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OgnTran 10-02-019 |
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TransforMissional
Coaching Empowering
Leaders in a Changing Ministry World Steve
Ogne & Tim Roehl B&H
Publishing Group, 2008, 286 pp. ISBN 978-0-8054-4781-1 |
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Steve Ogne is a church planting trainer, coach
and consultant for Church Resource Ministries (CRM). Tim Roehl is the Director of Harvest
Ministries for The Evangelical Church and leads the A*C*T*S Innovation Team
for CRM. Transformissional coaching is
coaching for transformation and missional
ministry. The focus is on coaching pastors,
church planters, and missionaries for effective ministry-in-community and
church-planting. The core of coaching
is proactive, caring listening and effective questioning. Special attention is given to coaching
young, postmodern leaders and coaching teams.
Personal application questions conclude each chapter. The book has a very nice collection of
coaching questions. Chapter 1. TransforMission: Ministry and
Mission in a Changing World “Coaching, as we see it, enables transformation, which in turn leads to missional
ministry.” (7) We must address
the cultural change from a modern to a postmodern worldview. “The North American church is in trouble
because it has lost its purpose, its place, and its passion.” (9) The authors characterize three mission
models. The Traditional Evangelicals
focused primarily overseas. Practical
Evangelicals focused on attracting the unchurched. Younger Evangelicals engage the culture on
its own turf. “Today’s culture wants to experience
relationships and evangelism in the context of spiritual community—where
people can experience Christ and Christians together in close, authentic
relationships in the midst of normal, difficult lives. These communities are focused on
experiencing faith—vicariously at first through believers, then gradually on
their own as they experience God and come to faith. They see ‘coming to faith’ as a process not
an event. They place higher value on experiencing God than on knowing about Him. Understanding comes with experience not
before.” (13) Transformissional leaders are “not content only to bring people to faith; they must
engage the culture and meet needs, serve and strengthen communities,
strengthen schools and other community structures, as well as engage in
political agendas as necessary.” (14) “The transformissional
church requires a new kind of leader, a
leader who engages the surrounding culture for the sake of the gospel. In that sense he is a cross-cultural
missionary.” (16) The pastor’s leadership is validated by spiritual
formation, authentic community and engaging culture. Ministry equipping will be “just in time,
on the job, on the Internet, in the church, and in the trenches.” (19) Chapter 2. TransforMissional Coaching:
Coaching the Whole Leader Tim uses C.O.A.C.H. as an acronym. A coach Comes alongside Observes
carefully Ask questions
wisely Communicates
options and resources Holds
accountable (and cares for the Heart) Definition: “Coaches help people develop their
God-given potential so that they grow personally and make a valuable
contribution to the kingdom of God.” (26)
Coaching is relational, incarnational, practical,
holistic, contextual, missional, flexible and
cross-cultural. (27-8) These
characteristics are important for younger leaders because they often resist
paradigms focused on performance, productivity, effectiveness and other
business models. They want to live
authentically and incarnationally. This new coaching focuses on clarifying the
call, cultivating character, creating community and connecting with the
secular culture in a redemptive way. (29) Many Christian leaders have no one holding them
accountable for spiritual formation even though living out spiritual
disciplines is essential for ministry effectiveness and spiritual protection. “Young and postmodern leaders often come to
ministry as broken people, with visible character needs right up front.” “Authenticity is a high value for them,
which often includes being authentically bad as well as being authentically
good.” (33-4) Frequent character issues include a compulsive
need to control, a narcissistic need to enhance their image, paranoid
suspicion of others, a codependent need to please, or passive-aggressive
tendencies to resist demands. Coaching
these leaders can be very difficult. (35-6) Coaches help leaders reflect on
Scripture and measure their character accordingly as well as cultivating
accountability relationships. The community is strongest when the purpose is
beyond the group. But this kind of
community can be messy. High
expectations breed conflict and disappointment. The coach must be hospitable and
vulnerable. (41-2) Good questions in regard to calling, character,
community, and culture are listed on p. 49.
Personal application questions on p. 50. Chapter 3. It’s Biblical: Equipping the Saints for Ministry Jethro coached Moses. “Wisdom comes
from the ministry of others as they listen, challenge, encourage, and sharpen
us.” (57) Barnabas fits the picture of
a coach. “The great leader is not the
one in the spotlight. He’s the one
leading the applause.” (63) Chapter 4. Coaching Works: On the Job, in the Field, and in the Church Benefits of coaching:
Chapter 5. Getting Started: Initiating a Coaching Relationship “The more you know the person you’re going to
coach, the more informal and fluid the process of beginning a coaching
relationship. The less you know the
person, the more formal and intentional you’ll need to be….” (87) The first key is the “chemistry,” which includes
affinity (likeability), coachability (respect), and
family (the leader’s relationships with God and family). The second key is to know your leader. Do a formal or informal assessment of the
person’s past, character and personal walk, gift mix, sense of call and
passion, personality, leadership and conflict resolution patterns, and
competency. The third key is to clarify expectations and
roles, including shared values, schedule of communication, and dealing with
potential conflict. The fourth key is to confirm the arrangements
(contract). A sample contract is
given on pp. 98-99. Chapter 6. G.R.O.W. and Flow: Two Approaches to Coaching Conversations Seven skills or habits are essential.
