Daniel Im's Blog, page 18

7 Constants for Church Planting

Let’s go on a short journey exploring the recent history of significant movements that have shaped what we’re seeing in the West today.

This history is important to digest as we look forward to the possibilities that lie ahead—with God! Less than 50 years ago, a movement was birthed to reach a specific subculture in the United States: the hippies. At a time when America was infatuated with drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll, there was a great awakening of individuals who decided to reject that lifestyle and seek God instead. This was the Jesus People movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

When Kenn Gulliksen was sent out by the Calvary Chapel in 1974 to start a church in West Los Angeles, no one would’ve guessed or even imagined that less than 50 years later, there would be over 2,400 churches in 95 countries that would share the same name: Vineyard.

Eight years after Gulliksen planted  the first Vineyard church, there were at least seven Vineyard churches in this loosely defined network. It was at this point, in 1982, when John Wimber became the first director of this growing Vineyard movement.

Sure, your church may not be  Vineyard and may not affirm all they do, but you can’t deny the tangible, movemental impact they have had planting new churches. This impact is, without question, one of their greatest attributes.

In fact, here are seven constants to church planting that John Wimber outlined and lived by as he led the Vineyard movement to plant over 1,000 churches in their lifetime:
1) Constantly Tell Your Story.

When church planters were getting ready to launch, Wimber would commonly teach them to share why they were there.

Tell everyone why you are there. And once you’ve told them ten times—tell them five hundred more…The problem is many pastors get bored of telling their own story—so they quit telling it. And then they wonder why their church quits growing. People thrive on narrative, that’s how God created us as humans, and a powerful narrative becomes the key factor of vision-casting and leadership. Not telling your story can be a contributing factor to lack of church growth, because people lose focus when you’re not consistently telling who you are and where you’re going. And they lose their reason for existence.

2) Constantly Tell His Story.

As important as your story is, the true priority is His story—Jesus’ story. Because people thrive on narratives, you need to consider how to share your story in a way that connects  with God’s grand narrative for the world.

How does Jesus fit into why you are there? Wimber would teach church planters that, “Every occasion ought to have His story in it. Jesus is the Son of God. It’s always in there, always wrapped up in the midst of any exchange with people.”

How can you share your story in a way that connects with God’s grand narrative for the world?
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3) Constantly Explain the Mysteries of Life.

This point was twofold for Wimber.  On the one hand, he emphasized  the importance of calling people to a deeper commitment to Christ—not just to salvation but also to mission. Then he elaborated on the importance of metrics to help you know how you’re doing in ministry.

We have to have ways of measuring where we’re at in ministry. Most people play church like guys playing basketball without a ball and without a hoop. They play without the very things which provide a measurement, or standard, for who’s winning the game…So when it comes to church leadership, I keep putting in the ball and the hoops. I keep bringing out things that are concrete ways of measuring how you’re doing: Is the church growing numerically? Is there tangible fruit? Are people getting saved and assimilated into  the church? How many of the poor are you caring for? How many new leaders have you developed? Is the quality of ministry and body life and love amongst people growing? Those kinds of questions make some people mad. They don’t want you introducing those kind of elements, because if you start actually measuring, things don’t look so good. Some would rather appear to play than actually play.

4) Constantly Disciple.

There are two types of family members in your church, those serving in  the army and those healing in the hospital. Part of your church’s long-term plan for movemental growth involves consistently advancing the front line of the gospel into new territories. You need disciples to dig  in the trenches and fight for ground with their friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

Wimber taught that it was okay to be in the hospital temporarily to get healed, but it wasn’t okay to stay there permanently.

5) Constantly Expand the Infrastructure.

At the beginning of a church plant, it’s okay to not have much infrastructure because you don’t need it. But as  you grow, Wimber emphasized that you need to have the discipline to structure toward growth. Sustainable, repeatable, and scalable structure that allows people to connect and care for others is vital for the health of a church.

Sustainable, repeatable, and scalable structure allows people to connect and care for others.
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6) Constantly  Live in Brokenness.

The New Testament calls us to a high level of character, and the worst thing you can do is to put on a religious façade and pretend you have it all together. The mark of a maturing believer is self-awareness when you fail and transparency within community to cling to Jesus with others.

Wimber regularly exhorted his church planters to “live constantly with the awareness that we just don’t measure up” so that we can rely on and trust Jesus to make up the difference.

The mark of a maturing believer is self-awareness when you fail and transparency within community.
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7) Constantly  Re-evaluate and Be Flexible in What You Are Doing.

This isn’t a license to continually tweak things that aren’t broken, but the awareness that evaluation is critical for growth and the health of a movement. Wimber said it well: “But whatever you do, don’t hold onto things for their own sake. Programs are a means to an end. Evaluate their effectiveness. Keep what works; get rid of what doesn’t. Do whatever is necessary to help the church of Jesus Christ to advance.”

Keep what works; get rid of what doesn’t.
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These seven constants are as applicable today as they were 30 years ago and represent two primary commitments. First, a commitment  to perseverance in faith, believing  the promises of God that He will  build the church. Second, a missional intentionality evident in the movement of people directed toward a kingdom of God objective.

