Influence By Relationship

The discussion on discipleship must begin and end with the greatest discipler of all, Jesus Christ. The gospels show the key components of effective mentoring in how Jesus discipled His followers. These components are relationship, influence, and spiritual formation. Jesus was intentional about building relationships with His followers. The relationship was essential in establishing influence. This influence allowed Jesus to develop those who followed Him into productive disciples who could, in return, spend their lives mentoring others. This progression from relationship through influence to spiritual formation points to a principle that can be accepted as the premise of discipleship. This premise is that there can be no discipleship without relationship. We must do the hard work necessary to invest in the lives of our followers in a way that will produce deep trusting relationships. The influence gained in such a relationship must then be used for spiritual formation that will develop disciples. This process is then repeated in their lives and they become disciple makers. This will ensure the future of this wonderful Church of Christ to the Glory of God!

Coaching in the Bible?

Recently, I wrote an article entitled Coaching in the Bible: A Scriptural Argument for Coaching As a Transformational Process. It was published in the Spring issue of Enrichment Journal. You can access it at:
http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201202/201202_EJO_Coaching%20Bible.cfm

Is coaching in the Bible? Was Jesus a coach? We need to consider these questions because coaching has become an important part of the corporate and church landscape. None of the biblical leaders envisioned themselves filling the role of a coach. Not only does the Bible never use the title coach, there is not title, role, or ministry gift that parallels the task of a coach. We can, however, find coaching in biblical principles and practices.
Coming alongside people to help them discover a better way, sustain vision, and move forward in their life or career is a direct reflection of the heart of God displayed in Scripture. Proverbs 20:5 states, “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, 
but one who has insight draws them out.” This is the essence of coaching. Coaching is transformational at its core. Thomas Crane points this out by stating: “Transformational Coaching is the art of empowering people to improve their effectiveness … this process engages the huge untapped potential within people.”1 Tony Stoltzfus asserts: “At its heart, leadership coaching is about helping people … a coach draws out the abilities God has put in someone else.”2
We have an example of coaching in Mark 8:27–29. “Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’ ”
Why do we consider this coaching on the part of Christ? According to the International Coaching Federation (ICF), coaching uses powerful questioning. The coach uses inquiry versus telling.3 Jesus could have told His disciples who He was. He chose instead to draw the answer from within His followers.
Coaching includes exploring what issues exist for the person being coached versus telling him or her what the issues are or suggesting solutions. Questions must address the agenda of the person being coached and seek information about that agenda and orient to solving issues in the life of that person. Jesus’ first question does this because these men had left family and home to follow Him. Jesus caused them to scan the environment and come to grips with others’ perceptions, plus their perception of themselves. Then He probed deeper with a powerful question that forced the disciples (Peter in particular) to take ownership of the issue. Jesus then used this revelation He excavated from within them as a foundation on which to build.
Another reason this qualifies as coaching is it speaks to the heart of Peter and draws out a deeper understanding within himself, who he is, and who he is following. Jesus helped Peter with what Whitmore calls self-actualization: “The need associated with self-actualizers is the need for meaning and purpose in their lives.”4
As we consider Peter’s journey, no doubt this question from Jesus, and Peter’s response, was truly foundational for the disciples, as well as for Peter. What we see as the true insight is Peter’s confession with his mouth. How often do we believe in our mind but intentionally dismiss the thought without an open statement or confession. When we consider Paul’s admonition in Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” we begin to understand the power of verbal confession born from within. Jesus understood this, and the power behind it. Hence, His question to those who left everything to follow Him.
Jesus is laying a foundation for Peter and the disciples to build on. After all, is not this what coaching does? Coaching is a transformational process to redirect behavior and support change.
The first step is to agree a problem exists. The problem was the disciples’ misconceptions about who Jesus is and why He came. Is He the Christ? How could they move on if there is no agreement on this fundamental truth?
Maybe Jesus was sensing some confusion on the part of His followers. This is the most critical step in the coaching process.
Another step in the coaching process is to mutually discuss alternative solutions. Jesus did this by asking for the different opinions concerning who He was. The coach and the person being coached together will identify as many alternative solutions as may be necessary to solve the problem. Ferdinand Fournies points out a valuable opinion when he states, “Because you are dealing with behavior, it is necessary to specify those changes in behavior that are needed to influence the outcome or result.”5 The goal is to mutually agree on which alternatives the person will act on to solve the problem. Jesus confirms the agreement by encouraging Peter after he gave the correct answer.
Once we identify coaching as a transformational process in the ministry of Christ, we need to be cautious. The ability to ask powerful questions was certainly evidenced in Jesus’ ministry, and is a basic skill every coach needs to continually develop. However, referring to Jesus as a coach presents at least two concerns. One, it raises the possibility of thinking of Jesus as being synonymous with coach. Jesus did much more than coach. He mentored, taught, healed, and atoned for our sins. The world needs a Savior, not a coach.
Second, titles influence perception. Titles can frame a person’s life by putting that person in a box with that particular title as the label. It is not always easy to break away from that perception. It would certainly be more appropriate and accurate if we stay with Peter’s assertion: “You are the Messiah.”

