There is a question that lurks at the back of our minds, niggling, scratching, attempting to penetrate our consciousness. We keep it at bay with busyness, distractions, vanity, and ambition, but it still scratches. The question is this: What is the purpose of life? What is the point of it all? What will remain of me when I take my last breath? That is the question that has scratched at the brain of every thinking person from the start.

Albert Camus wrote about the character of Sisyphus, who is found in Greek mythology. He was condemned to roll a stone up a hill until he was ten paces from the top, and then let it roll back down again only to roll it up again and repeat ad infinitum.

Life sometimes feels this way: eat, sleep, work, repeat. What is the point? Bertrand Russell said we are nothing more than an “accidental collocation of atoms destined to end in the heat death of the universe.” He went on to say, “Only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.”

Dawkins said we live in a universe of “blind, pitiless indifference.”

If human beings are here by a biological accident, then what is the meaning of life?

Do we live and breathe and die all for nothing? Is there any arc to our story? Or is it a plotless existence that simply happens and then ends?

Many of the great thinkers of history have embraced this idea of material meaninglessness. Steven J. Gould argues that we must “construct our own meaning,” but what gives our “construct” any meaning? Who determines it? By what standards do we measure whether or not we have been successful?

If God is not a reality, then we can be our own master. We can do as we please. We can construct our own meaning. But without God, none of it means anything; life has no ultimate purpose. Our “freedom” becomes utterly meaningless.

Aldous Huxley said very honestly:

“I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; and consequently, assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics. He is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do. For myself, as no doubt for most of my friends, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom. The supporters of this system claimed that it embodied the meaning – the Christian meaning, they insisted – of the world. There was one admirably simple method of confuting these people and justifying ourselves in our erotic revolt: we would deny that the world had any meaning whatever.”

This is an interesting and honest quote. To be a free, moral agent, we must remove God, but if we remove God, we lose our life’s meaning and purpose. Here Huxley acknowledges that total human, moral freedom comes only when we “deny that the world has any meaning whatever.” This is a high price to pay, and we are seeing the consequences of it throughout our world today. The void of meaninglessness is eating at people’s souls.

Anxiety is at an all-time high in the West, as we leave young people to face the void alone.

The temporary distractions of our imminent frame – social media, Netflix, pornography – can only temporarily keep the abyss at bay. In reality, in the face of eternity, we need God standing with us.

Albert Camus argued that, “If my freedom has no meaning except in relation to its limited fate, then I must say that what counts is not the best living but the most living. It is not up to me to wonder if this is vulgar or revolting, elegant or deplorable. Once and for all, value judgments are discarded here in favour of factual judgments.” According to Camus, because nothing matters, we should spend our lives in pursuit of pleasure. In a meaningless universe, we are free to do this, and ultimately, the only thing worth anything is the quantity of pleasure we experience.

The French Poet Beaudalaire rigorously pursued hedonism in great “quantity.” However, his friends would recall that he experienced a persistent twitch: images of his pursuits involuntarily flashed before his mind, tormenting him. Perhaps you have had this same experience on occasion: unbidden flashes of your pursuits of pleasure, or images from an incognito internet tab, passing before your eyes.

It would seem then that, yes, we can have moral freedom, but we must give up any meaning our lives might hold to attain it. And, as Baudelaire (and I, for that matter) will testify, even having the moral freedom to do as we please can lead to more torment than pleasure.

The truth is, we were created for a purpose.

As trains are designed to move along their tracks, we are designed to move along the tracks of God’s will for our lives. His purpose stretches out ahead of us, curving and winding, climbing and descending according to his will, his good and perfect will. To step into our purpose, we must agree to travel on his track (Philippians 2:13). We “lose” our moral freedom as we submit our will to God the creator, but we gain meaning, purpose, and eternal life. We learn quickly that his good standard brings joy and peace into our lives, and that his “law of liberty” (James 2:12) is what brings true freedom, the freedom to be who we were created to be.

When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before the crucifixion, he prayed, “If possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not my will but yours be done” (Matthew 26:39). We serve a God who loves us so much that he submitted his will, his freedom, and his pleasure to the Father. He did that, all the way to the cross, all the way into death, for you and me. He did it because of his eternal love for us.

