danielim.com | awakened2change http://www.danielim.com Reflections on Concepts, Culture, and Ministry Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:47:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Welcome to the Social Media Revolution http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Danielim/~3/K_wNqh6ecys/ http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/19/welcome-to-the-social-media-revolution/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:47:23 +0000 Daniel Im http://www.danielim.com/?p=1121 Check out this insane video on how powerful social media has become in our entire world.


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]]> http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/19/welcome-to-the-social-media-revolution/feed/ 0 http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/19/welcome-to-the-social-media-revolution/ A New Paradigm on Serving http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Danielim/~3/GbrgyG2cJsA/ http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/17/a-new-paradigm-on-serving/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:48:15 +0000 Daniel Im http://www.danielim.com/?p=1105

Since we all understand “serving” differently, my goal in this post is to re-envision or redefine our understanding of serving. In a way, if our understanding of serving is a box, then instead of thinking outside of the box, I want to grab an eraser and give you a blank canvas.

So I want you take a moment and indicate where you are personally at in regards to serving and where your group is at in regards to serving on this diagram.

The fact is, our lives are filled with opportunities to serve in every moment, and most of us are serving on a regular basis, without even knowing it.

  • i.e. When you choose to do those dishes, that’s an act of service.
  • i.e. When you choose to shovel your neighbor’s sidewalk as you do your own, that’s an act of service.
  • i.e. When you wave “thank you” while you are driving, rather than giving people another gesture, that’s an act of service.

However, especially in group life, serving has become a task, rather than a regular rhythm of our groups. Serving has become a task because we myopically view serving merely as a project that we do together, in a concerted effort, rather than something that we would do ourselves. It’s unnatural for us.

Now, I’m not saying, “Don’t get together to serve.” What I am suggesting is that we admit that there are some inherent problems in service projects as we’ve come to know them.

Service projects are great because people in need are being served, but what often happens is that we interpret serving through a consumeristic lens. For example, “I’m the one giving you the goods of service, so you better be thankful, but I have the authority and power over you because I’m the one serving you.” I know that none of us actually say or think this, but this is what is actually happening. After all, what happens when those who we are serving don’t respond with gratitude? Or even better yet, tear us down? It doesn’t make us feel that good anymore, does it? If we were really serving out of a pure heart, and not to tick a check box off, or get a pat on the back, then we ought to be okay with being “persecuted” when we serve. After all, it’s ultimately Christ we are serving, isn’t it?

The fact is, most service projects are one-offs that are task oriented, rather than relationships that are being developed and cultivated. Thus, we need to move away from task dominated serving, to more of a relationship dominated serving. Now you can serve and accomplish tasks while serving, but what is the goal? Is it the task or the relationship?

In my group, we’re trying to figure out what this looks like. What does it look like to incorporate serving one another as merely a rhyhtm of our life, rather than a task? Click here to read my post about it.

As we do this, our community is painting a picture of the Kingdom of God. My conviction is that the way we live our lives in community is going to be the most powerful apologetic for Christ in the 21st century. When the world sees the love that we have for one another, the way we serve one another, and care for one another, how can the world not want to be a part of it?

“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 Peter 2:12

Check out these stellar quotes:

  • “Today, contemporary people are searching for an inclusive community that is democratic, non patriarchal and compassionate. Their preference for a group is that it be raw, not refined; earthy, not sophisticated; concerned with action, not just theory.” – Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost, The Shaping of Things to Come
  • “What postmodern people are crying out for is not better doctrine or clearer theology, but simply kindness in a chaotic and haphazard world.” – Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost, The Shaping of Things to Come
  • “Evangelism is best done out of the context of a gospel community whose corporate life demonstrates the reality of the word that gave her life” – Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church
  • “The invisible God is made visible through the love of the people of God. The life of the Christian community is part of the way by which the gospel is communicated. Leslie Newbigin describes the local congregation as “the hermeneutic of the gospel” – the way in which people understand the gospel.” – Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church

So here’s the million dollar question:

“Are you a group with a mission?” or “Are you a group of missionaries?”

On the one hand, a group with a mission comes together for one common purpose, or calling, to serve together and be a blessing together in a concerted effort, over a long period of time. This could be at the local shelter, food bank, or even at a watering hole in your neighbourhood.

On the other hand, a group of missionaries all have their own environments where they’re called to be a blessing to. Thus, when the group comes together, they will share stories and ask one another how they’ve shown the love of God to those they’re called to.

Neither is right nor wrong. The important thing is that you define, as a group, what you’re called to in this season – it may change, but it’s important to define. What is wrong is not having a focus.

 

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]]> http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/17/a-new-paradigm-on-serving/feed/ 0 http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/17/a-new-paradigm-on-serving/ Desensitized: Perspectives on Death – Part 1/6 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Danielim/~3/P1fvvZeygXU/ http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/12/desensitized-our-cultures-perspectives-on-death-part-16/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:25:29 +0000 Daniel Im http://www.danielim.com/?p=1072

Over the next while, I am going to explore the various perspectives on death that our culture holds by examining news articles, blog postings, and various social media outlets.

