Tomorrow's
Life Coach
Volume 2 Issue 4 : April 2003
In This Issue
Upcoming Classes at
ILCT
Pat's Ponderings ~ ILCT's New Website!
Editor's Pen ~ Focus: Christian Coaching
Patrick Williams Featured on Sky Radio
Christian Coaching 2013 ~ Gary R. Collins
Coaching Women in Ministry ~ Brenda A.
Smith
Coaching Toward Forgiveness ~ Jim Street,
PhD
Jumpstart Your Writing Career ~ Rochelle
Melander
Case Study: Life Purpose Coaching for Lay Leaders ~
Tony Stoltzfus and Wendy Good
Upcoming Classes at ILCT
Group Coaching: ($150 - 4 hours)
4 Thursdays, May 1, 12:00 PM Eastern
4 Wednesdays, October 8, 3:00 PM Eastern
Coaching with Spirit and Soul:
Coaching through the Midlife Transition
Tuesdays, May 6 - May 27, 1:00 PM Eastern
Mondays, October 6 - October 27, 11:00 AM Eastern
Marriage Coaching ($300.00
- 8 hours)
Tuesdays, May 6 - June 10, 7:00 PM Eastern
Computer Skills/CyberSavvy (Computers
for Coaches): ($150 - 4 hours)
Tuesdays - May 6 - May 27, 8:00 PM Eastern
Wednesdays - June 4 - June 25, 12:00 PM
Thursdays - September 4 - September 15, 2:00 PM Eastern
Coaching Skills Practicum:
($450 - 12 hours)
Wednesdays, May 7 - June 25, 1:00 PM Eastern
Wednesdays, July 2 - August 20, 1:00 PM Eastern
Wednesdays, September 3 - October 22, 1:00 PM Eastern
Wednesdays, October 19 - December 17, 1:00 PM Eastern
Focus-Skills-Attitudes & Habits:
($150 - 4 hours)
Thursdays, May 8 - May 29, 3:00 PM Eastern
Tuesdays, July 8 - July 29, 7:00 PM Eastern
Listen-Mirror-Path-Floodlight:
($150.00 - 4 hours)
Tuesdays, June 3 - June 24, 1:00 PM Eastern
Manifesting Strengths: ($150.00
- 4 hours)
Mondays, June 9 - June 30, 8:00 PM Eastern
Business Wheel: ($150 - 4 hours)
Tuesdays, July 8, 7:00 PM Eastern
Practice Made Perfect: ($450
- 12 hours)
Thursday, July 10, 7:00 PM Eastern
Wednesday, October 1, 1:00 PM Eastern
Simply Coaching Series ($450.00
- 12 hours)
Wednesdays, September 3 - November 19, 9:00 PM Eastern
Executive Coaching and Development ($300
- 8 hours)
Mondays, September 8- October 17, 6:00 PM Eastern
Creating a Referral Based Business ($150
- 4 hours)
Thursdays, September 9, 16, 23 & 30, 8:00 PM Eastern
Tuesdays, November 4, 11, 18 & 25, 8:00 PM Eastern
Foundational Coach Training for
Christian Counselors ($1995 - 40 hours)
Mondays and Wednesdays, October 6 - February 4, 2:00 PM Eastern
Group Coaching ($150.00 - 4
hours)
Wednesdays, October 8 - October 29, 3:00 PM Eastern
Using Assessments: ($225 -
6 hours)
Mondays - November 3 - February 2, 6:00 PM Eastern
Some schedules may change; check listing
on website or contact Edwina Adams, Administration/Registration,
at edwina@lifecoachtraining.com or
Diane Menendez, Director of Faculty and Curriculum,
at diane@lifecoachtraining.com.
Pat's Ponderings
Dear Colleagues:
For the past three months we
have been upgrading our website, our marketing image,
and everything that reflects our high degree of professionalism
at ILCT. Our graduates
and students are receiving a high-quality educational
experience from an internationally recognized coach
training organization. Check
out our new website at www.lifecoachtraining.com!
Let me hear your comments...both
positive as well as constructive ideas for improvement.
And please take a look at how close
you are to becoming a certified coach. You can earn
your credits toward certification with us and join our
increasing ranks of ICF-certified coaches and ILCT Certified
Life Coaches.
