New Coaches for the ECC
Being a pastor in today’s world is complex and challenging. Dallas Willard once told our D.Min. class, “There is so much pressure on pastors to succeed.” I know. I was one for 21 years.
While serving as a pastor I sometimes felt alone and discouraged. There were times when I simply did not know how to proceed. I had come to the edge of my education and I knew something was missing for me as a leader.
In seminary, I learned how to be a spiritual leader, but not an organizational leader. And yet, when I look at Scripture, I now see organizational leadership from Genesis to Revelation. Think about Jethro advising Moses in Exodus 18, or the Apostles creating the Deacons ministry in Acts 6. Actually, organizational leadership and spiritual leadership are two sides of the same coin. They compliment one another.
Imagine receiving a one hour phone call from your personal ministry coach every week for 12 to 18 months. Imagine having a conversation about the hot topics in your church and getting an outside perspective. Imagine moving from being a doer to a designer. Imagine turning vision into reality through the support of another Covenant pastor. Imagine God working through this dynamic relationship of encouragement and guidance.
Unfortunately, I did not have this kind of support. If I had, I could have done a much better job of loving God and loving people.
ECC Certified Coaches
Over the last 12 months, 20 Covenant pastors have been experiencing such a relationship with their Ministry Advantage Coach. It has a made a difference in how they lead. I wish everyone could have heard the good things these pastors had to say about their experience of being coached. This cohort of 20 pastors met for their third time in Chicago last week for a coaching certification workshop. You may recognize some of the people in the picture.
Let me back up. Early in 2008, Church Growth and Evangelism signed a partnership agreement with Ministry Advantage to develop a cadre of our own ECC coaches. Twenty pastors were selected, and over the last 12 months they have been receiving weekly phone calls from their Ministry Advantage coaches. They have grown in their ability to lead both technically and adaptively…to help their churches become more healthy and missional. We have made and continue to make a significant investment in this group of pastors.
Over the next few months, this first generation of ECC coaches will be ready to coach other ECC pastors. We are creating a management team to guide this transition. Give us time to work out the details.
There is more information on the coaching experience on the coaching section of this blog. If you want to receive coaching right now, you can sign up for MA using our denominational discount. If not, you can wait until our own coaches are ready. Let us know either way, and we will get back to you.
If you are not a pastor and you would like to share this with your pastor, just pass on the link. This is a significant way that you can invest in your pastor.
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(First row: Ed Lee, Russ Olmon, Garth McGrath, Scot Gillan, Mark Pattie, John Martz, Karen Lichlyter-Klein, Penny Nance; Second row: Alan Forsman, Ken Larson, Nils Peterson, Jeff Burton, Mark Nilson, Heidi Wiebe, Darrell Griffin, Tammy Swanson-Draheim; Third row: Mark Severson, Lonnie Gienger, Marc Eix, Russ Carlson, Glenn Peterson, Stacey Littlefield, Brent Thompson, John Wenrich, Dave Lindfors.
To view a larger version of the photo, right-click and select ‘View Image.’ Photo taken by Ed Lee.)
