Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

leadership

Questions to Find Your Calling

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calling

“If time and money were no object, what would you do with your life?”

I forget who first asked me that question, but when they did, it was a defining moment for me. Well, it eventually became a defining moment for me. In the moment, it was just plain annoying.

I didn’t want to do the hard work of thinking. I wanted someone just to tell me what my plot in life was. I wanted someone to tell me what I was good at, so that I could just do that, and be done with it. I wanted to copy what made others successful, hoping that following their paths would do the same for me.

Boy, am I ever glad someone asked me that question. It’s what has partially catapulted me down the road to where I am today and the deep honor and privilege I have to serve pastors and church leaders.

I often return to what Sun Tzu, the Chinese general, military strategist, and author of The Art of War wrote. Let me paraphrase him,

If you know your enemy, you’ll win half of the battles. But when you know yourself, you’ll win the other half. [1]

Just imagine the implications if we spent as much time discovering the unique ways that God has wired, gifted, talented, and called us, as we do reading biographies, copying the “successful,” and mimicking models? Investing in yourself is time never wasted.

Investing in yourself is time never wasted.

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The Power of the Right Questions

I love what Peter Drucker wrote about the importance of questions,

Answers are important; you need answers before you need action. But the most important thing is to ask…questions.

In order to find your calling in life, take a moment and prayerfully answer the following questions from my friend Todd Wilson’s new book, More: Find Your Personal Calling and Live Life to the Fullest Measure:

  1. Am I willing to move and go wherever God wants me to go?
  2. Am I willing to work with whomever God wants me to work?
  3. Am I willing to go whenever God asks me to go?
  4. Am I willing to do whatever God asks me to do, regardless of consequences?
  5. How can I expect God to send me and use me if I’m not really willing to go? [2]

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The Musical Art of Leadership

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daniel-im-violin-cropped

You may not be aware of this, but I’m actually a classically trained violinist.

No, this is not what I do for a living, but it’s what I did for over a decade growing up. In fact, the capstone to my “musical” career was to play Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor with a full orchestra accompanying me (that’s a picture of me during that concert). You can listen to it here (no, this is not me performing it, it’s Itzhak Perlman, one of my violin heroes.)

In fact, I never thought I’d get the chance to actually hear him live, but it happened! He came to Nashville and it was worth every penny. He’s a living legend.

Have you ever considered the relationship between music and leadership?

In a TED Talk from 2008, Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, discusses the relationship that music has with effective leadership.

You can watch it here, but let me share a few of my thoughts and reactions on the musical art of leadership, based on his talk:

  • While you might learn the stuff of leadership in a book, seminar, or classroom, the art of leadership can only be learned overtime through sweat, tears, and practice.
  • Rather than trying to rationally convince people they need what you’re offering, figure out a way to awaken, within them, a desire for it,
  • The best leaders focus on making other people powerful, rather than themselves.
  • When people aren’t following, you need to ask yourself, “Who am I being that others aren’t being inspired?”
  • Leaders awaken possibility in others, rather than use others to awaken their own possibility.

The art of leadership can only be learned overtime through sweat, tears, and practice.

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The best leaders focus on making other people powerful, rather than themselves.

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Leaders awaken possibility in others, rather than use others to awaken their own possibility.

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Church Planting! Is it for you?

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road

The question, “Am I called to be a church planter?” is not a straightforward one. It’s not like, “Should I breathe?” or “Should I love others as Jesus does?”

The question, “Am I called to be a church planter?” is kind of like asking, “Should I go into an Arts program, Science Program, or a Trade Program?” What’s implied behind this question is the importance of further education. So the question is more a matter of, “Which route will you take?”

Or it’s like the question, “Should I eat a pop-tart for breakfast?” Yes, obviously you need to eat food, but if you eat a pop-tart for breakfast, how is that going to affect what you eat for lunch? And how will you deal with the sugar crash and belly rumblings mid-morning?

When we look at the biblical commandment to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,” the natural outflow of that is the planting of new churches.

We see this through the Early Church and how the apostles preached the gospel, made disciples, and planted churches that then preached the gospel, made disciples, and planted churches. I mean, just look through the book of Acts! And then look at how the New Testament was written to new churches in their respective life situations. Essentially, the New Testament can be seen as an anthology of church plants. The fact is, just like we all need to eat food or we will die, we need to all be about church planting, or the church will die.

We need to all be about church planting, or the church will die.

