Daniel Im's Blog, page 16

No Silver Bullets Audiobook

I’m constantly listening to podcasts and audiobooks.

While driving, working out, mowing the lawn, vacuuming the house, or shoveling snow, my earbuds are always in and I’m constantly learning.

———– Don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of this article ———–

Why? This is because the moment you stop learning is the moment you’ll stop growing (Click here to read more about this).

The moment you stop learning is the moment you’ll stop growing.
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A month before my book, No Silver Bullets, was released, I got a call from Christianaudio.com saying that they wanted to produce an audiobook version of my book! I was stoked, absolutely thrilled. While I’m a co-host on two podcasts (New Churches Q&A Podcast and the 5LQ Podcast), recording an audiobook is a completely different experience.

In fact, I spent 15 hours in the Warner Music Studio in Nashville recording my 8.6 hours long audiobook! It was long, but I loved the experience.

In fact, on the audiobook, I actually elaborate on a few more ideas and share stories that didn’t make it into the book.

So to celebrate the release of my audiobook, I wanted to giveaway three copies! Click the link below to enter the draw.

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Next Steps:

Enter the giveaway to win one of three digital copies of the audiobook version of

No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry
If you’d be so kind to leave a rating and review of No Silver Bullets on Amazon and Goodreads, I’d be deeply grateful, and for every review you leave, you’ll get an extra entry into this giveaway! Just comment on this blog post to let me know where and when you did it.

The Difference Between Vision, Strategy, and Values for your Church or Ministry



Let’s talk about where your church is going, what it’s going to do to get there, and how it’s going to do what it needs to do.

Recently I filmed a 90 Second Leadership video for LifeWay Leadership on how to distinguish the difference between vision, strategy, and values.

I hope you enjoy it!

If you like what you saw on this video, I elaborate on this concept further, and provide audits and templates to help you develop your vision, strategy, and values in my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

Click here to watch other 90 Second Leadership videos by LifeWay Leadership.

 

Spiritual Growth and the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

Have you ever noticed what you notice?

For example, if you’re thinking about buying a Volkswagen Golf or a Mazda 3, have you ever noticed that you begin noticing those cars everywhere you go? All of a sudden, your neighbor has one, the streets are filled with them, and every commercial seems to be about them.

Or, when you encounter an obscure piece of information or a particular phrase, have you ever noticed that you begin noticing that phrase over and over again?

This is the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, otherwise known as the recency illusion or the frequency illusion.

Here’s a quick summary of the phenomenon:

In point of fact, coincidences themselves are usually just an artifact of perception. We humans tend to underestimate the probability of coinciding events, so our expectations are at odds with reality. And non-coincidental events do not grab our attention with anywhere near the same intensity, because coincidences are patterns, and the brain actually stimulates us for successfully detecting patterns, hence their inflated value. In short, patterns are habit-forming.

But when we hear a word or name which we just learned the previous day, it often feels like more than a mere coincidence. This is because Baader-Meinhof is amplified by the recency effect, a cognitive bias that inflates the importance of recent stimuli or observations. This increases the chances of being more aware of the subject when we encounter it again in the near future.

What does this have to do with spiritual growth?

When it comes to your children, have you ever noticed that you don’t notice when they grow? Especially if you’re with them on a daily basis? Sure, when you see a child that you haven’t seen in a year or two, you definitely notice how much they’ve changed and grown, but not if you’re with them daily.

Here’s the fascinating thing…

While you may not notice the daily growth of your children, you definitely notice when they’re sick.

After all, what happens when we’re sick? Our fuse is shorter, our ability to make decisions is hampered, our energy is lower, our focus turns inward because we become more self-centered, and the list goes on and on.

The same is true for your spiritual growth.

You may not notice when you’re growing, but it’s definitely noticeable (to others, and hopefully to yourself as well) when you’re not. When you’re digging deep into God’s word (click here to learn 3 Ways to Normalize Bible Reading), the Lord will shape, mature, and transform you. The changes aren’t necessarily immediately noticeable, but they’re happening through the power of the Holy Spirit. After all, as it says in 1 Corinthians 3, what we’re responsible for is not the growth, but the sowing and the watering of seeds. It’s “God who gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:7).

