ConvergeUSA Blog

Ten Marks of a Coachable Leader Part 5 - Gary Rohrmayer

King David prayed, "Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it." (Psalm 141:5)  As we continue our series on being a coachable leader David's prayer really gets to the heart of the matter.  Coachable people seek out those who speak truth to them, even if it is a painful truth, because it protects them and it makes them a better person and leader.

5. Coachable people take initiative with the coach, instead of the coach pushing or motivating  them.

It is sometimes perplexing to me how many self-starters I have coached that lack initiative in the coaching relationship.  Why is this?  Here are a few reasons:

1) Pride - "I can do it on my own." Self-reliance is an America virtue but not a biblical value.  Solomon wrote, "The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice."  (Proverbs 12:15)  The word 'listen' carries with it the meaning of seeking out as well as receiving advice.  A lot of pain can be prevented if leaders would just check in with their coach before a making a big decision.

2) Fear - "I don't want to look stupid." One of my mantras is, "The only stupid question is the question not asked!"  Actually, fear is another symptom of pride.  Solomon wrote, "Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." (Proverbs 13:10) There should be a level of connection in your coaching relationship where there is no fear but only only freedom to question and explore leadership thoughts and ideas.

3) Fatigue - "I'm emotional exhausted and lack energy for the coaching process." This one reason is true more often than you can imagine. The energy needed for the coaching process can be overwhelming and sometimes people can hit their limit.  It is at this time the coach needs to bring soothing encouragement.  Solomon wrote, "Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,  and the pleasantness of a friend  springs from their heartfelt advice."  (Proverbs 27:9)

4) Indifference - "I don't want to deal with the issue at this time." It is in times like these that we need to see indifference as a warning light; warning us of the sin and ramifications of idleness.  Solomon wrote, "If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks."  (Ecclesiastes 10:18)  No leader wants their ministry to suffer ... but idleness and indifference can bring a ministry down very quickly.  So let your indifference warn you as a loud siren sounding off to push you toward your coach.

5) Imposing - "I don't want to be a bother to my coach." I find with good coaches that just the opposite is true because they are so committed to your success that they welcome the questions, phone calls and emails. Solomon wrote, "Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance." (Proverbs 20:18)  We are in a spiritual battle. The consequences are eternal.  So seek advice at any cost.  Solomon wrote, "Plans fail for lack of counsel,  but with many advisers they succeed." (Proverbs 15:22)

Coachable leaders can easily slip into any of the reasons we just considered because leadership is intense, emotional and fatiguing.  Leadership demands a certain level of mental toughness and to have a coach who believes in you and is willing to walk alongside you is critical to their success.

Solomon appealing as a father to a son wrote, "Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."  (Proverbs 4:5-7)

Reflective Questions:

• Are you praying for God to bring people into your life that will love you enough to speak the truth to you?
• Which of the five reasons do you wrestle with the most?
• What can demotivate you in your coaching relationship?
• Does your coach or mentor make themselves available to you?
• What are the signs that you are getting emotional or mentally fatigued in your leadership role?
• What habits are you establishing to develop a deeper level of mental toughness?

Check out the Ten Marks of a Coachable Leader series.

Celebrating Church Planting - Ed Stetzer

This is Ed Stetzer's column from the most recent issue of Outreach Magazine. The magazine has several excellent articles, including a section on lessons on church planting, with something of a "round table" where nine of us give our thoughts on key issues for the future. Here is my column:

Over the past 60 years, Billy Graham and his evangelistic crusades have been one of the best known and effective tools of evangelism. His staff has stated that over 3 million people had accepted Christ through the crusades. At the end of his public ministry, an estimated 80 million people had heard Dr. Graham preach in person. The impact of his ministry has left a rich legacy for years to come.

Regardless of the view that people might have, just about everyone agrees that in more recent years, evangelistic crusades have waned in their influence. They are still making a difference in some places, but not as often or as much. Some of this is a societal shift, some of this is a church methods shift, but most would agree that it is real-- and that something else has taken its place. What? A couple of years ago, Christianity Today reported that church planting is now the new "crusade evangelism." I thought that was interesting and agree that the influence of new churches is quite significant.

When writing the book, Viral Churches, Warren Bird and I researched how many new churches were actually being planted in the United States. Based on our sample, it seems about four thousand new churches are being planted a year, and 3,500 are closing. What's more, the pastors of some of these new churches are a few of the top evangelical leaders in the country. Craig Groeschel, Tim Keller, Rick Warren...they all planted a church and are still leading the church they planted. (And, there are thousands of others who have not written books and become well known!)

Despite church planting's influential and numerical growth, not all denominations and churches are joining in. For some, the transition to church planting involves more of a historical and cultural shift than others.