When we think about the reason to keep going every day, we must remember the love of Christ for us; that his death frees us from death and imbues our life with eternal purpose.

Speaking as one who tried it, being the master of your own life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. However, it is possible to hand over the reins to God today. The God of love, who gave up everything for you, is waiting for you. He waits for you to come to him, and in him, find life eternal.

What is the purpose of life? God created us to know him, to know his voice (John 10:27-28). He gave up his power and glory; he came to earth, lived as a man, died, and rose again, all so that we could be close to him. He wants us to hear his voice. It is so difficult to make our way through the unstable ever-shifting world we live in, but when we choose to follow God, we have access to His mind and his voice, as he guides us faithfully day by day.

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace” (Psalm 29:10-13).

Yes, life can feel like a flood. I have often felt as if I were drowning; even the world around me appears to be drowning. But we have a God who sits enthroned above the storm. He wants to speak to you; he wants to guide you; he wants to fill every day of your life with his touch and his presence (James 4:8).

Knowing that the God of the universe is guiding your life makes everything you experience eternally significant.

R.C. Sproul wrote, “Everything that we experience, every pain we endure and every tear that we shed is significant – forever.” This is what gives our lives meaning. No suffering is unseen; no pain passed over; God is working everything for our good eternally (Romans 8:28).

Because God is real, because he is personal, that means “what happens in history matters” (Charles Taylor). It all matters to God, and he wastes none of it.

The Lord is speaking; his word is as alive today in our secular age as it has ever been. As he guides our days and directs our paths, we see his will and plans unfold; we see how God and only God can turn the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of our lives into something beautiful as he uses them for his good purposes. It is God’s hand on our lives, his involvement, that fills our life with purpose.

_Bibliography

_{Camus, Albert, Justin O’Brien. The Myth Of Sisyphus, And Other Essays. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.}

_{Huxley, Aldous. Ends and Means. London: Chatto & Windus, 1937.}

_{Russell, Bertrand. A Free Man’s Worship, and Other Essays, London: Unwin Books, 1976.}

_{(Stephen J. Gould quote) Kinnier, Richard, Jerry Kernes, and Nancy Tribbensee, eds. The Meaning of Life: According to the Great and the Good. Palazzo Editions, 2007, P. 108.}

_{Dawkins, R. River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1995.}

_{Sproul, R. C. Surprised by Suffering (Robert Charles), 1939-2017.}

_{Taylor, C. A secular age. New York: Walker, Harvard 18th ed., 2007.}

“The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, ‘Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.’ But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, ‘My child, get up!’ And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened” (Luke 8:52-56).

The little girl in this story was dead, and Jesus gave her life again. And believers hear this, nod and say, “Yes, yes,” and non-believers laugh like those in the crowd. Understandable…for both sides.

I can imagine that those laughing were laughing because “they KNEW she had died.” They were looking at the facts. Is that wrong? Of course not.

Jesus was saying something that did NOT make sense.

He was using words that seemed foolish, naive and completely illogical. I would think that laughing at that moment was a knee-jerk reaction that many of us would have had….if we didn’t really know (or had forgotten!) who was speaking to us.

Were the followers of Jesus in that crowd laughing (or weeping) too? I bet they were. I don’t know about you, but I too often find myself chuckling along with Sarah in the Old Testament when told she would have a child in her old age…”who me?” I look at my circumstances, and I think it is completely ludicrous the promises God whispers to my heart. “I can’t do that! It doesn’t make sense in light of who I see that I am. I’m weak here and here and have failed here and here!”

Or I’m among those weeping. Things around me seem dead. I feel dead. There is no life in me. Or so it seems. I see it. People around me see it. “They all knew she had died.” Its obvious. Then fear and victimhood does not feel like a choice, but a much stronger enemy ready to destroy me. And that’s what God calls our enemy… “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

But, oh, the joy I still find in my heart when I read the rest of the story! Jesus didn’t stand beside her and yell, “DON”T BE A VICTIM!” Nor did He yell at those laughing and say, “HAVE COMPASSION!” He didn’t belittle or demean anyone, as is too often my temptation. He simply took the little girl by the hand and spoke to her. And she got up. But not before life returned to her. She couldn’t have done anything while she was dead. I can’t choose or do anything, (and nor can you, let alone stand up out of death!), until life returns.

