Hey Coach John

Living On The Fast Track-Need A Break?

Sabath Rest Is A Basic Need of All Creation

So God’s rest is there for people to enter…Hebrews 4:6 NLT 

American culture applauds markedly busy people – however, God doesn’t.   From the beginning of time, God understood our need for rest and provided an eternal solution – the principle of Sabbath!  In this excessively busy generation, we would do well to take heed.

Sabbath rest is a basic need of all creation.  “Ebb and flow” is fundamental routine for every living thing.  There is a time to exert - a time to pull back.  Nature understands it - wild beasts, living creatures subsist by it.  Yet mankind doesn’t seem to get it.  He continually violates it and  sooner or later he pays for it.

God so desired for us to learn the principle of Sabbath, that He Himself set the example.  “On the seventh day, having finished His task, God rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day… “Genesis 2:2-3. Millenniums later, He put it into Old Testament law to mandate its importance.  It became an institution - even more so, an eternal principle.  Not merely a certain day to observe, but way to live.

Every seven days, man and beast were commanded to rest, every seventh year, the fields were to rest.  After seven years of seven, (49 years) the cycle started over.  Sabbath was interwoven into the very fabric of life. 

Scientists have now discovered that every seven years, the cells of your body renew themselves.  Sociologists suggest even the stages of life run in sevens.  The first seven years, childhood; the second sevens, youth; the third is called adolescence; the fourth, young adulthood, the fifth seven year period is adulthood; sixth, middle adulthood and the seventh seven begins another Sabbath.  Survive middle age crisis - refreshing comes to begin again!   Sabbath principles abound– we can’t ignore them. 

Not only did God call for a Sabbath that included rest, He also ordained it to be Holy.  The Hebrew word for holy is the word kadesh. It literally means to set something aside, to make it “not common” - different.

This principle simply says we should regularly “set aside” time for rest and spiritual refreshing.  Rick Warren states it this way; divert daily, withdraw weekly, and evacuate annually.   Do you have guarded private time?  Is it set aside as “different, marked - not common?”

How are you doing with your Sabbath?  Do you do respect it - practice it?   Maybe it’s time to slow down and return to the divine principle.  It was given for your benefit – don’t let is slip through your fingers.  Remember the principle of Sabbath!

Coach John

The Coach Approach

New Paradigms Emerging in Leadership Development

COACH – isn’t that a word used in association with an athletic event?  Not any more!  The coaching movement is alive and well both in the church, and the corporate landscape of America. 

According to the Harvard Business Review, the number of people entering the coaching field has skyrocketed over the last decade.  Estimates project at least 13,000 working in the business/corporate industry alone. 

Dr. Joseph Umidi, founder and president of LIfeforming Leadership Coaching organization, has a vision to train over 10,000 spiritual life coaches in the next 10 years. Wow!  Coaching is a hot trend in today's world.

By now, you’re probably asking, “What does this have to do with me- I’m just a common everyday person?”  That’s just it - coaches are common everyday people.  For the most part, they’re not experts at the top of their game, rather they’re caring, competent individuals who come along side others and offer support, accountability, and encouragement.  

The Biblical Model

Is coaching biblical?  Absolutely!  One of the most prominent examples in the New Testament is Barnabas. (Acts 4 & 5)   To understand Barnabas is to understand coaching.  Barnabas was an excellent coach who nurtured many into leadership and greatness in the kingdom – including the Apostle Paul.

Interestingly, it seems he chose to retreat from the mainstream of international leadership and fade into the background of the New Testament church.  Scholars believe he did this in order to coach and mentor others. 

The Basic Premise

The basic premise of coaching is built around a value that says; “Your own insight is much more powerful than my advice.”  Malcolm Knowles, the father of adult education in the U.S. writes, “One of the most significant findings from adult learning research is that when adults learn something naturally instead of being taught- they become highly self directing and feel immediate ownership. 

These insights go against the grain of most hierarchical leadership paradigms in America.  However, leadership models are rapidly changing.  They’re changing from directing to influencing.  From controlling, to role modeling and bossing, to coaching.  Have you made the shift?

The Relational Factor

At the heart of every good coaching partnership is a powerful and meaningful relationship.  The “buzz word” in our culture reveals that most Americans are in a crisis of relationship.  The word is “connect.”  Connect, with your cell phone, your PDA – with AOL and DSL. 

However, information alone can never transform people.  Real transformation comes through the conveyance of information through strong and meaningful relationships. 

Conclusion:

Are you ready to be a coach to someone?  Or are you being coached?  Well, get ready, the day is coming when you just might hear someone say, “hey coach - would you mind coaching me?”

Coach John

Works Cited: Tony Stoltzfus, Leadership Coaching, Booksurge LLC, 2005; Gary Collins, Christian Coaching.