I have had many opportunities to promote coaching as a
profession and ILCT as a training school for helping professionals
in the past year. I have spoken in Canada, Europe, 7 different
states and several conferences. And this summer, I will
be back at Cape Cod, Los Angeles, New Orleans, as well
as London, Italy, and then an Australian tour in September.
I try hard to be the "ambassador" of life coaching.
My mission is to profoundly impact the lives of those
I coach, teach, and train so that they (YOU) may profoundly
impact the lives of those you live
and work with.
Join us in establishing life coaching as
the preferred paradigm of communication and as a professional
relationship that not only attracts increasing numbers of
people, but moves humanity to a new level of purpose and authenticity.
To harmony, ecstasy, and love in abundance...
Pat
Patrick Williams Ed.D., MCC
Chief Energizing Officer, ILCT
Editor's Pen
Welcome to our first issue focused on Christian
coaching! What is happening in the Christian coaching world
today? First, let me mention Christian coach training: the
ILCT has the world's first and largest ICF-accredited Christian
coach training program with 167 graduates plus 46 more currently
enrolled!
Second, the first international Christian
coach conference, sponsored by Christian Coaches Network (CCN),
was held in Virginia, USA on February 26-March 2, 2003. There
were 150 attending (four internationals) and 17 vendor booths.
The ILCT was represented well both on the conference leadership
team and in attendance (about 50 graduates). Christopher McCluskey (chris@lifecoachtraining.com),
director of the ILCT Christian Track program was the emcee,
Mary Ann Dietschler (ILCT graduate) was the conference chair
and Judy Santos (judy@lifecoachtraining.com),
co-leader of the ILCT Christian Track program and founder
of CCN, was prominent in the conference planning. Everywhere
laughs were ringing and warm hugs were exchanged as virtual
relationships became "live" during the "reunion" of
many ILCT graduates and instructors who, in the words of Bill
Gay (ILCT graduate), were "meeting old friends for the
first time!" It was a powerful, life-changing experience
in so many ways for all of us who attended due to the heavenly
inspiration, poignant training, passionate prayers, deepening
relationships...and just by having a lot of fun and laughs!
The powerful coaching movement is reaching
within the Christian world and contributing to stronger, healthier
individuals, churches and parachurch organizations! Whether
this is your focus or not, you'll find every article in this
issue interesting--from Christian coaching in 2013 to becoming
a writer!
Next month's focus: International coaching.
Please note the changes to the guidelines
for submissions which include shorter lengths for articles
(500 words) and bios (50 words).
As always, comments and articles are welcome,
just send to annette@lifesync.com!
Annette
Annette Miller
Editor, Tomorrow's Life Coach
Graduate, ILCT Christian Track 2002
President, LifeSync Coaching (www.lifesync.com)
Authorized Affiliate for Christian Coaches, Extended DISC of North
America--certification workshops and outsourcing with the world's
fastest growing assessment system (free sample reports, ask us about
discounts for training)
Patrick Williams
Featured on Sky Radio
The
following airlines will be featuring an interview with our
own Pat Williams on their sky radios. You can also hear
the interview at www.skyradionet.com.
UNITED,
DELTA, AMERICAN, NORTHWEST
Christian Coaching 2013
by Gary R.
Collins
Last weekend [February 26-March 2, 2003], at
the Christian Coaches Network conference, I gave some predictions
about what Christian coaching might look like in ten years.
I suggested:
1. Coaching will be at the core of leadership.
I often quote James Belasco from San Diego State University: "Coaching
is destined to be the leadership approach of the twenty-first
century." This is the focus of most of my work as a coach
today.
2. Coaching will be a core part of ministry.
People in churches and parachurch organizations will know
how to coach effectively and for the glory of God. That gives
Christian coaches an exciting challenge.
3. Coaching will be a new kind of profession
with:
- Less emphasis on private practice. As more
people become coaches and the economy struggles there will
be fewer paying clients.
- Greater specialization. Most coaches will
know their niches.
- More knowledge and awareness of psychological
issues. These can undercut coaching but get overlooked
by coaches who are not attuned psychologically.