Thankfully, He didn’t ask her to do anything that He hadn’t already given her the ability to do.

“God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” I can only speak for myself, but if God hadn’t given me new life, hadn’t lifted me out of death once, and thankfully, repeatedly again every moment of every day – I could never choose as I ought…and I KNOW Jesus! I know His love and care for me. So how can someone who doesn’t even know Him do that? And yet He gives that choice…not so much to choose better or even do better, but to choose Him.

But as hope-filled as all this is, I actually haven’t gotten to my favorite part of this story! She was dead. Everyone knew that. No one was thinking of any needs she might have (especially the little girl herself), other than maybe her funeral arrangements. No one but Jesus.

And not only was He many steps ahead of anyone’s understanding of the situation, He already had a plan for who He would call on to help meet the needs of this hungry, once dead little girl.

If you already have trusted Jesus for forgiveness for your sins but still feel there is “death” in your life…dead relationships…dead opportunities…dead dreams…dead hopes…would you join me and trust Him again?

Would you stop right now and listen for His voice? I don’t know why I run from those times alone with Him when He calls me to trust Him again, but I do. The stench of death overwhelms me, and before I know it, (through as much my passive choices as my active ones), I “choose” victimhood. But you know what? God is ok with that. He doesn’t freak out or abandon me. He doesn’t get angry with my weakness or tell me to face the facts. He has a plan bigger than my fears or the facts…bigger than my lack of knowing Him…bigger than anything that I would choose over Him. And His desire is for me…for life…for joy…to feed my hunger. Even the hunger I don’t even know that I’m about to have, once He breathes life into me.

But when we’re in that “dead” state, we can’t see past our circumstances…but thankfully, Jesus sees further. He knows when and how He will take your hand and raise you up… AND He knows what your need will be after that… AND He already has a plan on how to meet that in your life! Stop and think about that for just a second!

I always think everything depends on me…but it doesn’t.

It never has, and it never will. Sure, He graciously invites me to participate in His plan…but He breathes life into me…He speaks to me in death and lifts me up into life, and He even calls on others to help meet my needs!! Amazing! Overwhelming! Humbling! So much love!!

I want to choose hope and compassion over fear and victimhood. But before I can do that, before you can do that, we need to choose Jesus. We need to – like all those in this story – look honestly at our circumstances and agree with Jesus where there is death in our lives.

Did you know that the Greek word that we usually translate into English for “confess” literally means “agree?” To “confess” our sins means just to agree with God. Agree with the One who is always kind, always patient, always ready to receive us. Agree that – like everyone who has ever walked on this earth – we are not perfect and have sinned and can never attain to the holiness of God unless He reaches down and breathes life on our lives.

And if you’ve done that sometime before – whether it was trusting Him just this morning in prayer or many, many years ago in a life that seems so far away like it was someone other than the life you’re living now – would you trust Him again? Would you confess the pride, or jealousy or fear that threatens to kill the life He wants to bring to you in every area of your life?

It’s scary to see who we really are….but only if we don’t know or have forgotten who He really is. He is the one who not only brings life, but prepares a banquet in the presence of those laughing, those standing in enmity against us….even if it’s ourselves. Because our enemy, Satan, “comes to kill, steal and destroy, but Jesus comes to bring life, and life abundant.” Choose Jesus. Choose life. He is calling you to life out of death. He knows what you have need of. He loves you so.

The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes that life is made up of seasons:

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build ; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

What season do you find yourself in now?

What season are you looking forward to? I wanted to write this article to encourage you to be present in the season that you are in and allow God to use you today. Today is all we have and all we are guaranteed. Often, though, we spend our time waiting for the next thing; we put our lives on pause until: we finish college, find a spouse, have a child, climb the career ladder, gain more financial security or whatever it is you are waiting for.

