Collaboration: It Stimulates Brain Health and Increases Youthful Vitality Dr. Wes Beavis, Psy.D.
Fred Brown running the mile.
Lap 1 – Scoffing and ridicule
Lap 2 – Judging and criticism
Lap 3 – Advice giving
Lap 4 – Encouragement
Collaboration (def.): the action of working with others to produce or create something.
Principle #1: Talent is often discovered and developed within the context of collaboration
• We flourish in collaboration and flounder in isolation.
“Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh. “Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard. One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning. There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant. And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole.” Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.” Genesis 41:9-14 NLT
Principle #2: Collaboration is a remedy for Emotional Exhaustion and Burnout
Symptoms of Emotional Exhaustion
* Lack of motivation
* Trouble sleeping
* Physical fatigue
*Irritability
* Absentmindedness
*Apathy
*Headaches
*Difficulty concentrating
Root Cause: Accumulated stress from personal life or work, or a combination of both.
Remedies
* Take a break
* Eat healthy and exercise
* Get enough sleep
* Meet with a counselor/coach
Eliminate the stressor (so much to do)
“When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?” Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.” “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”” Exodus 18:14-23 NLT
Principle #3: Collaboration Increases Brain Size
& Intelligence(Activates Neurogenesis)
“Collective action and the collaborative brain”
Brain health, not brain size.
• Brain size does correlate with both group size and population density. Neurogenesis by collaboration. Being with people.
• Collaboration causes growth in areas of the brain associated with communication and learning.
Collaboration requires the most advanced skills of all: > Building Trust
“Creating an environment where people feel psychologically safe is a prerequisite for successful collaboration. Without trust, people won’t share their ideas or feel comfortable taking risks” Allaya Cooks-Campbell
Collaboration – most complex and most powerful form of teamwork.
Cooperation – more ownership not just taking orders.
Coordination – most simple.
“The Umbrella of Mercy” might not take you to the goal but inch you in the right direction to shift towards the goal.
> Engaging in creativity and innovation. Neuroplasticity.
Not always a problem to be fixed but simply a tension to be managed.
> Resolving inevitable conflict that arises from working at complex levels
Scientific research has revealed.
• As an environment becomes more unstable, collaboration is a key to navigating and surviving the uncertainty.
Brain operative at 7% better capacity.
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed… A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NLT)
If collaborative abilities remain low, a group is predicted to split, with a small proportion of individuals contributing to public good and the rest free-riding.
20% doing 80% of the work.
• Collaboration activates brain regions involved in reward processing independently of material gains.
Dopaminergic lift comes from collaboration regardless of goal achievement. You don’t actually have to reach the goal. The journey of working together may be the real goal.
Principle #4: Collaboration, especially during difficult circumstances releases oxytocin (the bonding chemical) that strengthens relationships.
“The juice is just not worth the squeeze.”
“I’ll see you right through to the end.”
“Not running, not shuffling, but bonding.”
Ecc 4:10 “for if either falls, his companion can lift him up.”
Who has lifted you up? ___
Who are your people?
——
Dr. Diana Glyer
Secrets of Success from C.S. Lewis.
Clive Staples Lewis, known as Jack.
Not just who lifted you up while you were running the marathon but the people who modeled life and you thought, “I want more of that.” They showed you a vibrancy of life.
His words transfer over time and they continue to grow decades after his death.
Four key traits:
1 Range – He wrote poetry, theology, and Children’s books. He was sensitive to the world around him. Not only what did he say but when did he say it? Different seasons of his life.
2 Surrender – the depth of his commitment to Christ. What was it like to know him? He held nothing back. “The most thoroughly converted man to Jesus Christ.”
He grew up in a Christian home but experienced the hardships of pain. His faith was shattered by the First World War and death of his mom. But he was not good at being an atheist. “I don’t believe in God and I’m mad at God for not existing.”
He met sincere Christians. He saw embodied faith.