You may not notice when you’re growing, but it’s definitely noticeable when you’re not.
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On the flip side, if you’re not meeting the Lord daily through the Word and through prayer, and if you’re not in healthy biblical community with other believers, you will stop growing spiritually.

You will then begin noticing the symptoms of physical sickness in your spiritual life.

Your fuse will be shorter, your ability to make decisions will be hampered, your energy will be lower, your focus will turn inward because you will be more self-centered, and the list goes on and on.

What do you think would happen in our lives and in the lives of those we’re discipling and leading if we stopped treating the symptoms and instead addressed the root issue?

Let’s stop waiting until we’re sick to make a change; and instead, prioritize the daily disciplines (both physically and spiritually) to keep ourselves healthy.

 

3 Ways to Normalize Bible Reading

Growing up, my favorite sermons were the ones where the preacher would get into the Greek or Hebrew and explain to us common folk what the Scriptures really meant.

In the Greek, this word is translated, pistis, and it means…

In the Hebrew, this word is translated as hesed, and it means..

Those were the moments where I felt like I was being fed “meat,” rather than “milk.” Those were the moments when my ears perked up. Those were the moments that made the sermon worth it…since I couldn’t get that sort of insight on my own. Reading the Scriptures in the “simpleton language” of English just didn’t cut it. Unless I knew the Greek or the Hebrew, I could never attain the level of depth in my relationship with God that my pastor had.

How did that last paragraph make you feel? Did something feel off to you?

In my pastor’s pursuit to be exegetically sound, and to provide “meat,” depth, and insight into the Scriptures, he unintentionally made the Scriptures inaccessible to the congregation.

Without verbally saying it aloud, he was basically saying that the English language wasn’t adequate to understand the true intent of the Scriptures. In his desire to be helpful and shepherd us toward spiritual growth, he was actually going against the point of the Reformation—to make the Scriptures accessible to all.

The point the Reformation? To make the Scriptures accessible to all.
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Ouch.

Who else is guilty of this? As a pastor myself, I know I am…

If you’re like me, the last thing that you want to do is make the Scriptures inaccessible.

After all, as articulated in the discipleship research in my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry, the frequency of one’s Bible reading was one of the key indicators and influencers toward spiritual growth.

In other words, the more you read your Bible, the more likely you are going to grow in all aspects of spiritual maturity. ALL ASPECTS. Isn’t that incredible?

Reading the Bible heavily influences all aspects of your spiritual growth.
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Unfortunately sometimes, there are things that pastors and church leaders (myself including) unintentionally do that hurt, rather than help.

If reading the Bible makes that much of a difference, what are things that we can do to help our congregations and/or those that we disciple dig deeper into the Word? In other words, how can we normalize Bible reading?

Here are three ways to normalize Bible reading:
1. Don’t use Greek or Hebrew words when preaching.

I know it makes you sound smart, and I know that it makes you feel better that you’re putting those Greek and Hebrew classes to work, but when you do this, you’re actually telling everyone that the English translations aren’t trustworthy or readable. Now don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that you should never consult the Greek or Hebrew texts while preaching a sermon. I’m just saying that what happens in the study doesn’t always have to make it to the pulpit.

If you studied the languages, then by all means, get insight from the original texts (make sure that you’re referencing lexicons and commentaries to ensure that you’re interpretation is accurate), but share your insight in English. Use illustrations to articulate the original intent of the Scriptures. Read the passage from several different English translations across the spectrum and then explain the meaning.

By preaching this way, instead of making the Scriptures inaccessible, you’re teaching your congregation and/or those that you are discipling that they can do what you’re doing. All they need is a few different English translations to dig deeper.

2. When illustrating a point, share about your personal Bible reading.

When preaching or discipling, illustrate your points by sharing what you’re learning through your own personal Bible reading. By doing this, you’re emphasizing the importance of reading the Word without necessarily saying it outright. This is one of the most powerful ways to normalize something.

For example, this past summer, while I was preaching through the Book of James at my church, there was this one particular sermon where I spent 5-10 minutes sharing what I learnt in 1 Samuel 13 that week. You can read more about this specific example here.

By making my personal Bible reading the illustration, I was not only showing my congregation that God speaks through His Word, but I was also teaching them a way to engage with the Scriptures.

Win win.