A French philosopher called Blaise Pascal, who lived in the 1600s, wrote the following quote:

“Let each of us examine his thoughts; he will find them wholly concerned with the past or the future. We almost never think of the present, and if we do think of it, it is only to see what light it throws on our plans for the future. The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means, the future alone our end. Thus we never actually live, but hope to live, and since we are always planning how to be happy, it is inevitable that we should never be so.” – Blaise Pascal.

This quote is like a slap in the face to me. I shudder to think that I might be always waiting to live my life and never actually living it. Pascal goes on to suggest that the reason we only focus on the past or the future is to escape our present, as our present is too unsatisfying to think about. I understand this sentiment. I am just emerging from a season of having three tiny babies all at once.

I had my first son in 2014, and becoming a mum was the biggest emotional explosion of my life. I loved my son so much, but I was exhausted and overwhelmed; and I found the newborn season hard. Then, when he was only nine months old, I found out I was pregnant again, this time with twins. Having three tiny babies was more than I thought I could cope with. Sleep was a thing of the past; silence was a thing of the past. The present was bone painful exhaustion, the almost constant sound of a baby crying, and the absolute knowledge that I was inadequate for the task, simply because I didn’t have enough arms to comfort all three of my babies in a way that was good enough for them at the same time. Honestly, I shudder to remember the exhaustion of those days.

But it was a season. My oldest son, Levi, is four now, and my twins, Emmanuel and Gracie, are almost three; and life is so much easier. My house is filled more often with laughter than crying (although there is still some crying). And yes, there is no doubt this season feels better than the one where they were all tiny babies, but the point is, I could not have gotten here if I had not lived through that newborn season. God wants to work in us and use us in every season of our lives.

So, take your life off pause!

Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). Offer up the season you’re living in to the Lord and see Him move in you and through you this very day.

I think we each have in our minds an “end-game.” That thing that when we get it, we will finally be happy. Then we can finally post it on social media and move on with our lives. What is your end game? A degree? A baby? A spouse? A missionary posting? A desired job? All of these things are good, but they are not your “end-game;” however, you will only discover that when you finally get it.

The reason for this is that purpose and happiness are not found in a change of situation, no, they are found in Jesus Christ.

Married or single, in a loud, busy life or a quiet and solitary one, the only one who is always present and always faithful and who never lets us down is Jesus.

Remember, Jesus said He came to give us life abundant (John 10:10).

That “life abundant” for you is found in Jesus today. Not in some future nebulous dream, but today, now, as your breath goes in and out, as you read these words, Jesus is present in the present. Speak to Him, commit this day and this season to Him and see what great things He does during a season of your life that you were tempted to just write off. God is with you, and He is moving. Be used by God today; this is the one thing we all have in common, no matter what season we find ourselves in, no matter what age you are or what situation you find yourself in; God is willing to use you and desires to use you.

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God today; He cares for you and has a plan for you in this season. Open your heart to see God working in your life today and become excited about what God is doing in your present season. The past is gone; the future is not guaranteed. All we have is the present, so let’s offer each day to the Lord and live each moment of our life in the fullness that Jesus won for us.

“Come and see the works of God, who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot; there let us rejoice in Him!” (Psalm 66:5-6).

One effective temptation to despair is that our experience of Jesus doesn’t seem very miraculous.

We read in the Bible of waters dividing, of food raining down from heaven and chariots of fire. But where is that in our lives? Here’s a scripture that suggests we as believers in Jesus share in those major miraculous moves of God.

Notice the pronouns in verse six: “He turned the sea into dry land,” “they went through the river on foot,” “there let us rejoice in Him.” It’s about God, Israel, the psalmist and us. We all have something in common. We are in the middle of a miracle of God.

Do you see where we are encouraged to rejoice in God?

The psalmist is referring to two miracles. The first is when He made Israel cross the Red Sea on foot. He split the waters by an east wind blowing through the night, so that a way on dry land existed for the people to cross. They walked on this path between two enormous walls of water. The second is 40 years later, the next generation of Israel crossing the Jordan River in full flood. When the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the waters, they stood up in a heap far up the river, allowing the people to cross on a dry river bed.