The most reluctant and dejected convert in all of London. Faith in Christ is not a sprinkling of what you want to do anyway. He realized what it meant to be a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice wants to get off the alter but chooses to stay. Hopes, dreams, and aspirations surrendered to Christ.
3 Mind and Heart. Not enemies but companions. A continual life of learning. He wasn’t just a brain but he cultivated his heart of compassion and curiosity.
In preaching are we bringing together wonderful stories as well as deep understanding? Realize God at a deeper level than ever before. Do we bring wisdom? Do we give helpful insights even in average conversations?
Boarding schools were bleak. Worked and lived in Oxford. By age of 19 he published first book. Spirits in Bondage. He sold very few copies but kept writing.
4 Friendship
What changed? If Lewis was equipped for success and surrendered daily, and nourished his mind and heart, what transformed him from an obscure college professor to who we remember him today? Friendship.
JRR Tolkien – when he first met him, he didn’t like him. He needs a good snack.
Tolkien was the missing piece and was rocket fuel for what God wanted to do through him.
Difference in rank. Rookie and tenure.
Temperaments. Lewis was boisterous. Tolkien was introverted and spoke softly.
Lewis was an atheist at this time and Tolkien was a devote catholic praying for Lewis.
Age.
How they dressed.
They overcame their differences. Stopped thinking of differences as a problem and recognized differences were strengths.
How can you use their unique perspective? What do they value that perhaps we are undervaluing?
Energy and press vision because of our differences.
Tolkien and Lewis became friends through a book club. Iron sharpening iron so continued to meet. Profound through simple decisions. They got together for lunch once a week. Unstructured time meeting together. Lewis called it his favorite hour a week. They didn’t even write a mission statement, they just got together and grew in trust.
They had the courage to connect and they practiced a variety of ways of supporting each other. They invested time.
Praise counterbalances the negativity and shame of our culture. Not just impacting those we speak to but our own souls.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 NLT
Encouragement is directed towards the soul. To put courage into the hearts of those who are listening. Focused on an individual. I believe in you. Most people are starved of encouragement and hearing confidence that God is using you.
“I’ll believe it until you can see it.” We can hold hope for someone else. If words were water, encouragement pushes into the cracks of the soul.
Practical Help – gathering paper for one another during a paper shortage so everyone had enough.
“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.””
1 Corinthians 12:12-21 NLT
We become so busy and stressed when we try to be all the body parts.
“I got stuck, I needed help.”
It’s amazing what happens when we function as the body.
Mentoring through example and becoming an apprentice to their way of life. People further down the road so we know what’s coming. Here’s what worked for me. Shadow them for the weekend. Interview them. Why do you do what you do?
Is there someone you need to be mentoring? Invite them to coffee. Come alongside.
Resonating – I understand. Tell me more.
The gift of listening. Slow to give advice. They give feedback to you what you told to them.
Listen patiently. Ask good questions. Clarify.
Then restate what you hear. It sounds like…
In the piano you listen to the body of the instrument not the vibration of the string.
Curiosity. Become more genuinely curious.
Humility. As you listen get away from the assumption my experience is the same. Believe you.
Patience. You don’t need to just jump in and solve the problem. Listen.
Questions:
What has the past year been like for you?
WhY do you feel you need most in your life going forward?
Secret to success. Understand that by the grace of God we really are better together.
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Kingdom Minded in a Castle World
Tradanius (Trey) Beard Northwest Church of Christ
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 NLT
Everyone has a personal relationship with God but he didn’t mean for it to be private. You are not an island.
What is Kingdom? (We grew up in a democracy and read with a bias.)
A territory by which a king rules and reigns. He influences the kingdom through His will, power, and law.
Maybe we’ve done church but not kingdom. Don’t be castle-minded but kingdom-minded.
You can’t have a kingdom without a King or Lord.
We are so concerned with Him being the Savior of our lives we miss Him being Lord. We become spiritually vampires wanting His blood to be saved but not king of our lives.
