| | | | Information and Resources for Your Business and Life | | | | Inspiration, Tools & Tips! JANUARY 2022 | | | | New Normal Is it nearly over? In 2021, people have been yearning for something like stability. Even those who accepted that they would never get their old lives back hoped for a new normal. We are now in 2022. It is time to face the world’s predictable unpredictability. The pattern for the rest of the 2020s is not the familiar routine of the pre-COVID years. The new normal is already here. | | | | | |
Online Bible Study Dr. Pam will be teaching her new book "Disciple Me" in a zoom class presented by the Bethel Church Miami. Apostle Carlos L. Malone Sr. is the pastor.
Class Information: Discipleship Training: Disciple Me February 9, 2022 - May 4, 2022 Every Wednesday - 7:30-8:30 PM
You no longer need to register. Click this link to join the zoom class At this link, you can still join the class even if you don't have a Zoom account. Meeting ID: 867 3974 3838 Passcode: TBCMIAMI
If you don't have a book, Bethel Members and those who live in Miami can purchase yours from the church. Please click the church link (above) for contact information. If you don't live in the Miami area, you can purchase your book by clicking the link below. If the purchase link does not work, please email newsletter@drpamrussell.com. | | | |
Employment Offer A God Send, Inc. A federal 501(c)(3) non-profit has an offer for administrative support. The position is: - Part-time, one day slated for Friday. However, the day is negotiable.
- Payment is by 1099, NOT W-2
- $10.00/hr. more depending on experience
- More information can be found in the position description.
- If you want to apply, click here.
- If you know someone who is looking to work, please forward this information. You can also contact me, and I will reach out.
| | | | | | | | | |  March
| | | | | | | | | | Welcome back. Did you revamp to start stronger? Set goals and develop strategies for your business, your ministry, and your life. If you did, then you realized there is no way to reach those goals and lay out a successful strategy unless you realize things won’t ever be the way they used to be. The world is unpredictable; the pandemic has shown us that. For almost two years we have lived with shifting regimes of mask-wearing, tests, lockdowns, travel bans, vaccination certificates and other paperwork.
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As outbreaks of new cases and variants ebb and flow, so we can also expect these regimes to come and go. In your planning, you probably have found that many of the institutions and attitudes that you used to establish your old way of doing things will most probably not fit anymore. The pandemic is like a doorway. Once you pass through, there is no going back. This month we will look at how we will prepare for the new normal successfully.
Also, I do every month, thanks to everyone who reached out. I get more and more excited as I see what God is doing with and in my life. It is an honor and a pleasure to give you tips and help you learn from my successes and failures. Please stay subscribed to receive more information, success stories, tips, freebies and much more. | | | | | | | |
“The new normal” is a term that we have used since March 2020.
While the world makes progress despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the need to create a new normal is clear. Businesses are reopening, events are slowly ramping up, and the economy has its sights set on stabilizing as coronavirus vaccines rollout across the continent in optimistic numbers. But it’s not as easy as slipping into an old work outfit. New strategies have to be implemented to ensure everyone can adapt.
When the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the world into a global health crisis, measures were put in place to help curb the spread of the virus, which took its toll on the economy. We are all trying to get acclimated to the new normal as measures start (and continue) to ease. Everyone is looking to act decisively and strategically to take advantage of the world’s changes. The key is to find a balance between resuming and rebuilding operations while staying safe. It is also important to implement measures to avoid further transmission of the virus.
Hopefully, the world can soon call itself a post-COVID environment. Until then, what are some strategies that we can use to operate and thrive in an environment using “the new normal?” It goes without saying, but resuming life as we knew it after a worldwide crisis can be daunting. But fear not, the proper strategies can help you recover from loss and get back on the right path towards a trajectory of growth.
The Workforce Whether you are an employee or employer, employees have played a primary role in keeping life as we know it going. Now is the time to listen to them. Employees should have a venue for free communication and a way to see trust from employers. There should be channels created, if there are none, for effective ways for employees to give feedback and strengthen bonds. Employers should be open to listen to any concerns about the overall health, job security, living situation, or financial status of the employee and seek feedback regarding changes. Listening to employees will go a long way with mental and physical health being at the forefront. As the world and the economy recover, so should the people who work. Just make sure the trust is a two-way street.
