A recent survey said that 90% of pastors feel unprepared for the challenges they are currently facing. I’m in that camp and that’s why I want us to talk about coaching. Coaching is an opportunity for someone to come along side us and help.

LET’S TALK…

In the Pacific Conference we are planning to offer coaching for pastors. I personally have benefited from coaching. Here’s a few reasons why I needed it and why I think you should consider it, too.

I need encouragement. How often do you and I need to be encouraged? Hebrews 3:13 says, “Encourage one another daily…” Get that? Daily. Ministry is tough. Yes, things often don’t go the way we hoped and prayed they would. To add to our misery, we take failures personally. In coaching, we can share discouragements and receive words of needed assurance.

I need accountability. I need someone to ask me if I am doing what I said I would do. It’s easy to be complacent and go along in life. Coaching brings me back to reality and gives me a person I need to give an answer to.

I need another perspective. The older I get, the more I realize I need other’s input. God never designed us to go it on our own. Great leadership is not making decisions. Great leadership is making wise decisions and that requires a broader perspective than myself. Greg Salciccioli, the president of CoachWell said, “Coaches can see what you cannot see…they can add depth and greater discernment to decisions.” (See Proverbs 15:22).

“Coaches can see what you cannot see...they can add depth and greater discernment to decisions.”

I need to grow. We all get stuck at times. We need to be honest about where we are, seek to know where God wants us to be and trust God to bring us there. Coaching helps us with that. It contextualizes our faith. It puts it into practice. Coaching challenges us to change.

BEFORE YOU GO…

If you are a pastor in the Pacific Conference and want to be put on the “Coaching List”, please email me at randy@pacificecna.org or call the Conference Office (503-427-0000).