Barnabas File

On my wall is an icon of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.  As one might expect, much of the story of Patrick is shrouded in myth. The accepted story is that he was kidnapped from Britain by Irish raiders when he was 16 and taken to Ireland where he was a slave for six years.  He eventually escaped and returned to his family, but he took vows with the Church and returned to his place of enslavement as a missionary.  He is credited with converting the island to the Christian faith.  By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.   The genius of Patrick seems to have been his ability to contextualize the faith to win converts.  He took advantage of the well-developed stories, customs, and institutions of Ireland to present the Gospel in a powerful way.  So significant was this approach that it gave birth to what we call Celtic Christianity, a movement that differentiated itself from the Roman form of t...

Humans are meaning making creatures.  We seek understand of the world and of ourselves.  We ask existential questions. Existential means "related to existence," often focusing on the big questions of human life like purpose, freedom, meaning of life,  responsibility, and place in community.     Assistance in finding answers to these questions come through revelation, myth, and reflection.  Coaches who partner with clients to consider faith questions begin by being open to what the client seeks, taking into consideration the client’s maturity level, life experiences, family of origin, religious tradition (if any), and present context.     Although individuals raised in a similar context such as a Christian tradition have common experiences, we should not assume a common vocabulary or equivalent response.  For example, the meaning of the Eucharist (Lord’s supper) for an individual varies upon whether they experienc...

In the last few years, religion scholars and the popular press have written much about the “Nones”—people who profess no religious faith.     Ryan Burge and Tony Jones have found that it is not that simple.    The Nones are often thought of as a single group, but Jones and Burge have found they’re not. There are the Nones in Name Only (NiNOs), Spiritual but Not Religious, the Dones and the Zealous Atheists.  There not discreet boxes but gradients.   What this means for coaches is that we may find ourselves coaching about existential or faith issues when we least expect it.  Our clients may say that they have no particular religious views, but some are more spiritual than they think!   All coaches—Christian or not—can their support clients in authentic meaning-making by exploring their inner world, uncovering  and integrating their true selves.  Faith coaching acknowledges and accepts the inherent ambiguities and tensions ...

“Over 85% of the world population identifies with an organized religion while millions more practice folk religions and spiritual beliefs. Humans may be innately spiritual, learning existential views early through family traditions, community practices, and cultural narratives.”   You may be surprised to know that this quote comes from a study by the International Coaching Federation Thought Leadership Institute.  The study points out that it is typical for individuals to ask existential questions, often focusing on the big questions of human life like purpose, freedom, and meaning. Religion and spirituality enrich the human experience through meaning-making and help find one’s place in the word.   For those coaches who follow the Christian faith, the opportunity to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV) is a given in our lives and will inform our coaching as well.  However, ho...