1 6870 N. M ilit ar y Highw ay Nor f olk , VA 23518 of f icenor f olk @gm ail.com ht t p:/ num cva.org 1 757 628 6543 Fax 1-757-628-8181 A Season of Opportunities
2 "Many of our churches suffer from Spiritual Lameness Fueled by a Lack of Faith"
Prepared for the Coastal Vir ginia Distr ict of the Vir ginia Conference. Dr. Cecelia R. Brooks, Distr ict Super intendent
3 This Season of Opportunities & Renewal Vitality for the Church 2022 & Beyond Recognizing that the ministr y landscape is changing, you are invited to par ticipate in a unique continuing education and lear ning oppor tunity on August 17- 18, 2022, at Norfolk United Methodist Church (6870 N. Militar y Highway, Norfolk VA 23518). These two days will focus on collabor ation in ministr y, the ar t and cr aft of Biblical preaching, and additional helpful resources for ministr y.
4 GreetingsSistersandbrothersin Christ; It ismypleasuretooffer you thiscoursefor your edification. Myhopesarethat after thetraining, fellowshipandworship, you will bemoresecurein thecall Godhasupon your life. Sometimesall of usneeda littlehelp. Pleasetakefull advantage, ask questionsandchallengeyour peerswhobring you thiscourse. Thepower of Christ bein you; Dr. C.R. Brooks, Coastal Virginia District Superintendent
5 Our Time Together Wednesday August 17, 2022 10:00 AM Gathering& Devotion 10:30 AM Expectations 11:00 AM Dr. Rodney T. Smothers 11;45 AM Q& A 12:30 PM Lunchwith'TableTalk' 1:30 PM Dr. Cedrick Bridgeforth 2:15 PM Q& A 3:00 PM Quick Break & Timeof Reflection 4:00 PM Tour of Facilities 5:00 PM Farmer's & Garden Market 6:00 PM Dinner 7:00 PM EveningSession Dr. Sherry L. Daniels Dr. Francene Hash
6 6 Dr. Sher r y L. Daniels, hasserved asthe Lead Pastor of Norfolk UMC in Norfolk, VA since2006. DanielsD Min. focuseson Ministry in Urbanized Areasand Community Development. Having served in ministry for 30+, Danielshas functioned at many levelsof theUnited Methodist Church creating avast network of peopleand resources. Faithfully Serving& Leading, About me & my 'Why' The 'why' part iseasy to answer. I wassearchingfor waysto deal with makingmy church more engaging and ensuringthat we are connectingwith the felt needsof the communitieswhere we serve. I soon realized that I could not do thisalone. I needed my leadersand church leadersand pastorsto share what were learningdaily. So, that iswhy we are here.
7 Who will do this with me? Remember, the ministry landscape has changed. The Message hasnot.
8 8 . Dr. Rodney T. Smothers The Smother s Group isa collaboration born out of a desireto equip leadersfor innovative, creative, and intentionally relevant leadership. TheSmothers Group providesStrategic Consulting, Focused Coaching, and Innovative Learningthat enablesyou to put thepieces together for transformational leadership.
Critical Elements to Building Collaborative Ministries
?Collaborative?is a particularly popular descriptor that excites ministry leaders today. Like its cousins ?missional?and ?incarnational,?it attempts to capture a unique temperament of the ministry enterprise. Namely, the desire to seek partnership in mission and values through the contribution of a number of uniquely different voices.
9
THEMEANINGOFCOLLABORATIVEMINISTRY. Tocollaborateisto work together or toil together on a common project
What iscollaborative ministry?
Shared Purpose
3
But what are we saying and what are we doing in our efforts to build ?collaborative?ministries?How do we know when we are being collaborative and how do we discern when we aren? t or shouldn? t be?
First, collaboration begins with identifying a shared purpose. There are many different motivating influences in our ministries, such as: - Self-interest ? where ?I/we?want this to go and what ?I/we?want to get out of it. - Tradition ? where ?we?have been and how that past story and DNA determines where we ought to go.