This was an excerpt from the newest book that I wrote with Ed Stetzer, 1000 Churches: How Past Movements Did It—And How Your Church Can, Too. Continue reading by downloading it for free here.

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Published on July 18, 2017 07:28

Why Are You So Busy?

There’s this app on my watch that reminds me to breathe.

I’m not quite sure how to turn the setting off, but a few times a day, I hear this annoyingly soothing little jingle that reminds me it’s time to breathe.

And to be completely honest, though I’ve had this watch for a while now, I’ve only done the breathing exercise once.

Why? Because it always prompts me to breathe at the worst times. I’m either in a meeting, fighting through traffic, writing, or in a conversation with someone else.

It’s not that I don’t think it’s important; it’s just that I’m too busy to breathe…

Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? I mean…how can anyone be too busy to breathe?

When I did that breathing exercise for the first time, one thing I immediately realized was just how shallow and quick my normal breaths were.

The fact is, we don’t normally breathe deeply like that, even though it’s proven to…

Reset our system
Slow our heartbeat
Lower/stabilize our blood pressure
And release toxins

You would think that those reasons would be enough to motivate us to slow down and breathe deeply, but they simply don’t cut it. Why is this the case?

According to an experiment at the University of Toronto, individuals who are paid by the hour volunteer less of their time and tend to feel more antsy when they are not working.

In another study from Sogang University in Seoul, Korea, one researcher found that among Americans, “complaints about insufficient time come disproportionately from well-off families. Even after holding constant the hours spent working at jobs or at home, those with bigger paychecks still felt more anxiety about their time.”

And in 2011, Gallup reported that “The more cash-rich working Americans are, the more time-poor they feel.”

The more cash-rich working Americans are, the more time-poor they feel.
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Here’s the issue.

We are busy because we want to get to a point where we can rest, as quoted from an Economist article, “being busy can make you rich,” however, the problem with that is the very fact that “being rich makes you feel busier still.”

Being busy can make you rich, but being rich makes you feel busier still.
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What’s ironic is that the more you are financially able to buy what you want, go where you wish, and do what you please, the more this actually breeds impatience…

So what’s the solution?

Well, as we see in Ecclesiastes 2:4-10, it’s not to amass possessions and seek contentment in the stuff of life.

4 I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them. 6 I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees. 7 I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house. I also owned livestock—large herds and flocks—more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men. 9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. 10 All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

Solomon experienced abundance in everything…

He had that HGTV show home.
His home had a real stone fireplace, not fake airstone.
He had land…a lot of it.
He was wiser than anyone else.
He had an army of employees working for him.
Money wasn’t an issue. He probably had more of an issue trying to find a place to store it all.
Entertainment, pleasure, and sex…he had it all, anytime he wanted.
He was successful according to all “earthly standards.”
The life he lived is the life that commercials and this world tell us that we need.

But after achieving all of this, look at what he said in verse 11…

11 When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

The things of this earth do not satisfy. They always come up short.

So don’t repeat the same mistakes that Solomon made. Learn from his experience. Learn from his life.

Seek rest and satisfaction in the one who can restore your soul, renew your life, lead you along the right path, grant you wisdom, and help you make the right decisions.

The things of this earth do not satisfy. They always come up short.
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If you do this, then your perspective will change and you will grow in gratitude, experience true joy and pleasure, and realize that life is not about your temporary mission, but about participating in the great, grand, and eternal mission of God.

Start by resting in Jesus—the shepherd of your soul.

Mow your lawn tomorrow
Go shopping tomorrow
Enjoy God’s creation
Enjoy one another
Delight yourself in the Lord
Eat, drink, and enjoy today
And as you do it all, thank God at every moment
Today, breathe deeply and worship our Lord

It’s as one of my friends says, “if every breath is from God, then every breath should be for God.”

Psalm 23 (CSB):

1 The Lord is my shepherd;

I have what I need.

2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He renews my life;

he leads me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,

I fear no danger,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff—they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

as long as I live.

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Published on July 11, 2017 04:15

Becoming Fluent in the Gospel

Three months…

It was going to be three months of doing my own laundry. Three months of cooking my own meals. Three months of working a real job. And three months in French…

It was the summer before my senior year in university, and I had signed up for a three-month mission trip with Campus Crusade for Christ. It was called Montreal Project.

The idea is that we would learn how to see life as mission and mission as life.

During the day, we would work a real job. During the evenings, we would be discipled, disciple others, and evangelize. On the weekends, we would do outreach and bless the community.

It was a missional missions trip before missional was cool.

Do you see life as mission and mission as life?
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Instead of just seeing the mission field as “over there,” we learnt how to see it as also “being here.” After all, the nations had come to us, and I was living in one of the most unreached cities in the Western world.

However, it wasn’t until the end of the third month that I began to understand the importance of fluency.

No I’m not talking about French—as important as that was for the mission’s trip. I’m talking about fluency as my friend, Jeff Vanderstelt, defines it in his latest book, Gospel Fluency.

