Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

transformation

Church-Based Leadership Development

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scalable-steps

A few years back, when I was in Myanmar visiting a local Bible College, I remember being in the back of a small oddly shaped “truck” bouncing around the dirt road. It didn’t feel like we were ever moving faster than 30 miles an hour. To be honest, the “truck” probably didn’t even have the capacity to do so.

As we began to drive up a hill and go around a bend, I remember our guide telling us that we were about to pass a Buddhist monastery. This monastery, he told us, had actually prevented the local electric company from extending power to the Bible College.

As I was reflecting on what it would feel like to live in a place where something like that could happen, I felt the air go thin and began to experience a bit of trouble breathing. I then felt this deep sense of heaviness in my heart. It was so vivid that I can still feel it to this day.

Eventually, a few miles later, we arrived at the Bible College to this tall wooden fence. As it opened, not only did I feel the air clear up, but the heaviness in my heart dissipated as I saw, not concrete buildings like the monastery had, but straw roofs and makeshift buildings. This felt like the most peaceful place on earth.

As I reflect on that experience—when I walked the grounds, talked to the pastors, and prayed for them—I couldn’t help but feel like my future was going to be somewhat tied to the encouraging, training, and equipping of pastors.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few

When I read a particular book on missions, I couldn’t believe these three statistics that were outlined in the opening pages:

  • “In the USA there is one trained Christian worker for every 235 people. Once you leave the USA, that drops to one trained Christian worker for every 450,000 people.”
  • “An estimated 85 percent of the pastors around the world have no theological education or pastoral training.”
  • “Over 90 percent of all our tools for evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training has been produced for highly literate people.”

I know it sounds incredulous, but I believe it. Jesus said it himself, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Matt 9:37-38).

The need is great, not just for harvest workers, but for harvest workers that are trained to have “minds for God, hearts for truth, and hands that are skilled for the task.”

What are you going to do about it?

 

3 Ways to Avoid Losing Your Job

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This is Part 4/4 of my popular Desert Experience in Ministry series.

skyloader
skyloader from flickr

There seems to be a universal rule out there that goes something like this,

If thou wantest something, thou shalt put a wack-load-of-effortitis into getting it

But what happens to most of us when we finally get that thing? Think about it for a moment. What happened to that Bow-Flex you bought? That machine that was going to revolutionize your life? Or what about that Juicer that was going to make you so healthy? It went from being on the counter, to being under the counter, to being in a box in your garage. Am I right?

It’s funny, most of us don’t mind putting the effort into getting something that we want, but once we get it, it’s easy to put it aside and focus on that next big thing that’s on the horizon.

If you’re not careful, the same will happen with your job.

Do you remember the amount of energy and mind space that you put into getting that job of yours? You prayed about it. You researched it. You weighed the options. You candidated. You name it, you know you did it. But since getting that job, where has your energy and mind space gone? Is it in the work that you know you were called to do? Or do you find yourself drifting?

It’s one thing to lose your job because of laziness and lack of performance. (The only advice that I can give you on that point is that a worker deserves their wages. Buckle up your bootstraps and get your work done). However, it’s a whole other thing to lose it unexpectedly. And that’s what I want to help you with today!

It’s one thing to lose your job because of laziness. It’s another to lose it unexpectedly.

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Here are 3 ways to prevent unexpected transition (a.k.a. 3 ways to avoid losing your job):

1. Set Expectations and Record Progress

Job descriptions are fluid – especially in ministry. I can guarantee you that your job description will change multiple times over in your first year, so don’t work off of a static document. Get a clear picture as to what’s expected of you from your boss, your peers and those you’re leading. Don’t assume that you know what they expect of you, and also don’t assume that they know what you’ve done. So set 30, 60 and 90 day goals after those conversations and report on your progress. This iterative process will allow you to adjust your goals as you work and create an environment where everyone is happy with the working relationship.

2. Communicate Clearly and Regularly

[Read more…] about 3 Ways to Avoid Losing Your Job

Your Desert Experience in Ministry – Part 3/4

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Desert experiences are one of the hardest things about life and extremely difficult to navigate through. In fact, when we are in a desert experience, the only thing that many of us think about is how to get out of it – quickly and with as few scars as possible.

In part one, I described the rationale behind desert or isolation experiences in ministry. Click here to read about it.

In part two, I described the different types of desert experiences that one might experience in ministry. Click here to read about it.

Today, I’m going to explore why moving out of a desert experience prematurely is one of the worst decisions that you can do.

The whole process of moving back to Canada in 2010, after pastoring in Korea, was a defining desert experience in my life. We were displaced and without a home, ministry position, income, etc for about 5 months. Upon arriving back in Canada, the first thing I wanted to do was get a job and start providing again for my wife and newborn, but God had other plans. In fact, out of all the resumes that I handed out, absolutely no one called me back for the first couple of months. It was hard at the time, but in hindsight, I can see how God wanted to keep me in that desert experience.

[Read more…] about Your Desert Experience in Ministry – Part 3/4