- More culturally sensitivity, with awareness
of generational, racial, socioeconomic, ethnic, multinational
and other issues.
- More regulation and refinement. The initial
enthusiasm will be gone and coaching will be a profession
with standardized training, credentials, research backing,
ethical standards and licensing regulations.
- Greater unification, with Christians and
other coaches working more together and less in isolation
or competition.
Here are more highlights:
- Christian coaches who are now on the fringes
of churches will be more involved in church ministry as
coaches.
- Churches and other organizations will value
and appreciate having an in-house coach.
- Missionaries will have coach training before
entering the mission field.
- If coaching is to be more than a fad, it
will need to be effective and that means having highly
trained people.
- More and more leaders at all levels will
look for a coach.
- Coaching will become a sought after method
for advancing one's career.
- More coaching will utilize the Internet.
- If coaching can live up to the possibilities
of what it can do for leadership development, you will
see more dollars than you can dream of being thrown at
coaching. (Maybe!)
Dr. Gary R. Collins is not only a sought
after speaker around the globe but also the author of more
than 50 books, the recent of which is "Christian Coaching--Helping
Others Turn Potential into Reality" which includes significant
contributions by ILCT's Christopher McCluskey and Judy Santos.
Dr. Collins is a graduate of ILCT and was a keynote speaker
at the Christian Coaches Conference in Virginia in February.
Used with permission from his newsletters "Letter 37" and "Letter
38" (published March 6 and 13, 2003); free subscription
available on his website, www.GaryRCollins.com. ©Copyright
2002 The Bridge Institute. All Rights Reserved.
Coaching Women in Ministry Leadership
by
Brenda A. Smith
"My role in ministry seems artificial; I
don't feel like myself."
"The open door policy is required,
but I can't get my work done."
"My visionary gift isn't valued because
I'm seen as the implementer, not the creator."
What do these comments have in
common?
They are all voices of women in
ministry.
My current telegroup, Encouragement By Design,
has gathered women who are leaders in ministries nationwide. Together
we are mastering the art and science of encouragement. The
fundamental premise is that we give and receive praise according
to our "hard wiring." These
women are recognizing and embracing God's unique design.
As they explore their giftedness explosions of
understanding occur. They
begin to relish their uniqueness and work with:
1) What
encourages them
2) What
discourages them
3) What
stresses them
4) What
relieves stress
They can then translate these principles into
the personalities of people they live and work with, creating a
system of encouragement that enhances their personal and professional
lives.
Frequently women find that ministry environments
produce enormous stress. Some
even experience permanent changes in their personalities. Gender
expectations often cause women to operate from an adaptive style
that varies greatly from the natural one. The
resulting stress reveals conflicts of calling, vision and giftedness. For
example, the pressure to exhibit a "heart for people" often
hinders the project-focused woman from thriving. The
visionary often finds herself assigned "here and now" tasks. Or,
the open architecture of many organizations may force women to behave
as extraverts who are more naturally introverted. Disconnect
and discontent result.
But there is good news! Joy
and freedom come through seeing the power of divine design. Experiencing
direction in purposeful movement allows women to minister from a
full and true heart. Hearing
a woman say, "Oh, now I understand why I feel like a phony,
and now I know what God has called me to be" gives me enormous encouragement. The
world of institutional ministry is an environment of great opportunity
for women. But it is
critical to understand and appreciate design, purpose and giftedness. What
a privilege it is as a coach to walk beside them and see the joy
of Jesus shine!
Brenda
A. Smith is President of The
Purpose Group, Dallas, Texas. Her
goal is to equip and inspire women as they see that they are designed "with
purpose for a purpose." She
leads telegroups for women in ministry, business and home leadership. Currently
she is participating in an archiving enterprise, the BWF Project. Her
background includes executive management, sales and marketing
and entrepreneurial endeavors. She
was a member of the first insurance delegation to China and has
spoken widely throughout the financial services industry. She
is the proud mother of 3 and exuberant grandmother of 3. She
can be reached at brendaasmith@aol.com or 214-673-8779.
Therapy vs. Coaching: Coaching Toward Forgiveness
by Jim
Street, PhD
Coaches must distinguish between therapy and
coaching. To do that,
they must get beyond theorizing about the differences and apply
them to real world issues.