3. Use the Bible to disciple others.

I love curriculum, study guides, and books. There are so many helpful resources out there that can help you disciple others. Even when I look at my own spiritual life, I can point to several books and studies that have been influential in helping me overcome sin, temptation, and the strongholds of the evil one. However, if these resources aren’t pointing you to the Bible, or helping you read and understand what God is saying through the Scriptures, then what good are they? What power do they actually have to change you and I?

That’s why, when I disciple others, I make reading the Bible the central component. And when I use curriculum, study guides, or books to disciple others, I make sure that they are supplementary to the discipleship process, so that they don’t take the place of the central role that the Bible has in one’s discipleship.

When I disciple others, I make reading the Bible the central component.
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So this week, what can you do to normalize Bible reading in your life and leadership?

 

Echo Chambers in Discipleship

What do you think would happen if a black man became an undercover spy in the alt-right?

Could it work? What would that even look like? How would a black man have to dress to “fit in” as a white supremacist?

In a recent TEDxTalk, Theo E.J. Wilson shared how he did just that…via Facebook.

In this talk, he shared how he was not only a survivor of police brutality during the height of Black Lives Matter, but also how he woke up one day to more racial slurs, internet trolls, and white supremacists than he had ever experienced before. These people treated him like he wasn’t even human. To the alt-right, he was “an idea, an object, a caricature.”

After reflecting upon this experience, Wilson shared on the TED stage,

I also began to notice that a few of my trolls actually had brains, which made me even more curious and what to understand them even further. And although these supposed morons engaged in what appeared to be original thought, I said to myself, “Um, these guys are highly misinformed, at least according to my knowledge.” Where are these guys getting these arguments from? Like, was there some kind of alternative universe with alternative facts?

Was history and gravity optional over there? I don’t know. But I needed to know. Like, I wanted to know. And as it turns out, I had no idea about digital echo chambers. That same target marketing algorithm that feeds you more of the products you like to buy also feeds you more of the news that you like to hear. I had been living in an online universe that just reflected my worldview back to me. So my timeline was pretty liberal. I had no Breitbart or Infowars or Fox News. No, no, I was all MSNBC and The Daily Show, CNN and theGrio, right? Well, these trolls were hopping the dimensional doorway and I needed to figure out how.

After this realization, Wilson decided to setup a profile on Facebook as a white supremacist in the alt-right, in order to personally experience the echo chamber that these trolls lived in. In the online world, he switched identities and became Lucius25—the white supremacist lurker. He friended white supremacists, he liked American Renaissance and the National Vanguard Alliance, and he began talking bad about Black Lives Matter and Al Sharpton.

Guess what happened? He entered into another reality—the echo chamber of the alt-right where all he began to see was other viewpoints, ads, and comments that perpetuated this worldview.

Isn’t that scary?

Just think about the recent American election. Why was the media so surprised that Trump won? Especially when they were convinced that Clinton had it in the bag?

Two words: Echo Chambers.

Marketing, media, and technology are conditioning us for highly specified, focused, and personalized messages that we’re more likely to comment on, like, and share.

As a result, we’ve learnt that the more general something is, the less likely it is going to relate to me. So we just skip over it and let it go in one ear and out the other. In other words, if it’s for all, it’s not necessarily for y’all.

The more general something is, the less likely it is going to relate to me.
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So what does it look like to leverage these cultural shifts in your church? And for the way that you disciple?

In my last article, Systemic Issues in Discipleship, I shared how every church must develop disciples that are self-feeders, rather than consumers. Unfortunately, when church’s make discipleship all about attending events, classes, and studies, they’re actually subtly celebrating and promoting a consumeristic approach to faith.

Just think about all the words you use to try to get people to attend these events, classes, and studies:

Come to my study. Register for this event. Look at what you’ll learn and take away. Look at how this will benefit you. It’ll be worth your time. It’s a good investment.

Every church must develop disciples that are self-feeders, rather than consumers.
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Do you see how the words that we use can subtly promote a consumeristic approach to faith? After all, it’s like we say on our New Churches Q&A Podcast, “words build worlds.”

So is the solution to throw the baby out with the bath water? And to get rid of all events, classes, and studies in your church?

No. Not at all.

The solution is to see these events, classes, and studies as pit stops, rather than as the destination.

