Barnabas File

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -- Philippians 3:12-14, NIV   Change is inevitable.  It is not only to be expected, but to be pursued.  If you are a believer, my hope is that spiritually you are not where you were when you first acknowledged your faith in Christ.  The same is true for any church, family, business, or not-for-profit organization.  If you are now exactly what you were when you first started your journey, you are not effective in your mission.  As our context changes, our beliefs remain stable, but our methodologie...

In my conversations with coaches, I sometimes ask the question, “What does your ideal client look like?”  There are various responses, but as I consider the questions myself, here are some client characteristics that will benefit the coaching conversation.   I would like the client to be honest in our conversation. This does not require complete transparency, but the more that the client feels free to share with me, the more it benefits them.  My role as a coach is provide a safe space where the client feels free to share and reflect.     Self-awareness on the part of the client is important.  The person being coached must be willing to question their own assumptions.  A goal in coaching is to help the client learn how to ask questions of themselves; this self-reflection is also an indication of growing emotional intelligence.   I hope my client will be forgiving.  Sometimes I miss the mark on a question.  I...

Diagram courtesy of Pinnacle Leadership Associates In a previous blog post, I introduced a new process for churches titled Crossing Thresholds developed by colleague Mark Tidsworth (see diagram) and discussed the value of developing a vision statement as part of “Aligning Church Expectations.”   Developing a vision statement is the first part of this step; the second part is putting it into action.  Most members, especially those who have invested themselves in the process of “Crossing Thresholds”, will be energized by the vision.  They will see this as the next logical step in the life of the church and step forward to make it a reality.  However, some will start to realize that “Adjusting Church Rhythms” (a previous step) may be necessary to achieve the vision, and they make not be comfortable with these changes.   Some changes that might need to be implemented to pursue a new vision could be one or more of the following:   Changing worship...

Diagram courtesy of Pinnacle Leadership Associates In a previous blog post, I introduced a new process for churches titled Crossing Thresholds developed by colleague Mark Tidsworth (see diagram).    One of the steps is “Aligning Church Expectations.”   If you think that the context in which your church ministers has not changed in the last 10 years, you must have been of the country for an extended vacation or work assignment.  The opportunities and challenges that every church faces today are vastly different than they were just a short time ago.   Without belaboring the point, there have been social changes (such as the COVID pandemic), technological changes (hello, social media and Artificial Intelligence), economic changes (and lowered expectations among young adults for a life even as good as that of their parents), and political changes (provide your own comment here).   If we are realistic, our cultural context impacts the vision if not the miss...

Courtesy of Pinnacle Leadership Associates Friend and colleague Mark Tidsworth is rolling out a new process for churches titled Crossing Thresholds.     In a nutshell, Mark is designing a way for churches to identify the “invisible barriers” to a church’s missional movement, changing those to “thresholds for crossing.” He states, “Once a threshold is crossed, churches and their leaders experience relief and release, moving into new seasons of freedom with ease of movement.”    Part of this process is a design of six steps for creating a strategy to cross thresholds (see diagram). From time to time, I will take the opportunity here to comment on some of the thoughts these steps provoke for me.  Please note these are my responses and do not necessarily reflect Mark’s thinking!   One of the dynamics that Mark addresses is Identity and Deconstruction.  One strategy step is “Collective Exploration.”   For me, an essential key for co...

Author Joe Lalley got my attention at once in his new book Question to Learn:  How Curiosity Can Transform Your Career, Team, and Organization because he combines two things that I have found transformative:  design thinking and coaching.     The book integrates the design thinking approach of starting with the customer, prototyping, and improving the idea or product into something that serves the customer’s need with the coaching concept of asking “powerful questions” that draw upon the client’s own expertise and experience to chart a new way forward.   Lalley writes, “This is book is for the community of the curious—a community where questions from professionals at all levels are celebrated, not discouraged.”  His illustrates this well with two individuals he has encountered in his life.  One is Steve, the software expert, who comes into a meeting providing the answer to your problem without even knowing what you need. ...

