I spent the weekend in a training workshop on coaching as a ministry skill. With a community of other missionaries here in San Diego, we practiced listening well, developing powerful questions, and helping people discover what they need to do to fully live out God's calling. It was refreshing because honestly, it feels like many of the things we do in ministry are based on gifts, talents, and hunches we follow. That makes certain people the "good" ones, the wise ones, the ones who can fix your problem for you. In contrast, as our roomful of people practiced coaching one another on real-life situations, I never worried that oh, I might get a "dud" coach. It was pretty straightforward. The coach followed the rules and asked the suggested types of questions, and the "coachee" almost always uncovered new insights and ways of thinking about things. It's not that there's a 'magic bullet' skill involved-- rather, there is a dramatic effect when we act as though we truly believe that God wants to speak and reveal himself to his children, and the coach merely facilitates that happening.
Seeing it work for myself was obvious reassurance, but I think I also needed the workshop's reminder about trusting the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that it's OUR words, wisdom, and brilliant insights that change others' lives. It's because we told them that they're talented or because we corrected their mistake that they moved forward, right? It's because we said all the right things at exactly the right time. Oh but no! Where's the faith in that? Where's our humility as servants? We still guide people compassionately and carefully, but we do not coach as experts and super-stars. And that is a relief.
"I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?" (Psalm 56:4)