I’m headed to Dallas this afternoon to do some training with my Mission Alive friend, Tod Vogt, who is doing some ministry/life coaching training. I’m not sure how this came onto my plate, but since I’ve been pursuing it a bit, I’m liking the implications. There is a lot of talk of discipleship swirling around, and because of the abuse of certain kinds of discipling relationships in churches over the years, lots of folks are gun shy about how mentoring and discipleship happens. Coaching is another take on this kind of thing, and for the moment, I’m pretty optimistic about its uses. The bottom line is that coaches work to help people respond to the call happening inside their own hearts without imposing the coach’s agenda on top of it. The material looks good, and I’m looking forward to doing something something a little outside of my usual box.
Coaching also appeals to me because of the difficulty writers and artists can have getting unstuck. To be able to be helpful in really practical ways would be gratifying. We’ll see.
How are you doing with your call?
JEFF BERRYMAN 