Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

Church Multiplication

Gripped by the Greatness of God (A New Season)

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I’m writing this in my new office, in a new city, with a new position (Groups Pastor), in a new church (Beulah Alliance Church). In short, my family and I moved to Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) 2 weeks ago to start this new chapter in our lives.

It’s amazing how God’s grace is so real and just how his timing is absolutely perfect. After leaving Korea, we had no idea where we were going or what we were going to do. That, in and of itself, was stressful enough, but on top of that, we had only a limited amount of money left in our savings. Thank God that we were able to stay with my parents and Christina’s parents in the meantime.

Upon leaving Korea, I was hoping that I would find a position right away and start our new life immediately, but God had different plans for us. It was really a whole bunch of silence for the next couple of months, and that time proved so valuable and crucial for God to do the work he needed to do in our lives. Plus, our daughter had the opportunity to spend months with her grandparents – something that she wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.

All that to say, I am absolutely loving Edmonton, Beulah, my new position, and this whole new chapter in our lives.

Now that the introduction is done, let me get to the meat of what I wanted to share with you. Right now, our church is going through a series entitled – “Griped by the Greatness of God.” As I was spending time reading the Bible this morning, I just wanted to share the passage that popped out to me.

He (Jesus) was supreme in the beginning and – leading the resurrection parade – he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe – people and things, animals and atoms – get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. (Colossians 1:18-20 The Message Translation)

Why don’t you read that passage again and realize just how great our God is?

What are the two biggest struggles facing the churches in your context?

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Here’s my answer, what’s yours?

Rather than being a powerful force of Kingdom counter-culture, the churches in my context have assimilated into this consumeristic North American culture. In an attempt to reach more people with the gospel, churches have lowered the bar of commitment and incorrectly redefined what it means to be a Christian. Sure, maybe lowering the bar of commitment brings more people into the church, but as a backlash, this has created a culture of consumerism within the church. That is why churches are constantly facing a shortage of volunteers, a resistance to involvement in community, and a lack of giving. This consumeristic tendency is producing Christians who just want to receive, receive, and receive, instead of balancing the rhythms of receiving and giving. This is fundamentally wrong in so many ways; after all, did not Jesus come to the earth to serve, instead of be served (Matt 20:28)? And after being saved by grace, aren’t Christians called to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for them to do (Eph 2:8-10)?

In addition to consumerism, I believe that the second biggest struggle that churches in my context are facing is individualism. Rather than viewing loving others as a natural outflow of loving God (Matt 22:37-40), many Christians are choosing to compartmentalize their faith from their everyday life. The result of this is the astounding possibility that one’s neighbors or coworkers could be Christian, but one may never even know it. Now I am not suggesting that Christians go and preach the gospel to all their neighbors and coworkers just to make a statement about their faith, but I am suggesting that a true follower of Jesus should be living a life that is so integrated and whole, that others are able to notice something different about them. For a Christian, faith and life go hand in hand – loving God and loving others are one in the same thing.

No such thing as a "Lay" Christian

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So often, Christians create faux-categories to justify and rationalize their laziness and desire to compartmentalize their faith. We think that there are certain Christians who are “called” to be pastors, and others who are “called” to be missionaries, but what about everyone else? Well, if you’re not “called” to be a pastor or a missionary, then I guess you just fall into a third category called – “lay” Christian…where you just go to church on Sunday, sing some songs, listen to someone preach, and then go home.

When you search the New Testament, there is no such thing as a “lay” Christian. Sure, different people have different roles, but there is no such thing as a “lay” Christian as we know it today. It’s a false category! [Read more…] about No such thing as a "Lay" Christian

Missional and Organic Leadership

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I’ve been interested in the issue of leadership and how we can contextualize biblical and secular leadership principles to our churches so that more people can come to know the hope that we have in Christ Jesus.

I loved reading Neil Cole’s Organic Church a few years back as it transformed the way that I view the church. I recently picked up his book, Organic Leadership, and can’t wait to dive into it!

Ed Stetzer’s books have always been good as he is very much of an intellectual like myself, but he uses his intellectual gifts and talents for the church and for practical purposes and means. I love that and that’s what I am striving to do, as that is where I’m discovering my talents and giftings lie. One book he co-authored with David Putman, Breaking the Missional Code, is a must-read for church leaders as it practically describes how to contextualize the gospel to your immediate situation.

On his website, he recently posted a seminar he did for church leaders on missional leadership. I saw it once, and i’m definitely going to be revisiting it again and again until I can truly understand and apply the biblical principles he outlines.

Here it is,

Worship Services in the Early Church

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I’m currently preaching through 1 Corinthians 12-14 to our youth ministry, Nine37, on the topic of spiritual gifts. As I was preparing my message for tomorrow’s service, I stumbled upon 1 Cor 14:26 and began wondering what worship services looked like in the early church.

1 Corinthians 14:26 NIV – “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” [Read more…] about Worship Services in the Early Church