Thursday Show

Brock Shinen | “The Change of Church and Worship” Thursday Training

April 23, 2020

After COVID-19 Where are we going?

Hope (and Strategy) Through a Pandemic

Like most of you, I have many friends on social media saying how hard they’ve been hit by the pandemic. It’s heartbreaking to know that so many small businesses, entrepreneurs, and every-day people are spiraling downward.It’s heartbreaking to know so many families are not only grappling with fear of getting sick (or worse), but also fear of losing everything. I won’t pretend I have the answers or that I don’t face my own version of this reality, but I feel compelled to at least try to bring some light into these dark times.
 
IT MAY NOT MAKE ANY SENSE TO YOU, BUT I AM FILLED WITH HOPE.
 
Not because I’m oblivious to the fact that we may still be facing months of various degrees of isolation, or that our economy may be damaged in a way that could take years to recover, or that racism continues to roar its destructive call, or that we can longer see the edges of politics and reality, or that people will sacrifice their humanity to secure toilet paper and sanitizer, or that the world can look pretty grim in crisis.
 
I CLING TO HOPE SIMPLY BECAUSE I’M FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF A LIVING GOD WHO IS HOPE.
 
I can see the same potentially destructive and dismal future as the next person, but I see it differently. I see a flower growing in the desolation; I see a ray of sunshine poking through the ominous clouds.I’m not trying to be poetic or unwitting, and certainly not being “religious” – but I am being honest. There is light at the end of this tunnel. I know it. I feel it. I see it. I also realize some of you want to feel the same but don’t quite know-how.For what it’s worth, I’ll share three practical things that are in my mind right now and working for me and I know they can work for you, too. These are things I believe are helping me see the other end of this blight, and giving me tangible action steps forward. I’m using these as rules during this crisis and hopefully, they can help you too:
 
1.     WE CAN CLING TO HOPE
It’s easy to watch the world devolve into chaos. It’s easy to read studies and articles, watch videos, listen to conversations, and believe all hope is lost. That’s the easy part. The more difficult path is clinging to hope.“How can you have hope during a crisis like this?” For me, it’s simple but not easy – simple because I believe in a God who works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purposes. I love God and am called according to his purposes. Thus, I know he will work these circumstances for good. I have no idea what that will look like, but I trust in his unending love. This isn’t the first crisis I’ve been through in life and I’m confident it won’t be the last. God has never left me nor forsaken me, and I don’t believe for one moment that he’s going to start now. So, I have hope.What’s the alternative? Hopelessness. There’s a fairly strong argument for that right now. The data is scary.“We’re exactly 11 days behind Italy.” I hear that one often.“The only way this ends is if we lock down the entire country for months.” I hear that one too.“It’s this politician’s fault or that political party’s fault.” We have all heard that one.Unlike many people I know, I did not become a disease expert in the last couple of weeks. I am not an economist, a politician, or a doctor. I can believe the data is all true and have every reason to be hopeless, but to what end?I’m not pretending it’s not there and I’m not acting as if it’s not accurate. I wear a mask when I go to the grocery store, I practice social distancing, I try to stay home as much as possible, I exercise away from people. Having hope is not inconsistent with being aware. In the end, I believe hopelessness serves no useful purpose, so I choose to trade hopelessness in for hope. It’s not always easy, but it is a fairly straightforward choice. 
 
2.     WE CAN BE WISE
Wisdom is “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” During this crisis, I am doing my best to make sound decisions and take sound action, applying experience, knowledge, and good judgment.
 
I’ll admit, I have no experience in navigating a global pandemic. I do, however, have decades of experience navigating chaos in various formats, as an attorney and strategist. I also have an undergraduate degree in psychology and graduate coursework in clinical psychology. It all helps.What you learn from one environment, you can translate to another. This pandemic is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in life, yet it bears similarities to other chaotic circumstances.During the housing crisis or the “dot com” bust, many people lost jobs, income, and homes. The same may happen now. Did we learn anything from that experience that could be applied here? Similarly, there have been other globally significant viruses that have impacted our way of life. Did we learn anything from those situations that could be applied here?
 
Wisdom is evidenced by making decisions and taking actions while in control and not in a state of panic. When we panic, we make poor decisions. When we are driven by fear, we make poor decisions. To the extent we can make decisions and take actions right now based on good judgment, experience, and knowledge, we will be closer to wisdom and further from panic and chaos.With each decision I must make right now, both for my work and my family, I make every attempt to be led by experience, knowledge (including science), and good judgment. I also add an additional component to the mix: faith. My life is inextricably linked to a God I love and trust, and my faith in him permeates every single decision I make. For me, that’s wisdom.
 
If you are a business owner, wisdom may be to look for alternative means to generate (or maintain) revenue. When we talk about investments, we understand how important diversification is to ensure a loss in one area doesn’t equate to total loss. Online entrepreneurs are decent at this by sometimes having multiple streams of income. Other businesses may have never built a diverse portfolio of income streams and may be at a point where this hit eliminates all revenue.One thing to keep in mind right now is that nearly all small businesses are struggling, and many had no choice but to cease operations. Are there different ways to “operate” that don’t require in-person interaction? Are there income streams that have never been explored and could be explored now? Can you “operate” from home without human interaction?I realize some businesses literally have no option to make any income right now. For those, would it be wise to work on the company’s website, email list, marketing, promotional materials, videos, podcast, social media, or other areas of content? Would it be wise to hibernate and hope this all passes quickly?
 
