Barnabas File

Do you have what it takes to be a coaching leader?  A coaching leader is someone who encourages another person to identify his or her goals, discover the resources available to pursue those goals, develop action plans together, and then walk along beside that person in the process of achieving the person’s goals.  A coaching leader can apply these skills in working with groups and teams as well, multiplying his or her impact as a coach by including others in the process.   A coaching leader is strong in the elements that Daniel Goleman attributes to emotional intelligence:   Self-awareness. Self-regulation. Motivation. Empathy. Social skills.   These are skills that can be learned once a person understands his or her own emotional intelligence profile.  The more that you, as a leader, can manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence.  Emotional intelligence is essential to be an effective coaching leader. In ad...

The first real “job” for which I was paid was as a math tutor.  Considering that I failed Calculus in college, this is rather ironic.  I was a junior in high school and my math teacher recommended me as a tutor for an eighth grader.  The parents paid me ten dollars a session.   As I began working with this young man, I realized pretty quickly that he already knew what he was supposed to do.  He understood the calculations and was probably a better math student than I was!  The key was focus.  He needed someone who would just sit with him, respond to his work, and provide encouragement.  I did not need to be an expert; I just needed to be there.   I find myself in the same situation very often as a leadership coach.  As I talk with a client, I discover that not only does the person have the best knowledge of the situation we are discussing, but he or she has some ideas about how to address it in a p...

I was recently in a group where we were invited into a time of Centering Prayer.     The host asked each of us to select a “sacred word” as a focus for this time. Of course, I chose two works: “living water.”    This a significant phrase for me both inspirationally and theologically.   I grew up on the Gulf Coast and spent many summer days on the beach, both swimming in and observing the Gulf of Mexico.  The expanse of the Gulf reflected for me the immensity and power of God.  Its vastness spoke of God’s omnipotence and omnipresence.   In my more mature years, I have come of appreciate another source of water--mountain streams.  The flowing grace of a stream with its gentle mummering, calls me to consider the intimacy of God.  I accept and glory in the majesty of God, but most days I need to feel the closeness of God.   There are a couple of references that encourage me in this thought.   The  Didache ...

In previous posts, we have looked at the context in which future clergy leaders will serve, one in which resources may be more limited, but there are options for those who are open to them. There are still churches with strong traditions on which to build.     The challenge is that they may no longer have full-time pastors.     We have also looked at the people who are training for pastoral roles in churches and realize that their numbers are declining.     We have also seen that these ministers in training bring specific gifts to ministry—some with strong life experiences and some with a focused approach to ministry.    Here are some possibilities for the future.   Large congregations that are stable and have adequate resources will continue to seek out pastoral leaders with Master of Divinity degrees as a minimum expectation but will most likely search for a Doctor of Ministry or Ph.D. graduate (or equivalent).  More will be open ...

If we are looking toward the future of clergy leadership, a good place to start is with theological education.  Who is in the “pipeline”?  The best source of this information is The Association of Theological Schools (ATS), the accrediting body for seminaries and schools of theology in North America.  Their report on students as of fall 2024, shows that theological education is experiencing a significant demographic and structural shift.     ATS data shows a total enrollment of approximately 76,500 students across member schools, representing a 1.8% increase from the previous year. Here are some trends:   Age and Life Stage.   The student body is getting older, reflecting a surge in mid-career professionals and "second career" seekers.  The average age of an entering student has risen to 40.4 years.   Approximately 14.8% of degree-seeking students are aged 56 or older.   Racial and Ethnic Dive...

Back in the last century, I was invited to write an article for The Campus Minister journal on the future of campus ministry.     I was too optimistic.     In that article, I identified some of the changes that were coming in higher education, but I missed some of the religious trends that would impact denominational ministry with college students—theological divisions, the decline of congregational strength, the decreased denominational support this would bring to both campus ministry and theological education, and the rise of megachurches.     One mistake I made was to project too far into the future out of ignorance of the rapid shifts coming in the latter part of the 20 th  century.   In the next several blog posts, I will attempt to consider possible future trends for the clergy leadership in the local congregation.  I hope to avoid my past errors by looking at hard data about what is happening right now in the church and denominat...

In a recent call with a clergy group, I shared a survey from Exponential NEXT which found that 93.5% of church leaders used or explored using AI in 2025; 78% used it daily or weekly.     One of the participants pointed out that if one uses the Internet, you are using AI whether you want to or not!     It is probably true that everyone uses AI unintentionally!    The finding of the survey, however, was that AI was intentionally used by most clergy leaders in the US.   While AI can assist with sermon research, administrative drafting, and data applications, where do we draw the line to ensure that our teaching remains "God-breathed" and born of human experience, rather than just being an optimized synthesis of existing data? How do we safeguard the integrity of inspiration in our use of AI? How do we continue to nurture the human connection?   Here are some tension points church leaders are currently navigating with AI:   Authenticity. ...

