Mentoring & Coaching Pastors
Coaching Pastors To Hang On
Do any of these words describe your condition: Confused, frustrated, burned out, lonely, afraid, attacked, bitter, escape. Or what about these: Angry, hurt, guarded, empty, performing, regret, why me? Welcome to an exclusive and private club. They didn’t tell you about these issues during your ordination, or did they? Bless that ninety-year-old woman who told you that you would be the next Billy Graham. Much like myself, you’re probably still waiting for that prophecy to materialize.
In all seriousness, the paragraph above is autobiographical. I get it, or should I say, “I got it.” Oh that someone had been able to walk me through these desolate valleys when I needed it most. The reality is that you will be shunned if you let this kind of thinking leak out in most settings. Few people understand what it’s like to be you. And the ones who do, are still trying to fake that they’ve got it all together. Such is the game that preachers play. It comes from standing too long on a pedestal or living in a fishbowl under the gaze of watchful eyes.
Ready For A Change?
This may be the most important thing that anyone other than God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit has ever said to you, “You don’t have to live this way an longer.” You have my permission to stop living as though others hold the mortgage on your life. This is not freedom. I have been coaching pastors for a long time. This is not the real, abundant life that Jesus was talking about, either. It’s not even His yoke that you must wear in the ministry. I’ll tell you what it is. It’s warfare. It’s the type of condition that weakens a minister’s heart and makes him vulnerable to fall during a wave of temptation.
For heaven’s sake and the sake of your ministry, get help. Find someone safe who will listen to your story without the threat of condemnation. Your wife and your children will thank you for it, especially since it takes real humility to admit that you’re really human. They’re hurting just as much as you are and need you to be a leader. Yes Sir, first and foremost over yourself.
I can help you in other ways too. I’m the type of listener who allows you to test drive a new vision or ministry initiative. I can help you clarify the communication process, assist you in discovering the steps to implement the strategy, and even challenge your thinking to make sure that it’s of God, and not of man.
So there you have it. I’ve been coaching pastors, staff and fellow ministers for years. Perhaps we share the right chemistry, and I will be able to empower you as well. After a thirty-minute conversation, we’ll both know whether it’s gonna happen. Just sayin’.
Briar Patch Church Consulting exists to help pastors thrive in ministry. Our skill set includes a variety of technical capabilities as well, i.e., marketing, branding, webdesign, and SEO. We have over 30 years of experience in helping pastors meet challenges and set a new course in their ministries. Nothing matters more than the success of God’s Kingdom in the hearts and lives of men and women. Allow us to lead you beyond your present circumstances and toward a new day!
