In many churches today, the role of leaders is changing from people who lead so tasks get done to that of leaders serving as spiritual coaches. All leaders, whether staff or lay, ultimately need to serve as spiritual coaches for whatever group of people they are leading. Whether it is a small group leader, mission team leader, or finance team leader, leaders are called to coach people on their teams in order to help them live spiritually healthy lives and live out their passion and gifts in service to the world. Ultimately, if leaders help people grow spiritually and live out their calling, that should be all they have to do…that is what is most important in our walk with Christ.
In his book Coaching Change, Tom Bandy states that "There are many books available about coaching written by enormously successful coaches. These are coaches who have won national sports championships and who are now applying the same principles and tactics to everything from business to religion. Many of their principles and strategies are helpful. Unfortunately, they are all oriented toward "winning." They help clients (businesses or churches) compete to become the best in the community, country, or world by raising the most money or attracting the most people…However, coaching is not really about winning. It is about growing."
Coaching is about growing! In my recent workbook, Church as Wellness Center: Strengthening and Sending Fit Christians into the World, I talk about growth toward wellness. Jesus said, "I came so that you may have life and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) I believe that in order to do that, we must grow in wellness in all aspects of our life. Spiritual coaches are needed to guide us on that path of spiritual growth as we move toward wellness. In the workbook, the role of coaches is described as follows:
"Leaders support and coach people in their ministry area. Leaders are aware of the spiritual gifts and passion assessments performed by their team members and listen and affirm people, continually giving feedback. Leaders as coaches continue to ask people where they are in their walk, if what they are doing is helping them grow in their call, and if their service is life-giving or creating burnout. Coaches can help redirect people on their teams who appear to be going in the wrong direction, or are misguided. Coaches serve as listeners who ask questions to help people discern where God is calling them. Coaches are not responsible for providing answers for people."
Some of the basic instructions for coaches consist of the following:
- See the potential in people as God may see it.
- Pray for and with those being coached.
- Listen to, do not tell, others what to do.
- Ask a lot of questions to help the person discern and live their call.
- Share scripture with others as it pertains to their situations.
- Remind others to exercise their gifts from God.
- Ask people how they experience God, where they feel God is leading them on their spiritual journey, and where God is calling them to become more disciplined in their walk.
- Provide loving encouragement.
This may seem overwhelming—as if you are expecting these coaches to be God. Assure them that this is not the case. The coach does not need to be in touch daily, but perhaps biweekly, or at least monthly. If the coach is already in a regular monthly gathering with the team, he/she can utilize this time to check in with everyone, see where God is moving in their lives and offer prayer and encouragement. The coach may want to provide periodic emails or phone calls to pursue particular issues with those being coached at the appropriate time. The coach needs to be available to develop relationships within healthy boundaries. The time spent on the front-end assessment process will probably cut down on the time needed by the coaches when people have crises in their lives, since they will already know more about who these people are and their life situations.
To go even further, Mike Slaughter talks about leaders as coaches in unLearning Church:
"…The trainer-coach applies biblical life principles to the unique needs of the individual.
…Trainer-coaches help us be faithful to our promises through demonstration, encouragement, and accountability.
…Trainer-coaches are at the heart of faith-building in the biblical plan. They help others achieve their God destiny."
Through encouragement, demonstration, and faith, a personal trainer promotes personal
discipline for the purpose of achieving desired results. Spiritual leaders are in the business of faith development. Their purpose is to provoke personal discipline to achieve God's desired results. We teach our trainer/coaches to regularly cover such areas of relationship based discipleship as group building skills, mentoring of others, prayer, service, financial stewardship, and witness.
'Will you grow?' is our constant emphasis. We know we are called to grow, but will we actually make the choice to grow?"
QUESTIONS: Spiritual coaches serve to facilitate discovery and growth in people to live out their calling. What do your leaders currently do to facilitate their team's growth and discovery? Where do you see improvements needed? What are your success stories to share?