I believe such fluency is what God wants his people to experience with the gospel. He wants them to be able to translate the world around them and the world inside of them through the lens of the gospel—the truths of God revealed in the person and work of Jesus. Gospel-fluent people think, feel, and perceive everything in light of what has been accomplished in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

They see the world differently. They think differently. They feel differently.

When they are listening to people, they are thinking, “How is this in line with the truths of the gospel? What about Jesus and his work might be good news to this person today? How can I bring the hope of the gospel to bear on this life or situation so this person might experience salvation and Jesus will be glorified?” [1]

—— Enter the giveaway at the bottom of this article for a chance to win one of four copies of Jeff Vanderstelt’s book, Gospel Fluency ——

From the moment I woke up to the time I hit the sack, I was on mission. I was on mission to share the gospel with my coworkers. I was on mission to be salt and light in Montreal. I was on mission to see the name and fame of Jesus Christ be declared in a city where churches were being converted into condos, and basilicas were tourist attractions rather than places of worship. And I realized that the only way this was going to happen is if I learnt how to become fluent in the gospel in the everyday stuff of life.

You need to know the gospel, hear the gospel, and practice proclaiming it.
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The gospel will never become your “native tongue,” without immersion in a “gospel-speaking culture.”

Here’s how Jeff puts it,

You do need to receive some formal training in the basics of the gospel, just as learning a language requires knowing the basics of grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure…However, formal training alone does not make one fluent. You become fluent through immersion in a gospel-speaking community and through ongoing practice. You have to know it, regularly hear it, and practice proclaiming it…Gospel fluency begins in you, gets worked out within community, and is expressed to a world that needs to hear about Jesus.[2]

While you may not be able to quit your job and move to a different city for three months, you can take your first steps towards gospel fluency right where you are.

Start by reading Gospel Fluency with a group of friends. Learn the language and create a community where you are speaking the gospel into one another’s lives on a regular basis.

This isn’t a silver bullet. You have to do this over the long haul, but stick to it because it’ll be worth it. You’ll see kingdom transformation in your own life and in the lives of those around you.

Enter to Win

Next Steps:

Enter the giveaway to win one of four copies of Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life
Read the interview I did with Jeff Vanderstelt on Missional Practices
Read the book review I did on Jeff Vanderstelt’s first book, Saturate

End Notes:

[1] Jeff Vanderstelt, Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017), 41-42.

[2] Ibid., 43.

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Published on July 04, 2017 04:15

We Fail. Jesus Restores.

When have you really enjoyed making a mess?

Making a mess in the kitchen is one thing. Making a mess of life is quite another. I can clean the kitchen to the point you’d never know I was in there. But when I make a mess of my life, I can’t just wipe away the evidence—or the consequences—with a good disinfectant.

Have you ever found yourself at rock bottom?

It may have been because of an inappropriate relationship, a string of lies, or a temptation or habit that seemed to gradually take over everything in life. At that moment, you stand at a crossroad. Do you continue down the road you’re on, continuing to repeat the mistakes because the pain of changing seems greater than the pain of remaining the same? Or do you look to Jesus for a way out?

Have you ever found yourself at rock bottom?
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Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, knew what it meant to mess up. He failed in a big way. But Peter’s story also offers us encouragement and points us to the way out—a fresh start in Jesus Christ.

Let’s take a look at John 18:15-18, 25-27 from the CSB translation,

15 Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest; so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard. 16 But Peter remained standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who was the doorkeeper and brought Peter in. 17 Then the servant girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” “I am not,” he said. 18 Now the servants and the officials had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself. … 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” 27 Peter denied it again. Immediately a rooster crowed.

Peter had been through a lot on this particular evening:

The last supper
Failing Jesus by falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane
Witnessing Judas’ betrayal
Fighting the temple guards
And watching Jesus allow Himself to be arrested and taken away

None of these events excuse Peter’s denials, but they do help us recognize that he was surely exhausted and confused. His whole world had been turned upside down. Still, after all the disciples initially ran away from Jesus’ arrest (see Matt. 26:55), Peter at least made an effort to get near enough to see and hear what was going on—as long as he could do it undetected.

Question: What emotions would you have experienced in Peter’s situation?

“The other disciple,” who is generally acknowledged to be John, was able to follow Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. Peter stayed outside. Being neither a slave nor a member of the temple police, he must have stood out like a sore thumb. Not surprisingly, people immediately began connecting him with Jesus’ followers—and that’s when the denials started.

The Gospel of Luke adds another detail after the rooster’s famous crow: “Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62).

Many times we tend to see the men and women in Scripture as “bigger than life.”

Their encounters with God and their victories seem so far beyond what we experience today. We may view their failures as equally above our own—and more catastrophic. Consequently, we might be tempted to say: “I would never fail Jesus like that.”

In fact, that’s just what Peter said earlier that night. When Jesus shared one last meal with His disciples, He predicted Judas’s betrayal. When Peter declared that he would lay down his life for Jesus, the Lord predicted that he also would betray Him (see John 13:37-38).

This no doubt came as a shock to Peter. After all, he alone had walked on water with Jesus, and he was the first of the disciples to confess, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Thus, Peter responded like many of us surely would: “I will never deny you!” (Matt. 26:35).