A Kingdom has a territory. A Kingdom has a constitution. Our constitution is the Bible.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16 NLT
Allow the Word of God to be law in the Kingdom.
Every Kingdom has subjects and we have become those subjects in the kingdom. The citizens don’t dictate the constitution. It’s not what we want, it’s what the King wants.
“For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,” Colossians 1:13 NLT
What does this look like in 2022? Kingdom is not what we do a few hours a week. How do we make sure we remain kingdom minded in a castle world? In a kingdom we are trying to evade territory. Colonization. Culture over another territory. Teaching new language, new law, and new lifestyle. When you invade territory, the more territory you invade it gives the King more glory. “All the the Glory of God.”
Thy Kingdom come on Earth as it is in heaven. Take over territory. Invade Earth with Heaven.
Invade the hearts of men for God to reign and get more glory.
How do we become Kingdom Minded?
1 Know Your Limitations.
You can’t do it alone. God gives the man of God vision to set before His people.
“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NLT
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NLT
There is no member of the kingdom who is not gifted. The constitution dictates the culture. God says He didn’t give us all the gifts. He made it necessary for us to depend on others.
2 Always Remain a Student
We do not graduate from being a disciple. God calls us to go make disciples. It’s hard to go make something you are not.
“Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.” Luke 6:40 NLT
We are not above the King but we are trying to be like the King.
“Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.” Luke 2:52 NLT
Jesus increased in wisdom.
Jesus even grew in every area.
Wisdom. Psychological.
Statue. Physical.
Favor. Spiritual.
Favor with man. Social.
3 Recognize we are not in competition with one another.
“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 NLT
Paul and Peter’s ministry was different but they were on the same team. God causes the growth.
“John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John 3:27-30 NLT
In one season you are okay with encouraging one another because things are going well for you but in other season you stop being a cheerleader because your season has changed. This isn’t how it should be.
See how the seasons change:
“John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”” Matthew 11:2-6 NLT
Jesus didn’t just die for us, He lived for our model example. He is the Lord and ruler of my life.
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Breakout
Don’t Be Fooled.… Retirement is Terrible for Your Health by Dr. Wes Beavis, Psy.D.
Myth: Retirement is one long vacation after an eternity at the grindstone.
Retirement (def.): to remove from view to withdraw from circulation.
Retirement is Cultural. it is not Biblical.
Num 8:23-26 When a Levite turned 50 years old their work responsibility did not end, but simply changed.
We are to always bring value to one another.
Current retirement model-
Preparation 25 years – learn how to do life.
Occupation 40 years
Relaxation 25 years
• In the two years following retirement, participants in a study experienced a cognitive decline equivalent to 1.7% relative to the general population.
Use it or lose it.
Cognitive decline at an older age.
• The study revealed that decreased mental activity results in atrophy of cognitive skills and suggests that retirement plays a significant role in explaining cognitive decline at an older age.
• The largest negative effect was in “delayed recall” which measures a person’s ability to
remember something mentioned several minutes ago.
3 IQ points drop in average.
65 years of age IQ = 100 (Average)
76 years of age IQ = 84 (Below Average)
80 years of age IQ = 70 (Low)
90 years of age IQ = 63 (towards half)
• There are now more people over the age of 65 than there are under the age of 5 – a dispersion that has never occurred before
• People who retire early have a higher risk of dementia than those who stay engaged in social
activities and continue using their brains in the same way they did when they were working.
Do This Instead!
Preparation 25 years
Systems Leadership 40 years – minimum time control (family, profession, financial)
Free Agency 25+ years – maximum time control because no longer responsible with family, profession, financial.
Go long and strong. Actually live the last years of your life.
Consultancy, Coaching, & Mentoring – it’s okay to charge for it. Even if you give the funds away.
Tourism with a Purpose – collaborate. Could you meet with pastors in the area and encourage them?
Part-time organizational work
Whatever challenge gives you that “Friday feeling” (Sun arvo) Sunday afternoon relief.