- Emotion/Affection ?what ?feels?right, what excites our community, what breaks our hearts, etc.
- Shared purpose ?what are the values that form our mission and who shares those same values and that same mission.
10
Shared Process
Second, collaboration should be defined and designed through a shared process. Once we discover a potential partner with an alignment of values and mission, the next question is ?what are we working on together?? If you don? t have an answer to this question, that?s ok, it just means you?re not yet collaborating. You?re prayerfully exploring possibilities. Define: Determine together the goals of your collaboration, detail the resources each group is willing to invest in the work and set expectations for the future. Is this partnership a one-and-done relationship for the
Collaboration begins with a commitment to work with those who have a shared purpose, defined by both shared values and shared mission. This is a both/and, not an either/or. Consider what happens when you collaborate with ministry partners who share your values but not our mission. Initially, you may sense a lot of personal affinities with the group?s leadership. Eventually, however, you will experience frustration as your work will constantly diverges into different directions. Conversely, if we begin to collaborate with partners who share our mission but not our values, we will experience conflict on the level of leadership and process. The ends cannot justify the means, when the means embody radically different values. Compromising on either of these will compromise not only impair the collaborative effort, but your ministry?s identity and credibility. However, when we discover an alignment in both values and mission, we discover a worthwhile prospective ministry partner and should explore collaborative opportunities.
centralization.?Participative because it welcomes and values everyone?s contribution to the process and centralized because ultimately the ideas and input need to be coordinated in a way that keeps the project on track and moves the project forward. (See ?Building a Collaborative Enterprise?, in Harvard Business Review July-August 2011, by Paul Adler, Charles Hecksche, Laurence Prusak)
Finally, shared practice is another way of saying that everyone shows up, makes a meaningful contribution and honors their commitment through the process from beginning to end. Shared practice is characterized by sincerity and charity. Everyone remembers the group project experience from high school or college, in which more than 80%of the work was completed by less than
Defining and designing the shared process of collaboration at first may feel forced and counter to the spirit of mutuality that birthed the relationship in the first place. But as with any healthy relationship expectations need to be clearly defined and work flow needs to be clearly designed. Defining and designing will ensure that neither group dominates the process, while at the same time ensuring that someone is making decisions and the work is moving forward in a way that everyone supports. Shared Practice
11 purpose of one defined event or ministry effort?Or is this more open-ended, with the possibility of future collaboration and a deepening relationship? Design: Determine together how you will communicate with one another, who will be the primary voices in the communication process and ultimately how decisions will be made. Adler, Heckscher, and Prusak call this ?participative
20%of the group. Shared practice does not mean that everyone invests equally, but it does mean that everyone invests meaningfully. Partners can vary radically in terms of the size and scale of their staff, ministry network and resources. In most cases, there should not be an expectation that partners contribute equal parts to the process, unless that is clearly articulated during the ?define and design?conversation. A meaningful contribution means that each participant recognizes the importance of the shared goal, values the investment of the others and willingly contributes time, energy and resources to the shared project.
The Most Excellent Way In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul offers what has become for the church the dominant metaphor for our being ? the Body. Just asa body, though one, hasmanyparts, but all itsmanypartsform one body, so it iswith Christ. For wewereall baptized byoneSpirit so asto form onebody? whether Jewsor Gentiles, slaveor free? and wewereall given the oneSpirit to drink. Even so thebodyisnot madeup of onepart but of many. Nowif thefoot should say, ?BecauseI am not a hand, I do not belongto the body,?it would not for that reason stop beingpart of thebody. And if theear should say, ?BecauseI am not an eye, I do not belongto thebody,?it would not for that reason stop beingpart of the body. If thewholebodywerean eye, wherewould thesenseof hearingbe?If thewholebodywerean ear, where would thesenseof smell be?But in fact God hasplaced thepartsin thebody, everyoneof them, just ashewanted them to be. If theywereall onepart, where would thebodybe?Asit is, therearemanyparts, but one body.