Again, I’m not saying any of these are the wise choice for you right now, but my guess is that many are not even asking the question. They are instead staring in the face of hopelessness, thereby eliminating any potential for recovery in the aftermath.Start by asking this question: “Is there anything I can be doing differently right now?”
 
3.     WE CAN MAKE EVERY ATTEMPT TO BE STRATEGIC
 
I’ve heard the word, “unprecedented” an unprecedented number of times these past two weeks. In a relatively short amount of time, we’ve gone from unprecedented to daily life. In fact, our lives are adjusting and readjusting hour-by-hour right now. Strategy means I will make decisions and take actions that are intended to lead towards a desired outcome. In other words, despite the chaos of this pandemic, I will continue to make plans and pursue achievement of those plans. I’m not going to allow chaos to control my objectives, even if it has a dramatic impact on them.One of the byproducts of chaos is that we often feel powerless to take control of any aspect of the decision-making process. Being strategic means we create plans and do our best to achieve those plans, in spite of chaotic circumstances. I admit, this is really difficult right now and it’s also a moving target. I’ve made plans each day and had to adjust those plans throughout each day, multiple times. What I did not do was stop making plans.
 
If you are in business right now, sit down and write out three goals for the next seven days. With each goal, write out a plan to attempt to achieve each of those goals. It’s been said many times by experts throughout history that a “failure to plan is a plan to fail.” If you plan, you may fail. If you do not plan, you are almost guaranteeing failure. Make the plan and then start taking steps towards the goals using those plans. If necessary, make adjustments. Once you knock out one goal, add another.
 
SUMMING IT ALL UP.
 
I don’t have all the answers. This post may even agitate some of you. I’m ok with that. If it brings hope to even one of you, it has served its purpose. As I said, these are things I’m doing. If they help you, that’s great. If not, maybe you just had a little distraction away from the chaos surrounding all of us. If you know me, you know my heart here is for nothing more than to help and encourage you.
 
Whatever you do, remain hopeful. Without hope, all is lost. Just remember, you are not in it alone!
 
Questions?
 
 
Brock’s Podcast
Brock's Site

Guest Bio

Brock Shinen is a thought leader, consultant, and lawyer. With a love for people, strategic perspective, and a zeal to help his clients succeed - Brock thinks outside the box, but always with his eye on the goal. Only a few years after he formed his law practice, Brock Shinen was individually sought out by a billion-dollar energy conglomerate to represent it in a high-value dispute. For a solo attorney with limited experience, this was extraordinary, but it merely serves to highlight Brock’s unique reputation, expertise, and talent in the business world. Brock is a strategic advisor, speaker, author, and founder of the Law Office of Brock Shinen, Inc., which represents most of the largest and fastest-growing churches in America. His client list is literally a “Who’s Who” of spiritual leaders, ministry organizations, churches, worship leaders and songwriters, and Christian business leaders. Brock has also been a personal business strategist to globally recognized social media influencers. His command of complex business dynamics coupled with his intuition and situational awareness makes him one of the most sought-after business advisors within the ministry community. His business expertise has been recognized by FOX, CBS, NBC, and ABC news sources. Brock’s white paper, “Can You Copyright a Tweet,” has been read over 5 million times and is the primary topical reference point for universities, business leaders, and agencies around the world. Gizmodo and Forbes writers have repeatedly provoked billionaire entrepreneur, Mark Cuban, using Brock’s writing. Brock has also written for some of the most influential online publications, including Huffington Post, Addicted2Success, Thrive Global, and The Good Men Project, covering a range of business and self-improvement topics. As a means of educating himself to empower his clients concerning the self-publishing process, Brock wrote a nonfiction book on productivity and designed a campaign to achieve Amazon #1 bestseller status. He is also a commercially published songwriter, racking up cover recordings by Grammy nominee and Emmy award winner, John Tesh, and others. Brock’s ability to influence and communicate effectively within the business community is equally demonstrated in his acclaimed podcast, The CogniPop Podcast. Orchestrating another campaign, Brock was able to achieve iTunes “noteworthy” status and outpace podcasts from business titans, Gary Vaynerchuk, James Altucher, and Seth Godin, and institutional giants, including TED Talks. In its first season, The CogniPop Podcast was downloaded tens of thousands of times. The second season of the podcast continues to forge new pathways in leadership and strategy.

More Thursday Trainings

Worship Team Training® University Members

WATCH VIDEOS

by:

Thursday Show

March 11, 2021

Jared Anderson “Restoring The Voice”

Continue Reading

by:

Thursday Show

February 4, 2021

Rich Kirkpatrick | Keep Creating in Covid | Thursday Training

Continue Reading

by:

Thursday Show

November 20, 2020

Dr. John Lennox | Non-Biblical Worship, Popularity, Coronavirus Divide

Continue Reading
PREVIOUS POSTSPage 1 of 39NO NEW POSTS

Members Get More

Events Below

Transform Your Ministry

Events Page

Coming Soon To Worship Team Training® University

SEE CALENDAR
<div class="miss-shortcode"><p class="title">Oops!! Something's Missing</p><p class="desc">These categories not exist anymore: Weekly Shows, Devotionals</p></div>
12

July

2022

A. Branon’s Test New Blog 12-3-21

Band, Events-posts 0

14

March

2021

🙌 #BeforeTheWorshipBegins | “Worship As One”

Events-posts 0

11

March

2021

Jared Anderson “Restoring The Voice”

Thursday Show 0

11

March

2021

Jared Anderson “Restoring The Voice”

Events-posts 0