Preparing for a Future Crisis The COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call for everyone. The thought of a worldwide pandemic would probably have been outrageous a decade ago, but we all witnessed firsthand how very real it can be. Now might be a good time to invest in future crisis prevention plans. Think about how you will handle another potential health pandemic or crisis. Consider how much you were affected and what areas were affected the most. With the switch towards a more digital-based world, consider where you stand with education, experience and security and make steps to prevent future losses.
The pandemic caught the world off guard. We’re almost 2 years since the outbreak and we are still trying to grasp the long-term effects. It’s essential to learn from what happened and adapt to the conditions that are becoming the new normal. I will address the business, ministry, and personal steps to take to help plan for any potential crisis in the future.
Check out the freebies this month. Use them to navigate your new normal. | | | | 
Business Application
The economy has gone through a big upheaval and because of it, there is a shift in how your business will operate. It happened just over a decade ago during the 2008 recession. Economists predict an even deeper one is about to hit as businesses recover in a post-COVID world. Since the beginning of the pandemic, most business
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| | Ministry Application
As pastors take stock of this profound moment, there is a question that needs to be asked in additional to how will we act in the new normal. That question is, “ How do we lead with spiritual authority?”
Wasn’t the church made for times like these? Many churches had to scramble to figure out how to do church online in the wake of COVID-19.
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| | Personal Application
The effects of the COVID-19 panic have caused massive changes to our daily lives, changes that have often happened rapidly and abruptly. We all have experienced a wide range of situations, crises, and emotions. Sometimes adjusting to the impact of those experiences can be smooth and other times the journey into your future is harrowing and
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| | | | | | | | Pamela Russell Ministry Information Prayer Line Name: “At God’s Door” Number: 951-981-7721, no passcode is needed. Time: 5:30- 6:00 a.m. EST, but you can log on earlier. Days: Sun-Sat, including holidays
If you want to be a part of prayer, but its a bit too early for you. Please listen and be blessed. The recordings can be found here.
Additional Information: Online information about the prayer line Prayer Requests: Submit them here. The Current Devotional we are using is My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. You have access to the entire year. We are using the update version, not the classic.
Please come and share with us.
We have put together a wonderful project to bring healing. 
You can listen to it here. We were approved so you can now also listen to it or download it from You Tube.
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FREEBIES
Here are this month’s free business, ministry and personal tools:
The Beekeeper corporation had developed a four stage process to survive and thrive post COVID.
Understanding the difference between what we can change and what we can not is powerful. This exercise can help you make the distinction. Positive Affirmations help you change what you think about your life. Here is a list of them you can use. You can also add your own.
If you need any help with any of these resources please contact me.
| | | | FEATURED COMPANY/CLIENT REVIEW | | You can be featured whether you have been my client or not. If I understand your business and I believe you can help my readers, please reach out to me using my contact information at the bottom of this page. I would love to promote your services.
| | | | | | If you have done work with me, please submit a review, it would help me greatly.
Please click here. You will find a list of business review sites. Click the name of the site where you want to leave a review. You can place your review on one or as many as you like. Each review will help me so much, so I am thanking you in advance. If you want to leave a review for a site that is not listed, please contact me and let me know which site. | | | | As a world, a country, a nation, a state, a community and a person, we need to make it clear that we care and show empathy in tough situations. Everyone needs to be aware of their unconscious biases and deal with them. We all have to look at ways to make a difference. The options for kindness are numerous, and the “new normal” calls for more support of each other. We’re likely to hear more and more about the “new normal” until one day it’s just “normal.” In some time, with a lot of prayer and determination and by learning some important lessons, it might be the best normal yet. If you have questions or need any assistance, email us. You can also call us @ 904-830-0737. You can also set up a free consultation. | | | | | | “If all that we see are the scattered pieces of ‘what was,’ the story of ‘what is yet to be’ will never be told. If, however, we are able to envision the pieces as what they are now freed to be, the story of ‘what is yet to be’ will stand among the greatest ever told.” - Craig D. Lounsbrough | | | | MORE From Business Development
Economists predict an even deeper one is about to hit as businesses recover in a post-COVID world. Since the beginning of the pandemic, most business owners have been in day-to-day survival mode. Now they are trying to regain a more regular rhythm and regain their 1-, 3- and 5-year projections.
