Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

spiritual formation

Spiritual Formation + Relational Neuroscience

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Spiritual formation, relational neuroscience, and how they intersect and interact with one another is going to be the focus of my doctoral studies for the next three years.

That’s right—12 years after graduating with my M.A. in Global Leadership—I’m starting my doctorate! I just got accepted into the Doctor of Ministry program at Western Theological Seminary. So, beginning this summer, I’ll be layering schoolwork on top of my existing and ongoing role and responsibilities as the Lead Pastor of Beulah Alliance Church. And what’s awesome is that I don’t need to relocate to Michigan to do the program. I can do it right from Edmonton.

This interdisciplinary program combining spiritual formation and brain science is the first of its kind, and I’m thrilled to dive deep into how the two areas integrate and learn from the cohort mentors, Dr. Geoff Holsclaw and Cyd Holsclaw.

But this isn’t purely an academic pursuit. Rather, the primary questions that are driving the pursuit of this doctorate for me are the following:

In this post-pandemic, post-truth, post-modern, post-Christian, and post-everything world, how can we lead our churches to effectively disciple people toward Christ-likeness? To lead our people to know Christ, be known by Christ, and to make him known?

Yes, our responsibility is primarily to sow and water seeds, while God is ultimately responsible for making them grow (1 Corinthians 3). And yes, when we sow seeds, they will all fall on different types of ground (Matthew 13), but how can we do our part even more effectively, faithfully, and fruitfully in light of the science behind attachment theory? In light of contemporary research in relational neuroscience? And in light of ancient Christian spiritual practices?

So for the next three years, I’ll be diving deep into:

  1. Attachment Theory and Theological Anthropology
  2. Ancient Spiritual Formation and Contemporary Relational Neuroscience
  3. The Connections between Theology, Therapeutic Culture, and Trauma toward the end of creating communities of care and transformation

So that’s it! That’s the announcement.

And I’m thrilled to see how everything I learn will not only integrate into our vision at Beulah to awaken Greater Edmonton to King Jesus, but to also see the people of Alberta, Canada, and the world experience genuine, lasting transformation in and through Jesus Christ.

Be Rooted

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Doesn’t it feel like everything’s different?

I know everything isn’t actually different, but doesn’t it feel like it is? In this season of uncertainty, it sure feels like we’re dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, AND a tsunami. Not OR a tsunami, but AND—all of these things put together.

I wonder what God’s up to?

Doesn’t it kind of feel like He is exposing our roots? That he is exposing what kind of soil we’re planted in? Exposing where we are getting our nutrients from? And exposing how deep our roots actually are?

What is God doing in your life? What is He exposing? What is He up to?
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For some of you, everything’s been turned upside down. You’ve been completely pulled out of the soil, thrown up into the air, beaten around and around and now you are lying bare on the ground. Finances, work, school, children, relationships, loneliness.

For others of you, yes things have obviously been shaken, but by and large, you’re still smooth and steady. And the rest of us are somewhere in-between.

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Book Review: Renovation of the Heart – Dallas Willard

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The following is an analytical book review of Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart.

Dallas Willard is a Professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. Although he is a philosophy professor who has published in his main area of study and teaching, it seems that Willard has found greater success in the area of publishing Christian books. He has published more Christian books than he has philosophical books, while having received more book awards for his Christian books. Furthermore, Willard’s background in academics and philosophy heavily influences his writing; for example, he refuses to assert his “how-to” points without first providing the background information and then carefully and systematically supporting his points in a well rounded manner. This method may seem logical, but it is not necessarily the norm in the array of books that come out these days.

The thesis of this book is that the spirit, mind, body, social context, and soul of an individual needs to be spiritually transformed into Christlikeness, by relying on the grace of God, and having and implementing the appropriate vision, intention, and means to Christlikeness.

Willard’s book is essentially divided into two major sections. The first section begins by defining authentic spiritual formation. Willard emphasizes how true spiritual formation is not just about the external, but it is more about inward obedience and conformity to Christ (Chapter 1, Location 215). In setting up the second half of the book, Willard states that the major obstacle to spiritual formation is self-worship, whereas self-denial is the foundation of its renovation (Chapter 5, Location 983). For spiritual formation to be effective, this self-denial needs to happen in one’s whole self – namely, these six areas: spirit, mind, body, social context, and soul (Chapter 2, Location 330). As a result, a strategy to transform each of these essential dimensions to Christlikeness composes the second section of his book.

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