When coaching clergy, it is
important not to limit the focus to
congregational goals and outcomes,
but to offer to coach the whole
person in all aspects of their lives.
That might mean supporting clergy
as they design actions to maximize
their time (scheduling several
meetings on the same night instead
of a different one every night, doing
sermon preparation from home one
day a week), establish boundaries
(reserving Saturday as a family
day unless there are weddings
or funerals scheduled, limiting
email engagement after 7 p.m.) or
establish healthy habits (getting up
early enough in the morning to go to
the gym or take a walk).
Ironically, another area that many
clergy have a hard time valuing
with consistency is some form of
personal spiritual discipline, such
as daily devotions or time for study
and prayer. These disciplines keep
religious leaders rooted in their
relationship to God and grounded
in ministry. In coaching sessions
with clergy, we’ve brainstormed
ideas such as praying for their
congregation during morning walks,
uploading a good sermon to listen
to while driving, sitting in total
silence with God for half an hour,
and even dancing to praise music
while fixing dinner.
22
Coaching World
COACHING THROUGH
O R G AN I Z AT I O N AL
CHANGE
In increasing numbers, clergy
find themselves feeling the pinch
between shrinking memberships
with diminishing resources and the
expectation that their congregations
grow. In order to grow, those
congregations need to change.
Most seminary-trained clergy were
not taught how to successfully lead
a volunteer organization through
major transformation and to
influence lasting shifts in underlying
organizational culture. Yet that is
exactly what is now necessary for
faith communities to stay relevant
to new generations, adapt worship
styles to varied participants and
connect meaningfully with the
surrounding community. Over a
nine-month period I coach groups of
pastors using content-rich material
applicable to their leadership with
themes such as increasing vitality in
worship, developing lay leadership
and enhancing small-group
ministry. In these group-coaching
sessions, they watch a professionally
produced video on the theme, are
coached as a group for 1 ½ hours
and are then coached individually on
applying each theme in the context
of their ministry.
The Emergence
of Peer Coaching
Networks
Increasingly, clergy peer coaching
networks are emerging within
Christian denominations. The
networks are comprised of selected
pastors who have completed coachspecific training. Often, their coach
training is paid for or subsidized
by the denomination, and the
coaching is provided at little or no
cost. These networks are creating
a culture of peer coaching among
United Methodists, Presbyterians,
Episcopalians and the Church of
Scotland, to name a few.
Experienced coaches can support
the coaches in these networks by
providing coaching supervision,
mentor coaching or ongoing
skill development.
Significance of
Faith Tradition
As with many other realms of
coaching, occupational affinity
and familiarity with context can
be influential factors in selecting a
coach. However, clergy most often
engage a particular coach because
they already know the coach or they
have been given a positive referral
from others. That coach might be a
member of their faith community, a
neighbor, or a friend of a friend.
A person eager to coach clergy
should not apply self-imposed
limits on the clergy they coach. The
preexisting relationship is the driver
as much as whether the coach
happens to also be a clergy person
or from the same faith tradition.
Adjusting
Expectations
Like coaching provided in other
sectors of the nonprofit world,
clergy coaching often comes at a
bargain. Limited budgets mean
hourly rates that are $75 to $100
less than comparable Leadership or
Executive Coaching engagements in
the for-profit sector.
Most coaches who focus their
practice on clergy do so as an
extension of their own faith practice,
and their primary motivator is
making meaningful impact rather
than making a great deal of money.
As a coach who principally works
with faith-based leaders, I’ve
found this work to be enormously
satisfying. It is not just the work of
“doing,” and accomplishing goals,
but also about “being”—deep life
fulfillment. To coach from this
perspective makes coaching not just
sacred work; for me it is, in fact, a
holy vocation.
Clergy need excellent coaches who
are well t rained and willing to bring
a commanding impact. Perhaps you
will be one of them.