But there’s a problem, isn’t there? That place where we are to rejoice is a place that only a particular group of people experienced once. These experiences were never repeated. Those places are underwater, inaccessible. So how can we go there in order to rejoice?

God was taking a group of people and saving them, delivering them and introducing them to a new life. And they were in the middle of that miracle.

Imagine if Moses had stopped in the middle of the Red Sea and said, “Hey, everybody, why don’t we stop and have a little time of thanksgiving before we go much further?” I think it would have been charged with gripping emotion! Several things would have been abundantly clear to the worshipers:

“I’m doing something impossible!” “There wasn’t a way forward, now there is!” “I’m being saved by the power of God!” “God is absolutely brilliant!” “God is for us!” “Let’s do this quickly!”

What God did with a certain group of people is also what He is doing with us.

As long as they were in the Red Sea or the Jordan, they were in the middle of their salvation and deliverance and entrance into new life. That’s where we believers in Jesus also are. The psalmist is saying that we are right in the middle of our salvation, our deliverance, our entrance into new life. We can rejoice in God in the middle of our miracle.

Our lives may not appear to be as miraculous as waters standing up vertically like walls. You might be tempted to consider your life completely ordinary and unremarkable. But every person being saved is a miracle of God. Merriam-Webster defines “miracle” as “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.” It took the power of God intervening in your life for you to be saved (see 1 Corinthians 1:30-31). It takes the power of God intervening in your life to encourage, protect and keep you saved (see Psalm 27:13-14; Psalm 138:7; 1 Peter 1:5). You who believe in God through Jesus are an ongoing intervention of God’s almighty power.

There, as though between walls of water, is where the psalmist invites we who believe in God to rejoice. And if we see our lives rightly, our worship can be gripping and intense.

We can rejoice that we are going to make it all the way through, just as they did. What God started He will also complete, until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:5). We can rejoice that the power that brings us through the waters is also the power that will destroy the enemies of our souls: sins, difficulties, devils. Through God we will outlast them all. We can rejoice that through Jesus we are being brought ever closer to laying hold indeed on eternal life.

Can you see God at work in your life? If you can’t, then maybe you need to begin with turning to Jesus. Ask Him into your heart, to introduce you to His new life. Make Him your Savior and Lord.

Think about it and rejoice!

While all God’s Word is inspired and profitable ( 2 Timothy 3:16), most Christians have favorite passages. Sometimes we talk about our “life verse” by which we mean something especially relevant to our entire lives. Then there are seasons in which different verses are especially poignant. They’re a kind of “spiritual flashlight” to help us find our way or provide a handle that brings perspective.

A passage I’ve found especially helpful the last few years is John 10:10, where Jesus says He came for life.

It’s interesting how He phrases it. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus didn’t just come for life; He came for that life to be “more abundant.” That word means, “…pertaining to a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate—that which is more than, more than enough, beyond the norm, abundantly, superfluous.”¹

Jesus could have said, “I’ve come that you’d have abundant life.” He didn’t. He said it the way He did to make clear He didn’t just come for life. He came for MORE of it. Christian, however much life God’s grace and Spirit have brought about in you, there’s more! And when you’ve enjoyed that measure of more, there’s more still.

Surely that’s what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he invited the Philippians to adopt his mindset toward spiritual growth.

“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern” (Philippians 3:15–17, NKJV).

In verse 16, when Paul says, “to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule” he calls us to double our current spiritual standing and maturity. It’s as though he’s said, “All you Christians who’ve got some miles behind you in your spiritual walk, look back at how far you’ve come. Now, look ahead and determine to double it.” Paul could to issue that invitation because he knew Jesus came that we’d have ever more life.

I like the term “flourishing” as a way to capture the essence of all this.

God wants us to flourish.

The Gospel is the message of how Jesus rescued us from sin and death and made it possible for us to flourish. All God’s ways aim at promoting life and ensuring we’d flourish. And that’s why the first part of John 10:10 is an important reminder. Jesus spoke of His mission to promote our flourishing as a contrast to Satan’s objective, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”

Sin has a goal, and it’s not the promise it makes when we’re tempted. Sin promises good but ultimately ends in ruin. Whatever momentary gain sin may acquire is always more than paid for by an enduring and greater loss. It’s no zero-sum gain, but it is a negative-sum loss.

Because God wants us to flourish, He gives us His Word and commands. Each provide insight into where a life of flourishing lies. God’s commands are never power trips on His part, as though He’s some kind of insecure deity needing to prove His authority by ordering us around. Rather, every command is guidance in how to flourish.

As we follow Jesus, it’s wise for us to keep all this in mind as we watch the world chart new paths for how to live. The devil aims to ruin us; Jesus wants us to flourish.

¹Louw, J. P. & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, pp. 598–599). New York: United Bible Societies.

Every elite athlete has at least one thing in common – they have been coached to maximize God-given potential. In the context of sports, coaching is presumed and is an accepted and expected part of the culture. On the other hand, meaningful coaching and mentoring is less prevalent in the context of Christian ministry. Accordingly, the benefits of development are hindered and hamstrung.

If you want to influence God’s kingdom, there is likely no more rewarding use of your time than coaching existing and emerging leaders. The same is true for those who receive coaching. Kingdom leverage is created every time a leader is coached to be more effective. Church leaders continue to need support at every stage of development, because of the unique challenges that are experienced along the way.

Some of you have been blessed to have coaches and mentors along your journey. They encouraged you that you had the right stuff to finish well and motivated you to discover your God-given potential. They warned you about potential dangers you might encounter and how to avoid or overcome the obstacles that are inherent in every leader’s journey. Unfortunately, too many of you did not receive that type of support. You embarked on the journey and God was gracious, faithful and blessed your ministry.

Yet, don’t you agree it would have been beneficial to have someone who was ahead of the curve, with whom you could relate, to coach you along the way?

Have you ever thought about coaching others or receiving coaching?

What do coaches do?

Coaches provide intentional, relational support to create accountability for existing and emerging church leaders.

They assist in assessing and aligning God’s people with His plan. Gary Collins, a leader and pioneer in coaching, defined Christian coaching as, “The practice of guiding and enabling individuals or groups to move from where they are to where God wants them to be.” Christian coaches encourage others to find God’s vision for their lives and from following their own agendas to pursue God’s purposes. Miller and Hall, in their primer on Christian coaching offer the following definition: “Christian coaching is a focused, Christ-centered relationship that cultivates a person’s sustained growth and action.”

Coaching is primarily related to support. A coach doesn’t have to have all the answers, nor are they supposed to constantly tell other leaders what to do. Coaches often are most effective when they help leaders learn to listen to God for themselves. A coach’s goal is to help others succeed. The art of effective coaching can be learned, and the basic process is relatively simple. By following a basic framework and implementing some general coaching skills, you can learn to coach.

How does coaching differ from mentoring?

The primary distinction between coaching and mentoring is the process of training. Coaches generally ask questions to help a leader discover God’s answers. On the other hand, mentors generally give answers, rather than ask questions, in an effort to guide a leader. The coaching or mentoring style may both be used at any time of training. The mentor-disciple relationship is generally characterized by a mentor instructing a disciple, “Do this.” Yet, in a coaching relationship, the coach is primarily helping the leader to discover the answers [e.g. What do you think you should do?] and occasionally instructs the leader to “Do this.” Bob Logan notes, “Good coaching isn’t the art of giving good answers. It’s the art of asking good questions.” When a person discovers a course of action for himself, it will be followed with greater passion and conviction than when a trainer simply tells a leader what to do. What keeps existing and emerging leaders from receiving effective coaching, or becoming effective coaches?

There are numerous reasons, including ignorance of the benefits, but the four most common that I’ve observed are as follows:

1. Time:

Both coaches and the coached are concerned that they don’t have the time to for a coaching relationship in addition to their numerous other responsibilities. Nevertheless, an effective coaching relationship can be established in one hour per month, for 6-12 months. If you are presently unable to figure out how to carve out one hour a month, you’re very likely in need of coaching.