Maybe we’re not so different from Peter after all.

We’ve all been in circumstances where we gave in to fear or succumbed to the crowd. We may not have denied Jesus as overtly as Peter did, but we’ve had our own moments when we tried to hide our relationship with Him.

We’ve denied Him through our words and our actions. And whenever we choose to sin, we’re denying once again the One we say is Lord over our lives. Somewhere along the way, a rooster crows, and we’re hit with the full force of our denial. When that happens to you—not if, but when—what do you do?

What happens after you fail? Do you write yourself off as a failure? Do you just try to get on with your life as if nothing happened?

What happens after you fail? Do you write yourself off as a failure?
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We’ll see from the life of Peter that a far better option awaits…

How do you typically respond after a failure or big mistake?

Check the statement (or statements) that apply, or write out your own. When I fail…

__ I get angry.

__ I become depressed.

__ I don’t let it bother me.

__ I try to make sure no one saw what happened.

__ I try to learn from what happened.

__ Other:

How has your relationship with Jesus helped you move on from failure in the past?

Want to Learn More?

This is an excerpt from the first session of a 6-session Bible study that I wrote for the Summer 2017 edition of Bible Studies for Life.

Session 1 – A Fresh Start (John 18:15-18, 25-27; 21:15-19)
Session 2 – Objections Overruled (Exodus 3:11-12; 4:10-17)
Session 3 – The Gift of Grace (2 Corinthians 12:2-10)
Session 4 – A Channel of Comfort (2 Corinthians 1:2-7)
Session 5 – A Passion to Share the Gospel (2 Corinthians 5:11, 14-21)
Session 6 – Right Here, Right Now (Mark 5:1-2, 8-15, 18-20)

Pick up your copy here.

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Published on June 27, 2017 04:15

Broken Vessels

Brokenness and pain.

Unfortunately, both are universal in our experiences as human beings. We may have been hurt by a love that ended prematurely, by abandonment and isolation, by chronic illness or death, or by circumstances we bring on ourselves through our sin and failure—but we all know what pain feels like. It feels like something has been broken inside us. It feels like we are broken.

Like clay jars, we’re fragile. We can be easily broken—but we don’t have to remain “broken vessels.” We’re never beyond the healing and redeeming power of God. In the face of failure, God responds with restoration. In spite of our shortcomings, God will work in and through us. In the midst of our circumstances, God will help us endure.

You’re never beyond the healing and redeeming power of God.
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Yet God doesn’t stop there!

He uses us to speak into the lives of other “broken vessels.” He uses our experiences with His grace and power to comfort others. He desires to use us to help our neighbors and loved ones encounter the God who brings hope and restoration.

Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us (2 Cor. 4:7).

We are broken vessels, but this great treasure—the good news of Jesus Christ—shines through our brokenness. And that’s a truth worth celebrating.

Want to Learn More?

This is the introduction to a 6-session Bible study that I wrote for the Summer 2017 edition of Bible Studies for Life.

Session 1 – A Fresh Start (John 18:15-18, 25-27; 21:15-19)
Session 2 – Objections Overruled (Exodus 3:11-12; 4:10-17)
Session 3 – The Gift of Grace (2 Corinthians 12:2-10)
Session 4 – A Channel of Comfort (2 Corinthians 1:2-7)
Session 5 – A Passion to Share the Gospel (2 Corinthians 5:11, 14-21)
Session 6 – Right Here, Right Now (Mark 5:1-2, 8-15, 18-20)

Pick up your copy here.

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Published on June 20, 2017 04:15

5 Ways to Find Your Way Back to God

What happens when you search for God with all your heart?

According to Scripture and personal experience, you find God.

You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13 CSB)

Is there a pattern for this journey back to God? Or is everyone’s journey unique?

The answer is a resounding, yes. Yes there is a pattern, but everyone’s journey is also unique.

In Finding Your Way Back to God, Dave and Jon Ferguson have uncovered five universal awakenings that humans journey though as they find their way back to God. And as you’ll see through the stories that I’ll share from the book here, everyone’s journey is truly unique. So buckle up and get ready. These stories will help you see that as much as we need to find our way back to God, “God wants to be found even more than you want to find him.” [1]

God wants to be found even more than you want to find him.
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1. Awakening to Longing: “There’s got to be more.”

Each of the five awakenings are summarized with a prayer. Here’s the prayer for this first awakening,

“God, if you are real, make yourself real to me. Awaken in me the ability to see that you are what’s missing from my life.” [2]

Let me share with you one of the stories from the book that perfectly illustrate the way that we can find our way back to God through this awakening to longing.

Several years ago I had dinner with my friend and mentor Bob Buford. For much of his life, Bob ran a successful cable television company. After his son, Ross, tragically died, Bob came to a point in his life he called “Halftime.” He wrote a book by that title that tells how he moved from focusing on success to focusing on significance. What Bob said at dinner has stayed with me ever since: “One of people’s great fears is running out of money, but that’s not their greatest fear. Another significant fear people have is the fear of dying, but that’s not people’s greatest fear either.” He paused and said, “Deep down, our single greatest fear is to live a life of insignificance, to come to the end of our life and feel like we never really did anything that mattered. That is our greatest fear.”

