BullardJournal

If You Only Talk with Pastors You May Miss the Point!

Too many Christian parachurch organizations, and some consultants and coaches, only talk with pastors when assessing a congregation. In doing so, they may miss the point. They get a subjective and prejudiced view of reality within the congregation. They get a very important view from the pastor[s], but not always an accurate view.

The point is to know if persons in the pew/chairs are being effectively served and assisted to grow as disciples, and are they being motivated and pulled into the congregation’s external context through missional efforts? To genuinely discover this you must talk with the persons in the pew/chairs, and perhaps for the latter characteristic the people in the congregation’s external context.

Christian Leadership Coaching Track at NEW07

Download news release on NEW07 Coaching Track

My Journey from Consulting to Coaching

I have served as a consultant to leaders, congregations, denominations, and parachurch organizations for 30 years. My consulting skills and processes have served me well, and I hope have served the Church and the Kingdom well.

Over the past ten years, however, I have been on an intentional journey from consulting to coaching. While many factors form the constellation of reasons why I made this journey, a few are crucial.

First, a lot of the one-on-one work I did with leaders actually involved some coaching and some consulting. I began to realize those with whom I did more coaching than consulting made more progress.

Let’s ask a side question or two at this juncture. Was my work more successful when I used a coaching style because of my ability to coach? Or, was my work more successful when I used a coaching style because the people with whom I was having dialogue were so coachable?

Let’s not answer those questions yet. Rather, let’s move on.

Second, I realized the harder I pressed direct consulting techniques, the less likely my client congregations, denominations, or parachurch organizations were to be successful in fulfilling the goals of my intervention with them. The more I was able to coach them along a journey the more successful they were.

O.K. this begs my side questions. Still let’s not go there. Instead let’s introduce a side insight.

Download My_Journey_From_Consulting_to_Coaching

Seven Coaching Services Offered by George Bullard

Here are seven ways to access the coaching you need to reach your ministry potential.

First, request George to coach you by telephone for 22 minutes, at no charge, to give you a taste of what a coaching relationship might be like.

Second, request George to serve as your personal ministry coach. This will involve two fifty-minute telecoaching sessions per month for a minimum of four months. It can also include a reasonable number of e-mail exchanges.

Third, request George to coach your ministry team of two to twelve people through two fifty-minute telecoaching sessions per month, and a reasonable number of e-mail exchanges. The minimum arrangements are for four months.

Download Seven Coaching Services Offered_by_George_Bullard

Do You Need a Coach?

Do you need a coach? How do you know? How do you know you are ready?

A coach can assist you in moving from where you are to where to desire to be in your life and ministry. A coach can increase the quantity and quality of your performance and service in life and ministry. A coach can help you travel or be carriaged from where you are to where you perceive God wants you to be.

One of the greatest evidence of the effectiveness of coaches is that almost all excellent coach have someone who serve as their coach. Therefore, it is a life process issue that is relevant to all of us.

If you believe there are areas of your life and ministry that could be enhanced by someone coming alongside you and joining you in your ministry as a coach, I urge you to do several things.

1. Take the inventory on this blog entitled "How Do I Know I am Ready for a Coach?" It should be on the same page where you are reading this note. You can download it and make copies for yourself and others.
2. Look at coaching on the web. One site to which I relate is www.valwoodcoaching.org.
3. Look at the list of coaches on the left side of this blog and contact some of them for a conversation.
4. E-mail me if you have questions you think I can answer for you.

By the way, there is also an inventory on this page entitled, "Is Your Congregational Leadership Ready for Coaching?" This is a helpful inventory to give to a team, committee, or board who might need to be coached as a group.

How Do I Know I am Ready for a Coach?

Download: How_Do_I_Know_I_Am_Ready_for_a_Coach?

This is an inventory you can take to help determine if you are ready for a coaching relationship.

Is Your Congregational Leadership Ready for Coaching?

Download: Is Your_Congregational_Leadership_Ready_for_Coaching?

This is an inventory congregational leadership can take to determine if they are ready for coaching.

Resources for Congregational Coaching Manual

Download: Resources for Congregational Coaching Manual

Transition and Change Model [PowerPoint]

Download Transition and Change Model [PowerPoint]

Coaching That is Rich, Contextual, or Neutral [PowerPoint]

Download Coaching That is Rich, Contextual, or Neutral [PowerPoint]