{"id":872,"date":"2014-06-07T09:03:43","date_gmt":"2014-06-07T09:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.resourcezoneinternational.com\/?p=872"},"modified":"2019-06-25T00:25:54","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T00:25:54","slug":"biblical-foundations-of-coaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/?p=872","title":{"rendered":"Biblical Foundations of Coaching"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/compass.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-873\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/compass.jpg\" alt=\"compass\" width=\"603\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/compass.jpg 603w, https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/compass-300x164.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 603px) 100vw, 603px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Bible never commands us to coach. In fact, the word coach is never used. So why coach? Is coaching biblical? The Bible does command us to do certain things: to make disciples, to encourage one another, to listen to the Holy Spirit, to follow what we sense God is calling us to do. Yet in most cases it never tells us how. How are we to make disciples? Is one method right and another wrong? Certainly there are some methods that are wrong, all the way from forced discipleship to non-relational discipleship. But generally speaking, God leaves the methodology up to us. Any method that is consistent with the general principles of scripture may be used, provided the end is a biblical one.<\/p>\n<p>Coaching is one such method\u2014and in this case a method that is incredibly consistent with biblical principles.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>\u00a0What is coaching? <\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>\u2018Coaching is the process of coming alongside a person or team to help them discover God\u2019s agenda for their life and ministry, and then cooperating with the Holy Spirit to see that agenda become a reality\u2019. Coaches come alongside to help, just as Barnabas came alongside Paul, and then Paul came alongside Timothy and others. By encouraging and challenging others, coaches help equip them for ministry.<\/p>\n<p>The goal of coaching is helping someone succeed. And what is success? It\u2019s finding out what God wants you to do and doing it. Ephesians 2:10 says, \u201cFor we are God\u2019s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.\u201d A person\u2019s success is directly tied to finding out what works God has prepared for them to do and then doing that.<\/p>\n<p>Given that definition, success will certainly look different for different people, but following the will of God\u2014in all its varied and colorful forms\u2014is the core calling of a life of faith. Coaching enables individual believers as they listen to the Spirit and act in accordance with the mission they sense God is calling them toward. Coaching helps someone move from hearing what the Spirit is saying to acting on it.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>How does coaching align with biblical principles?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"color: black; font-size: 15px;\"><strong>Coaching assumes that each believer has the capacity to hear from the Holy Spirit for themselves. <\/strong>The Apostle Paul modeled that listening and discernment process for us: \u201cI speak the truth in Christ\u2014I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit\u201d (Rom. 9:1). We are to respect others enough to assume that they too can hear from the Holy Spirit and do not need us to tell them what to do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"color: black; font-size: 15px;\">\u00a0<strong>Coaching provides a safe environment in which people are actively encouraged to listen to the Holy Spirit. <\/strong>Setting aside time for listening to God has always been a priority for those who believe. \u201cVery early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed\u201d (Mark 1:35). Just as Jesus spent time listening to the Father, we too need to set aside time and space that will allow us to listen for the voice of God.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"color: black; font-size: 15px;\"><strong>Coaching provides a way to hear from God in the context of community and relationship. <\/strong>We weren\u2019t designed to go it alone. We need others to bounce our ideas off. Others play a role in our hearing from God: \u201cAnd let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another\u2014and all the more as you see the Day approaching\u201d (Heb 10:24-25).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"color: black; font-size: 15px;\"><strong>Coaching mirrors the method of Jesus. <\/strong>Jesus listened and asked questions in the context of relationships, allowing people to draw their own conclusions and act accordingly: \u201cWhen Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, \u2018Who do people say the Son of Man is?\u2019 They replied, \u2018Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.\u2019 \u2018But what about you?\u2019 he asked. \u2018Who do you say I am?\u2019 Simon Peter answered, \u2018You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God\u2019\u201d (Matt. 16:13-16).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"color: black; font-size: 15px;\"><strong>Coaching assumes that God has different plans for different people. <\/strong>Coaching isn\u2019t one-size-fits-all. All plans are tailor-made and flexible. What one person is supposed to do isn\u2019t necessarily the same as what another person is supposed to do: \u201cAs Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, \u2018Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.\u201d (Mark 5:18-19)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"color: black; font-size: 15px;\"><strong>Coaching moves people toward maturity rather than dependence. <\/strong>Instead of simply telling people what to do, coaching helps people mature in making their own godly decisions. In this way, they grow in responsibility and in leadership. \u201cHe is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.