When we present our “elevator speech” about coaching, are we drawing the circle too small? In promoting coach training, I have often referred to the process as “an additional tool in your ministry toolbox.” As I talked with a ministry leader recently about coach training for his denomination, I realized that coaching is much more than simply a skill. I needed to enlarge my perspective and see coaching in a new light.   First, it is a biblical approach to developing disciples.  We believe that each person is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and is unique in the sight of God. Because of this, each of us has a special calling, one that can be discerned through interaction with a coach. As believers, we are also commanded to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV). Entering the life of faith is just the beginning because we are invited into a process of lifelong learning and serving. This journey can be facilitated ...

“How can a coach help someone to grow as a disciple of Christ? Does coaching help in spiritual formation?” As a Christian who is a practicing coach, you have probably been asked such questions. These are big, challenging questions, but in this context let’s limit our discussion to how coaching can be used in the church to develop believers in their growth and service.   When Mark Tidsworth and I wrote  Disciple Development Coaching: Christian Formation for the Twenty-First Century,  we started with one major assumption: people are coming into the fellowship of the church today from many different backgrounds. Some have been believers for a long time, although not necessarily in the faith tradition of their present fellowship. Others come with little or no Christian background, but with many life experiences and exposure to a variety of belief systems. Of course, some are grounded believers with a clear understanding of the Way of Christ. The biggest mistake that a church ...

“Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to respond. ”-- Stephen R.  Covey   Covey is very clear in challenging us to place the emphasis in listening on the person speaking rather than thinking about a ready response.  This is one of the first things we learn in our work as coaches. Coaching is not about us but about helping our clients to learn and grow. In our coach training, we will usually hear this statement: “You will have had a productive coaching session if your client talks eighty percent of the time, and you only talk twenty percent of the time.”  Listening is an essential part of the coach’s skill set.   We often speak of “powerful questions” almost as magic bullets in a coaching conversation, but those powerful questions only come from active listening.  Listening and subsequent questions are two parts of a whole. Each is essential.   Although active listening may sound like an oxymoron, a coach a...

In  Missional Renaissance , Reggie McNeal observes, “Genuine spirituality lives and flourishes only in cultures and relationships of accountability.”  A reality check on this statement comes from the Barna organization which has found that only one out of ten believers have an accountability structure.  This provides a significant challenge for coaches, especially as we work with believers.   Although many Christians think of their personal relationship with God as their primary accountability structure, we are called throughout the New Testament to be active and engaged members of the church, the Body of Christ.  As part of a worshiping and serving community of faith, we are part of a group of sisters and brothers who challenge and encourage us. Hebrews 10:24 states, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (NIV). This provides an accountability structure that clients and their coaches often fail to recognize and utilize. ...

In our   Introduction to Coaching   class at Summit Coach Training, we invite participants to write their “elevator speech” on who they are or want to be as a coach.    If you don’t know the term, an elevator speech is a clear, brief message or “commercial” about you. It is something that you could share on a short elevator ride with another occupant. My elevator speech as a coach is, “I help individuals discover their growing edge and to live into it.”   What’s a “growing edge”? Your growing edge is the boundary between your present status, role, or self-concept and the demarcation point to possibilities beyond that present reality.  It is a choice to move beyond the status quo to something new.  I believe that one’s willingness to address their growing edge comes out of one or more the following characteristics and questions.   Curiosity— “How can I learn more about this topic.”  Something has attracted my attention, an...

In Celtic Christianity, Christians often seek out “thin places” where God seems to be especially close. These are physical sites where there is an undeniable connection to the sacred. This idea is portrayed in Exodus 3:5 where Moses is told by God, “The place on which you are standing is holy ground.” These are not always places of peace, however. In Genesis 32, we read the account of a “thin place” where Jacob struggled with a stranger and came away saying “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” (v. 30) Out of his struggle came peace and direction.   We are especially blessed when we encounter such places, but in practice, they are not always geographical. These are places where we encounter God and come away with new insight, understanding, and purpose. They may be present in our prayer time, our conversations with friends, or even in a coaching conversation. More than once I have had a client talk about the coaching conversation as a safe or sacred spac...