12
13
This body does not just work towards whatever end it chooses. As Paul writes in v. 31, And yet I will show you the most excellent way. The most excellent way, we discover in 1 Corinthians 13, is the way of Love. Love is the beginning and end of every collaborative ministry. Love is the invitation and the manifestation of partnering with others in our shared purpose. To be a loving ministry, we must practice love internally as we show love externally. Collaboration forces us to look beyond our self-interests, our emotional responses and the limitations of our tradition to explore new expressions of loving ministry with others who share our values and mission to love the world. When we discover these prospective ministry partners, we are challenged to define the relationship, design our processes for working effectively together and dive-in with sincerity and charity into our shared ministry. org/2015/01/05/3 critical elements to building collaborative ministries/
https://thev3movement
14 Preaching@ I t's Best! Preaching is the ar t of communicating divine tr uth through human per sonality. A preacher is essentially acommunicator. A preacher receives TRUTH from God and COMMUNICATESit effectively to thepeoplesof God. God givestheREVELATION and thepreacher providesthe PRESENTATION.
15 The Art of Preaching GettingStarted Credit ed t o ThePast orsWorkshop com What are the four elements of preaching? Thisisaclassic approach to sermon development that can still guidethe preacher for today's communication challenges Each of theformsof development hasadistinctive roleto play as you enlargeon your sermon points? explanation, illustr ation, ar gumentation, and application.
16 bridgeforthcedrick@gmail.com ? ? 310-365-5209 ? Asanonprofit leader, I'm passionateabout awide rangeof social justice issuesincluding restorative justice, homelessnessand hunger. I've successfully restructured complex organizationsto meet the current and futurechallengesof fulfilling their ongoing mission. I build upon organizational values through purposeful listening to constituent groups and datagathering. I createsconsensusaround a renewed vision, innovativeprogram areasand building the financial strength, organizational processesand teamsto support them. Dr. Cedrick Bridgeforth Leader | Author | Visionary
17 16
18
The more we lear n how to effectively navigate tough conver sations, the more confident we will feel when we are called to do so.It?scrucial for usto remember that thegoal is not to be?right.?When weapproach ahard conversation with
Leaderswill inevitably haveconversationsthey would rather avoid. Someconversationsare so difficult that weput off having them until wecannot postponethe discussionsany longer. Thereareobviousreasonswedon? t like having thesetough talks. Often, wedon? t likedifficult conversationsbecause we don? t want to hurt someone?sfeelings. When wethink about thepotential negative emotional impact of our words, we simply choosenot to say anything at all. In other instances, our conflict management styleleansin the direction of avoidancebecause wedon? t likethe way conflict makesusfeel. Lifeexperiencescan teach usthat conflict isdangerous; consequently, it feelsmuch safer to keep our opinionsto ourselvesrather than confront athorny issuedirectly.
Even when weare willing to havedifficult conversations, we may feel unprepared to do so. How do weconfront thepassive aggressivestaff colleague, micro-managing lay leader or oppositional board member?We know weneed to say something, but where do westart the conversation?
19
20 theaim of proving weare right, wewill probably talk moreand listen less, which aretwo waysahard conversation takesaturn for theworse. If you need to haveapotentially high-conflict conversation, check out theresourcesbelow for insightsand wisdom to help you do so with grace and courage.
21 21 Ministry Through Music
22 22 Resour ces "Must Haves"
23 Final Words Start with the end in mind and take it a day at a time. Remember to reach out when you need help or assistance, just a quick text or phone call make a world of difference. Do not give up, thisproject isdoable and you have excellent consultantsworkingwith you every step of the way.
24 www.numcva.or g FaceBook.com/NorfolkUMC Text Online Givings 757- 230- 2125 Email: officenorfolk@gmail.com Project Par ticipants: Please email pastord.numc@gmail.com