After all, death is one of the hardest things to deal with, as it really is one of the only final things that we have to deal with these days, especially since through the Internet it is very easy to stay connected with pretty much anyone. However, what makes death even more difficult is when it is not expected and very tragic. We hear of these stories very frequently on the news.

What makes this such a close topic for me is because I am still processing the death of my seven year old niece who passed away last year so suddenly. As a result, through these next six postings, my hope is to learn as much as I can on this topic. After all, are we not all most open to questioning our views on life when we encounter such tragic deaths?

Here’s the first perspective on death that I will explore – the desensitized perspective.

As I was driving home from work last week, I was listening to the 5:00 newscast on CBC Radio-Canada. Just before the news ended and the reporters were going to report on traffic and weather, there was a brief 15 second mention of how a 38 year old roofer died falling off of a roof in one of the new developments in Edmonton. They said that he was wearing a safety harness, but that the rope was too long. That was it – there was no mention of his family or any other detail. When looking on the Internet, the following news articles were the only ones that I found, and each only had a mere paragraph or few sentences about the situation. There has been no other news report on the situation following the incident.

The brevity of the reporting on this situation, or the lack of information thereof indicates how our culture has become desensitized to tragic death. There was no commentary given on the news to this situation and the number of social media shares recorded on those news sites numbers less than 15. On the CBC article, nearly half of the words were given to the job site, occupational, health, and safety concerns, which sends the message that those issues are more important than this single man dying.

Join me next time as I explore another one of our culture’s perspectives on death.

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]]> http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/12/desensitized-our-cultures-perspectives-on-death-part-16/feed/ 0 http://www.danielim.com/2012/02/12/desensitized-our-cultures-perspectives-on-death-part-16/ Living as a Missional Community http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Danielim/~3/3AVmo63q5No/ http://www.danielim.com/2012/01/27/living-as-a-missional-community/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:55:01 +0000 Daniel Im http://www.danielim.com/?p=1051

One of the things that fascinates me about Jesus was that he was a masterful communicator. One of the ways that he loved to communicate was via word pictures.

Jesus loved to paint word pictures.

He did this because he knew that, through word pictures, we would be able to intrinsically understand and connect the truths that he was teaching us with our real lives today.

Two of the most powerful word pictures that he used to describe you and I were salt and light.

Matt. 5:13    “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Matt. 5:14    “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

When we read these verses, we, in our western individualistic world views, think that he’s talking about you and I individually – that we are individually the salt of the earth and the light of the world. However, when you look at the original language, the word “you” is actually plural.

 

You (the community together) are the salt of the earth.

You (the community together) are the light of the world – a city on a hill.

You (the community together) are the body of Christ, and each of us is a part of it (1 Cor 12:27).

Jesus never intended any of us to journey through life alone. Faith is not a private thing, it’s a community thing. We each have our own relationship with God, but it is in the context of community that we live it out and grow.

We are a community that lives out and represents the Gospel. We are a community where you belong before you believe. We are a community that is not about whether you are in or out, but more about the direction that you are journeying in. In a sense, we are an extended family, with all of our own junk, but a family that accepts one another knowing and understanding that the relationships we are developing right now don’t just end when you move away, but actually extend into eternity.

In a sense, we are a fragmented group of individuals journeying toward wholeness in Christ Jesus because we realize that he is the one who heals us, restores us, and gives us meaning to life. He shows us the way to life.

So we are a community – not a set of meetings. We are community desiring to know each other and be known. Yes, we have our regular meetings every other week, and some meet in the off weeks for deeper study, but that’s beside the point. It’s not about the meetings, it’s about the relationships.

And one of the most powerful ways that we can develop our relationships is by serving one another. So I’m going to propose a challenge for each of us to take up.

As a family, choose something that you could do yourself, but that you are willing to have someone else come alongside you to do. Then get together and do it for each other within the next 2 months. Spend that time together intentionally serving one another and living life together. It’s less about the activity and more about the time spent together.

Remember, although we are going to practically help one another, it’s really less about that, and more about spending time with one another.

So what are you going to do?

 

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]]> http://www.danielim.com/2012/01/27/living-as-a-missional-community/feed/ 0 http://www.danielim.com/2012/01/27/living-as-a-missional-community/ Rhythms of Receptivity and Activity http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Danielim/~3/nmocfOA6nAE/ http://www.danielim.com/2012/01/26/rhythms-of-receptivity-and-activity/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:28:43 +0000 Daniel Im http://www.danielim.com/?p=1045

“Growing in faith is not just about disciplines of study and withdrawal, as vital as these are. Certainly there needs to be disciplines of passive receptivity to hear from God and to know him in prayerful stilness. But there must also be rhythms of activity if we are to be mature followers of the Messiah.”

- Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost

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