\u201d (Col. 1.28)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"color: black; font-size: 15px;\"><strong>Coaching provides the accountability for people to move forward into what they have decided to do. <\/strong>Each person is responsible before God, yet we live in community. Coaching provides an effective way to be in relationship with one another, honouring one another and holding one another accountable. \u201cAs iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another\u201d (Proverbs 27:17). Coaching is a focused relationship that helps people continue to move forward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Barnabas, called alongside to help <\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Let\u2019s look to a biblical example of someone who functioned as a coach: Barnabas. Now, I think Barnabas is one of the most important people in the New Testament, but he gets almost no recognition. He probably wouldn\u2019t even make most people\u2019s top ten list. Yet consider the significance of what Barnabas did.<\/p>\n<p>Originally named Joseph, Barnabas was one of Paul\u2019s closest companions, traveling with him on missionary journeys. Translated literally, Barnabas means \u201cson of encouragement.\u201d Acts 11:23-24 describes Barnabas in this way: \u201cWhen he arrived in Antioch and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.\u201d That\u2019s a great description of a coach: one who is called alongside to encourage, prepare, equip, and help other succeed.<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas saw the potential in people through God\u2019s eyes and took risks in building bridges to bring them together. After Paul\u2019s conversion, Paul tried to join the disciples in Jerusalem, but they were afraid of him. After all, Paul had a reputation for killing Christians. The disciples\u2014reasonably enough\u2014thought it was a trap. But Barnabas took Paul and brought him before the disciples, testifying to the genuineness of Paul\u2019s conversion.<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas also brought John Mark back onto the team after John Mark had abandoned Paul and himself on a previous journey. In spite of that history, Barnabas saw potential in John Mark for significant future ministry. Imagine what that must have meant to John Mark to have someone believe in him in spite of his past failures.<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas sponsored both of these apostles. If we take Paul and Mark out of the equation, how much of the New Testament wouldn\u2019t even be written? Barnabas may never have been in the starring role, but without him many others would not have been able to accomplish the great things for God that they did. Through his investment in people, his impact was exponential.<\/p>\n<p>If you really succeed and do your job well as a Barnabas, few people will even know about you. Everyone else will get the credit, but you\u2019ll be the ones who really made a difference by empowering them.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>The functions of coaching <\/strong><!--?h5 &gt;&lt;\/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;I will finish by looking at two final scripture passages that shed light on coaching\u2014one on how it is done, the other on why it is done.&lt;\/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The first passage, 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, provides a picture of how coaching is done.&lt;\/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Apostle Paul paints a picture of how we are to develop others in their faith\u2014as a father dealing with his children. The functions a father performs are encouraging, comforting, and urging. These are the core functions of coaching as well.&lt;\/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=\"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/dennis-easter.jpg\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-874\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/dennis-easter.jpg\" alt=\"dennis-easter\" width=\"617\" height=\"104\" ?--><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">*Diagram used by permission of Dennis Easter<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0The second passage of scripture, Ephesians 4:11-12, sheds light on why coaching is done.\u00a0 \u201cSo Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ\u201d (Ephesians 4:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>The role of a leader is to equip. A good leader doesn\u2019t do the work of the ministry for people, but helps them learn to do the work of the ministry. The word equip is the same word used in classical Greek to describe the setting of a broken bone. It\u2019s used in the gospels to describe the mending of a torn net. Essentially, to equip is to make something functional so it can be used to fulfill its intended purpose. That\u2019s what a coach does. In my opinion, coach would make a good modern day translation of the word equip.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the result? \u201cThe body of Christ being built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then the process comes full circle as each of us, having been brought to maturity, turns around and equips others as well. Imagine individuals, groups, and whole churches listening to God in the context of community, hearing his voice, and doing what he has for us to do. What might be accomplished for the Kingdom?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">Used with permission<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/bob-logan-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-875 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/bob-logan-1.jpg\" alt=\"bob-logan-1\" width=\"87\" height=\"104\" \/><\/a>Dr. Bob Logan is a prolific author with over 30 years of ministry experience, including church planting, pastoring, consulting, coaching, and speaking. He is currently focusing on grassroots movements of incarnational, missional leaders.<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:bob@loganleadership.com\">bob@loganleadership.com<br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.loganleadership.com\">www.loganleadership.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bible never commands us to coach. In fact, the word coach is never used. So why coach? Is coaching biblical? The Bible does command us to do certain things: to make disciples, to encourage one another, to listen to the Holy Spirit, to follow what we sense God is calling us to do. Yet&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coaching-mentoring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=872"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2973,"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872\/revisions\/2973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}