Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

books

Book Review and Best Quotes: Habits for Our Holiness by Philip Nation

By

41WQr4W89ML._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_“The spiritual disciplines can help you, but they cannot save you.”

I love books written on the spiritual disciplines because I understand that my relationship with God is the plumb line to everything in my life. If I’m not regularly spending time with God in prayer, reading Scripture, and engaging in the other disciplines, my compass gets skewed and there’s fall out everywhere else.

Here’s the problem though: most books on spiritual disciplines lack one thing.

That one thing isn’t great stories, solid theology, innovative ways to practice the disciplines, or motivation. That one thing is how the disciplines connect to mission.

In Habits for Our Holiness, my friend and co-teaching pastor, Philip Nation, addresses what’s been lacking in most books on spiritual disciplines in a readable, yet comprehensive way. It’s precisely this,

Discipline leads to mission.

[Read more…] about Book Review and Best Quotes: Habits for Our Holiness by Philip Nation

Why You Should Read Multiple Books at the Same Time

By

Flickr - missusdoubleyou
Flickr – missusdoubleyou

I’ve discovered that if I’m not reading, I’m not learning. And if I’m not learning, I’m not growing. And if I’m not growing, I have no right to be leading.

Reading and learning are the gasoline to my car. I’ve discovered that, the more I’m reading and learning, the further I can go in life and the better that I can come up with ideas and strategies to implement and execute them.

I love the following quotes about reading:

Some books are to be tested, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested – Francis Bacon

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body – Richard Steele

A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read – Mark Twain

He that loves reading has everything within his reach – William Godwin

The one technique to reading that I’ve discovered is to never read just one book at a time. 

The greatest innovations in history have often resulted when two seemingly disparate ideas, from different disciplines, are brought together. That’s why I’m always challenging myself to read from different disciplines, all at the same time.

The one technique to reading that I’ve discovered is to never read just one book at a time.

Click To Tweet

With my current responsibilities in directing LifeWay’s initiative to resource church planters, multisite churches, and multipliers at NewChurches.com, in addition to consulting denominations and networks, writing books, preaching regularly, and leading a software development initiative to transform the way churches and denominations assess, train, and coach, I have a lot on my plate. That’s why I need to keep my mind sharp by reading, learning, and growing.

Here’s what I’m currently working on:

[Read more…] about Why You Should Read Multiple Books at the Same Time

Book Review: Exiles: Living Missionally – Michael Frost

By

Michael Frost is the vice principal of Morling College, the founding director of the Tinsley Institute, the co-founder of the Forge Mission Training Network, and an author of several books, including The Shaping of Things to Come. He is a leading voice in the missional church movement and an internationally recognized Australian missiologist.

The thesis of Exiles is that following Christ in today’s world requires a critique of and departure from the culture of Christendom and the greater empire. In order to do that, Frost exhorts his readers to embrace their identity as exiles living on foreign soil – “as a pesky, fringe dwelling alternative to the dominant forces of our times” (10). This is a book that will empower all Christians to embrace a Christ-centered faith that is lived out through a missional lifestyle in the everyday rhythms of life. [Read more…] about Book Review: Exiles: Living Missionally – Michael Frost