1. Thomas G. Crane, The Heart of Coaching: Using Transformational Coaching to Create a High-performance Culture, 2d ed. (San Diego: FTA Press, 2002), 212.
2. Tony Stolzfus, Leadership Coaching: The Disciplines, Skills and Heart of a Christian Coach. (Virginia Beach: Coach 22, 2005), 10.
3. http://www.coachfederation.org/ICF/For+Coaching+Clients/What+is+ICF
4. J. Whitmore, Coaching for Performance: Growing People, Performance, and Purpose, 3d ed. (Boston: Nicholas-Brealey, 2002), 112.
5. Ferdinand F. Fournies, Coaching for Improved Work Performance, rev ed. (New York: McGraw Hill. 2000), 147.

The Power Of Intentionality

There is power in intentionality. Jack Welch is the former CEO of General Electric. By almost anyone’s standard he was one of the world’s most productive leaders. When being interviewed by Katie Couric on NBC’s “Today Show” he made this point. While speaking of communication breakdowns in the workplace he said the main thing everyone wants to know is “Where are we headed?” Both comfort and confidence is present when people know where we are going. We must be intentional about the direction of our church. We cannot afford to be like the jet pilot that got lost. He radioed in “I don’t know where we are going but we are making great time!” Many churches are like that, moving from here to there with no real sense of direction. Some pastors change directions after every church growth seminar. Connecting Points focuses on the purpose of the church and sets sail with intentionality. Everything we do is based on connecting people with God and each other. This is what we are about. This is what we are trying to do. This is where we are going. Suddenly we are not wandering to and fro, hoping to get a good sermon or start a good program. We become intentional. Every sermon is designed to help us get where we are going. Every program is intentionally put together in a way that will help us connect people with God and each other. We know where we are going and Connecting Points will help us get there. In order to be productive we must be intentional.

Power In Health

There is power in health. How many times have you seen people that had wealth and fame but would trade them all in for health? What good is all the money or influence in the world if you do not have health to enjoy or use it? I believe that God wants us to be healthy. I also believe that God wants our church to be healthy. God worked this principle into creation. If a tree is healthy, it will naturally produce fruit. I live in Florida and many people have citrus trees in their yards. If the tree is healthy, there is plenty of fruit for everyone in the family and baskets to give away every year. Sometimes it can be a pain. A healthy tree will produce so much fruit that you constantly have to pick them up out of your yard. It’s a natural law. Healthy things produce. The same is true in the church. If we can get the church healthy, we can expect it to be productive. What constitutes a healthy church? There is no simple answer to this question. It can be as complex as discerning what makes a human body healthy. I would like to offer a few ideas:
* A healthy church is a growing church.
* A healthy church is an active church.
* A healthy church is a loving church.
* A healthy church is an evangelistic church.
* A healthy church is a benevolent church.
* A healthy church is a passionate church.
* A healthy church is a connecting church.