Are you feeling like you are stuck in the same old, same old? Do you have a gut feeling that there’s got to be more? Author and theologian Frederick Buechner points us in the right direction when he says, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” [3]

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
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2. Awakening to Regret: “I wish I could start over.”
“God if you are real, make yourself real to me. Awaken in me the possibility that with you I could start over again.” [4]

In this second section of the book, there is a compelling story about Scott and Kirsten, and the changes they chose to make after awakening to regret.

Scott and Kirsten were overachievers. They both had graduate degrees, were making the kind of money that put them in the top 1 percent, and lived with their two sons in a community that was deemed “the best community in the United States to raise a family.” They thought they had figured out what life was all about. But they were living a bios kind of life, just one day after another that offered no purpose or cause bigger than themselves or their suburban home. The disillusionment became disappointment, and the disappointment grew into a deep depression and regret. Something had to change.

In a moment of prayer, these words came into Kirsten’s mind: “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” The words were from a story Jesus told. It spurred Kirsten and her husband to start talking about what a change in priority might look like in their lives.

Over the next five years, they sold their home, changed jobs, and moved into an under-resourced neighborhood to live alongside people who are marginalized and forgotten. Scott became a schoolteacher in a poorly performing elementary school. Kirsten launched a thriving compassion and justice non-profit that mobilizes thousands of volunteers. One of the most significant risks they took was moving their two elementary-age boys into a school district with a bare-bones budget, few extracurricular activities, and a growing gang problem. Scott and Kirsten will tell you that their boys have thrived. In Kirsten’s words, “We thought we were making sacrifices, but the truth is, we are living a better life not than ever before!”

In his book The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne says that the question of life after death is still significant, but what people are wondering most about is “whether there is life before death.” [5]

What people are wondering about most is whether there is life before death.
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3. Awakening to Help: “I can’t do this on my own.”
“God if you are real, make yourself real to me. Awaken in me the willingness to turn toward you for help.” [6]

This third awakening is best illustrated through the story of Christa.

Her name was Christa, and she grew up on a small cherry farm in Traverse City, Michigan. She was a wild child who dismissed her parents as old-fashioned because of how they responded to her piercings and tattoos. One night Christa and her parents had a huge fight. At the end of it, she slammed the door and said, “I hate you,” then acted on a plan she had been rehearsing for months in her mind. She ran away to the big city of Detroit.

Within a few hours of arriving in Detroit, she met a man who seemed warm and nice. He drove the most expensive car she’d ever seen, and he was willing to take her in. This nice man taught her a few things that would make her valuable on the streets, and because Christa was young, she brought in top dollar for her services. As time went on, and as she got a little older, she wasn’t bringing in top dollar anymore, and so she was thrown out on the street, with no money and a drug habit to support.

One night she thought back to those sunny spring days when she would be lying beneath the cherry trees. Realizing that renting her body on the streets of Detroit was no way to live, she decided she would head north, and maybe move to Canada and start over. On her way north, she figured she’d try something that she thought had no chance of actually working. She mustered up enough courage to give her parents a call. No one answered, but she left a message telling them she was going to be passing through Traverse City on her way to Canada. If they wanted to see her, she would be at the bus station around midnight. After hanging up, she thought leaving the message was a stupid thing to do because odds were they were happier now that she was gone.

As the bus headed north, she could see the signs saying the bus was getting closer to Traverse City…Finally the bus arrived in Traverse City, and she heard the bus driver say, “Fifteen minutes at this stop, fifteen minutes.”

All her mental rehearsing didn’t prepare her for what she should when she stepped off the bus. At midnight in this small-town bus depot, she found dozens of familiar faces belonging to aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents…and a huge banner hanging from the walls saying, “WELCOME HOME, CHRISTA!!!” Her dad broke through the crowd and ran up to her, and as she tried to explain herself, he wrapped his arms around her, making it clear that all he really cared about was that his daughter was home. [7]

God if you are real, make yourself real to me.
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4. Awakening to Love: “God loves me deeply after all.”
“God, if you are real, make yourself real to me. Awaken in me the awareness that I am your unconditionally loved child.” [8]

Leslie’s story demonstrates that while you can’t change your past, God can change your future.

Shame held Leslie captive most of her life. She was ashamed of her dad, who was a compulsive gambler. She was ashamed of her mother, who had a string of affairs with married men during Leslie’s growing-up years. She felt shame because of her own two divorces. She felt guilty when an ex-husband killed himself. Shame haunted her after the abortion she had when she was forty. Leslie said, “Shame was my prison, and it kept me hiding from the only One who could forgive me and set me free.”

When Leslie courageously told her story for the first time, the light of grace began to filter into her darkness. As her friend listened closely to everything she had done and everything that had been done to her–those two sources of shame I identified earlier–she said, “Leslie, you can’t change your past, but God can change your future.” Those words were like a key unlocking her from a prison of shame and opening the door to a brand-new life.

Over the next several years, Leslie found her way back to God. She came to understand that her identity was not in what she had done or in what had been done to her. She says, “I am God’s dearly loved child. Period.”