I have written in the past about how Evangelicals often behave badly with our own statistics. We have a track record of sensationalism and trying to create a sense of desperation in the church, and that is not always helpful. But here's the truth: The church is not going to die because new churches are going to be born. Some of what is happening today is simply following the typical life cycle of churches: birth, growth, plateau, decline, and death. Then, new churches replace them. It's the circle of church life!

Much of that planting is taking place in non-denominational evangelicalism--and that's the fastest growing segment of Christianity in American today. However, even more of that church planting is taking place in denominations (where the vast majority of church plants are sponsored). The Assemblies of God has seen a dramatic increase in church planting over the last few years. Southern Baptists were up last year. Converge Worldwide (the Baptist General Conference) is a leader in per-capita planting. The Missionary Church is one of the leading small church denominations. The list of evangelical denominations could go on and on.

Yet, even mainline denominations are discovering church planting. For example, United Methodists decline is not a secret, yet they were once one of the two fastest-growing groups. At one point, the two largest denominational groups in America were the Baptists and Methodists. This was achieved because of a church planting focus and some friendly competition back in the early 19th century, to see who could plant the most churches. The Methodists utilized a system of both clergy and "class leaders," non-credentialed pastors who could handle all the workings of a church except the sacraments. The results were phenomenal, and they created a strong denominational family.

In the years since, a lot of that passion has diminished. Now, there are more Muslims in America than there are Methodists. They have recently created an aggressive plan to combat this problem. By the end of 2012, they have a goal to plant 650 new churches. Rev. Gary Shockley, a church planting strategist for the United Methodist Church, excitedly shared his new proposal in an online article published by the UM Portal in February 2010:

"It [church planting] is a change in focus for the denomination . . . This is the first time the denomination has put a national emphasis on church planting in over 100 years. We used to have the habit as United Methodists . . . in the 1800s of planting a church a day. Ultimately we hope to get back to that-- and even more."

The growth of church planting is good. However, we should not assume that this has (yet) led to the growth of the percent of Christians in North America. There are certainly plenty more people who are unreached and need to hear about Jesus in the context of the local church. Let's celebrate the growth of church planting, but press on with great optimism that the best is yet to come.  HT

Ten Marks of a Coachable Leader Part 4 - Gary Rohrmayer

Solomon wrote, "Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice" Proverbs 10:13.   This summer we started our journey of examining the qualities of a  coachable leader. This month we are going to examine how the leader comes to a coaching appointment or a one-on-one meeting with a supervisor.

4. Coachable people come ready to report, discuss, adjust and adapt.

Here is my coachable equation: Readiness + Adaptablity = Coachable.  Today we will take a closer look at two keys of Readiness and Adaptablity in the life of a leader.

Readiness is an attitude.  Readiness is something that only you can control.  Coming into a coaching relationship mentality alert, emotionally prepared and spirituality fresh opens oneself to change.  Entering a coaching session with the current data, completed action items, and well thought out questions says to your coach this is important and I respect your time. When someone comes ill prepared to a coaching session they are saying non-verbally "I don't want to be here" or "This is just not important to me."  When you come ready to give, that is when you will receive the most from the coaching relationship.  Giving has a way of opening up oneself to receive more. Coming ill prepared is a way of closing oneself up to any chance for meaningful change; but readiness is only one part of the equation.

Adaptability is an attitude also. There are only a few things in life that are unchangeable.   The message is always unchangeable but the methods are always changing. The commands of scripture, the essentials of the  faith, and the truth of the gospel are never to be considered adaptable.  Yet to be coachable means that we hold our methods and personal bias lightly.

In a research project on adaptability in military personnel the reseachers discovered seven character traits that predict one's ability to adapt.(HT)

• Self-efficacy: Self-efficacy refers to one’s beliefs in one’s abilities, one's believe that they have the capablities to handle challenging situations. They have a internal motivation that says, "I will change, I can change and the goal is so important that I must change."
• Resiliency: Resiliency is the ability to recover quickly from change, hardship or misfortune. The importance of resiliency can be seen in studies by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) that show that resisting change can derail executives’ careers, while being resilient and learning from mistakes can enhance them.
• Openness: Openness is one of the “Big Five” personality dimensions and refers to one’s curiosity, broad-mindedness, and receptiveness to new environments and events. That is, those who are high on Openness are likely to approach a new environment or set of circumstances with curiosity and interest. This positive attitude, together with a greater willingness to try new things and be creative, in turn increases the chances of effectively handling changes in one’s environment.
• Achievement motivation: Achievement motivation refers to one's desire to achieve results and master tasks beyond others' expectations, and is a subcomponent of the Big Five dimension of Conscientiousness. People who are high on Achievement Motivation are more likely to persist in their efforts to handle difficult situations, such as changing environments, rather than give in to frustration.
• Internal Locus of Control: The feeling that one controls the events in one’s life.
• Tolerance of Ambiguity: The ability to cope easily with environmental uncertainty.
• Willingness to Learn: Demonstrating enthusiasm and curiosity toward learning new things. (HT)

Reflective Questions:

1. How do you prepare yourself for meetings with supervisors or coaches?
2. What can you do to prepare yourself better for those meetings?
3. What are the areas in your life where you are more adaptable?
4. What are the areas in your life where you struggle with change?
5. List your motivations for entering into a coaching relationship.
6. List reasons why people are resistant to change.