Benefits of the shaded zone: Memory & Recall
Thinking “on the go” and solving novel problems (fluid). Adapt.
Maintaining Independence & physical mobility
Ability to access the stockpile of knowledge (crystalized)
Create income
Expand relationship
Maintain relevancy
Limit self-worth erosion
How much time do you spend preparing for free agency phase? How much self worth are you attaching to your current position?
“Senior employees in general are slightly slower to pick up on new technology than their younger colleagues, but once they have picked it up, they tend to apply it more productively and with less error.” David Bogan & Keith Davies: Avoid Retirement and Stay Alive
Healthy life-long contribution, contributes to a longer healthier life (read Psalms 92:12-14)
“But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.” Psalms 92:12-14 NLT
YouTube. Making life better with Dr Wes Beavis
Try new things that tax you mentally.
Vacation but not full time.
“The trouble with retirement is you never get a day off.” Abe Lemons
Our brains thrive on consistency and novelty. We must hold both simultaneously.
Juxtapose with mental effort.
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Day 2
Expanding the Kingdom Together
Doug Crozier
The TSF Model
We are your ministry partner, we are not your lender.
We want to be in relationship with churches and their leaders.
It is more than lending money.
We are here to help with when needed.
Tuesday #WMLC calls
Dr. Wes – clinical psychologist
RVPs
TSF Update
2021 was another record breaking year.
Total growth $162 million
Gross deposits were $227 million compared to $192 million in 2020 and $154 million in 2019.
No delinquent loans.
Lowered our troubled debt restructures from $48 million to $27 million. 11 loans to 9.
Lowered our loan loss reserve by 1.2 million.
2021 Openings!
Opened 31 projects in 2021
15 of the 31 churches who never had a building.
Over 45 projects in constructions.
965 million assets.
Record Cash reserve 145m
Pipeline of 143m
Planned giving initiatives.
Funded almost 900m in loans in 11 years.
Many to the fastest growing churches in the restoration movement.
“RLM and 242 are Solomon customers”
Over 11m granted to churches and para-church organizations.
Churches grew by over 125,000 people.
Over 45,000 baptisms
Next building phases are needed now.
Current Trends Church
People are coming back to church since Easter.
Record giving levels.
Record baptisms.
New people
Online is here to stay – but we need to get people back in person. Relationship.
Struggles: burnout, anxiety, and many more.
Current Trends Economy
Inflation needs to get under control.
Building costs are not going down.
Interest rates are going up.
Political polarization is here to stay.
Work force shortages.
Planned Giving
100M Initiative
Donor Advised Funds
Field of interest funds. (Build your own)
Single organization fund.
CRUTs, CRATs, etc.
The 20x Factor
The power of an endowment!
What’s Next?
Goal to visit every loan church in person in the next 12-18 months.
Dream about the next phase, new sites.
Consider a TSF Single Organization Fund with your mission or ministry programs. Build an endowment.
Get a retirement plan for your staff.
Get into a mentoring group.
Hire an executive coach.
Celebrate the wins together.
Pray for the next season of ministry.
—
TSF Church Loan Panel
Stories of Collaboration
Alain Lopez – multicultural family church
Matt Richardson – New Church
Will Archer – Potomac Valley Church
Tim Moore – X Church
God does miracles when you step out in faith.
Fight to include voices that are different in leadership.
Embrace the fact we are all messed up people.
You will always have fear when you step out in faith. Pursuing the giant, you have fear. The difference is what are you going to listen to?
Faith is being obedient in the moment.
If you put together all the Latino population in the US it would be the second largest Latino country.
There is a need for resources in Spanish.
–
Don Wilson – founding pastor CCV / Accelerate
Orpheus Heyward – Renaissance Church of Christ
Jerry Harris – Christian Standard.
20 year span of independent Christian churches grew 3.5x
God is moving in our movement.
Baptisms were also 3.5x
Leadership pipeline
Leverage the power of our unity.
