Focus on what is most important
Even when you are firing on all cylinders, coaching sessions can sometimes fall flat. Competence in one important practice makes all the difference for you and your clients. When you are abiding in Christ, you are not only actively listening to your clients but to the insight of the Holy Spirit—that’s when things really take off!
Where I fell short and what I’m doing about it
I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts that I have taken this competency seriously. Primarily because in my initial 360° Christian Coach Assessment in November 2009, abiding in Christ was my lowest score. More recently, I’ve had a growing desire to experientially understand what spiritual formation entails and how it connects to spiritual direction. This is where the two worlds intersect – Christian coaching and spiritual direction, with abiding in Christ as the common denominator.
As a result, I am participating in a three-year cohort in the doctoral program at Fuller Seminary. Additionally, I have enlisted the services of a wonderful spiritual director who has given me the gift of listening prayer, friendship, and support. Through that relationship–and a triad I meet with every other week–I am beginning to get a glimpse into the nuances of Abiding in Christ that only comes through the crucible of life and ministry. It goes beyond head knowledge into the more subtle places in our souls.
Abiding in Christ in the context of coaching
Abiding in Christ deals with the extent to which a coach seeks the Holy Spirit’s guidance at each stage of the coaching process and how much a coach depends on God in discerning the needs of those being coached.
As we enter the Lenten season, let’s not miss the opportunity to instill a renewed desire to know God as we prepare for Jesus’ resurrection. It is so easy to let this season–and the opportunity to increasingly know God–slip our attention. It is all too easy to find ourselves celebrating the Resurrection without acknowledging what comes before. Lent is an important reflective and repentant seasonal journey on the church calendar.
In coaching, as we Abide in Christ, we will sense a higher purpose in our coaching, a lighter weight to carry, and a deepening of the soul. The benefit to our clients? They will, hopefully, begin to think more about God and less about themselves. One among many, many benefits.
How do you develop your ability to Abide in Christ?
There is not a simple answer to this question. I mentioned how I am zeroing-in on this competency above myself, but that is just my approach. Your approach will be unique to you.
3 Steps to help you focus on what is really important
Here are the first 3 steps of the Journey of Ongoing Growth to help you identity a path forward to address this important area in your coaching arsenal (Christian Coaching Excellence)
- ASSESS: Where are you now?
- AFFIRM: What can you celebrate?
- GROWTH POINT: What needs to change?
Step 1. ASSESS: Where are you now?
Many coaches find that they are strong in some areas of Abiding in Christ but not others. That’s when it’s time to drill down into each of the specific behavioral expressions that make up this competency. Reflect on the list below and reflect on how you are doing in each area:
- Character development: Consistently cultivate godly character through the application of biblical values.
- Discernment: Listen, discern, and respond to the Holy Spirit as you make coaching decisions.
- Intercessory prayer: Pray passionately for the person or team being coached.
- Prayerful preparation: Prepare carefully and prayerfully prior to engaging in a coaching relationship or appointment.
- Spiritual guidance: Wisely apply spiritual resources (e.g., prayer, Scripture, spiritual disciplines) to guide the coaching relationship.
Step 2. AFFIRM: What can you celebrate?
It is easy to over analyze, causing many coaches to “freeze” or stall-out in their development. That is why I encourage you to affirm the things you are doing well before you move to step 3. Take a moment and celebrate what you are doing well under the five behavioral expressions.
- Where are you strong?
Step 3. GROWTH POINT: What needs to change?
- Where are you weak?
- What is lacking?
- What is unclear?
- Where are your blockages?
- What directions for development do you see?
- What are you hearing from God in this area?
This exercise serves as an overview to orient you to the scope of Abiding in Christ as a Christian coach. In the following weeks we will address each of the behavioral expressions in a devotional way throughout Lent. Here is how we close this week’s focus on Abiding in Christ.
No better time than the present…
Please help me humbly submit to the Holy Spirit. Open my heart to hearing what you want me to hear, learning what you want me to learn, and doing what you want me to do. Please give me wisdom as I discern which areas to focus on and provide the grace to redirect me when I stray. Always remind me that all I do—in coaching as in life—is rooted in you. Apart from you, I can do nothing.
Christian Coaching Excellence
If you are ready to grow in Abiding in Christ and other important competencies of coaching, this is the book for you. Christian Coaching Excellence is the most comprehensive and in-depth source for Christian coaching skills, exercises, and insights. Meeting you where you are at, it leads you to develop your skills to mastery. Use it as a tool to zoom in with a laser focus on just the areas and skills that apply most directly to you right now. The practical wealth of knowledge gathered here provides you with a stockpile of just-in-time resources you can take and use right now. Available in paperback through Amazon.
Cover Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash
Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash