The Nature of "Orm"

I am working on a project that is designed to assist young people and their youth programs to become better instruments of ministry. This project, hosted by the Ministry Training Source, will hopefully open a new door in how we train folks to be the best Youth Ministers EVER...

I'll share more about the final project when it's ready, but for now I am working on my little part of the big picture, which is simply communication skills, and how they move us from Point 1 to Point B. :) In my prayer this morning I read, "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12: 2) This calls us to move from the place where we are, to a place that is better; to always strive to achieve perfection! One such process is to move through a series of steps as you attempt to relate with others, or with that "thing" which you are attempting to achieve... The buzz words are FORM, NORM, STORM AND PERFORM*!

(*Added July 14, 2011... The "Tuckman Model" that I am quoting actually places the 'Storm' Stage before the 'Norm' Stage... I would argue that they could be interchangeable based on the overall purpose of the group. Whether the storm comes before the norm or vice versa, every group and relationship must find ways to work through the challenges to get to the prize.)

We begin relating with people or things as we FORM our place within the relationship. In other words, we initiate our role within the relationship, group or system which we hope to be a part. Next, we NORM, or settle into that place or role. We get comfortable with what we are being asked to do, and we begin to test what it is that we hope to achieve, or gain from the process. With all journeys, however, come the surprises, or the unexpected. This STORM, if you will, seemes to knock us off a course that we are so sure of, only to set us on THE course that we have decided to follow. We had a storm here at the house last night. Like a summer thunderstorm, it just popped up and did what storms do... Blew, rained, and offered some amazing lightning. All of this was out of my control, but this morning, the sun is bright, the grass is green, and the flowers are confidently reaching towards the sky. That's what the STORM in this process is all about, it rights the course and helps us see past our comfort zone. Finally, in our journey to understand our place in relationships or within groups or systems, we begin to understand our true role, and our true purpose, and hence we become better able to PERFORM, or do what it is that we need to do!

Be open in your down time this summer, to setting your own course to PERFORM your faith, or live out your role within your relationships better... Allow the STORMS to come and blow where they will, so that you can "be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect.".