How Do We Bring Christian Life Coaching To Churches?

2007-09-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

Every day I pass a church near my older son’s school that has a message board on its sign. The message for several weeks has been: To Blessed To Be Depressed. I’m sure they mean, “Too Blessed…” so apparently good grammar isn’t one of their blessings!

It still bothers my when I see that sign, although I’ve passed it dozens of times. I wonder what response I would get as a complete stranger calling or writing them to explain how messages like that about Christianity cause pain and shame for believers who suffer from emotional struggles. The message isn’t Biblical. In fact, it goes against the overwhelming volume of scripture that say life will have struggles, that we will suffer, that “the wise man lives in the house of mourning,” and that Christians must take up our crosses and be ready to suffer because The Way is very difficult.

Christian Counseling is a growing movement that has been around for decades trying to bring the Christian values of mercy, grace, and forgiveness to people with emotional struggles. And yet a church is still comfortable proclaiming publicly that pain and suffering and mood disorders are not allowed in the Christian life.

I’ve been thinking about this long, slow struggle of mental health professionals to increase the understanding and sophistication, and even Biblical accuracy, of a large part of the Christian body because I wonder what we can learn from Christian Counseling as Life Coaching is introduced into churches. Maybe Life Coaching will be more compatible with contemporary goals of discipleship and church growth through community groups. Maybe congregants will feel more comfortable seeking Life Coaching on parenting questions or marital challenges instead of taking on the stigma (yes, it’s still there) of going to therapy. Maybe pastors will see more commonality with Life Coaching as a profession that focuses on improvement, achievement, and personal growth without a variety of complex theories that challenge religious faith.

I see Life Coaching as very closely tied to the broader view of Counseling, which is: To promote healthy human development. Because people mostly think of Clinical Counseling, or Therapy, when they hear the word “Counseling,” they don’t realize that Counseling includes a lot of skills for helping people make positive changes and move forward in life. The field of Life Coaching is new, but it’s defined more clearly and specifically as a way to help people accomplish goals and experience personal growth. It seems to be taking the thunder from the “forgotten” side of Counseling.

My hope is that the Christian community can embrace Christian Life Coaching more readily than we have embraced Christian Counseling. In that hope, I see Christian Life Coaching as a pattern for teaching Personal Mentorship so Christians can help each other overcome challenges and learn skills that will help them be successful and enjoy their lives. That sort of community connection and mutual support seems like it would advance the vision of a Christian body living together with more true communion, attracting people who see the fellowship and genuine love and are hungering to be a part.

May You Know the Joy of Sharing Your Gifts,

Steve Coxsey

FAITH BASED COACHING

2007-09-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

A base is a foundation upon which something sets, which provides stability and grounding. So consider that the faith in 'faith based coaching' serves as the foundation upon which our coaching relationships rest - it provides them stability and grounding. How have you experienced your own faith serving as a foundation for your thinking about or practice of coaching?

Faith Based Coaching

How Do We Bring Christian Life Coaching To Churches?

FAITH BASED COACHING