Daniel Im
Keeping Short Accounts, Humility, and other Transitions Leadership
About The Episode
“Humility must be the chief characteristic of the outgoing pastor. Their transition feels like death by a thousand cuts. This is what they’ve dedicated their ministry to, their lives to, and they are having to slowly let it go…” Meet Daniel Im, Lead Pastor of Beulah Alliance Church, a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and multi-campus church in Greater Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Daniel made his transition to the Leader Pastor role just before the pandemic, in January of 2019. He shares his personal transition story with us and gives insight into what he believes are some of the key components of a healthy succession. Daniel’s wisdom will bless you and your church.
Welcome to Episode 067 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan.
Insights From Daniel Im
Lateral Leadership
- How do you influence your trust well?
- We are going to serve King Jesus together.
- There will be times that I need to make a call. But we’ve built the right boundaries that my staff will defer to me when that needs to happen.
Leadership Transition During the Pandemic
- Just like you and your family will be praying and discerning whether God is calling you to this opportunity at this church… ask the board of elders to pray and discern whether or not they also feel God is calling you specifically to this church. Not that they are just testing you out for the job.
- Humility must be at the center of the transition for both the outgoing and the incoming pastor.
- Accelerating change can make the outgoing leader feel like they are being “pushed out.” The balance of your relationship and the right timing is paramount.
- We had to keep short accounts.
- I reached out for coaching when I felt like my OG and I were beginning to drift.
- Weekly one one one’s were critical to keeping our relationship healthy
Staff Restructure, Re-organization & Re-arranging
- Our approach was intentional overlap
- “Humility must be the chief characteristic of the outgoing pastor. Their transition feels like death by a thousand cuts. This is what they’ve dedicated their lives to and they are having to slowly let it go…”
- My outgoing pastor said, “Daniel whatever changes you want to make… do it while I’m here. That way when I leave, you’re already flying.”
- This was such a gift to me because then the transition didn’t feel like a hard right turn to the church, it felt like the direction we had been going for the last few years.
- The greatest gift an outgoing pastor can give to the incoming leader is a church that’s willing to take risks to be on mission.
Episode Links
Get access to Daniel’s books here: https://www.danielim.com/books/
Daniel graciously shared what being in a cohort has meant to him personally, to his family, and to his church. If you are in a season of transition or have one on the horizon, we encourage you to check out more about our cohort work and get connected with us at: https://theascentleader.org/cohorts/
Who Is Daniel Im?
Daniel Im is the Lead Pastor of Beulah Alliance Church, a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and multi-campus church in Greater Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His latest book is You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies about Work, Life, and Love. He is also the author of No Silver Bullets and co-author of Planting Missional Churches. He co-hosts the IMbetween Podcast with Christina, his wife. He has an M.A. in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary, and has served and pastored in church plants and multisite churches ranging from 100 people to 50,000 people in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Korea, Edmonton, and Nashville. Because of their love for the local church, after pioneering and leading the church multiplication initiative for Lifeway, Daniel and Christina moved back to Canada with their three children. For more information, visit danielim.com and follow him on social media @danielsangi.
Sponsors & Partners
Thanks to our sponsor: Food For The Hungry.
Combine your church’s heart for the poor and Food for the Hungry’s global experience at fh.org/churches.
The Art of Leadership Academy – https://careynieuwhof.com/the-art-of-leadership-academy/
Quotes From Episode
“Humility must be the chief characteristic of the outgoing pastor. Their transition feels like death by a thousand cuts. This is what they’ve dedicated their lives to and they are having to slowly let it go…”
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About the Host
Sean Morgan is a coach and speaker with a national reputation as a catalyst of fresh vision. His passion is to help ministries navigate obstacles and turn them into opportunities.
Throughout his career, Sean has pioneered initiatives impacting thousands of leaders across the country. He started out serving as Executive Pastor and CFO at New Life Church in northern California.
As host, Sean gives you access to amazing conversations, hard-won wisdom, and poignant insights from world-class leaders in intimate “living room” settings.
Your Host
Sean Morgan
Leaders in Living Rooms
Craft & Character
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