You’ve probably received a letter or e-mail with this message: “(Name of organization) wishes to inform you of an incident that may impact the use of information you have provided to us.”     Yes, there’s been a data breach.   In the past year, we have received such messages from a prominent medical clinic in our city, an insurance company, and the custodian of some of our retirement funds.     The hackers are out there, and they want your information.    And don’t think that church will not be a target.   The tools of technology, like all others, can be a blessing and add impact to our work, but there is the potential for abuse as well. As we think about the church and technology, digital privacy is just one of the things we must consider.     Data Privacy and Trust: What ethical frameworks are we using to protect the data and privacy of our congregants in an era of increasing digital surveillance and data harvesting? ...

Those who are immersed in the digital world sometimes forget that the same is not true of everyone.     Not everyone has a state-of-the-art computer, a smart phone, an Apple watch, and high-speed internet connection.     Due to their financial status, their demographic group, or their geographic location, these modern amenities are not available to all.      Consider these challenges to inclusivity and connection in the digital age:   The Digital Divide: How do we remain inclusive of older members or those with limited financial means who may feel alienated or left behind by a heavy reliance on apps and digital platforms? Moving to digital platforms as means of communication is faster and more economical, but how do we maintain contact with those who are not connected in this way?  We shouldn’t assume that the barrier is knowledge.  For some—in both urban and rural areas—there may be inadequate and unreliable internet or c...

We can’t avoid technology today.     If I want to communicate with my grandchildren, I must know how to text.   When I need that refrigerator part that Sears no longer provides, I can go to Amazon and find it.     Most of the companies I do business with—including my health care providers--want to interact online.    Many of us learned quickly how to move our worship services online during COVID and now we must decide what to do with that “second campus.”   As we attempt to integrate technology into our faith communities, we are challenged to balance modern necessity and efficiency with humanity and sacred tradition.  In this series of posts, I encourage us to think about technology and the church in several ways.   First, the "Why" behind the "What": How do we ensure that our use of technology serves our core mission of spiritual growth rather than just becoming a performance or a distraction?   I hope we are beyond the “...

Jamais Cascio, an American futurist and anthropologist, proposes it is time for a new term—BANI—Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible—to address our present context.  Although these shifts disturb our personal and organizational equilibrium, Cascio proposes Positive BANI, a set of mindsets to counter the chaos:   Bendable (to counter Brittle) Attentive (to counter Anxious) Neuroflexible (to counter Non-linear) Interconnected (to counter Incomprehensible)   Coaching in a BANI environment requires us to focus on "Capacity Coaching" (how to expand our capacity and options). Since coaches use powerful questions that move people from dependency to autonomy, we can adapt those to address the specific "fractures" BANI creates.   Here are specific coaching tips and adapted questions for each BANI pillar:   Coaching the "Brittle" (Fragility)   When a client feels their career or project is brittle, they are often paralyzed by t...

"BANI is not a technical analysis; it’s visceral and experiential. It depicts the nature of the moment... in a way that resonates for people around the world." —  Jamais Cascio Futurist and anthropologist Jamais Cascio argues that the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) mindset from the 1980s has "expired." He writes, “VUCA was about a world that was hard to see. BANI is about a world where the things we  can  see are actively breaking." In this new paradigm, there several shifts: Volatility  has become  Brittleness .     It’s not just moving fast; it’s fragile. (Example: A career path that vanishes due to a single AI update). Uncertainty  has become  Anxiety : It’s not just 'not knowing'; it’s the fear that comes with it. Complexity  has become  Non-Linearity : It’s not just a puzzle; it’s a system where small ripples cause tsunamis. Ambiguity  has become  Incomprehensibility : It’s n...

For years, organizations have focused on VUCA, a term introduced by the U.S. Army War College in the late 1980s to describe the world after the Cold War.   VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. It is a framework used to describe the rapid, unpredictable, and turbulent nature of modern business, military, and strategic environments, focusing on how organizations navigate challenging and constantly changing conditions.  Early on, it was often cited a framework for interpreting the COVIC-19 epidemic.    Jamais Cascio , an American futurist and anthropologist, proposes it is time for a new term—BANI—Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible.   He first introduced the acronym in a 2018 article titled  "Facing the Age of Chaos,"  though it gained traction during the pandemic to describe an increasingly unstable world that had moved beyond the older "VUCA" model.   Cascio designed the framework to capture...