Recently, I had the opportunity to get away with my wife. In addition to time with her, this gave me time to spend on reading and scanning several books on coaching. Having been involved in ministry coaching for around 20 years, I read them seeking to learn something new and doing some personal evaluation. Additionally, I found myself reading with a little bit of critical analysis, as it appeared that some of the approaches to coaching lacked a biblical balance.
Some of the approaches and emphasis on coaching appeared to be out of balance. The lack of balance came from what appeared to be an over emphasis on being “non-directive.” It is commonly understood that one of the approaches to counseling is a non-directive. The suggestion or thought is that we have the answers within ourselves. We often do have the answers within ourselves but not always.
Balance has been the foundation in my thinking for most of the years of my ministry. A balanced approach to coaching recognizes that it is about helping the coached individual to reach their goals. It is not about the coach establishing goals. However, the balance comes from the coach being able to provide counsel and experience to help the coached reach the goals.
In the next issue I will outline the process and objectives of the coaching ministry. Before we consider the process, I thought it would be good to define a few terms related to coaching. Sometimes these terms are confused as coaching. The definitions are given in relationship to the coaching ministry.