Pastors Need Coaching
Everyone does better when there is a coach helping sort out the best options and resources for discision-making. Just as every world class athlete solicits the support of a coach, everyone benefits from coaching, whether through a business coach, a life coach or a ministry coach. A cadence of accountability makes all the difference in staying focused on the goal at hand.
1. Unbiased viewpoint
In ministry it is not always safe to share struggles on Monday morning after spending yourself serving people on Sunday. Who hasn’t thought of quitting post Sunday? A coach can talk you off the ledge and remind you of why you chose your current ministry role. Who do you trust to share your deepest fears and concerns? Often Board Members are not safe for sharing personal struggles. A coach can provide valuable feedback and a listening ear to help navigate the inevitable challenges that come with life in ministry.
2. Essentialism - click for video
A coach will assist in developing a healthy, sustainable life. A coach will assist in setting goals for the kind of life you desire.
As Greg McKeown suggests:
“The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default. Instead of making choices reactively, the Essentialist deliberately distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many, eliminates the nonessentials, and then removes obstacles so the essential things have clear, smooth passage. In other words, Essentialism is a disciplined, systematic approach for determining where our highest point of contribution lies, then making execution of those things almost effortless.”[i]
A coach will assist in setting healthy boundaries so that the ministry does not become all consuming at the cost of family and friends. Learning to say “no” is an essential skill in being able to say “yes” to the right things that God has in mind.
3. Leadership pain - 4 Disciplines of Execution Video
You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. —J. K. ROWLING [ii]
A pastor’s job involves change. Heathy things change as they grow. Change requires discomfort and pain. The pastor is like a lightning rod for criticism from those who resist the necessary changes that come with any growing, healthy organization.
Organizational guru Peter Drucker observed that the four most difficult jobs in America are, in no particular order: president of the United States, university president, hospital CEO, and pastor. [iii]
A coach can provide healthy perspective when inevitable criticism comes from the carnal corral.
4. Experience
While every pastor is unique, the same personalities are in every congregation. While the faces may be different, the challenges of growing a healthy ministry are often consistent. A coach brings valuable experience from navigating the many challenges that crop up in ministry. As the ministry grows there are complexities that come along with greater impact and influence. A coach helps identify what is necessary for leading a congregation through each stage of ministry. Coaching a golf team is much different from coaching a football team.
5. Vision - click for video
A coach often sees the potential of your ministry more clearly than you can see from the weeds.
Lyle Schaller, world class Christian coach once spoke to Pastor Dave Ferguson,
"Dave, the problem with you is that I have a bigger vision for your church than you do!"
A coach has the ability to help keep the focus on the ultimate prize at the end of life.
6. Team-building
William Vanderbloemen was once sitting at a round table with 15 senior pastors and he asked “What is the single greatest hurdle in your ministry right now?” Every single pastor mentioned a people problem:
“How do I hire?”
“How do I fire?”
“How do I have this difficult conversation?”
A coach can help sort out who to hire and which positions need to be filled in which order. As Jim Collins writes, it is so important to get the right people on the bus and in the right seats.
7. Lifelong learning
When you are through learning you are through. Hiring a coach is a great way to continue learning.
Howard Hendricks complimented a prof in his youth who commented,
“I want to be a bubbling spring for my students, not a stagnant pond.”
A coach can recommend books and resources, blogs and podcasts that can continue to keep the creating juices flowing.
8. Finishing well - click for video
Professor Bobby Clinton at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California, is a key spokesperson on the subject of leadership within the body of Christ. His landmark book, The Making of a Leader, is a must-read for those in leadership positions. Clinton has come to the conclusion that only 30 percent of leaders finish well. [iv]
We live in a day when many nationally recognized leaders have not finished well and the scandals have made it more difficult for everyone who is seeking to lead God’s church. There has never been more of a need for a cadence of accountability for every pastor and a coach can make all the difference in providing that kind of support. Every Elder Board would be wise to provide the pastor with a personal coach.
[i] Mckeown, Greg (2014-04-15). Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (p. 7). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
[ii]Chand, Samuel. Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth (pp. 225-227). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
[iii] Chand, Samuel. Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
[iv] Kraft, Dave. Leaders Who Last (p. 18). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
