Daniel will show you how to recognize these everyday lies in your life so that you can discover the truth on the other side. The truth that leads to freedom. The truth that moves you from surviving to thriving. The truth that will unlock a life of purpose, adventure, meaning, and destiny.

Do You Have a Culture of Co-Signers or Authorized Users?

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Everyone on your team is either a co-signer or an authorized user.

You might be familiar with the difference between the two — especially if you are a parent to a young adult, or if you’ve ever needed help building your credit. A co-signer on an account takes a shared responsibility for payment, but an authorized user simply has access to the credit line. While this is typically a financial conversation between parents and children, within this concept lies a powerful leadership lesson for anyone leading a team. Every employee is one of the two. Which would you rather have?

Would you rather have a team of co-signers or authorized users?
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In other words, are you building a culture of co-signers or authorized users? It’s quite simple to tell the difference. You know you have a team full of co-signers when everyone feels a personal attachment to your mission, vision and bottom line. And I’m not talking about individuals who have equity in your company — I’m referring to employees, not shareholders.

When you have team members who care about the soft side of culture building and organizational health — and they’re not in your HR department — you know you’ve built a team of co-signers. And when your team is willing to roll up their sleeves, double down on projects and make personal sacrifices in the face of low projections, you have a team of co-signers.

A team of authorized users looks quite different. They might be worried about the consequences of a bad quarter, but they’re not willing to go beyond their scope of work unless you talk about overtime pay or some sort of incentive. Authorized users would obviously like a positive work environment, but if something needs to be fixed, it’s someone else’s problem. And if a team member is willing to jump ship to a competitor, regardless of how much you’ve invested into them, you know they were an authorized user.

Here are three tips that will help you cultivate a culture of co-signers:

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What COVID-19 is Revealing about Your Church

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Have you ever noticed that one of your arms is stronger than the other?

I find that most days, this goes unnoticed—it doesn’t matter if I’m lifting a box that came from Amazon, or setting up tables and chairs for an event. It’s only when I’m lifting weights at the gym—or these days in my makeshift home gym—that I recognize just how much my right arm is stronger than my left.

It’s not immediate though. I don’t necessarily notice it when I start bench pressing. It’s only when I get to my third or fourth set of reps that I start realizing the imbalance because the bar starts dipping slightly lower on my left side.

Let’s think about this for a moment.

Why do you think this is happening? Is it that my left arm suddenly got weaker? And that the weight lifting caused my muscles to deteriorate?

Or, is it that my left arm was already weaker from the outset? And when pressed, put under pressure, and tested, the true strength and health of my arm was simply revealed?

Friends, this global pandemic has not only pressed us to our limits, pressured us beyond our point of comfort, and tested us in ways that we never thought we could handle, but it’s also done the same to the church.

The church is being pressed. The church is being put under pressure. And the church is being tested.

Global pandemic or not, the church has always been a body of believers that are both scattered and gathered. We are called to scatter and share the good news of Jesus making disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20), but we are also called to gather regularly and be of an encouragement to one another (Hebrews 10:25). We are called to scatter and gather. Scatter and gather.

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5 Steps To Easily Increase Connection During COVID-19

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Start an online book club.

It’s super simple and a fool proof way to increase meaningful connection with others around you during this weird season of masking and social distancing.

Here are 5 steps to get started:

  1. Reach out to a few friends, or write a quick post on your favorite social media platform. It can go something like this: “Anyone up for an online book club? I’m about to read [INSERT NAME OF BOOK], and would love to discuss it with a few others.”
  2. Agree on a start date, time, and frequency.
  3. Clarify which chapters to read by when.
  4. Connect using your platform of choice (FaceTime, Instagram, Messenger, Zoom, Hangouts, Houseparty, etc.)
  5. Facilitate the discussion by sharing favorite quotes, what stood out to you, and what you are going to change in light of the chapter.

That’s it!

If you’re looking for book ideas, check out this list of 15 recommended books from LifeWay that are all on sale for under $8.

My newest book, You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies about Work, Life, and Love is on the list for only $8!!