At times she still thinks, I don’t deserve this. But she also hears God’s voice saying, “Whatever you’ve done, you are forgiven and you are loved.” Today Leslie is helping other woman who struggle with pain in their past to find their way back to God.

Do not let your past mistakes and failures define you. That is the voice of shame. You aren’t what you’ve done or not done. You are not what’s been done to you.You are who God says you are. His child. [9]

Do not let your past mistakes and failures define you. That is the voice of shame.
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5. Your Awakening to Life: “Now this is living!”
“God if you are real, make yourself real to me. Awaken in me the confidence that I can live a brand-new life.” [10]

This last awakening illustrates the kind of life that God desires all of us to live…right now.

Eight years ago I sat in Lane’s living room where hospice workers had placed a bed to make him comfortable for his last days on this earth. He asked me to come over because it was time to plan his funeral. As he told me what he wanted to have said, sung, and celebrated at his memorial, I couldn’t help but think back to just a few years earlier when Lane found his way back to God.

Lane was a type-A, driven personality who would start his workday at 5 a.m. and not finish till late in the evening. His obsessive hard work paid off as his company went from being a $100-million business when he started to being worth more than $9 billion when he stepped down because of a terminal illness. The illness brought this ambitious workaholic to a complete stop. When Lane paused long enough to reflect on his life and success, he realized there was something very important missing.

As a kid, his parents took him to church and he had a genuine faith in God, but Lane realized that in his unbridled pursuit of success, God had gradually become a faint and forgotten memory. That was when we met.

Lane was sick. The kind of sick that would slowly kill him. But until it did kill him, it would torture his body with constant pain sixteen hours a day. The illness was his wake-up call that something was missing and he needed God. Lane told me, “Dave, the best thing that ever happened to me was getting sick. From the time I got sick, it refocused me. It caused me to find my way back to God and feel so close to God. I would give up everything for what I have now.”

I still have the notes for Lane’s funeral. They have gone unused. It has been nearly a decade since hospice was called, and Lane hasn’t died yet. But neither has Lane been cured. He is in pain every day of his life and only has energy to go out for a meal and spend a little time online exchanging e-mails. Since his spiritual rebirth, Lane has also found a new identity. He’s not a workaholic creating his own kingdom. Instead he is a messenger sharing his story and helping others find their way back to God. [11]

Is God real to you?

I want to encourage you to seek God by praying these five prayers. Open your heart and mind to God. He wants to be found and he wants to have a relationship with you.

At the end of Finding Your Way Back to God, there is a 30-day journal and prayer guide that will help you process these five awakenings so that you can find your way back to God.

Pick up a copy today here. Your life will never be the same.

Endnotes:

[1] Dave and Jon Ferguson, Finding Your Way Back to God: Five Awakenings to Your New Life (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2015), 2.

[2] Ibid., 29.

[3] Ibid., 44-45.

[4] Ibid., 61.

[5] Ibid., 67-68.

[6] Ibid., 92.

[7] Ibid., 90-91.

[8] Ibid., 118.

[9] Ibid., 120-121.

[10] Ibid., 137.

[11] Ibid., 161-162.

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Published on June 13, 2017 04:15

Are You a Life-Giving Christian?

After having lived and pastored in six major cities in three countries around the world, I’m often asked the question, “Which is your favorite?”

When I was younger, I’d reminisce about the mountains in Vancouver, the frozen river canal in Ottawa, the International Jazz Festival in Montreal, or the skyscrapers in Seoul. However, after packing and moving for the thousandth time—or so it feels—I finally feel like I have an adequate answer to that question.

It depends. That’s it—it depends.

It depends on whether or not I approached the city with the posture to give or take. It depends on whether or not I came with the desire to bless or an attitude of entitlement. Did I go to harvest or to plant? Did the city exist for my benefit, or did I exist for its benefit?

—— Enter the giveaway at the bottom of this article for a chance to win one of four copies of Todd Korpi’s book, The Life-Giving Spirit: The Victory of Christ in Missional Perspective. ——

Every week, Christians in your city are wrestling with a similar tension.

Should I go to church or to the lake? Should I participate in a small group or watch the game on TV. Should I open up the Bible app or Facebook?

Every week, when people enter the doors of your church, they are either coming with the posture to give or take. They are either coming to serve or be served. They are coming to bless the Lord or be blessed by the Lord. They are coming to give worship or take information and inspiration from the sermon. It’s a subtle difference, but your posture changes everything.

This reminds me of this one particular phrase that Todd repeats in his book, The Life-Giving Spirit: The Victory of Christ in Missional Perspective, “If every breath we inhale is from God, then every breath we exhale should be for God.”

“If every breath is from God, then every breath should be for God.” – @ToddKorpi
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Oh how one-sided we are at times!

We take, take, and take, thinking that if we don’t fend for ourselves, no one will. When in reality, if we approached life with the posture of giving and a heart of generosity, not only would others leave filled and satisfied, but so would we. After all, didn’t Jesus Himself say that He came to serve and not be served, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt 20:28)?

