Dave DeVries

Profile photo

Company / Institution

OC International

THE MISSIONAL CHALLENGE

Coaching Webinar with Chad Hall - May 22, 2008

Recently, I posted on this great book by Chad Hall and Linda Miller - Coaching for Christian Leaders. Unfortunately, I can't participate but I want to encourage you to check out this webinar...

Coaching for Christian Leaders Webinar with Chad Hall - MAY 22

Are you:

Curious about coaching?

New to coaching?

Thinking of hiring a coach?

Considering how to use coaching?

Interested in adding to your coaching skill set?"

If so, join Chad Hall on May 22 at 2:00 PM EDT for a webinar based on his recent book Coaching for Christian Leaders: A Practical Guide

Chad Hall is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) who works as an executive coach with SAS Institute, Inc. He has also served as a pastor, church planter, and denominational consultant. Having coached over 50 Christian leaders from across North America, Chad understands the power coaching has for ministry of all types.

Participants will learn how to best use the most important coaching skills, what a great coaching conversation looks like, the 5 high leverage elements of a coaching relationship, and more. Ample opportunity for Q&A will ensure a quality growth experience for all.

Registration is $19.00 and is limited to 20 participants.

Register today by clicking here.

seminars@thecolumbiapartnership.org

828.781.6577

http://www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org

Developing Leaders: What kind of leaders do you want?

I was listening to a presentation by Bob Logan recently on developing leaders and coaches. He asked the question: "How many training events have you been to that missed the mark because they were irrelevant?" The key question we need to ask when it comes to training leaders is: "What do leaders need?" One of the best ways to get an answer is to ask them. Then provide training that actually provides what they need.

Bob notes:

"Focusing your training agenda in accordance with needs and priorities will greatly enhance your fruitfulness.... Specifically targeted skill development is much more effective than taking a scattergun approach. General training trains generally; specific training trains specifically."

Before you can develop ministry leaders, elders, small group leaders, church planters, worship leaders, or any other kind of church leader, ask this question:

What kind of leaders do you want?

If you want to develop leaders in a church plant, you have to identify what a mature leader will look like. Don't just have a general idea of your mind of what a mature leader looks like, take the time to develop a profile that includes what a mature leader will know, be and do.

This week, I met with a group of church planters for networking and encouragement. It was coordinated through Acts 29. After lunch, the focus was directed toward building leaders.

Brian Howard, pastor of Copperhill Community Church, noted:

"Most of us struggle in the early days in church planting with getting leaders to help us. One of the dangers in church planting is that planters try to rush the leadership development process an put people into leadership roles too quickly."

The challenge in a church plant is to be intentional about the PROCESS of leadership development. That process starts with defining what a mature leader looks like. Answer these questions:

what should he know?
what should he have experienced?
what should he do?

Brian revealed, "This is the single most effective thing I've ever done." He then identified 12 general qualities that he believes a mature leader must possess. I'm not going to give you Brian's complete list - instead I suggest that you spend time with the Lord and immersed in the Scriptures to determine what qualities are important to you. Then develop an intentional process to train leaders that will know, be and do those things.

Here's just one area that you might consider: (adapted from Brian's list)

Missional Behaviors
- How have you demonstrated a missional lifestyle?
- How would you articulate a philosophy of "mission"?
- How would you explain the implications of a missional church?
- Who are the unbelievers that you are currently building relationships with?
- When was the last time you shared a meal in your home with an unbeliever?
- How would you explain contextualization?
- When have you recently shared the gospel with an unbeliever?
- How would you describe the process of conversion?
- What is your commitment to planting churches?
- How has your faith positively impacted a non-Christian?
- What is the core of the gospel?
- How are you involved in disciplemaking?
- Who is being discipled by someone you discipled?

It's important to know what kind of leaders you want to produce. Often church planters fail to develop leaders intentionally because they don't know what kin of leader you want.

Bob Logan emphasizes this point: "If you don't have clarity about what you're trying to produce, you can't provide effective training."

As I ate lunch with Scott, a church planter in West LA, he told me that leadership development was his most pressing issue. I challenged him that he needs to develop a clear picture of what kind of leaders he needs in his church. He had a general idea in his mind, but he had never written it down. By writing down what kind of leader you want -- it will give you greater clarity and focus in your training process.

Bob Logan gets at this same idea of knowing what kind of leader you are trying to produce: "This knowledge allows us to train more effectively because we are training toward a specific end -- we have a clear destination in mind. The best training is hands-on, skill-base, and result-oriented."

Brian Howard has developed a 16-month training process that will develop a specific kind of leader because he has clearly defined on paper what kind of leaders he wants. He meets with a dozen guys once a month as a group to focus on specific training in 12 categories. They read books together as a group, they develop a Life Plan with a coach. They are mentored by an elder and progress is evaluated.

So - what kind of leaders do you want?

See also: The Absence of Missional Leaders

Theological Priorities for Missionary Engagement

This past Sunday, Dr. Mark Saucy (Professor of Theology at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, Califorinia) presented a very insightful and practical lesson to our Missions Class at Grace Baptist Church in which he addressed theological priorities for western missionaries.

1. The Priority of the Gospel

He asked the question: "What is the core of the message that defines Christianity?"

It is One Event and Three Questions

The Event is the CROSS! (Eph 1:10; 1 Cor 1:23)

Three Questions --

Who was there? (Who is Jesus?)
What happened there? (What is the meaning of the Cross?)
How can it apply to us? (How is it applied?)

