Coaching/Consulting

To begin, my general understanding of ministry consultants/partnerships is that they serve as a complement to the leadership team by adding needed coaching, care, counseling or consulting to:

1. Bring Experience and Perspective (Coaching)

This “Coaching” is the primary emphasis we bring to a given ministry partnership. A coach is not better than you, but can make you better than you. Their value is not in their skill or accomplishments, but in their vision. They watch you and bring outside perspective and input vital for your success. A great coach was not necessarily a great player; but rather, one with a great love for the game. They possess a lifelong commitment to learning the fundamentals and philosophies of the game, which makes them more knowledgeable in “how others have done this,” or the all-important “how not to do something and why!”

Coaching is more than just information. It also provides insights for training capabilities and inspires you to press toward your potential. These needed roles of seeing, understanding and motivating are a passion of ours. Their purpose is that you may clearly assess the present, discern missing essentials, and commit to focus on enhancing future performance; while avoiding the negative “unintended consequences” that often result from isolated decision making.

2. Establish Reality and Encourage Health/Growth (Care)

This is the role of a doctor or athletic trainer depending on the specific situation. It is mainly providing pastoral care and ministry for specific needs or staff members. This nurturing relationship and communication is very beneficial with new, young or evangelistic minded pastors, or their leadership teams (especially in personal, spiritual or family areas). It is absolutely necessary when there is a large age or experience gap between new leaders and their leadership teams. It allows a holistic, team approach to leadership function and development; ensuring that leaders operate in their “sweet spots and stewardships” and we (20/20) provide for pastoral grace and wisdom where it’s needed.

3. Support your Focus or Fill a Void (Complement)

I believe this is the answer to many leaders’ strategic needs, especially when they lack the people or resources for an area of ministry. Other than cultivating lay leaders from within your organization, this outside complementary support can be the most effective and efficient way forward. It provides consistent, mature ministry service or needed mentoring in development of secondary leaders. When viewed as a temporary/extended staffer, this role may produce huge ministry input for a fraction of the cost while ensuring the key organizational leaders stay in their strengths and maintain their priorities and focus.

4. Dispense spiritual/relational Prozac/Peace (Counselor)

The job of a counselor is to help resolve issues of the past or navigate the difficulties of the present. It is serving as a trusted listener and advisor who does not have the emotional attachment, personal agendas, history or offenses that often hinder relational health and organizational progress. This role may serve to address behavioral problems and address the contextual/structural issues at the heart of difficult disagreements or transitions. We need this help to move beyond the frustration, stress and disillusionment that breed burnout or turnover; and to move toward energized hopes, agreed priorities and action for change.

For these functions, 20/20 utilizes our training and resources from Marriage Savers, Peacemaker Ministries and the Table Group.

5. Build Transitional Bridges or Provide Anchors for the Future (Consulting)

Consulting is usually a short-term effort that centers on specific problem solving, the development of strategic solutions, as well as implementation and accountability measures. This service functions like a GPS, helping you: know where you are, where you would like to be…and ultimately, how to get there. This process is one that often necessitates questionnaires, outside assessments (other than 20/20), and usually a baton passing of the management/follow-up functions to another inside leader or outside organization (in line with their strength/expertise).

The key to consulting is contextualizing. No 2 people, situations or churches are the same, and it is difficult (if not impossible) to implement the same program in the same way and expect it to work. Pressing issues, tough questions and big problems must be addressed and answered contextually. Some strategies are achieved more through alchemy than as an engineering project or business proposal. This means the recipe for success may be more closely related to ingredients, amounts or environmental cues than to top-down decisions related to steps toward benchmarks to bottom-lines. Because of this, a process of dialogue for discovery to define (and revise) a personal consulting plan is suggested. This holistic/systems approach to strategy affirms our conviction that "everything is contextual."

These functions serve as a seasonal, yet needed extension of leadership for your organization, and are to encourage God-honoring, Christ-centered living and serving. This means emphasizing leaders/staff personal growth and attention in fulfilling desires and designated ministry roles. This will include working towards relational unity and leadership focus (mission, vision, values and priorities).

More Latter...