One of the concepts that has expanded my understanding of coaching is that we don’t just coach individuals, but we coach individuals who are part of a system.    Coaching typically focuses on individual development, but a broader perspective recognizes individuals as integral parts of a larger system. As one person observed, “It is time to move from egocentric coaching to ecosystem coaching.”   I am not yet sure how to do that effectively, but a recent article on the Fast Company website stimulated further thinking on my part.   In his new book, You  and We: A Relational Rethinking of Work, Life, and Leadership,  Jim Ferrell focuses on helping people apply relational approaches to leadership and organizational life. This certainly has implications for effective leadership coaching and for coaching teams.   Ferrell observes that, “The idea of a separate individual is a myth, and because it’s a myth, the strategies that mistake it as true generate system...

Each coaching client is unique.     As coaches, we each have a philosophy of coaching, a code of ethics, strategies, curiosity, and intuition.     We have our own experiences and inclinations that inform us but (we hope) do not limit our effectiveness.    Even so, we must be flexible, ready to adapt to the personality, expectations, and individuality of each client.   My observation is that all my coaching clients (past and present) have certain characteristics in common, however.   They are smart.   Most are in leadership roles that are only given to professionally and vocationally competent people.  They have both training and life experiences to draw on.   They are gifted.   We define spiritual gifts in various ways, but I believe that God has gifted each person with special abilities.  These gifts may not always be fully developed, but they are present in the individual.   They know a lot more ...

The 20 th   century industrial model thrived on a tight command and control model.     It increased production, but it often fostered an “us” versus “them” approach--industry versus labor union, employer versus employee, “boss” versus workers.       In his New Leadership Paradigm , Steve Piersanti picks up on this in calling for a shift from the old paradigm of control to one of collaboration.  The control approach depended on coercion, dominance, and secrecy to “keep people in line.”  The new paradigm calls for collaboration.  Piersanti describes collaboration in this way: “Leadership is exercised through invitation, request, dialogue, persuasion, respect, openness, kindness, integrity, and partnership, without compulsion.”   This is the way that the church was intended to function.  In Romans 12:4-8, the apostle Paul writes,   For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not ...

Each season bring its own gifts.    Fall brings us cooler temperatures, the familiar rhythms of school and work, football, and denominational meetings! Some may be surprised at the last item of that list, so let me explain.   In my Southern Baptist tradition, fall is the time for associational meetings and state meetings.  As a denominational person and collegiate minister, I was expected to be present in those gatherings.  Associational meetings are made of messengers from local churches in a county (or maybe a combination of two or more) who gather in October (usually) to learn about local and state ministries, worship, and listen to sermons.   My appreciation for these annual associational meetings grew when I was campus minister at Carson Newman College (now University) in east Tennessee.  In that role, I would be expected to represent the college in three or four such meetings.  Of course, these were usually smaller, more ...

Benjamin Franklin said this about mentoring:   “There are two ways to acquire wisdom; you can either buy it or borrow it.  By buying it, you pay full price in terms of time and cost to learn the lessons you need to learn.  By borrowing it, you go to those men and women who have already paid the price to learn the lessons and get their wisdom from them.”   Mentors are important in our personal and professional development.  They not only share their experiences with us, but they open doors by introducing us to people in our field and sponsoring us to be involved in special projects or events.   Is it possible that one can outgrow her or his mentor?  This is not only a possibility but very likely. In the Book of Acts, we read the story of a mentor-protégé relationship that prospered for a period but ended with some discord.  We sometimes forget that Barnabas was a mentor for Saul, the persecutor of the Way who would become i...