Christian Life Coaching takes all the aspects of secular coaching and further develops them to reconcile with Biblical scripture. There are many examples of coaching in the Bible. The best example is Jesus himself. He questioned his disciples and shared parables to spark their thought processes and often allowed them to come to their own conclusions. So, Certified Life Coach Ministers use Biblical principles, prayer, and scripture to draw a need, problem, or quest out of you. Through questions that spark your thoughts, your coach draws a plan out of you with time-sensitive mini-goals leading to your final goal. As an accountability partner, your coach stays by your side to help you complete your project and fulfill what God intends for you.
Matthew 16:13-17
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
This process is the essence of Christian Life Coaching.
What is Coaching?
Christian Life Coaching is the process of coming alongside a person or team to help them discover God's agenda for their life and ministry. We then partner with the Holy Spirit to see that agenda become a reality. Coaches help, just as Barnabas came together with Paul, and then Paul came alongside Timothy and others. By encouraging and challenging others, coaches empower them for ministry.
The goal of coaching is to help someone succeed. But what is success? It's discovering what God wants you to do and doing it. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Personal success is finding out what God has prepared for you to do and then pressing forward to that mark. Coaching empowers believers to listen to the Holy Spirit and act according to the mission they believe God is calling them to.
Dr. Gary R. Collins states, "Coaching is the art and practice of enabling individuals and groups to move from where they are to where they want to be."
Coaching is Not
A Christian Life coach is not there to give expert advice or direction. He relies on you and God to provide the expertise and guidance.
A Christian Life Coach is not a Counselor or Therapist. These specialties deal primarily with a person's past and trauma and seek healing.
Life Coaching is not Consulting or pastoral counseling, which deals mainly with problems and seeks to provide information, expertise, advice, strategies, and methodologies to solve them.
Life Coaching is not Mentoring, which deals primarily with succession training and seeks to help someone replicate the mentor's knowledge and skills.
That being said, occasionally, a person being coached requires a little of each of these techniques. Sometimes due to a lack of knowledge or understanding. In that case, the Life Coach can temporarily put on their teaching, pastoral, counseling, or mentoring "hat" for a few moments. But the coach must return to their coaching hat before proceeding. The goal is to get the individual to choose a goal, formulate a plan and implement that plan. That way, the person being coached has complete accountability to pursue the plan and succeed or fail according to their perseverance and, ultimately, God's Holy Will.
Christian Life Coaching Final Thoughts
If you stick to the process, you can succeed and eventually develop the skills necessary to coach yourself through adversity, achieve greater goals, and have a better life. Nothing creates a perfect life while we are on this side of eternity, but Life Coaching and listening to God can improve your life.
David L. Brown
Certified Life Coach Minister