Next: Coachable people take initiative with the coach, instead of the coach pushing or motivating them.

Check out the Ten Marks of a Coachable Leader series.

Ten Marks of a Coachable Leader Part 3 - Gary Rohrmayer

Leaders who are competent tend to plateau. - J. Robert Clinton

This summer we started our journey of examining the qualities of a coachable leader. This month we look at the leader's ability to be stretched and pushed out of their comfort zone.

3. Coachable leaders are ready to be stretched

Every leader will hit a series of plateaus in their lives. The key is not to say there, because settling on a plateau can easily lead to an elongated season of comfort. Being comfortable is one of the leader's worst enemies. Rest and comfort are two different things. Rest is a planned temporary time to refresh and refocus the leader. Comfort is when you settle into unproductive routines and accept satisfactory or unsatisfactory results. Robert Clinton writes, "There again is a dynamic tension that must be maintained between leveling off for good reasons, (consolidating one's growth and/or reaching the level of potential for which God has made you) and plateauing because of sinfulness or loss of vision."

Three reasons why leaders 'settle in' rather than being 'stretched forward':

• Loss of energy: Being emotionally and physically exhausted is a real thing in the life of a leader. It is not to be taken lightly. When a leader is at their limit the last thing they want to hear is that they need to change even more. Maintaining good rhythms of rest, exercise and fun create more energy for a leader to be willing and open for change.
• Loss of passion: Spiritual fatigue is also real in the life of those leaders who are responsible for feeding and nourishing the people of God. When a leader forgets to feed their own soul and loses focus on the centrality of the gospel in their own life they lose their motivation to change or to be stretched. Being renewed and refreshed my the mercies of God (Lamentations 3:22-24) fills the leader with hope. Hopefulness in one of the key motivators for personal development.
• Loss of vision: Because the vision and mission of Jesus is so relationally intense and so people focused, it is easy for a leader to lose vision for what is central to the heart of God. Because God's redemptive work is so messy at times spiritual leaders can get "peopled out." They can be overwhelmed with frustration and become emotionally detached from the vision and mission of Jesus. When this happens change will not occur in the life of the leader and they can easily settle in on a plateau and coast along.

Leaders who are ready to be coached bring energy, passion and vision to the coaching relationship so that they can set life stretching goals and significant organizational changes. Energy, passion and vision are key for the leader to live with the great tension between their current reality and their preferred future.

Reflective Questions:

• How would you rate your energy level on a scale of 1(low)-10(high)?
• How many times a week do you exercise?
• What activities energize you?
• Where has your scriptural focus been in the last year?
• Describe the spiritual rhythm you maintain: daily, weekly, monthly and annually.
• Tell me about a God moment you had in your devotional time.
• Who helps you find perspective in the midst of difficult issues?

See entire series post on being coachable

Immerse Yourself in Church Planting - September 14-17

The First Steps Church Planting Experience

When: September 14-17, 2012

Where: MissioDei Chicago - Wrigleyville, Chicago, IL

How Much: Registration is $99/individual, $149.00/couple,$199.00/team of 4, $249/team of 6

Who:

• Church planting couples and their teams Coaches who want to grow in coaching and church planting
• Pastors or Restart Pastors who desire to understand the ins and outs of church planting
• Prospective planters, those exploring the possibility of church planting
• Church leaders who want to strategically be a part of the harvest

What:

Are you considering planting a new church?  In some cases mistakes made in the first six months of a church plant can take up to six years to fix. The FirstSteps Experience is designed to help church planters and coaches minimize those mistakes and reach their full missional potential.  The FirstSteps Experience is a unique opportunity for those looking at planting a church.  Filled with interactive training and really life experiences that help you enter the real world of church planting.  You will participate in 4 days of interactive training to help you understand a multitude of issues of planting a missional church. You will receive the practical nuts and bolts of church planting in an interactive and inspiring atmosphere.  This is for YOU, if you are serious about planting a gospel centered and mission driven church.

FirstSteps for Planting a Missional Church

Our trainers for this 4 day experience will be Gary Rohrmayer and Mark Albrecht

Contact: Joy B. Rudolph for questions at joy.rudolph@convergeww.org