As a pastor and coach I often help people on
the journey toward forgiving those who have hurt them. In
this article, I explore such forgiveness to distinguish between
a therapeutic approach to forgiveness and a coaching approach to
forgiveness.
When I am meeting with someone seeking to forgive
another, I ask questions to discern the proper path for the client
to take. Based upon
the client's response and my own judgment, I either refer them for
therapy or offer them my coaching help. Following
are some of the main questions I ask:
First, is the client seeking specific steps they can take to arrive
at a more forgiving attitude toward the offender?
More often than not, the people who come to me for assistance are
still bogged down in their hurt and their anger. They
struggle with issues of justice or they are still playing the same
mental tapes that keep them stuck in their rage. They
feel forgiveness would be akin to approving the offender's acts. They
maintain their anger as a hedge against getting hurt again. They
entertain revenge. When
a client struggles with those kinds of issues, I refer them for
therapy.
However, some people want to know how to get beyond their anger
and at least approach forgiveness. If
I sense a "bias for action", I entertain the possibility of
entering into a coaching relationship with them.
Second, does the client display commitments (i.e. values/convictions)
that would enable her to move toward forgiveness?
In coaching, we seek to leverage the core values of the client in
assisting her toward her goals. The
coach may feel that she is constantly "swimming upstream" in
offering assistance to a client who believes that "someone
has to pay."
Third, is the client able to recall either narratives or experiences
of forgiveness that have been extended to her?
I ask about the client's narratives and experiences of forgiveness. For
example, the Christian clients with whom I work can draw on the
central narrative of God's gift of forgiveness as one resource to
bolster their own journey. However,
the client's personal experience of having been forgiven is also
a powerful resource. If
client's have a difficult time recalling such formative narratives
or experiences of forgiveness they may not be good candidates for
coaching.
Fourth, is the client ready to repent?
Almost always, the client is taken back by that question. After
all, the word "repent" is not a word that one hears in therapy,
especially the secular models of therapy. On
top of that, the client may wonder what the victim of an offense
has to repent of.
I use that word purposefully. What
I am really asking is "Are you ready to change your mind about
the offender and the offense?" While the client may not know how to do that, I
can at least make a judgment as to his or her readiness to being
coached. If the client
is willing and ready to change his or her mind, I coach them in
ways that enable them to rewrite the story of their victimization,
challenge unenforceable rules, and reframe their experience so that
it more closely aligns with their sense of mission and values. Therapy
may be needed if the "r-word" brings on feelings of indignation.
Fifth, can the client imagine a future that is more compelling than
the past?
A client who can imagine a future more compelling than her past
is likely to be attracted to that future. If
she can imagine the experience of not only being freed from the
burden of resentment but also of being liberated for a more fulfilling
life, she can more easily navigate the journey toward forgiveness. If
the image of offense is more compelling than the image of freedom,
the client may need further therapy.
Sixth, is the client ready to learn new
skills and embrace the challenges ahead?
Therapy often carries a heavy psychodynamic overtone whereas coaching
is more educational and developmental. If
the client clings to gaining insight into the offense and seems
less interested in learning the skills to forgive, she may be better
suited for therapy.
Jim Street, Ph.D. is a pastor and life coach
who serves the North River Community Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
(www.northriverchurch.com) He
specializes in coaching those who are struggling with forgiveness. You
may contact him at jlstreet@mindspring.com. Thanks
to "buddy coach" Sherry Richmond Frank (creative_growth@cox.net)
for her assistance in preparing this article.
Jumpstart Your Writing Career
by Rochelle
Melander
Think about the coaching you do with
individuals and companies. Think about how you have affected their
lives. Multiply that by hundreds, thousands, even millions of people.
What would it be like to affect the lives of millions of people
with your coaching?
You can. Writing articles and books can
substantially increase the amount of people you will reach with
your message. In 1995, my husband and I coached our congregations
to use a small group process to begin every church committee, task
group, and team meeting. Individuals told their stories. The tears
flowed freely. These men and women told us that they had never had
the opportunity to talk about how their faith intersected with their
lives inside - or outside - a church. They loved the process and
they wanted more. We took our idea to a publisher and our first
book, Growing Together: Spiritual Exercises for Church Committees
(Augsburg), was published in 1998. Since then, it has been published
in 4 more editions, two of them in foreign countries. Our small
nugget of an idea has now changed the lives of individuals at thousands
of churches. You can do the same with the coaching programs, tools,
and ideas you have developed. Here are some tips.