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So the better question that we need to answer is, “Am I called to be about church planting?”

And let me make this easy for you. If you’re a follower of Christ, the answer is a default yes.

Now there are people who will object to church planting and will say things like,

  • “Isn’t one larger church better than a lot of smaller churches?” Well, the fact is, it’s not an either/or. Both are good and necessary, but according to our recent State of Church Planting research, we discovered that new church plants are extremely effective at winning people to Christ. So while there isn’t anything wrong with larger churches, there is definitely something wrong if we don’t plant new ones!
  • “We have enough churches!” Based on the census data from 2011, there are 11 churches for every 10,000 Americans. Now unless, there are mega churches in every neighborhood in this country, there simply aren’t enough churches. Add that to the fact that our population continues to increase, and the numbers speak for themselves.

We all need to be about church planting.

But the next question we have to ask ourselves is, “Am I called to be a church planter?” That question is a bit more complex.

In the second edition of Planting Missional Churches, we walked through a few of the characteristics of Paul, the church planter, throughout the New Testament. Here’s a few of his characteristics:

  • He was an evangelist (Acts 9:19-22)
  • He was entrepreneurial (Rom. 15:20-23)
  • He empowered other leaders (Titus 1:5)
  • He cared for people (Acts 20:17-21)
  • He stayed committed to his calling despite the sacrifice (Acts 16:25)

How many of those characteristics do you identify with? It’s not enough to just be excited about the idea of planting a church, being the boss, and not having to do ministry the way others do. Planting a church is much more nuanced than that. If those are the types of reasons that are pushing you to plant, you will fail, the enemy will have his way, and the cumulative aftermath will be devastating.

Planting a church is not just about being the boss!

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So who is the ideal church planter? What does a church planter look like?

There certainly isn’t one type of church planter, since there isn’t just one type of church. Depending upon the model you choose, and the context that you plant in, the type of planter will differ.

However, regardless of model and context, the fact is that every planter and pastor needs to first put themselves up against the biblical qualifications as outlined in passages like 1 Timothy 3. For example, planters need to be above reproach, able to teach, self-controlled, not lovers of money, and so on. Be sure to read through this passage and put yourself up against it.

There certainly isn’t one type of church planter, since there isn’t just one type of church.

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In addition to that list, there are a few other indicators that will give you a glimpse into whether or not God is calling you to be a church planter:

1) Starter. Do you have a pattern of starting things? Lemonade stands, Bible studies, compassion-based ministries, and the like? Are they still around after you’ve left? You will be doing this over and over again in planting.

2) Equipper. Do you always have to be the one doing the work of ministry? Or can you lead and equip others to do the work of ministry? How about leading others who lead others? This is our task as church leaders and pastors—to be equippers, not doers as we read in Ephesians 4:11-13. Without this, your church will never break the 50 barrier or grow beyond your personal leadership lid.

3) Dreamer. Do you long to make a greater impact and change this world? Do you see the world in a different way? Can you help people catch that vision? This hunger and drive is critical for church planters.

4) Doer. No I’m not contradicting myself from point two. Instead, I’m asking, Do you execute, follow through, and get things done? There are many pastors, church planters, and visionaries who love the dreaming stage so much that they can’t actually get things done.

If you see those four indicators in your life, God may be calling you to plant. If you see some, but not others, perhaps this is the best time to develop those competencies.

Now what if you said yes to all four of those indicators?

Well, you need to ask yourself a few qualifier questions:

1) Do I have a burden and a calling to specifically plant a church? In your time with God, is this something that God continues to bring up? I’m not asking if you’re interested in the idea. I’m asking if God is laying this on your heart.

2) Does my family support us planting a church? If you’re married, God will not lead you to start a church if it means you have to leave your spouse and kids. This is because you can’t see planting a church as your day job, and expect it not to seep into the rest of your life! On our New Churches Q&A Podcast, we recently received a question from a guy who became a follower of Christ after getting married, and who is now in ministry. His spouse is still not yet a believer, yet he feels called to plant. The answer is, “Not yet! Wait!”

3) Does my church support me? Do others affirm this calling? If your church and friends are hesitant about your calling and gifting to plant a church, then you should also be hesitant. Are you allowing others to speak into your life? Are you currently sitting under the authority of another pastor, denomination, or team? If not, then why? If yes, then what are they saying about your decision? Involve them into your decision-making process as soon as possible.

If you answered yes to all of the above questions and indicators, then here are a few next steps that I would encourage you to consider:

Now let’s remember. We are all called to be ABOUT church planting, but we are not all called to be church planters.

God may be calling you to be a student minister, an executive pastor, a worship minister, a launch team member, a funder, an elder, or to be pastor of a church that multiplies and sends out church planters. Regardless of your specific role, the fact is we are all called to be ABOUT church planting.

The 6 Qualities of a Developed Leader in the Church

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metrics

Growing up, my parents had some high academic standards for me. I remember the one time I got an A on my Calculus exam. It was a feeling of joy mixed with surprise because if you’ve ever done calculus, you know that it’s sometimes hard to tell if you got the question right or wrong—especially with the tricky questions.

Well, I was over the moon and I couldn’t wait to share my joy with my parents. While walking home, I was envisioning the celebration that was going to happen when I entered those doors and announced my triumph. I was victorious and the fattened calf was going to be slaughtered. We were going to party!

“Your favorite son is home! And guess what I got on my calculus exam? A big FAT A!!”

Unfortunately, the fireworks did not go off. My mom came over, took a look at the exam, and with a melancholic voice, said something to the effect of, “Oh son, good job. You should call your dad and tell him the results.”

Well, this wasn’t exactly the response I was hoping for, but maybe the celebration was going to happen when my dad heard about it. So I called him up at work and shared the good news with him. Instead of whipping out the party horn, he responded with, “So, you got 100%?”

I responded, “Well, not quite, I got 91%, but that’s still an A!”

He replied, “So…how many did you get wrong then?”

Okay. Clearly, this wasn’t going the way that I wanted it to. An A is an A. Isn’t it?

Success is an interesting thing. Unless we clearly outline metrics and define what success actually looks like, it’s up to the eye of the beholder.

This is why, for many churches, success is more about programs, than it is about people. Eric Geiger and Kevin Peck wrestle through this tension in their book, Designed to Lead: The Church and Leadership Development,

So the programmatic rat race in most churches continues. Most churches merely exist to keep running their programs and services. They are not developing leaders intentionally and consistently. When leaders emerge from some churches, it is often by accident. “Wow, a leader emerged…How did that happen?” should not be heard among God’s people. Something is missing. Something is off. (13)

As church leaders, we need to make our metrics for success the same as Jesus’. And for Jesus, “the Great Commission is Plan A,” there is no Plan B.

Geiger and Peck argue that “The Church is uniquely set apart to develop and deploy leaders for the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel.” They believe this because “leadership, apart from the work of God, cannot produce true flourishing or eternal results.”

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Stop Getting Sidetracked by the Urgent

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focus

Take a look at the agenda and minutes of one of your recent leadership team meetings:

  • What percentage of the meeting incorporates administrative or operational functions and what percentage focuses on high-level strategic issues?
  • Which items will significantly help advance mission?
  • Is there a way to delegate some or all of these operational issues to another team? If so, how? [1]

These questions, as outlined in Shelley Trebesch’s Made To Flourish: Beyond Quick Fixes to a Thriving Organization, are intended to help you diagnose a common mistake that many organizations make: allowing the urgent to overtake the strategic. 

Oftentimes, in meetings, it’s easier to brainstorm ways to solve the immediate parking issues, rather than plot out the church’s long-term strategy for city impact. Or, it’s easier to talk about ways to increase generosity and funding to meet this month’s budget, rather than thinking about how to move your church towards self-sustainability once the external funding runs out. The fact is, unless you consciously take steps to do otherwise, the urgent will always trump the strategic in your meetings.

How did we get to this place? Why is this the case?

Well, here is what typically happens in a growing church or organization. Let’s take a new church as an example. You start with the leader. As the church grows and you develop leaders to head up the different ministry departments, you begin having meetings with them. This team essentially becomes your leadership team because they are the ones in charge of getting things done in those areas. So right away, your leadership team is representative. While you might try to talk strategy in your meetings, the fact is, they weren’t recruited into their positions because they were good at strategy—you recruited them because they were responsible and knew how to get things done. Or, even better, you recruited them because they were warm bodies and had a lot of free time…okay, also because they love Jesus. No wonder the topic of your meetings always returns to logistics and operational matters—this is why they joined the team in the first place!

So how can you change the course and stop getting sidetracked by the urgent, so that you can focus on strategic issues?

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