Redefining Success

I think it is a mistake to equate success with numbers only. Don’t get me wrong, more people, money, property, buildings are good, but do they insure health and productivity? Jesus spoke a lot about productivity. In John 15 He said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful ... Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” I have found that there are three principles of productivity. The Lord, I trust, showed me this as I was preparing Connecting Points for my church. These three principles are embraced in and enhanced by Connecting Points. They are the principles of health, intentionality, and alignment. Here is what I felt as though the Lord showed me. If we hope for productivity we must be healthy, intentional, and in alignment. The principle of health says very simply: “things that are healthy produce and grow”. The principle of intentionality points out that unless we know where we are going it is unlikely that we will get there. The principle of alignment reveals the power in the unified thrust of everyone moving in the same direction at the same time. If this is true, we can more accurately define success in terms of growth, productivity, and health. Do you agree?

Embracing Productive Change

Sometimes we must change in order to be productive. Change is never easy. In some cases, it is necessary—no change, no increased productivity. Some time back, I felt as though the Lord spoke quite specifically. There were two major changes that needed to take place in my church. First, if we were going to be more productive, we would have to become less event oriented and more ministry oriented. It occurred to me that most people had limited their concept of ministry to the church sponsored events. I realized that if we were to go through the church calendar and remove the major all-church events, the perception among the people would be that there is no ministry happening. This had to change. Ministry would have to be redefined in the hearts of the people, much like it had been redefined in my heart. We will always have the large events, but they can no longer be the main emphasis of ministry. The emphasis of ministry must be in the lives of our people. We want to be in a place that if we were to do away with all major events (which we won’t) people would say “there is ministry happening in and through our church.” Connecting Points affects this change. We would become less event-oriented and more ministry-oriented. The second change had to do with me. We, as a church, must become less pastor-centered and more people-centered. Ouch! It was sad but true. I did not intend for this to happen, but it had. I had worked to become a strong leader, and had unintentionally built ministries that, for the most part, were dependent upon me. Don’t get me wrong. The leader must lead. The problem was that the people had grown so dependent on me that they almost equated my participation with success. I realized, in hind sight, that the programs I got behind and attended were always well attended and deemed a success. On the other hand, if I did not personally push it or attend, it was moderately successful. If the pastor visited the hospital everyone was happy. If a church member came to visit, it was as if there was no visit at all. You can see how limiting this was. Unless I changed this mentality we would forever be limited to my personal abilities and availabilities. My vision goes far beyond that. This too had to be changed. In relation to ministry we must get the focus off of me and on the people. This is where ministry must take place. It cannot be the private domain of the pastor and his staff. The people! They are the deal! We must become less-pastor centered and more people-centered. Now this is embracing productive change.

The Principle Of Productivity

In John 15:8 Jesus said: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (NIV) Here our Lord points to the principle of productivity. God is glorified when we are productive. Every believer should produce fruit. I believe God wants us to produce “much fruit.” A few years ago the Lord challenged me to become more fruitful. Don’t get me wrong, we already had wonderful ministries in our church. It was not as though we were accomplishing nothing. Many good things were happening in the lives of people and in our church. The change that took place in us was in my perspective. I could no longer be satisfied with status quo. I felt an overwhelming desire to be productive. I realized that this was our time, and we could not just stand by and do nothing. In some respects I felt like a young wife must feel when she has a desire to produce a family. I began to ask God to make us more effective in what He had called us to do. I found myself with the desire to have accomplished something significant for our Lord and in His kingdom before I go to heaven. It became a driving force. I thought about it all the time. It sent me to my knees. It was what I prayed about all the time. The desire to be productive became an unquenchable fire. From that day until this my prayer has been that God will help me be more productive for Him every year than the year before. May God help us all stand before Him having produced “much fruit”.