What Is the New Normal in Business? For the new normal, you must adjust and adapt using new business strategies, new communication best practices and new operation best practices. Here are five changes you should see as the new normal in business takes hold.
1. A Dispersed, Productive Workforce There is an enormous wave of remote workers who will not be going back to the office. The world might be witnessing the beginning of the end of the workplace as we know it. After two months with a remote workforce, Twitter and Square announced that many of their employees can permanently work from home and others are considering following their lead. 80% of the global workforce comprises frontline workers. This dispersed population will continue to grow as you reinvent your concept of organizational structure and transition to more virtual workspaces. Another industry that is about to experience a remote workforce boom is telemedicine, a subset of the healthcare industry. Telemedicine is seeing a patient surge as people opt to schedule medical consultations remotely. That means the healthcare industry will see an increase in work-in-place professionals providing patient care on video calls or over the phone.
2. Internal Communication How employees communicate has changed and will continue to change to accommodate the new work process. You may well need to digitally reconfigure your communication strategies around how and where your workforces perform their jobs. With workers more spread out, there’s no longer an ‘office environment’—no common space for them to congregate, and no break rooms or hallways for spontaneous collaboration sessions. That will require a mobile solution to maintain a unified alliance. Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, 61% of the workforce switched to working remotely. But only 27% have supplemental workplace technology from their employers to support them.
As you build your workplace, give careful consideration to including a mobile communication solution to complement the dispersed nature of this new-normal workforce. It will keep everyone connected. You should do what is necessary to facilitate the human experience that is lost by no longer being together at work. The employees need it to ensure continued engagement and productivity. Trust and regular communication top the list of what workers want from their managers as they transition to more flexible work. Here are the ways a mobile communication solution can best support your workforce now. • Create a bottom-up business leadership approach With employees scattered in different locations, it’s necessary that every employee has a voice. A mobile app facilitates a communication channel for previously disconnected workers who are on the front lines of the operation.
• Ensure enterprise-wide alignment As you get your business back in the flow, a communication tool can help realign your workforce to get back on track and focus on your common objectives.
• Rebuild customer trust 85% of the global GDP drop from the COVID-19 crisis resulted from a drop in consumer demand. Frontline workers are often the teams with the most consumer interaction. Use a mobile workforce app to empower them with the knowledge and tools to rebuild the relationship with your customers.
• Form new collaboration channels A digital workplace facilitates peer-to-peer collaboration by offering features that enable collaboration. From direct messages to group chats to dedicated communication streams, dispersed colleagues can work together.
• Support an autonomous workforce For a truly engaged workforce outside of the office, a digital solution can instill a sense of autonomy by supporting a worker when she/he needs to make a command decision. Greater control over and more flexibility with work schedules make employees 43% less likely to lose motivation in their jobs.
As you navigate this new way of working, an internal communication tool can provide you with the features needed to put your mind at ease and stay connected with your team(s). Keep in mind, your employees need a way to feel connected to sustain an engaged workforce since face-to-face contact has diminished.
3. Embracing Automation Automation was already on the rise before this pandemic hit. Now, it’s experiencing a surge. Grocery stores are automating systems to help lighten the load on workers who are racing to keep up with consumer demand. Waste management facilities are putting robots to work sorting recyclables to avoid putting workers in close contact with one another. Digital workforce solutions are also helping automate administrative functions. As desk-based workers move to remote locations and mobile workers remain dispersed, cloud-based networks support workflows by handling routine processes, like employee onboarding. From chatbots that distribute information to a workforce to push notifications and shift alerts, an internal communication tool can offer several ways to automate internal functions that create seamless workflows and support business continuity. However, please keep in mind the human employee and human customer as you embrace automation. There are still some things that a computer cannot do.