These are first steps or next steps, that ultimately get you to the ongoing steps of growing as a disciple, as I articulate in my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

The distinction between these three steps is key and that’s why I started this article talking about echo chambers and targeted marketing.

Here’s how to use this.

The next time you’re introducing an event, class, or study, you have to articulate who this event, class, or study is for. While you may want everyone to attend or join, you know that this is not realistic and it’s actually going to weaken your messaging. So who is going to benefit most from this event, class, or study?

Specifically call them out.

So from the stage, in your bulletin, and when you talk to people in the hallway, on Facebook, or via text, say something like this,

If you’re a newcomer here, or you’re exploring faith for the first time, then I want to specifically invite you to take your first step by joining our Alpha class. Alpha is…

Or let’s say, you’re wanting to announce an evangelism seminar that you’re hosting on a Wednesday night. You want all of your leaders, volunteers, and members to attend, but you don’t want to disrupt or take them out of their group. So consider announcing it like this,

This one-night evangelism seminar is not intended to be your community or an ongoing place to get plugged in. In fact, if you’re in a small group, I want to encourage you to come together and learn with one another! If you’re not in a group, then perhaps this is a way for you to meet others and take your next step in your relationship with God.

In both instances, do you see how you’re communicating that both Alpha and the evangelism seminar are not the destination point for discipleship? But how they’re pit stops?

We’re just scratching the surface here, but I wanted to give you an idea of how important wording and messaging is when communicating opportunities for discipleship and your discipleship pathway to your church.

If you want to dig deeper into these three steps and understand how to implement a discipleship pathway in your church, then I want to strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of my latest book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

You won’t regret it.

Systemic Issues in Discipleship

Is discipleship directional or about getting to a destination?

Do you ever “arrive” on this side of eternity? Or is it “a long obedience in the same direction,” as Eugene Peterson so aptly put it?

These are the types of questions and tension that I pose in my newly released book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry. As I’ve continued to think through, speak on, and coach/consult churches on this direction/destination spectrum as it relates to discipleship, I’ve begun to notice something…

It’s actually quite frightening.

While most pastors and church leaders would agree that discipleship is directional by quoting passages like Hebrews 12:1-2 or Philippians 3:13-14; unfortunately, when you take a look at how discipleship happens in a typical church, we’re not practicing what we preach.

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (‭Hebrews 12:1-2, CSB)‬‬

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14, CSB‬)‬

Our messaging and our methods do not align.

Since culture and normative behavior is highly shaped by what’s communicated, emphasized, and celebrated, have you ever considered what your bulletin and announcements are saying to your church?

Have you ever considered what your bulletin and announcements are saying to your church?
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For example,

If your stage time and print space is always full of events, then you’re (subconsciously) saying that a healthy disciple is one that attends lots of events
If you always find yourself promoting different classes and studies, then you’re (subconsciously) saying that a healthy disciple is one that studies

Do you get my point?

Now don’t get me wrong, events, classes, and studies can be very helpful, meaningful, and lead to life transformation, but do they actually lead to maturity? Do they lead to maturity for everyone? How do you know for sure?

I’m not advocating or suggesting that the solution is to get rid of events, classes, or studies! In fact, if your church isn’t offering any of those, that’s another issue.

Here is what I’m trying to say:

When we make discipleship all about attending events, classes, and studies, we’re actually subtly celebrating and promoting a consumeristic approach to faith.
In fact, I’ll even go to the extent that we’re conditioning our members to see discipleship in this manner.

The solution isn’t to throw the baby out with the bath water. It’s to actually shift your messaging so that your congregation sees the events, classes, and studies as pit stops, rather than as the destination.

And the only way that this can happen is to make the goal of your discipleship pathway self-feeding.

Are you unintentionally promoting and rewarding a consumeristic approach to faith?
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Next week, I’ll continue to discuss systemic issues in discipleship by addressing the problem of echo chambers.

If you want to learn how to develop a discipleship pathway for your church, how to really know whether or not someone is mature in Christ (from research), and more on the idea of self-feeding, then check out my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

How Do You Disciple Others?

When was the last time you reflected on the way that you personally disciple others?

Are you more of a teacher or a shepherd?
Do you like to take people through formal curriculum, or do you use their life situation as the starting point?
Do you like to disciple one-on-one, in triads, in small groups, or in classrooms?
When are people most apt to change?
What role does the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and prayer play in the discipleship process?