The answers to these questions are the "Die For" issues. This is the core of Christianity!

We must not die for "isms" - Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Pre-Millenialism, Protestantism, etc.

We must be clear that Jesus is more than just a man, that on the cross Jesus paid the penalty for sin, and that salvation is by faith alone.

2. The Priority of the Gospel in its biblical context

We must be clearly biblical. We must not just find a verse in the Bible to support our doctrinal beliefs, we must find the way the Bible presents a doctrinal belief.

We must also be aware of our cultural perspective. In the West, our western values influence the way that we read Scripture. "It is impossible to read Scripture outside of your cultural perspective."

a) Be attentive to Scripture's own deep theological structures.

We must understand that the theme of the Bible is not Redemption of a People, but Kingdom and Covenant. Jesus preaches the Kingdom.

b) Be attentive to Scripture own terminology.

We must see God the way that He reveals Himself in Scripture as the God of loving holiness. While you may feel compelled to present God to others as the God of sovereign grace, the Bible prioritizes God's love and holiness as His primary attributes more than His sovereignty and grace.

We must "follow the Bible's terms."

__________________________

As you attempt to engage in missional activities, whether here in North America or abroad, you must be clear on the message of the gospel. How would you answer these three questions:

Who was there? (Who is Jesus?)
What happened there? (What is the meaning of the Cross?)
How can it apply to us? (How is it applied?)

Coaching for Christian Leaders

I've been reading a great book on coaching for Christian leaders called Coaching for Christian Leaders. It's very practical!

Here are a couple of good thoughts so far:

Christian Coaching is a focused Christ-centered relationship that cultivates a person's sustained growth and action. (p 10)

Christian Coaching always, without exception, results in action. (p 12)

Here are some excellent coaching questions (p 15):

How can this conversation help you move forward?
What specific actions are needed right now?
What other options need to be considered before you take action?
With that outcome in mind, what actions will you take?

In Developing Coaching Excellence, Bob Logan emphasizes the need for continued development to avoid stagnation and mediocrity. If you want to increase your coaching effectiveness, I would encourage you to consider some of the following ideas that Bob suggests: (p 12-13)

Increase your understanding of coaching. Check out coaching seminars, workshops and books. (check out Bob's book Coaching 101: Discover the Power of Coaching or Coaching for Christian Leaders by Linda Miller or Chad Hall)
Evaluate your coaching effectiveness regularly. Self-assessment can be a useful starting point. Also ask for feedback from those you are coaching.
Work with a coach mentor to help facilitate your coaching development. Have a coach mentor observe you as you coach and provide feedback afterwards.
Obtain a formal assessment. This would include an extensive interview process that produces an objective assessment of how strong you are in each area of coaching competencies. (Note: behavioral interviews provide numerous advantages, such as focusing on actual behavior, avoidance of vague generalities, and a careful mining of the coach's own experiences.)
Write a Personal Development Plan. After you have evaluated your own coaching skills, develop a personalized plan for improvement. First, clarify what you want to accomplish. Second, set goals that will help you address your objective. Third, develop a strategy to achieve the goals you've set.
Implement your plan and evaluate your progress. After writing a plan, some form of accountability needs to be built in to help you follow through. Involving others in teh process will help you move forward in your implementation.

In what ways could someone hold you accountable for continuing to develop as a coach?
Who might be a good person to do that?

Becoming a good coach takes effort. Becoming an excellent coach takes even more effort. For the past six months I've been working at becoming a better coach. Today I reviewed an assessment of my coaching competencies with my mentor coach. It was encouraging to get feedback and to evaluate myself. Yet, I've got a ways to go! Now I'm working on my Personal Development Plan.

What steps should you take to become an excellent coach?

See Also: Good Coaching Questions and The Power of Coaching

Managing vs. Coaching

I love coaching leaders, pastors, and church planters! It gives me incredible joy to use the gifts that God has given me to help others to "discover God's agenda for their life and ministry, and then cooperating with the Holy Spirit to see that agenda become a reality." I received a copy of an article recently from my friend Becky with this note:

Dave (aka Coach Dave)

I enjoyed the thoughts in the article that was in the Signal. It reminded me of you! You were great at "coaching" me back in the "old" days at Lake Hills! And I know that's what you are great at! Thanks for all your encouragement over the years. I know those in your ministry now will be being encouraged by your coaching!

Becky

Here are some highlights from the article: "Are you managing when you should be coaching?" by Kenneth W. Keller (president of Renaissance Executive Forums)

Managers spend more time dealing with the problems caused by the behaviors of some employees than they do trying to get the best from all employees. Instead of spending time mentoring and coaching employees to become better, managers have become record keepers of employee misdeeds, dealing with problems that have no place in today's workplace.

Keller describes the attitudes and behaviors of a great coach by drawing comparisons from John Madden, coach of the Oakland Raiders (record: 103-27-7).

What made Madden coach and not manage? Coahcing molds a person's attitude, behaviors and skills. Madden did his best to motivate and counsel his players to help them identify and realize their full potential. He led by example.

Madden was a goal fanatic, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, an excellent listener, open to feedback, supportive, flexible and focused on learning and fun.

Describing Madden's players, Keller notes:

With winning as the goal, they responded by winning. They saw the coach as a coach, someone who was teaching them to succeed, interested in their development and success, and they responded in kind.

I love coaching because I get to help people succeed. If you want to be a great coach - start by working on these things noted in the article: