Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

leadership

The Unintended Consequences of the Gig Economy

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In our culture today, doing has become a badge of honor.

It’s become a status symbol and the way to define ourselves.

The same is true with the rest of the lies of the gig economy that I breakdown in my new book, You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies about Work, Life, and Love.

Doing has become a badge of honor. It’s become a status symbol and the way to define ourselves.
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Our sense of meaning and significance have become tied to our experiences, our relationships, our knowledge, our stuff, our children and our past. However, the thing with each of these lies is that they all have unintended consequences.

  • A life of doing leads to a life of worrying
  • A life of experiences leads to a life of comparison
  • A life seeking acceptance from others leads to a loss of self
  • A life focused on the pursuit of knowledge leads to a life of despair
  • A life amassing stuff leads to a life of imprisonment
  • A life that revolves around your children leads to a life of narcissism
  • And a life lived in the past leads to a life of regret and pain
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The Gig Economy and Leadership in the Church

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When I moved to Nashville in 2014, I noticed something.

I didn’t realize how critical of a trend it was going to become, the extent that it was going to impact everyday life, the rapid rate at which it was growing, or how it was going to become the new normal, but it seemed like everyone had a side hustle or a gig.

Okay, maybe not everyone, but close to half of the people I met.

And for the majority of them, these gigs weren’t their main source of income—a lot of them were hustling, contracting, and moonlighting on the side to earn some extra cash, pay down debt, or save up for a vacation.

It was kind of like cauliflower, podcasting, and Amazon Prime—no matter where you went, it was hard to miss.

Heck, even I was a part of this trend with all the writing, podcasting, consulting, and speaking I was doing on the side.

At first, I thought this was an American thing, since I had just moved to the States, but after talking to friends in Canada, reflecting back on the time my wife and I lived in Korea, and doing some research, I quickly realized how much of a global trend this was becoming—and how rapidly it was growing.

Have you seen it? Do you know anyone with a side hustle? Or gigging?

Where they’re working multiple jobs? Where at least one of those jobs is them working for themselves?

  • Perhaps they’re selling things on Facebook Marketplace?
  • Doing a side job as a contractor?
  • Driving for Uber or Lyft?
  • Freelancing?
  • Delivering food for Grubhub or Skip a Dish?
  • Renting out their place on Airbnb?
  • Or how about someone who has quit their full-time job, with guaranteed salary and benefits, to start their own thing?

It’s called the gig economy and it’s become the new normal.

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Why Micro Goals Are Better than Resolutions

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Stop setting New Year’s resolutions. They’re too vague, too lofty, too idealistic, and nearly impossible to accomplish.

In fact, studies have shown that after 30 days, less than 25% of people stay committed to them, while only 8% will actually accomplish them.

So what’s the better way? What do you need to do to make this next year a year of progress, development, growth, and impact? The answer is to abandon your resolutions and adopt micro goals instead.

Abandon your resolutions and adopt micro goals.
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I’m not talking about S.M.A.R.T. goals, which if you’re not aware of the topic, I’d highly recommend you listen to this episode to learn more and download the template.

I’m talking about micro goals, where you break your S.M.A.R.T. goals down into small and immediately actionable tasks. This is the only sure-fire way to accomplish your greatest dreams.

Let me give you two examples: working out and writing a book.

1. Working Out

After moving back to Canada last year, the one thing that I knew I had to change was my exercise routine. For my entire adult life, I’ve never been able to figure out how to work out more than twice a week—if I even went at all. And with my metabolism slowing down (and love for food increasing), I had to crack this code.

Enter: Micro Goals.

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Whose Responsibility is it to Recruit?

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A few weekends ago I met one of our volunteers who was operating the stage camera.

As I got to know him, I was surprised that it was his first time serving at Beulah—after attending for 23 years!

Oftentimes because of the pace of ministry, and a lack of contributors, leaders, coaches, and ministry catalysts, we end up doing ministry, rather than equipping our church to do the work of ministry. We do this because it’s easy. We know how to get things done. We have the responsibility for the ministry and it’s sometimes just faster to get it done ourselves.

However, here’s the catch-22. The more we do the ministry, the less time we’re going to have to equip our church to do the work of ministry, which then unintentionally creates a culture of professionalism where our church doesn’t think there’s a place for them to serve!

The more we do the work of ministry, the less time we have to equip.
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The responsibility of recruiting volunteers is NOT all on you.

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Best Resources on Transition

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Are you praying about making a move? Trying to discern God’s will, but not sure how to decide?

Change is the one thing that’s constant in life. And as I recently outlined in my last two articles, Christina and I have gone through a lot of change!

So, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite resources on transition to help you discern your next step in life and leadership:

1. Bible and Journaling

The Holy Spirit is the ultimate guide. So the best way to position yourself to hear from God is by spending time reading and praying through the Bible. Although I haven’t always been the biggest fan of journaling, I’ve actually found that it’s helped me focus and process what’s going on. After all, moving and changing jobs is one of the most stressful transitions that no one talks about.

And here’s a #protip for journaling: Journaling isn’t about you and the journal. Journaling is about you and God. So when you journal, write down your prayers to God and process what’s going on as a prayer to God.

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