Enter the draw at the bottom of this article to win one of three copies of the new Brown Leather CSB Pastor’s Bible, where my article here first appeared.

Unless you have intentionally spent time studying the way people learn and different methods for discipleship, you probably disciple others the way you were discipled (or in the exact opposite manner). This is because our natural bias is to start with what we already know and have personally experienced.

Our natural bias is to start with what we already know and have personally experienced.
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If you are a parent, have you ever caught yourself saying or doing something to your children that your parents use to say or do to you?

I catch myself doing this all the time.

When my children are not listening, I just begin counting down from the number five. It’s not like my parents told me this is what I should do, but it’s what they did to me, and it worked.

When I stop to think about it, I don’t even feel like this is the best method for discipline; in fact, my wife, Christina, and I agree that it’s not! But I often catch myself still doing it because of that natural bias.

Our natural bias is to teach the way that we have been taught, and lead the way that we have been led, unless we make a conscious effort to change.

In other words, until you reexamine the way you approach discipleship, you will naturally revert back to using the methods that others used to disciple you. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since you may have been discipled by some of the best deacons, elders, pastors, and small group leaders.

But until you take a step back and realize why they did what they did, you will consistently hit a glass ceiling and have a hard time growing in the way you disciple others.

Discipleship is not about a transfer of information, nor is it about behavior modification. No amount of knowledge or list of do’s and don’ts have the power to change one’s heart. After all, wasn’t it the prophet Jeremiah who wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).

Discipleship is not about a transfer of information, nor is it about behavior modification.
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As much as our hearts are damaged and diseased because of sin, it’s amazing that through the same prophet, Jeremiah, the Lord revealed that “the days are coming…when I will make a new covenant” (Jer 31:31). Through this new covenant brought about by Jesus Christ, “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be my God, and they will be my people” (Jer 31:33).

The Lord declared the same thing through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances” (Ezek 36:26-27).

From one discipler to another, and from one church leader to another, we need to commit ourselves to relying wholeheartedly on the transforming power of Christ, as well as continually growing in the way that we disciple, teach, and lead others towards Christlikeness, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness” (Ephesians 4:13).

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Next Steps:

Enter the giveaway to win one of three copies of the new Brown Leather CSB Pastor’s Bible, where my article here first appeared.
Learn more about the CSB translation.

A Both/And Approach to Sharing the Gospel

I remember walking through my college cafeteria with the Four Spiritual Laws in hand looking for people who might be interested in having a spiritual conversation with me.

Sometimes I’d open up the conversation with, “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you would go?” Or I’d ask, “On a scale of 1–10, how interested are you in spiritual conversations?”

I was often rejected…

Other times, I was met with skepticism. And on the odd occasion, I was actually able to share the gospel and see that individual discover a new life in Christ.

While evangelism strategies that rely solely on the verbal proclamation of the gospel still have their place, they are definitely waning in influence.

The solution is not necessarily to swing the pendulum the other way and just live out the gospel and love people to conversion, either.

Tim Keller frames it well,

If the gospel were primarily about what we must do to be saved, it could be communicated as well by actions (to be imitated) as by words. But if the gospel is primarily about what God has done to save us, and how we can receive it through faith, it can only be expressed through words. Faith cannot come without hearing.[1]

Since the gospel is more about what God has done than what we can do, it needs to be proclaimed through words.

But since crusades, street preaching, and spontaneous evangelism are waning in their effectiveness and influence in many parts of the West, we need to figure out different ways to invite non-Christians into the types of environments where they can hear the gospel proclaimed to them.

This is why we need a both/and approach to sharing the gospel!

There needs to be something different about the way Christians live that forces non-Christians to ask questions. If a non-Christian looks at your life and sees the same fruit, or lack thereof, as theirs, they will see your faith as mere empty religious behavior. Isn’t that why Peter urges us to live as “foreigners and exiles” and “to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” (1 Pet. 2:11)?

We need to live as outsiders and be distinctly different from society. We need to “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Pet. 2:12)!

We need to live as outsiders and be distinctly different from society.
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It’s important to understand that this is not a solo effort.

Though Western culture is staunchly individualistic, the Scriptures aren’t.