Learning again the principles of our movement.
In matters of doctrine, unity. In matters of preference, liberty.
Preference does not have to divide us.
Be careful unity does not bring about unity. Your mission brings unity. If we are not careful we can allow our preference to become a denomination.
Don’t compromise a doctoral truth.
The people in our churches need to encourage young people to go into ministry. Christian parents don’t want their kids going into ministry. More counseling majors than ministry majors. We will have staffing issues. When hiring from within you might not have people called to ministry but just ministry in your church.
How do you champion the restoration plea in the next generation of leaders?
An elder based leadership model.
How do we make decisions has changed over the years. Congregational vote. By the time you finally make a decision the Holy Spirit has gone on to another church.
The elder lead model where we trust the pastors to lead. Pastor lead, elder protected.
Protect moral integrity.
Financial stability.
Doctrinal truth.
Pastoral succession.
Checks and balance model in leadership.
Lead pastor sets the vision and elders support the vision.
The Bible governs the church.
New church planters are being told to wait a long time for elders. When it hits the fan, you better have elders to protect you. A dangerous trend is the first executive team being pastors across the country but the congregation doesn’t know them or trust them.
Life eldership is hard because you have the guys who were there before you and plan to be there after you. Rotating eldership brings new vision. CCV was one Sunday offering off from closing for 5 years.
Keep bringing in younger elders so your pipeline is always fresh.
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Marriage conference based on the traditional vows.
Matt & Tina Wilson: For Richer or Poorer
Matthew 19 and Mark 10
“Large crowds followed him there, and he healed their sick.” Matthew 19:2 NLT
Do you play to the crowd or hold fast to essentials?
Financially poor and spiritually rich.
Religious leaders in Jesus day thought Jesus didn’t measure up. That he wasn’t religious enough.
If you’re not happy following Jesus with nothing, you won’t be happy with riches.
If religious leaders seem helpless, what hope do I have?
Moses gave you permission for divorce, God didn’t. Work it out.
• God doesn’t bless ministry dependent on money, but ministry dependent on faith
• God doesn’t bless marriages dependent on money, but marriages dependent on love
• When we think we’ve given up something for others, we need to remember it wasn’t sacrifice but investment
• Marriage and ministry both prosper in season as long as Christ is the focus
Chad & Malisa Goucher
In Sickness and Health.
Choose your emotions ahead of time whenever possible.
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Don’t allow circumstances to cause you to forget who God is. No matter what the doctor tells you, be gracious to those people and give God glory and honor.
How:
•Remember what God has done for you in the past. Remember Daniel 3, but even if He does not…
•Submit to Gods story… the results may not be what YOU wanted
•Stop asking “WHY” and start asking “HOW”
•Always consider your spouse
•Always put Joy on the Calendar
Wes & Ellie Beavis
For Better or Worse
Culture’s Current Position on Marriage:
Stay in it as long as you are happy and your needs are being met.
God’s Position on Marriage:
Marriage is the crucible of life-long commitment where a couple learns to become the best version of themselves… and that growth can never happen if you or your spouse wear a parachute, ready to jump out of the marriage when things become turbulent.
“For better or worse” provides a context for us to take appropriate risks and become vulnerable… without being inhibited by the fear that our missteps will result in the termination of the relationship.
Be a Championship Team – a win for you is a win for me. Ecc 4:9
Have a vision for your marriage (a rational one)!
A commitment to write a very good last chapter.
A commitment to bring value to those around us.
Pass the ball to whoever has the best shot at scoring in the moment.
–
Q&A
5 steps for collaboration in this event.
Make friends. Connect.
Know your audience. Send out a survey to guide where you’ll be most helpful.
Enjoy the credibility. Have other churches speak into what you are doing.
Reap the ongoing fruit.
Learn from all the leaders here.
—
Executive Pastor Collaboration with Jimmy McLoud
Our movement is behind the curve when it comes to churches collaborating with one another.