1.Start an idea bank.
Create a place
to hold your ideas. It could be a notebook, a computer file, or
even a file box of index cards! Then, make "regular deposits" in
the bank. I coached a professional who discovered that carrying
a notebook with him made keeping ideas a breeze!
2.Start thinking
markets.
Consider who
might be interested in buying your ideas. Writing for magazines
and newsletters will garner more readers - and potential clients.
Writing books holds some prestige, but it is also a long process.
You can also self-publish your ideas as pamphlets, booklets, and
books.
3.Test-market
your ideas!
Sure, they sound
great when you're on the treadmill at 5:00 AM - but how will they
play in Peoria? Test your ideas through coaching and speaking. I
work with a client who tests all of her ideas in a free class she
offers at her local bookstore. The ideas that go over well make
it into her popular booklets.
4.Start Writing!
Sooner or later,
writers have to write. Just like exercising regularly keeps you
in shape, writing regularly makes the job easier. Take time each
day to write in a journal, so that when you are ready to write the
big article - you'll have both the strength and stamina to do the
job!
5.Get feedback.
Find a friend,
a writing coach, or a writing group to give you feedback on your
work. Their advice can save you valuable time (and prevent too many
frustrating rejections).
6.Write it
again, and again, and again!
Writers will
say that the magic comes with the revising, not the writing. Editors
love polished manuscripts. A polished manuscript will increase your
chances of publication.
7.Find the
perfect market... or two!
You probably
have had something in mind. It's often good to try to write for
a periodical you know well. If you don't have any ideas, check out
Sally Stuart's Christian Writer's Market Guide. This helpful book
is packed with publishers and periodicals looking for writers. Each
entry has valuable submission information you need to know! Choose
a few markets that will work. That way, if you are rejected by one
market, you'll still have other places to send your manuscript.
8.Put together
a submission packet.
Write a cover
letter, include a copy of your manuscript (never the original),
add a self-addressed stamped envelope - and send it off!
9.Start again!
You can use your
writing again and again to minister to people beyond your immediate
reach. Think about the mentors you have met through the written
word. Now consider how you can be that light, shining in the darkness,
for other people.
Rochelle Melander
is a writing coach, popular speaker, and ELCA pastor. Together with
her husband, Harold Eppley, she is the best-selling author of five
books. The newest book is a 52-week coaching program for clergy
called The Spiritual Leader's Guide to Self-Care (www.Alban.org).
Give her a call (414-963-1222) or send her an e-mail (rochelle@liferhymecoaching.com),
to schedule a coaching session that will jumpstart your writing
career! Visit her online at www.LifeRhymeCoaching.com and www.MelanderEppley.com.
Case Study: Life Purpose Coaching for Lay Leaders
by Tony Stoltzfus and Wendy Good
Communion Fellowship is a small-town midwestern
church with a Sunday attendance of around 120. Begun in the 80's
on a college campus, this younger church is composed almost exclusively
of members under 45, and has focused on missions, worship, small
groups and leadership development. Members of the congregation had
high expectations for being developed as people-they believed that
Communion Fellowship was a place to discover God's purpose for your
life and begin to actively fulfill it. Members were ready to serve
and to give their lives to something meaningful, but frustrations
mounted: somehow it just wasn't happening for the average lay leader.
Things
began to change when several members entered a coach-training
program. Wendy Good had been a key part of the congregation's
leadership for a number of years, serving as an elder as well
as on staff in various leadership development roles. The catalyst
for a new approach happened when she was about halfway through
her own training as a coach.
"There
were several young couples I was in touch with that were facing
major life decisions," she recalls, "like moving, going into
missions, things Like that. I could see that they were struggling.
They didn't know the right questions to ask-they weren't making
those decisions out of a broader perspective of understanding
their life purpose....And this is what we as a church were supposed
to be about: whether or not these people leave, we want to help
them engage what God is doing in their lives and equip them to
pass what they learn on to others." Drawn by her own sense of
call to help others find their destiny as well as her church's
mission, Wendy dove in.
