Increase your “care equity” (w/ Michael Turner)

Michael Turner is the founding and lead pastor of Turning Point Church in McDonough, GA— south of Atlanta. The church turned 19 in March 2022.

Recently, Michael gifted everyone on his staff with a Fitbit— as part of a 30-day fitness challenge. They decided to evaluate three areas:

• Steps per day
• Weekly weight loss
• Sleep hours per night

This quick accountability— especially the “sleep part”— highlighted what was truly happening with everyone’s health. And, as Michael reminds us, the challenge connects us to the idea that we’re about TOTAL HEALTH and wellbeing, not just spiritual health.

Furthermore, this step was important because it helped him lead his team towards PERSONAL development as well as the PROFESSIONAL development we usually focus upon.

Lately, Michael actually HAS been working on some of the PROFESSIONAL things, though…

For instance, his church has focused on reclaiming the “in person” gatherings.

Sure, there are a lot of empty chairs.

(The truth is that, post-Covid, most churches have MANY empty chairs.)

“But preaching to SOME empty chairs,” Michael says, “is much better than preaching to ONLY empty chairs and a camera.”

As they reclaim the gatherings, they’re adjusting their metrics as well.

“Attendance isn’t the only indicator,” he says. “There’s so much more… like engagement. And connection.”

They’re also evaluating things like finances and relationships and other items we may not have measured in the past.

Michael embraces the perspective-shift. His church has experienced seasons of fast-growth. And, when they did, he learned that EVERYTHING— including un-health— replicates quickly.

That is, unhealthy culture multiplies.

Hidden assumptions, underneath-the-surface hurts, and other doubts replicate quickly, as well…

“You can’t outgrow unhealth,” he says. “At some point you must deal with the issues.”

He’s learned to celebrate those moments of fast growth, but to pay attention to the things that mater even more— like the pulse of his staff, as well as their personal lives.

“We’ve got to care about them,” he says, “more than we care about growth.”

During the pandemic, he learned to focus even more on caring for people— not just his team but others in his church, too.

“We began reaching out and actually CALLING people on the telephone,” he says.

Then— “We also sent hand-written birthday cards. And DoorDash gifts…”

The connections multiplied as they discovered new ways to connect and reconnect.

“We even dropped by people’s homes and visited them,” he offers. “Everyone was always so excited to see us.”

He refers to all of this as “Care Equity,” and suggest it’s one of the most important metrics you have.

Shawn’s book, Building a Killer Team Without Killing Yourself or Your Team: www.KillerTeamCoaching.com 

Personal Gears of Growth = take the assessment here: https://www.courageouspastors.com/offers/PzhK2GiJ/checkout 

Access the free Killer Teams Crash Course at www.CourageousPastors.com/cc 

Register for a free Strategy Session at www.CourageousPastors.com/strategy  

Learn more about Michael’s church at https://turningpointchurch.tv