No playbook to be an XP but maybe we can help one another succeed.
Team Culture Statistics
2020 study 5000 employees.
On average 2.09 wasted hours per day.
Program for adults with disabilities.
“Missional Businesses”
3 types of procrastination
Classic – put off what you don’t want to do.
Creative avoidance – busy being busy. Distraction from. The real work.
Priority delusion. Shift to less important tasks. Tyranny of the urgent.
1 common response to eliminate lost time: Collaboration.
Also 75% say job satisfaction in collaboration.
When project fails, because of a lack of collaboration.
Our teams are hungry for shared wins. People both need one another and want to be with one another.
3 enemies of collaboration specifically in churches and non profits.
3rd lack of alignment.
Thing that worked was having a plan. How to execute the vision. Give a playbook.
Clear, intentional and vision focused.
Communicate the plan consistently.
Once a month, highlights of the plan. Evergreen. Ask what needs to shift. Re-communicate it to the staff every month.
Hold people accountable to the plan. Quarterly goals set with the team leader. Smart goals. Stretch but not kill you. Make sure the goals align with the plan.
Nehemiah Principle. 52 days to complete but still paused to remind them.
Core values are more than a poster on the wall.
Staff core values that align with the church core values. Core values referred to as “culture statements.”
When issues arise, start with the core values. PIP should align. Core values are our filter. New ideas or programs need to fit.
2nd Lack of Trust – 5 dysfunctions of a team.
Absence of trust is the fear of being vulnerable. Solution is relational equity and trust.
Spend time together.
Get to know each other. Don’t just rush right into train but give time to hang out.
Human Bingo. Find someone who has ____.
Intentionally getting groups together for lunch.
Invite teams to dinner at your house.
Foster a culture of healthy debate. Allow disagreements. Trust you can disagree and stay on the same team. Ask for different view points.
Have fun together.
Block out an afternoon to go play putt putt, watch a movie, corn hole, chili cook off.
See what happens when you put different things into a microwave.
Demonstrate vulnerability first. Risk losing face so the team will be willing too as well. Admit weakness and failure.
When we have someone do a swot analysis type project and stick it in a drawer, it does more harm. Do something with the precious information they trust us with.
Don’t just student ministry think. Bring a worship leader in to think with the group. Have outside thinkers.
In staff meetings, stop doing ministry updates and celebrate wins. Only share wins that are mission/vision focused.
1st Busy
Be intentional in your minutes. 1,440.
4/5 say too busy to accomplish everything they want to in a day.
Culture of people who trying to make up for lost covid time.
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13 NLT
Set down what you are working on in order to help others. Don’t be too busy for your team. A busy culture needs us to lay down our life for our friends.
Tips to improve collaboration meetings.
Never skip planning. Communicate the purpose of the meeting ahead of time. Tell them what we are going to accomplish and how. Have an agenda for the meeting. Help them be at their best and ready to collaborate.
Refresh the expectations. I know we set out the goal for the meeting but let me remind you the desired outcomes.
Honor the agenda and honor peoples time.
Average attention span of adult is 20 minutes.
Productivity dies when people are tired. 54 minutes.
Before leaving the room outline clear next steps.
To improve collaboration get everyone involved in the meeting. 7-8 people in the room helps decision meetings.
Keep things positive. Don’t allow naysayers and can’t do attitudes. Atmosphere matters. Music before meetings. Food if dreading the meeting. Good lighting. Natural light. Get off campus. Change scenery.
Encourage open mindedness. Affirm.
What gets rewarded gets repeated.
“Successful teams do consistently what other teams to occasionally.” – Craig Groeschel
Don’t allow meetings to be dominated. Ask someone to stop talking or ask someone specifically what they think.
Schedule time to be interrupted.
Be the main cheerleader for the team.
What Matrix should we measure. Get Dashboard Help.
Thank you TSF for investing in Southern Hills! We truly loved the conference and walked away refreshed and ready to take collaboration seriously!