As promised yesterday, today I will follow up with a post attempting to explain what "Christian Coaching" is exactly. The term "coaching" can mean a lot of different things to different people, so hopefully this will give someone a basic idea of what I'm talking about.
To begin with, it is important to distinguish that coaching is not therapy, counseling, advice-giving, or mental health care. It is for people who are basically well-adjusted, emotionally healthy and functioning effectively in life.
Ultimately, coaching at its most basic level, is a vehicle to get someone from where they ARE to where they want to BE (or go). Coaching is designed to help a person address a change they would like to make. This might include, but is not limited to, areas of career development, relationship enhancement, spiritual growth, lifestyle management, life balance, decision-making, moving through a transition in life, or the achievement of short-term or long-term goals. It is an ongoing, confidential relationship that may involve brainstorming, written assignments, education, goal-setting, plans of action, accountability, lifestyle examination, and lots and lots and lots of questions.
As far as a "Christian" coach... that simply means the person doing the coaching is upfront about the fact that they are a follower of Jesus Christ and their values and character will be in line with those of Christ (well, you know, pretty much).
What I really like about this coaching model is that it is NOT about telling someone what to do, but through the coaching process you are actually helping the person discover their own answers. So, as a coach, I don't need to have any answers myself, I simply need to learn how to listen well, ask the right questions, and offer insights to help the client learn what they may or may not already know.
Hopefully that helps explain coaching a little more. If not... well, you can always google it.
[I originally forgot to credit Brian Miller with much of the content of paragraphs 2 & 3]
2 comments:
This is not intended to be offensive but it probably is:
Francis Schaeffer said,
Show me what the world is saying today, and I will tell you what the church will be saying in seven years.
The timing is about right.
Sounds like the hardest part is going to be finding "well-adjusted, emotionally healthy people who are functioning effectively in life."
Actually sounds pretty cool. I have about three goals running right now that I hope will all come to fruition in 2015. All of them required A to B planning, and, the big one, knowing myself well. Introspection is like looking in a funhouse mirror-but it may be obvious to anyone who knows you.
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