4. Innovation During the COVID-19 crisis, you had to act and react with incredible urgency to shift operational strategies in order to achieve your original objectives. You did not have time for the normally relaxed schedule of long strategy sessions. With the right digital tools, many business owners transitioned and found new ways to get their jobs done through creative strategizing. That’s a lesson that will last. The entire workforce, from leaders to frontline workers, is gaining a new sense of confidence in risk-taking. In the new normal, you will become more innovative by: • Building an agile foundation. This crisis has proven that adaptability is a key element for operational function and survival.
• Adopting a more freestyle approach to research and development. With mobile tools, meetings will make way for ongoing creative dialogues initiated top down and bottom up.
• Learning how to pivot quickly. Employees at all levels will need to find and try alternative approaches to performing their jobs, collaborating, and accomplishing tasks.
5. Forward-Thinking Risk Management This crisis blindsided most businesses. Now you should take this opportunity to create an enterprise risk management framework to anticipate and be prepared for the next crisis, whatever it might be. To minimize disruptions, you must learn to identify, assess, monitor, and mitigate the impact of a risk on your business. As you find a comfortable pace to working again, long-term success and survival will depend upon your resilience and adaptability. That will take the commitment of an entire organization.
It’s fair to say that few businesses will be the same after they’ve dusted themselves off and gotten back on their feet. But chances are they won’t go back to their old way of operating. Welcome to the new normal in business.
| | | | MORE From Ministry Development
Pastors and staff have learned many new skills and ways of reaching their members in a time of crisis. As communities of faith figure out how to re-open, following the advice of public health professionals, there may be an impulse to abandon these lessons in favor of doing church how we’ve always done it. However, just because your church is meeting in person again, does not mean that it has to diminish its digital footprint.
If scientists are right, most churches are in for a long period of readjustment before everyone can worship together. Depending on where congregations are located and their average Sunday attendance, it could be well into 2023 before vulnerable people are able/willing to gather in worship, and even then, some may feel that it would be better for their health to stay home. Churches owe it to those who are discerning what is right for them to guarantee accessibility to worship experiences and to not generate a fear of missing out on church events. Such fear could hasten people to attend in person before they are ready. As pastor, you should affirm each member of the congregation in their efforts to make choices that are right for them without retaliation or alienation. The lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic should not be forgotten. If we are assured of anything, it is that church can and should change so that it can meet the needs of others. After all, church was made for times like these, fostering connection when we so desperately need it.
1 Corinthians 9:19, 22-23 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition 19 For although I am free in every way from anyone’s control, I have made myself a bond servant to everyone, so that I might gain the more [for Christ]. 22 To the weak (wanting in discernment) I have become weak (wanting in discernment) that I might win the weak and overscrupulous. I have [in short] become all things to all men, that I might by all means (at all costs and in any and every way) save some [by winning them to faith in Jesus Christ]. 23 And I do this for the sake of the good news (the Gospel), in order that I may become a participator in it and share in its [blessings along with you]. As you think about how to open your church in a healthy way, here are some suggestions for you to pray over.
1. Please consider how you will handle the following scenarios. Will you: - Ask members to stay home if they are sick?
- Ask members to avoid touching such as handshakes and hugs?
- Ask members to sit farther apart?
- Pass the offering plate?
- Continue offering an online worship service or start one?