The
first step was connecting with the three couples individually.
By listening, asking some key destiny questions, and helping the
couples begin to sort through their decisions, Wendy gave them
a taste of what coaching could do. This was hitting them exactly
at the point of highest motivation-they were hooked. Gathering
all three couples together, Wendy introduced the idea of forming
a coaching group to walk through a structured destiny-discovery
process using materials from TLC's Life Focus track. Because their
congregation offered 8-week Wednesday night classes (and child-care
was provided!), she proposed meeting on Wednesday nights.
"One
thing I learned from that first round was to call it a Practicum,
not a class," Wendy relates. "Class sounds more like a place
you just sit and listen, and I wanted them to connect with the
idea that they were going to be involved and do some work." In
fact, in laying out expectations Wendy made a stretch and asked
for a 4-hour per week commitment (including the hour and fifteen
minutes class time.) Participants would do independent self-discovery
exercises, listen to taped input on destiny and meet individually
or as couples with the coach during the week. 'Class' time would
be used for discussion, hands-on discovery exercises and one-on-one
interaction with peers.
A
high point of that first vision-casting meeting was bringing in
a young couple from the congregation who had just walked through
the same Life Focus process for a major decision in their own
lives. Their testimonial provided a real-life 'story' the other
couples could relate to. "They
(the three couples) all knew each other, they all were dealing
with the same issues, so they were all excited about working on
them together." All three couples said yes.
"That first group did pretty well with
keeping the time commitment," Wendy comments, "but the group
I had the second time around did better. "I think part of it
was that the church put out a flyer with the different classes we
were offering. I made sure to put in a good description of what
the class involved and what the commitment was." Giving participants
complete information up front and asking for a decisive commitment
(participants signed a coaching covenant as part of the process)
helped get things off on the right foot.
One
obstacle that came up along the way was paying the coach. Even
though the church agreed to subsidize
a third of the cost, the Life Focus practicum still cost three
times what any of the other Wednesday night classes did-a necessity
to cover the cost of the coach's time and the materials. "It
was a paradigm shift, but I think people were motivated enough
and saw the value of it so that it wasn't too much of an issue.
There were several people before the second round who joked around
with me about the cost in a way that told me there might be a
little more there than just a joke, but that was about the extent
of it...In the evaluations afterward everyone said it was worth
it." The positive word-of-mouth from the first group also helped
overcome the cost barrier the second time around.
The
first Life Focus practicums at Communion Fellowship covered dreams
and dreambusters, discovering your life purpose, and developing
a set of personal values. Wendy plans to add a "Life Focus
II" that covers taking what people discover about who they are
and developing goals and an action plan to move toward it.
The
participants had a great experience: they loved the coaching appointments,
and found the time to work together as a group on their own destiny
questions invaluable. Often key insights came while listening
to another person share something they wanted or were wrestling
with. Peer appointments were also cited as important. "I
had given them the freedom to do their peer appointments by phone
or in person," Wendy says, "and they really appreciated that." Several
participants traveled as part of their jobs, and liked the freedom
to complete appointments over a cell phone while on the road.
Many
members made significant breakthroughs as a result of the coaching
experience. One couple (leaders of the children's program) said, "We
came to this church because we wanted to be developed as leaders.
This gave us what you said we'd get when we came here...If we
left here tomorrow, we could say, "This is why God brought
us to Communion Fellowship."
Wendy
was especially gratified to see participants turn around and use
what they learned for the benefit of others. One member, a woman
in her twenties, was serving on a community development committee
that had set out to revitalize their neighborhood. As she listened
to committee members discuss what they wanted to do, she realized
that they were really talking about their personal values for
community development. The other members found it so helpful when
she pointed this out that soon she had led the entire group through
a process of identifying a set of development values and writing
a mission statement to define where they were headed. The group
has since moved forward to serve the community with greater unity
and a clearer sense of purpose.
When
asked what she's learned from coaching lay members in finding
their destiny, Wendy laughs. "I learned it works! For example,
we just finished a group a week ago, and the night afterward we
had a congregational meeting. Three different people from the
group stood up spontaneously and shared with the church how life-changing
the coaching experience had been for them. I had people accusing
me after the meeting of staging it all!"
