Barnabas File

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...