2. Money:

It can be discouraging to say the least when you see a leader charging $200+ for an hour of their time to serve as a coach. Let’s put aside the issue of whether that is a wise or valuable investment of resources to become more effective. I’m aware of many capable and Christ-like mentors who are offering to coach for no money or relatively little money. Trying to make a living by coaching is extremely challenging. So, the more capable leaders who simply recognize that they can give some of their time for the kingdom purpose of training, the more that money will be eliminated as an obstacle.

3. Fear of accountability:

The same attribute of chutzpah that motivates many to seek to become leaders is an obstacle to admitting that we don’t have all the answers and need help. When you discover that you are encountering obstacles to Christian life and ministry, then coaches are an answer. Rather than let the fear of accountability or inadequacy paralyze you, create a healthy relationship with accountability to overcome.

4. Where to begin:

Here are some ideas to overcome the obstacle of wondering where to begin. First, become familiar with a basic approach and general coaching skills. I’ve written a book on the subject called “Coaching,” and it is available for free here. Second, the team at Calvary Church Planting Network [CCPN] and Velo Church Leaders are prepared to coach 30 to 50 leaders for free in 2016. Third, we are interested in expanding the sphere of coaches willing to help aspiring leaders. So, if you want to receive coaching or be part of a team offering coaching, please don’t hesitate to contact me at bruce@velochurchleaders.org.

Over and over again, I discover how easy it is to say the right things, yet how often I must be reminded to live them.

Over and over again, I am reminded how necessary it is that I preach the Gospel to myself.

I know that I am a sinner saved by grace. I have memorized the Scriptures, including whole books of the Bible in my teen years. I have sung the songs and read the stories, and the truths that have shaped my life are settled in my soul.

There is great danger in this kind of knowing. It means that I can say all of the right words without my heart’s chords stirring to the tune of the Gospel. In my daily, ordinary, unseen, unsung life, it means that I can speak of the work of God and fail to recognize how deeply and desperately I need that work in my own life.

To make this practical, let me share a few examples. I have been reading the book of Esther; the story of kings and kingdoms, banquets and brides, feasts and fairness. In the first chapter, we read of Vashti, who refused the summons to the king’s presence. I have heard this passage taught many ways, but the simple application I received as I read was that one woman’s choice held massive implications, not just for her own relationships, but for her whole nation.

Quietly but insistently, God spoke to me:

“The choices that you make hold weight far beyond what you even realise.”

In the light of the Gospel, this means that my God is at work redeeming my poor choices and calling me to the choices that will reflect His sacrificial love.

Practically, this means that I must recognize, in light of the Gospel, that some of my choices will be the ones that must be redeemed. I am a sinner, eternally saved by grace.

It is far easier for me to tell others that their sins are ransomed and redeemed than to examine the ugly reality of my own poor choices. And yet…I am continually discovering my own faults and failings.

To choose another example, for years I have told teenage girls to wait to share their hearts to the one who is God’s best.

Until I fell in love myself and couldn’t figure out how to release that love for over a year. It is easy to say that I should give God my love life. It’s much harder to actually surrender what I desire. It is in light of these failures that the glory of the Gospel becomes ever more radiant. Although I know this is not true, I sometimes imagine that I have earned the relentless love of God. Preaching the Gospel to myself reminds me that every good gift in my life is an act of grace.

In subtle ways, I tend to package grace.

In my life, grace unwrapped looks like the gift it always has been: The unearned favor of a God who gave us a garden and the joy of His presence. In my life, redemption unfolded looks like the tree that springs forth with life from what seems bitter, the cross that carried the death of God Himself that He might live again, the hope that the only true King walked in humility; so that He could live in victory forever.

When I preach the Gospel to myself, I rediscover the wonder, the mystery, the radical awe of a triune God who is Father, Saviour, and Spirit. I re-engage with a love that precedes history and stretches past one trillion tomorrows.

When I preach the Gospel to myself, the story is no longer about me. I am so glad that there is a true and better hero. All of heaven sings His name.