A Key Ingredient of Teamwork

I've been seeing a lot of teamwork lately around NSM.  First there were the past few nights at the Element where the staff and volunteers came together to make some very cool creative elements happen.  Then there was Night Shift where our leader participation was amazing.  And then at Shift the middle school students put together 189 boxes of food for the Turkey Outreach.  All this got me thinking about the ingredients of teamwork.

Tonight as I was watching "The Italian Job" I was wondering why Donald Sutherland invited Edward Norton into his highly effective team.  Everyone else in the team was so loyal and they worked together so well but Norton was sketchy.  And of course he sabotaged the team. 

Trust is an absolute key ingredient for teamwork.  When there is a lack of trust team members won't try anything extraordinary for fear of criticism or betrayal.  Where there is fear there is not trust.  The fact is when we try extraordinary things we are bound to experience some failures.  But a good team will embrace those failures as learning experiences.

We at the NSM staff (Phillip, AJ, Brian and myself) have recently grown tremendously in the area of trust and teamwork.  I don't know if I can pinpoint when it started to happen (maybe taking a trip together for the Catalyst Conference?) but these things take time.  There are certain things that only time can accomplish and I know that trust is one of them.  Time alone doesn't do it though.  It also takes humility to share the success and failures.

Top 15 Moments of the Week

15. Good conversation with AJ and Phillip over the book "Tribes" on Monday

14. The Broncos beat the Falcons and the Chargers lost

13. Watching Quantum of Solace with the guys at midnight

12. Dominating at office Bag Ball. 30-30-30

11. Skunking AJ at ping pong

10. Tim Dorn preaching at Chapel.  The man was preaching!

9. Sunday lunch made by my mother-in-law: Roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, Pecan pie

8. Several middle school students drank Thousand Island dressing for the scavenger hunt

7. The 7th and 8th grade girls win the scavenger hunt w/ only one item missing!

6. The plan really came together nicely for The Element.  Fun times w/ glowsticks 

5. Pecan pie leftovers!

4. Bowling a Turkey (3 strikes in a row) to give Gilbert and I the lead vs. AJ & Phillip

3.  Middle school boys expressing much disappointment at my small group sabbatical

2. The leader participation and overall awesomeness of Night Shift

1. Shift students working very hard and having fun filling food boxes for the Turkey Outreach

Giving+Thanks

On Sunday At SHIFT, Northwood Church's middle school environment, we started a new series called "Giving+Thanks".  I'm excited to teach about thankfulness not just because it's the time of year but because I need to be more thankful myself.  I encouraged the students on Sunday to pause and focus on what they have been given by God and others.  You simply have to pause to think about life every now and then or you will miss out on the best parts of it.  And you have to focus (see clearly) on how great those best parts of life are or you won't be grateful.  No pause, no focus=ungrateful.  So that's the thanks part.

This Sunday we will focus on the giving.  Instead of a regular service we will all work together to fill food boxes to give away Nov.23rd at the Turkey Outreach.  Our church members will be going out to the neighborhoods of North Charleston to deliver Thanksgiving meals to those in need.  

I'm excited because we aren't just talking about giving+thanks, we are doing it.

I had a huge "pause and focus" moment the other day when I saw this clip:

I don't get it

I'll be honest.  There are a few things I don't understand.  If you have any insight please feel free to enlighten me.

I don't understand these phrases:

"You can't have your cake and eat it too"

"Head over heels"

"I was going ninety to nothin"

My Halloween

Our church administrator called on Thursday to ask me (I'm really not sure if he was asking or telling) if I would drive the school bus for Northwood Academy for the football trip to Hilton Head, SC.  I agreed.  

What's the best thing about driving a school bus?  Free food.  We stopped at McDonald's and they give free meals to bus drivers so I loaded up with the works: qtr pounder, coke, milk shake and apple pie.

What's the worst thing about driving a school bus?  Everything but the free food.  But I did listen to some podcasts by Francis Chan and Ed Young along the way.

It was a great game!  Northwood played great defense against a very good passing team.  17-14 Final.  Northwood is conference champs!

Meanwhile Christina had the girls by herself on halloween and didn't know what to do with them.  Some of our friends already had plans and so she was bummed until our neighbor came over with her 2 boys and invited them to go trick or treating with them.  Our neighbors really saved the day.  They had an awesome time.  Especially Ella, who really enjoyed her first trick or treat experience.