Blog
This week, my wife, Marty, and I had the honor of attending a church planter's retreat sponsored by the Converge Northwest District and held at the beautiful Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center on the rugged Pacific coast in northern Oregon. Read on to discover just a small amount of what was seen and heard at that relaxed gathering. Maybe you and your church can learn from my observations.
I will never forget an initial coaching session over the phone with an ethnic pastor. I was born and raised in the US and he was born and raised in a Middle-eastern location where Christians are frequently persecuted. I had known him for about a year and wanted to establish a coaching relationship to help him in his ministry. The purpose of my first coaching call to him was to establish a relationship with him as his coach. I also wanted to explain what our coaching conversations would be all about. After our conversation, it dawned on me that sometimes, coaching ministry leaders will not work, at least initially. My story and commentary may help you understand more about when coaching may not work.
The Lead Coach at Coach and Equip Ministries has written an introductory book for learning to coach pastors, church planters, and ministry leaders, Creating Ministry Champions. There are many reasons I recommend this book, but my blog offers 10 of them. Read on to learn more.
The Bible has a lot to say about hearing or listening. To master the skill of listening, especially active and empathetic listening, it might help you to dig into the Word of God to understand and apply what the Lord says about it. Read this blog to get started.