A few years ago, when my eldest daughter, Victoria, was a toddler, I remember this one time that we were driving together to gymnastics class.

We were listening to this one song where the chorus went like this, “It’s your breath, in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise.”[1] As we were belting out the lyrics to this song, my voice began to eclipse hers as she slowly stopped singing. After singing by myself for another minute or so, I asked her why she had stopped the karaoke duo.

She responded with, “Daddy, can I ask you a question?”

I replied, “Of course.”

She then proceeded to take a deep breath in and then exhale it out. She repeated this a few times and then said, “That’s it, right? Isn’t that what the song is about?”

Not knowing quite what she was doing, I asked her to clarify, “What do you mean?”

“Well, if I breathe in and out, isn’t that singing praises to God? Because he put the breath in our lungs?”

Wow. I was floored.

I wish I could take credit for teaching her this, but I can’t. She got it. She understood that “if every breath we inhale is from God, then every breath we exhale should be for God.”

What would it look like for you to create a culture in your church where you are not only modeling this, but teaching your church how to live this out?

Where everyone understands that God is not only their creator, but their active sustainer? Where everyone learns how to live every breath and moment of their lives for God?

This is what I like to call “normalizing mission.”

In my book, No Silver Bullets: 5 Small Shifts that will Transform your Ministry, I write about this,

Every plumber, poet, and police officer in your church has the same vocation—to go and make disciples. This is our missionary mandate as the church! We are all sent and on mission with God wherever we are and in whatever we do for a living (John 20:21). And this precisely is our primary vocation. It’s our secondary vocation—the thing that we do to get food on the table—that differs for everyone.[2]

Every plumber and police officer in your church has the same vocation—to go and make disciples.
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What would it look like for you to develop disciples in your church who have a missionary mindset?

Where everyone understands that “mission is not just something that the church does; it is something that is done by the Spirit, who is himself the witness, who changes both the world and the church, who always goes before the church in its missionary journey.”[3] Where everyone understands that “if every breath we inhale is from God, then every breath we exhale should be for God?”

Get ready to be encouraged, challenged, and equipped by Todd to be a life-giving Christian wherever you live, wherever you go, and in everything that you do.

This is the Foreword that I wrote for Todd Korpi’s book, The Life-Giving Spirit: The Victory of Christ in Missional Perspective.

Enter to Win

Next Steps:

Enter the giveaway to win one of four copies of The Life-Giving Spirit: The Victory of Christ in Missional Perspective.
Follow Todd Korpi on Twitter.
Read more from ToddKorpi.com

____________

[1] “Great Are You, Lord.” (2012) Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan and David Leonard. Integrity’s Alleluia! Music | Integrity’s Praise! Music | Open Hands Music | Sony/ATV Timber Publishing.

[2] Daniel Im, No Silver Bullets: 5 Small Shifts that will Transform your Ministry (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2017).

[3] Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 56.

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Published on June 06, 2017 05:20

Music and Your Brain, Worship and Your Heart

My children love to sing and dance. So oftentimes after dinner, we’ll goof around, turn up the tunes, and sing songs with one another.

No, not like the von Trapp family—albeit, we have sung, “Doe, a deer, a female deer” more than once…

One particular evening, I began singing “A Whole New World” from Disney’s Aladdin. I always loved the melody as a child, but while I was teaching it to my children, I quickly realized something about the lyrics—I didn’t agree with them! And I definitely did not want my children being influenced by those horrible lyrics.

“No one to tell us no? Or where to go?”

I didn’t want my children saying that to me! And I definitely did not want them to leave me…at least not yet.

The thing about music is that it deeply shapes us—often without us recognizing the full extent of its influence.

In one study, three professors from Harvard and Boston College discovered that children who had three years or more musical instrument training performed better than those who didn’t learn an instrument in auditory discrimination abilities and fine motor skills. They also tested better on vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning skills, which involve understanding and analyzing visual information.

What’s interesting about this study is that you would naturally expect someone who is learning an instrument to develop in their fine motor skills, which they did. However, you wouldn’t necessarily expect someone who’s learning an instrument to grow in their vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning skills! It’s amazing how the brain is wired and how music shapes your brain.

Similarly, have you ever considered the way worship shapes your heart?

In Psalm 40, we come across a song that would have been sung publicly in worship. It was a song that not only—probably had a catchy melody—but it was one that God used to shape the hearts of His people and remind them of their identity and their calling in this world. The Psalm was, and is, a heartfelt cry of thankfulness for who God is and what He has done, is doing, and will continue to do.

This Psalm is powerful because it helps us understand the role of gratitude in worship.

Worship begins when we realize that everything is ultimately from God. In other words, it starts with gratitude. In fact, this Psalm begins and ends with the declaration that we are in need of God’s work and His salvation. So when we worship, let’s not only thank Him for His past saving work, but also for His present and future ongoing work in our lives.

Worship begins when we realize that everything is ultimately from God.
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This Psalm also teaches us that worship is about openly, blatantly, bluntly, conspicuously, consciously, and boldly speaking to the Lord and about Him to others.

It’s about never ceasing to declare His righteousness, faithfulness, constant love, and truth.

