Jeff Tunnell
I am thinking about the usefulness of coaching today. My musing is simple: Coaching only works if you use it. What I mean is this, it may be available, but if you don’t access it, there is no benefit.
The largest share of “responsibility†in coaching is on the recipient; to access what is available and then to decide on implementation of any insight gained. The coach can offer points of accountability relating to the decisions made, but cannot “play the game†for you.
In a similar way I apply this view to marriage counseling. The counselor is the coach and is not allowed to take the field with the couple. He/she may only coach from the sidelines, but may not be on the field/court where the team plays the game. The coach’s role is highly valuable, but the team (couple) must learn how to execute the plays themselves. The coach’s role is to observe, train, equip and encourage, but is not allowed to perform the task of the players.
Growing a cell-based church suffers from experimentation while shaping the church by its values and guiding by principles. A coach can help you avoid many unnecessary changes and efforts that tend to make leaders feel like victims of trial-and-error. Each of us can gain advantages by inviting a seasoned leader/coach to speak into our lives and circumstances.
Are you utilizing a coach? Is your coach used for personal or cell church development? How are you benefiting from coaching?
I agree totally that coaching is critical. We have been doing G-12 for 6 years and what we have noticed if there is no coaching or process to still train the leadership, the spirit of frustration and complacency sets in. The one challenge is for churches to recognize the importance of coaching. If God sends a coach to tthe body, but the people dont have the proper perception of the coach then their iability to draw the giftings from that coach will be limited. We have somwhow become coaches(although we dont title it coaching) in our church by divine appointment. Our assignment is to make sure that we are iin constant training/equipping mode so the people who are leading cells will have the tools to be sucessful at running their cell groups.