In 1 Peter 2:12, Peter isn’t talking to an individual; he is talking to the church corporate. We know this because he uses the plural form of “you.”

It’s like Peter is saying, “Now y’all live such good lives . . .” It’s the same way with the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is saying, “Y’all are the salt of the earth, and y’all are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13–14).

I guess living in the South is rubbing off on me…

Though Western culture is staunchly individualistic, the Scriptures aren’t.
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Seriously though, this plural use of the word you has massive implications for the way we need to live out our faith.

Since these passages are written to a community, rather than an individual, you cannot actually live these out alone!

God has intended for the gospel to be lived out and proclaimed together in community. Isn’t that why we have the body of Christ, rather than the individual of Christ? “For the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Cor. 12:14).

I’m convinced that the early church saw the results they did because they both preached the gospel in word and lived it out together in deed.

The early church understood that when they functioned as God intended them to, they would be a living demonstration of the gospel.

Lesslie Newbigin put it well: “The only possible hermeneutic of the gospel is a congregation which believes it.”[2]

In other words, a congregation that believes in the gospel and lives out its implications together as a community is the way the gospel comes to life.

A healthy church is how the gospel takes on flesh today! A healthy church is how this lost world will actually “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8). And it’s precisely through experiencing the gospel lived out through healthy churches that this lost world will want to hear the gospel.

So here’s my question to you today, how can you live in a way where the gospel comes to life?

*This was a modified excerpt from my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

 

End Notes:

[1] Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 34.

[2] Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 232.

Freelancing and Pastoral Ministry

Have you got your side hustle on?

“I love it, I’ve been ubering for the last year, and for the first time in my life, I actually have spending money!”

This past year, when I was invited to speak on No Silver Bullets to a group of church planters in the San Francisco Bay Area, I ubered over to see one of my friends in the city. During the 30 minute ride, it was fascinating to hear the story of a mid-50s Mexican mother who immigrated 30+ years ago.

Although she had been working full-time for the last 30 years taking care of her family, she had never brought home a paycheck that could be deposited at the bank. While she was definitely competent to work outside the home, adhering to a strict part-time work schedule simply wasn’t manageable due to her family life.

Enter Uber.

Since she could drive whenever she wanted to, Uber was a perfect fit for her. So for the last year, this mother of teenagers has been driving from 9 pm-1 am, since by that time, everything’s settled down at home.

When asked whether or not she enjoyed driving, her response was eye-opening, as it precisely illustrated the new economy that we’re now living in,

“I love it, I’ve been ubering for the last year, and for the first time in my life, I have spending money!”

Welcome to the “gig economy”

The “gig economy” was originally coined during the financial crisis of 2009, when so many people were forced to “gig” or freelance to make a living by working one-or-more part-time jobs.

Though this phrase is now almost 10 years old, it has only recently normalized and become a part of our everyday language.

There are many reasons for its normalization, like the affordability and mass adoption of smart phones, our shortening attention span, our desire to be our own boss, our culture’s obsession with experiences (we are living in the experience economy), and the rising number of jobs that an individual will work in his or her lifetime, just to name a few.

So today, if you have a car, you can drive for Uber or Lyft (click here to read an article I wrote on What Church Leaders Can Learn From Uber and Lyft). If you have a spare bedroom, you can rent it out on Airbnb. If you are handy, you can charge for your services on TaskRabbit. And if you love pets, you can take care of them through Dogvacay.

According to a recent study, on freelancing and the “gig economy,” there are now 55 million freelancers in the U.S.

That’s 17% of the population! Digging a little bit deeper, this study discovered that freelancers now make up 35% of U.S. workers and they collectively earned $1 trillion in 2016. Among freelancers, Millennials definitely win the day. 47% of Millennials aged 18-24 are freelancing either part-time or full-time, versus 28% of Baby Boomers.

In the past, “gigging” and freelancing were often reserved for occupations that required a highly specialized skill set, like music, design, consulting, or software development. However, with the rise of platforms and entrepreneurial business’ like Uber and Airbnb, it’s now easier than ever for your everyday person to “gig” and make a few additional bucks, without quitting your day job or going back to school.

What does this have to do with pastoring and church leadership?

More than you can imagine.

Let’s examine the implications from two sides: 1) the pastor or full-time paid staff member, and 2) the volunteer church leader or attendee.

1) The Pastor or Full-Time Paid Staff Member

While I don’t necessarily see the end of full-time paid pastoral or staff roles in churches (at least in the near future), I have noticed a shift in the way churches are building their staff teams. Instead of opting for a large team of part-time specialists, many churches are hiring full-time generalists who know how to develop volunteer leaders. In other words, the trend is toward hiring developers, rather than doers. So if a ministry area is stretched thin, the solution is not to hire a staff member; it’s rather to develop volunteer leaders and their competencies.

The trend in church staffing is toward hiring developers, rather than doers.
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Does this mean that there will be less staff positions tomorrow, than there are today, or were yesterday?

Perhaps…but this is what’s interesting about this whole conversation. Millennials, as a whole, like variety and are “gigging” or freelancing more than previous generations. So even if they were to get a full-time staff position at a church, more likely than not, most will have a side hustle and be doing something else. While some will need to “gig” in order to pay bills, others will do it as a hobby or for disposable income, just to name a few reasons.

In any case, I am convinced that if we want to see a church multiplication movement in our lifetime and see the Great Commission fulfilled, we cannot solely rely on full-time paid staff positions (nor am I advocating that we get rid of them). What we need are additional lanes for ministry, like bivocational. And it’s time that we legitimize and normalize them.

This is what needs to be shouted from the rooftops and proclaimed on the hills: Bivocational ministry is not something that you are forced to do if you’re not “good enough” to get a full-time position. It’s a valid and needed lane for ministry! In a course on Bivocational Ministry at NewChurches.com, Hugh Halter says it well, “bivocational ministry is not about doing two jobs poorly.”

Bivocational ministry is not about doing two jobs poorly.
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More than anything, bivocational ministry is now becoming a preferred option for church planters and pastors alike because of the “gig economy.”

In fact, just imagine what would happen if every pastor began driving Uber or Lyft at least 10 hours a week.

Not only would that provide an additional source of income, but more importantly, it would offer opportunities to pray for their city as they’re driving through it, and opportunities for evangelism and spiritual conversations! The same is true if every pastor rented out a room in their home with Airbnb. Imagine the number of spiritual conversations that would happen on a regular basis.

2) The Volunteer Church Leader or Attendee

The “gig economy” has affected church attendance and volunteering.

The reason is two-fold. With the additional income that comes with “gigging,” individuals now have more disposable income to travel. And let’s be honest, what better time to travel is there than Friday to Sunday night? Secondly, since “gigging” is often done in addition to a full-time job, this typically cuts into the time that individuals could be using to lead a group, serve in a ministry, or take a discipleship seminar at your church.

So what can we do? First of all, I don’t think it’s realistic to not do anything or to stand against “gigging” or freelancing. After all, wasn’t the Apostle Paul bivocational? Wasn’t making tents his side hustle?

As a result, I want to leave you with two ideas to consider:

1. Podcast your sermons or livestream your service

If you aren’t already doing this, do it! For pete’s sake…it’s 2017.

Read this article about the power of podcasts, that I wrote last year, if you aren’t convinced. Now if you’re worried that people will just listen to your sermon online, instead of coming to one of your physical services, I get it. It’s a valid concern. However, if someone is going to miss your service, they’re going to miss it anyway. So why not give them the opportunity to listen to the sermon during the week, or watch your service live from their cabin?

2. Talk about the Sabbath

As a society, we are overworked. The “gig economy” is not helping either. So model the Sabbath, talk about the Sabbath, and make sure that your preaching and teaching of the Sabbath is Christ-centered, rather than works-centered.

What are your thoughts on the implications of the “gig economy?”

 

Building a Discipleship Culture That Will Grow Your Church

Are you happy with your existing vision, strategy, and values, or do you need to revisit them?

Are you producing disciple-makers, disciples, or consumers? Are you worried that what you’re currently doing isn’t sustainable or scalable? Do you need to overhaul your church, but aren’t sure what to do differently?

The fact is, we often lead the way we’ve been led, disciple the way we’ve been discipled, and teach the way we’ve been taught…unless we consciously decide to do otherwise.

We often lead the way we’ve been led and disciple the way we’ve been discipled!
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And with the accelerated pace of life, the unceasing demands of ministry, and the relentless fact that Sunday is always around the corner, who has the luxury of time to stop, audit, and make systemic changes to the way we lead, disciple, and teach?

