Coaching Clergy
Shutterstock.com/Alastair Wallace
Pastors, priests, rabbis and imams are searching out coaches to
help them strengthen their leadership, balance their lives and lead
congregational transformation. As the discipline of coaching gains
credibility among clergy, there is a growing opportunity for coaches to
meet the emerging need.
For coaches who are contemplating offering their services to this
community, here are some things to consider:
Critical Needs
Each clergy client will bring his or her
own, unique goals to the coaching
engagement. However, there are
three critical needs that frequently
emerge: the need for coaching around
leadership, for coaching toward work/
life balance and for coaching through
organizational change.
Chris Holmes, PCC
For clergy, ministry is not a job or
even a profession. It is a “calling” God
has placed on their life. By necessity,
clergy work every weekend and most
weekdays. Most clergy struggle to
maintain boundaries around their work
which means family time, vacation
weeks and days off are frequently
slighted. This is because clergy feel they
are never able to meet all of the needs
of their congregation.
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More than consulting, mentoring and
counseling, coaching for clergy is the
modality that is proving to be the
most helpful for affecting adaptive
change in congregations. Coaches
help clergy clients trust their deep
inner wisdom and knowledge of the
context in which they are serving and
C O A C H I N G T O WA R D
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
Coaching World
Chris is an ordained United Methodist
pastor who leads the Holmes
Coaching Group and is co-creator
of Coach Approach Skill Training.
He is a founding member of ICF
Maryland, having served two years as
president, and is also an accomplished
watercolor artist. Chris coaches church
members, pastors, bishops and
seminary presidents.
COACHING AROUND
LEADERSHIP
set clear and accountable outcomes,
while encouraging them along the way.
Essentially, these coaches are helping
clergy stay focused on God-sized goals
and lead with courage and resilience.