Most importantly though, this Psalm shows us just how normal worship must be. It’s not something reserved for Sundays or beautifully designed sanctuaries. It’s an everyday thing. Yes, it’s important that we gather with one another on a regular basis to worship as the Church, but that’s not where worship begins, nor is it where it ends.

Worship is an everyday thing…it’s not just something reserved for Sundays.
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We are called to worship when we’re at home putting our children to bed. When we’re driving to work. When we’re on the treadmill. When we’re taking a walk. When we’re eating smoked ribs. When we’re in between meetings. And when we’re studying the Bible.

May we be a worshipful people and allow the Lord our God—the creator and sustainer of all things—to shape and mold our heart.

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Published on May 30, 2017 04:15

How to Improve Your Leadership…Immediately!

I have three young children, so our house is well stocked with Band-Aids.

Not adhesive bandages, but Band-Aids…you know, the name brand kind that have Disney-Pixar characters on them. Now before you go and think I’m raising entitled children, let me explain the backstory.

When my children were younger, Christina and I refused to buy the over-priced character Band-Aids. We bought the generic kind with no designs. I then would take a pen and draw a smiley face, panda, or bunny on it.

My children loved it. They didn’t think it was cheap, by any means! After all, I was giving them a custom, handcrafted, one-of-a-kind bandage to cover up their cut, scrape, or wound. Unfortunately, that only worked when they were toddlers. Now, the only thing that is acceptable, in their opinion, is a Band-Aid with a character on it.

Oh how things change…

Alright, design aside, I’ve found that Band-Aids do actually work better than the generic kind. They last longer and do a better job keeping the water out, which is actually part of the problem. Since the cheap ones often come off within the day, my children will remind me that they need a new one. However, with Band-Aids, if I’m not paying attention, days might pass before I remember to change it.

This is fine if I remembered to clean the wound and treat it with an antibiotic before covering it with a Band-Aid. But what if I didn’t? What if I just put the Band-Aid on immediately after, and didn’t take time to clean or treat it? And then I left it on for a few days without checking it?

My children would likely get an infection at best. At worst, they’d need surgical debridement and antibiotics.

This is because Band-Aids are just that…they’re an aid to the healing process. They can’t do it alone.

Have you ever been given a “stretch” assignment?

Something that you’ve never done before? Something that you had to go get help to complete? Something that you had to research and develop new skills for, in order to get it done?

Leaders use “stretch” assignments to challenge individuals on their team. They know that it’s extra work and that the team member might not be ready for it, but it’s a way to discover potential and build capacity. Essentially, it’s a real life test of an individual’s competency, character, tenacity, and grit.

Stretch assignments are a real life test of an individual’s competency, character, and grit.
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However, it’s important to note that completion of the assignment, in and of itself, is not the only goal. The way the team member reacts to the assignment, prioritizes it, and works through it is just as important:

How did they react when given the assignment?
Did they ask clarifying questions immediately? Or later?
How did they prioritize the assignment in light of their existing workload?
How did it affect performance in their other work?
Did they recruit others to help?
Did they delegate it, dump it, or do it?

“Stretch” assignments, when used appropriately, will move your team members out of boredom and comfort, to a new level of effectiveness and productivity. When overused, however, they have the potential to lead to burnout.

So use them…with caution.

Are “Stretch” Assignments Band-Aid Solutions?

When used by themselves, yes they are.

“Stretch” assignments aid the development of leaders, but they’re not the way to develop leaders. They’re not a silver bullet solution.

If you’re serious about “stretching” the individuals on your team and in your church, you need to think about competencies and culture. More specifically, I’m referring to the people development competency and a developmental culture.

After all, which would you rather have? Hirelings or owners?

When your team members are engaged in their work, they’re more likely to own what they do, go the extra mile, and do one more thing.

If your team is engaged in their work, they’re more likely to go the extra mile.
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In fact, in Gallup’s extensive research on engagement, they discovered that there’s a correlation between being developed at work and an individual’s level of engagement. In their Q12 survey, there are several statements focused on measuring an employee’s development, such as,

There is someone at work who encourages my development
In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress
This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow

How would you answer these questions for those on your team? How would people on your team answer those questions?

In order to “stretch” individuals to greater levels of performance, productivity, and potential, yes, you can leverage “stretch” assignments, but first, you need to clean and treat the wound, so that it doesn’t become a Band-Aid solution.

In other words, you need to create a culture of development and identify what proficiency looks like in the people development competency.

When you do this, “stretch” assignments cease to be one-offs or Band-Aid solutions to problems. Instead, they become a part of a larger framework devoted to developing every team member to their fullest potential for kingdom impact.

Share the Good Stuff

In conclusion, use “stretch” assignments. They’re good and they work well in light of the caveats above. But when you do hand out “stretch” assignments, resist the urge to delegate what you don’t like doing. Share the good stuff. Share something that you love doing.

Who knows? They might discover a way to do it better. And the whole team would be better for it.

Stretch assignments can move you out of boredom and comfort, to a new level of effectiveness.
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Published on May 23, 2017 04:15

Are “Stretch” Assignments Band-Aid Solutions?