As a result, the two things that we often (unintentionally) end up neglecting is self-development and team-development.

In a previous article, I address the issue of self-development and provide you with a list of questions from my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry. So be sure to go back and answer those questions before moving on.

Let’s now talk about staff or team development.

The fact is, as a pastor and church leader, you are both a boss and a disciple-maker—and this applies whether or not you’re the senior leader.

(Now I understand that you may not like the word boss because it sounds domineering, but I’m simply trying to emphasize the fact that you’re the leader and that you have responsibilities that directly affect others.)

So take a moment and think about everyone on your team—whether it’s your staff team as the senior leader, or your volunteer team as a staff member.

On the one hand, you are responsible for the ministry that God has entrusted you with.

So in order to get things done in a scalable manner, you can’t do it yourself. You need to work with and through your team—just think about Exodus 18 and the account between Moses and Jethro. This makes you the boss, the leader, or depending on your culture, the chief cheerleader or number one servant.

On the other hand, you are also responsible to equip those under and around you for the work of ministry (Eph 4:12-13).

And I’m not talking about equipping others to make coffee, clean the toilets, and carry your purse, or murse…I’m talking about “equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness” (Eph 4:12-13).

While making coffee and cleaning toilets can definitely be a character shaping exercise and be a part of moving you to maturity, that’s not what I’m talking about…

I’m talking about building a culture that allows your team to develop both professionally and spiritually.

In my book, No Silver Bullets: 5 Small Shifts That Will Transform Your Ministry, I have a chapter entitled, From Sage to Guide. In this chapter, I unpack what it looks like to move from being a sage on the stage to a guide on the side when it comes to discipleship and leadership development.

There’s a concept in this chapter that I’d like to share with you: it’s called the 70:20:10 principle.

This principle originated with Dr. Allen Tough in his book The Adult’s Learning Projects and has since been elaborated and expanded by many others.

The principle states that 70 percent of our learning comes by doing.

This is informal, on- the-job development that comes through trial and error, and growing in experience, like when we’re preaching, fleshing out strategic ends into key result areas, writing a ministry action plan, recruiting leaders, discipling others, or when we’re teaching a class. It’s learning that comes by doing.

70 percent of our learning comes by doing.
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Next, 20 percent of our learning happens when we receive informal feedback from others, or through more formal coaching, mentoring, and employment relationships.

This is primarily the type of development that happens through interacting with others. This is about receiving feedback and actually doing something with it.

The last 10 percent of our learning is through conferences, seminars, and courses.

This is structured formal education.

Is this principle true for you?

Why do you preach the way you preach? Disciple the way you disciple? Lead the way you lead? Is it because you’re following the steps outlined in a textbook or from a course? Is it because someone coached you? Or is it because you’ve just done it over and over again and learnt what works and what doesn’t through trial and error?

(Once again, if you haven’t yet answered the questions from my previous article, What Kind of Church Leader Are You?, be sure to do so!)

Most likely it’s a combination of all three, but according to this principle, one of the most significant ways to develop is just by doing it.

Now I’m not talking about swinging the pendulum the whole other way. Doing something without actively seeking out feedback, coaching, and new perspective through conferences, seminars, or courses is unwise. And that’s why it’s not the 100:0:0 principle.

All that to say, if you want to develop in an ongoing manner, don’t just relegate development to formal education. Think of the 70:20:10 principle.

Doing something without actively seeking out feedback, coaching, and new perspectives is unwise.
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What’s interesting is that most churches are unintentionally aware of the 70:20:10 principle and are living it out, but their application of it is backward.

Seventy percent of their time is devoted to teaching, 20 percent to talking about it, and 10 percent to doing it.

What would happen to your church if you applied the 70:20:10 principle accurately?

What if 70 percent of the time that you spent developing your team and discipling them was helping them do the very things that made them a great leader and disciple-maker? You would then talk about what they’ve done and provide them feedback 20 percent of the time, while only formally teaching them 10 percent of the time. Imagine the transformation that would happen in your church.

Imagine what kind of culture would develop in your church…

Unfortunately, many churches are living out and applying the 70:20:10 principle incorrectly!
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