Let me tell you a story. :-)
Years ago I was on a new ministry team, and my team leader said, “Let’s do such-and-such.” I don’t even remember now what it was, but he said “Let’s do it,” so I did it. I expected him to be happy that I had done it, but he was surprised! He said, “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
I was totally confused!
What I didn’t know was that he enjoyed tossing out ideas and processing externally. When I learned that about him, I started asking, “Is this a decision, or just an idea?” It made things much easier for both of us!
The moral of the story is: know your teammates! Being curious enough to learn about a coworker’s values and work style helps you function better together as a team. In other words, curiosity aids collaboration.
That’s why our Campus Innovation team offers a Curiosity and Collaboration Workshop to Cru® ministry teams. Our workshops usually last about an hour, and most of them are online with two of our Innovation staff members facilitating. I co-facilitated a Curiosity and Collaboration Workshop on February 6, and I’ll do another on February 16.
This particular workshop takes a ministry team through an exercise designed to help build their listening skills as they learn about one another’s work styles. As Proverbs 18:13 (NIV) says,
“To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.”
Proverbs 18:13 (NIV)
Listening builds understanding and empathy on a team, which helps them collaborate better. Then they can be more creative when they solve problems and take advantage of the opportunities God gives them.
January Recap: Bible Study Methods
Curiosity and collaboration are also helpful when you study the Bible. I coached a group of new Cru staff members in Bible study methods in January and also taught one of the course lectures. Being curious about the text of scripture will help you mine its riches, as will studying in community (a form of collaboration) so that you help one another learn.
Every time I coach and teach for this course, I am impressed by the quality of people God is leading to join our staff! They are deeply dedicated to His mission and eager to learn so they can build others in the faith. I’m also grateful for the chance to serve alongside the other coaches, who deeply love God’s word and do all they can to encourage our new staff members to love it, too!
Please Pray…
- That Cru ministry teams will gain valuable skills from our Curiosity and Collaboration Workshops
- That God will work in and through the new staff members who took the Bible Study Methods course in January.
Thank you for praying!