2. Please give consideration to hybrid worship experiences. These experiences will embrace participation from those physically present and those who are worshipping from home. • Offer a live stream of worship, if you currently offer this. If not, it is time to think about how to implement such a worship experience. • Ask those at home to share their prayer requests through the chat function of whatever platform you’re using. Then access that chat from the pulpit, reading those prayers of concern and celebration during the worship service. If you are like most pastors, you turn off your cellphone before entering the sanctuary. However, clergy and leaders alike should be certain that enabling participation from home is very important. Therefore, place your phone on silent. 3. Take every opportunity to have virtual communion Work through the process to allow those at home to participate in the communion experience. When the members are not able to gather physically, communion can play an important role in sustaining spiritual connection. Encouraging online members to assemble what elements are available to them, without regards to strict adherence to the type of liquid or bread, will bring much needed spiritual support to your homebound community. While those present receive pre-packaged communion, those at home can celebrate with what they have available. 4. Offer the opportunity to be virtually present When you gave for any in-person committee meetings, Bible studies, or social gatherings that members would normally be allowed to attend, extend that to at home members. Offering the opportunity to connect outside of Sunday worship is imperative. Why? Because it is the day-to-day connection that provides meaning for members and that happens outside of worship. 5. Make sure you are prepared. • Figuring out how to reopen safely will require practical, theological, and, more importantly, spiritual reasoning in these difficult times. God has already prepared the church before this crisis. Luke 21:11 - Amplified Bible, Classic Edition There will be mighty and violent earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences (plagues: malignant and contagious or infectious epidemic diseases which are deadly and devastating); and there will be sights of terror and great signs from heaven. • There will be those who will come back inspired and heading a clarion call from the Lord, ready for the next battle because this battle prepared them. 1 Peter 5:10 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you. Yes, the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic must not be forgotten. They must be used to strengthen the global Church, so it seizes this moment for Christ. As the pastor, make sure you are ready to encourage those who come back with a tenacity of faith, a spiritual resilience and an evangelistic fire. You may dive right in to worshipping in person when the opportunity arises. However, it is imperative to strive to include everyone who wishes to worship, those in the building, and also those at home. Strive to be inclusive of all. In this way, the church not only comes back, but it comes back stronger. | | | | MORE From Personal Development
almost unable to complete! Because of the pandemic, here are some scenarios you may be dealing with. You may be : • In survival mode, gathering information and resources necessary to function at school, at work, as a person, and in your relationships with others. • Attempting to settle into your new routines with little anxiety. • Trying to combat social isolation. • Learning how to live (or re-live) with friends, family members, partners, or roommates, which is not always easy. • Depending on the population in your home, you may struggle to find a distraction-free space that is conducive to do productive and efficient work. • Finding that it takes twice as much time, effort, and energy to do even simple tasks, which can be quite draining. • Requiring a bit more compassion and patience with yourself. • Struggling with the fatigue, frustration, sadness, anger, grief, and anxiety, etc. of adjusting.
You may have gone through some of the items listed above or some that are not listed. You also may have adjusted through the process, and are finding comfort in your new norm. If so, that is great! Kudos to you and please share some things you have gone through and how you made it to the other side. If you are still processing, here are a few important things to remember. • This situation is both uncertain and temporary! • It’s okay not to feel okay. It’s also okay, and I encourage you to seek help and support! • Consider this a time to reflect on who you want to be in this process and when it is over. • Focus on what is within your control. (see Serenity Exercise in the freebie section) • It’s good to be informed. However, is it also good to take breaks from conversations, news, and information related to COVID-19. • Adjusting to change is a process that is different for each person. (see Positive Affirmations in the freebie section) Keep in mind: - This is a change you were not given a choice to make.
- How you need to change varies with your personality and choices.
- You cannot hold yourself to the changes someone else made.
- You cannot demand the same changes of yourself.
- You cannot see yourself has having failed simply because you did not get the same results as someone else.
- You must be patient with yourself and flexible in your plan.
• Please be respectful of where you are and also of where others are in the process. Empathy is the order of the day. • It’s okay to be curious about where your friends, family, and others are in their process and to seek to understand their wants and needs during this time. Don’t forget to tell them what you want and need too! • As you have read over the past two months, I believe in setting goals and routines. In this situation, consistency can be really helpful! Go back and look at your calendar. Make sure you have scheduled time for your physical and emotional health, fun, creatively, social connection, and stress relief! • It’s okay to set boundaries.
You are not alone in this process of change. Even those who look like they have it all together have times when the emotions run high. My prayer for you is to find some peace in the storm. If you look close enough, you will find that you have learned some things about yourself and the world around you, both good and bad. If you have questions or need any assistance, contact us. You can also call us @ 904-830-0737. You can also set up a free consultation.
| | CALL (OR) EMAIL 904.830.0737 | help@drpamrussell.com
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