G.R.O.W. – A strategic planning approach. (Source: Coaching for Performance by John Whitmore). This is a business-type approach designed
for productivity and may seem a bit mechanical. Goal. Establish
the Goal, the purpose or issue for
focus prior to the appointment. Reality. Push
past perception to a clear picture of Reality
– what is really happening. Ask
questions that probe for facts and descriptive answers. A list of questions is suggested. Ask open questions using probing words (what, when, who, where, how many). By skillful and sensitive probing, develop
a clear picture that may lead to an “aha,” or “uh-oh” moment. Options. Guide
the leader to discern and discover Options. Avoid telling. Help them recognize false assumptions and
ask “what if” questions to help derive possible action options. The goal is divine creativity. “What else?” is frequently a good follow-up
question. What to do.
The loop to action and creativity is closed when the leader decides
the specific actions steps or What
to do. Several questions dealing with what, where, and who can help
to clarify action points. It is
important to leave the ball in the leader’s hands, not yours. Excellent action steps are suggested for the
coach before the appointment, at the beginning of the appointment, through
the appointment and bridging to the next appointment. (114-15) The “4D Flow” Approach by Steve Ogne is more
relational, flexible, and spiritually sensitive. Discern where God is working. Enter the leader’s world in personal care,
affirmation, sensitive listening, and prayer.
Seek what God is up to. Discover how the leader wants you to
participate. Ask good probing
questions that may lead to moments of discovery. Develop the next steps. Help the leader begin to construct a
practical plan of action using a variety of good questions suggested.
(117) Depend on God and others. Pray about your conversation; reflect on
lessons learned. Ask who else is
needed and how intercessors will be informed.
Finish with follow-up and accountability. Chapter 7. Listening First: He Who Speaks without Listening… Most ministry training is geared toward
telling. We would do well to emphasize
listen, reflect, and ask.
(123) Your top priority is to become a
great listener. “Empathetic listening
makes a major contribution to a person’s emotional bank account. People want to be heard.” (124) Listening also stimulates a learning
posture. “Listening has a great
‘reflecting’ quality that often brings a lucid perspective to
situations.” (126) How to listen:
“A good listener is not only popular everywhere,
but after a while he knows something.” (131, quoting Wilson Mizner) “You cannot truly listen to anyone and do
anything else at the same time.” (131, quoting M. Scott Peck) “An essential part of true listening is the
discipline of bracketing, the temporary giving up or setting aside of one’s
own prejudices, frames of reference, and desires so as to experience as far
as possible the speaker’s world from the inside, step inside his or her
shoes.” (135, quoting M. Scott Peck) Chapter 8. Asking Questions: The Flip Side of Great Listening “Telling saves people from having to think. Asking questions causes them to think for
themselves.” (143, quoting John Whitmore) “Our goal as coaches is not to assume and provide
answers…--it is to put healthy pressure on the leaders to think and discover
the solutions in their situations. … Great questions can intentionally and
deliberately guide a conversation to a point of self-discovery and
accompanying accountability that best serve the leader.” (145) Three kinds of questions: information, awareness
(intended to lead to “aha” or “uh-oh”), and action (What will you do
next?). Great questions are easily understood, answered
briefly, open-ended, encourage thought and reflection, enable
self-disclosure, and do not manipulate.
Good list of sample questions for calling, character, community, and
culture on pp. 151-158 plus 99 great coaching questions on pp. 159-163. Chapter 9. Sharpening the Arrow: Coaching Leaders from the Inside Out Ministry should flow from the inside out. For too many leaders “the urgent crowds out the essential. Doing
ignores being. Developing
skills becomes more important than shaping
character.” (171) “Ministry
failure most often results from character and inner-life deficiency….” (180)
The coach’s path to help people in crisis or pain
is to listen, learn, love, and lead.
Ten good questions are listed. (184-85) Chapter 10. Coaching with
Style: Adapting Coaching to Leadership Styles This chapter helps coaches adapt their natural
pattern to the personality and profile of the leader. Chapter 11. Coaching the Young and the Restless: The Challenge of
Empowering Postmodern Leaders These leaders may not be stimulated by visions,
goals and strategies. They seek
relationship, proximity, and affinity from coaches. They require motivation by caring, showing
the benefit for them, and making play out of work. They learn primarily from experience, such
as participation on the job. You
cannot assume a basic knowledge of Scripture and good moral character so a
coach must take time to help cultivate a biblical character in the
leader. They appreciate values more
than vision, authenticity more than quality, relationships more than programs, and ministry to the community more than attracting
people to church. Success is judged
more by feelings than objective results and by anecdotes more than numbers. A coach must help them accomplish something
while they are having a good time and understand the realities of mass,
momentum, and finance. They respond better to biblical narrative
(stories) rather than management principles.
They need holistic support.
“They need accountability … because most are not highly driven by
success and many struggle with focus and motivation.” Coaching a postmodern is cross-cultural for a
modern coach. “First you must learn
the language, the beliefs, the understandings, and the customs. Only then are you able to engage in
conversation, and even then there may be a learning curve that seems
insurmountable.” (228, quoting Bill Tenny-Brittian) Chapter 12. Coaching Teams: Releasing Potential for Ministry and
Mission There are some significant differences well
explained in this chapter. Chapter 13. Character and
Credibility: What Give You the Right? Four essential qualities for a good coach: strong
character/active spiritually, personally secure, growing personally and
professionally, and integrity in relationships. |
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