Wendy
also says, "The practicum gets easier every time I do it.
It has been extremely helpful to have the coach's notes for the
exercises-it saves me from doing a bunch of preparation and trying
to track what they are all working on." The exercise format of
TLC materials made it easy for Wendy to give assignments, because
she could simply hand out a sheet of paper with the exercise and
the instructions already made up. This kept the group on the same
page and eliminated a lot of questions and logistical headaches.
"One
other thing I learned was that I assumed when people contacted
me to sign up for the class that they had actually read the flyer
that described it-that was a bad assumption! I had one guy that
came to a first meeting who hadn't read it, and when I started
talking about outside coaching appointments and the four hour
a week commitment he got that deer-in-the-headlights look. I told
him he could still re-evaluate joining if he wanted, but he went
ahead and did it."
Their
experience with coaching has been successful enough that Communion
Fellowship has set out a new leadership development goal: to provide
every leader in the church with a coach. Each leader will be coached
through the process of discovering and moving toward their call,
while team leaders receive ongoing coaching on team-building,
pursuing a vision, etc. Wendy is moving into a part-time staff
role as a coach, with a charge to provide coaching to the church's
key lay leaders, to continue to do life purpose coaching with
the congregation, and to build a team of coaches to widen what
the church is able to offer. Currently the congregation has two
trained coaches (one a professional counselor), while the pastor
and one of the elders are just beginning coach-training.
Wendy
has already begun integrating coaching into the existing leadership
structure. "We have a regular leadership meeting, and now
every time we meet I give the leaders a question based on one
of our core leadership values or principles to reflect on for
the next meeting." Every leader is responsible to think over the
question and write something down between meetings. So when the
team gets together they are ready for a rousing, productive discussion.
And when Wendy encounters a teachable moment during one of her
leadership coaching sessions, she's begun to ask permission to
debrief on it with the group. "We'll talk about what happened,
what the leader did and why, ask the group what they would have
done in that situation. It's a great way to get at leadership
principles." It also works to build openness and a sense of shared
experience among the leaders, as they talk and laugh together
about their successes and what God is doing among them.
Wendy
filled similar leadership roles in her congregation both before
and after being trained as a coach. When asked what difference
coaching and coach training makes, Wendy replied, "The biggest
thing is to have tools to move forward with. I know the procedure
now; I know what to do when I come across a growth issue. Before
I'd often have an intuitive sense that something was going on,
and I'd get frustrated because I couldn't get at it. Now I know
how to deal with what's going on in me internally, I know how
to name the thing (which is so helpful to people) and how to engage
it...And I'm conscious competent about what I'm doing. We have
so many people in our church who know where they want to go but
don't know how to get there, and so many who are doing something
but don't know how they do it or how to pass it on. Now I'm able
to train those I work with to do what I'm doing."
Tony Stoltzfus lives and works in Virginia Beach,
VA, where he coaches leaders and develops coach-training materials.
He is director of Curriculum Development and Training for Transformational
Leadership Coaching, which trains Christian coaches internationally.
Tony has served at all levels in the local church for many years,
including worship leading, cell leading and oversight, and church
oversight. His passion is creating growth-centered authentic relationships
and developing leaders. He has extensive business experience in
sales, internet marketing and furniture design. You can reach him
at tonyst@highstream.net or
757-427-1645.
Wendy Good has had a broad base of ministry experience.
She has served on staff with YWAM, as well as in various ministry
positions within the local church. Some of these include being part
of a leadership team for a discipleship training school, serving
on the Worship Oversight Team, and as an elder. Currently, she is
a TLC (Transformational Leadership Coaching) Certified Coach and
is on staff at Communion Fellowship in Goshen, Indiana as Ministry
Coach. She is a gifted speaker and coach with a passion to help
people tap into their God-given destiny and empower them to walk
in their calling. She can be reached at wendyg@maplenet.net or
574-533-5759.
Tomorrow's
Life CoachTM
Patrick Williams, Ed.D., Publisher
Annette Miller, Editor, annette@lifesync.com
© 2003 Institute for Life Coach Training
www.lifecoachtraining.com
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