Goldmining at the margins
Mining for Gold discusses leadership development through coaching. Specifically, coaching that integrates biblical principles with identity, purpose and strengths. The book is divided into two parts comprising of six chapters each. The first part focuses on the process of discovering God’s gift in one’s life, and the second part on refining or developing the gift. To guide us on how to become coaching leaders, Camacho lays out six important principles, namely: the Holy Spirit does the work of refining, Identity is the foundation of thriving, thriving is based on cooperation with our design, we all have a sweet spot – where we naturally bear fruit, the cross is God’s great refining tool, and ultimately, all true thriving is relational.[1]
This practical book uses the historical background of discovering divinely-deposited gold in South Africa to argue that the task of coaching leaders “is to become gold miners, treasure seekers, who work continuously with God in the search and development of godly kingdom leaders.”[2] In other words, following the model of Jesus in His relationship with the twelve, Christian leaders must diligently seek out the gold/raw talent within emerging leaders and patiently develop it (invest the values that will cause it to thrive) to the point where it is sustainable in the absence of the experienced leader/coach.
This is important because according to Camacho, “There is a battle over the gold of thriving, godly leaders”.[3] Most people would agree that the kingdoms of light and darkness are in fierce competition over leadership talent. For instance, God was very interested in Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego – but so was Satan, who worked hard to defile them with the king’s rich food during their season of training. When that failed, he tried idolatry. Ultimately, he tried to eliminate them through the fiery furnace and a den of hungry lions.
The goal of the book is to “develop godly, thriving leaders”.[4] To this end Camacho explains that “thriving is not just a good idea. It is your birth-right (John 10:10)”.[5] The author also equates the abundant life of John 10:10 with thriving/flourishing.[6]
Overall, the book evokes feelings of gladness in me, especially when I consider its implications for my ministry context, which is low-income communities. Coaching leaders is a new term for me. I’ve heard about servant leaders, transformational leaders, benevolent dictators, but this is a new term. Basically, I understand it to be about experienced leaders who wisely and patiently develop potential/emerging leaders, just like the Lord Jesus developed the twelve, coaching them through the discipleship process. Well, a coach identifies talent in players and maps out a pathway for growth using drills and exercises that seem life threatening but, ultimately, bring out the best in the protégé, student, disciple, apprentice or rookie that perseveres until the end. If this is applied within grassroots communities (at-scale, lovingly, prayerfully and consistently), it seems clear that God will be greatly glorified by the outcome.
Camacho also points out that a coaching leader is here to “help you get to places you cannot reach on your own”.[7] This excellent phrase for discipleship and coaching leadership rings true within low-income communities, where several individuals exist with untapped, and often seemingly unknown, potential. Arguably, this lack of knowledge of the talents that exist within grassroots communities is due to very little personal reflection and belief in self. In thinking about how I might help people in my context “get to places [they] cannot reach on [their] own”, it seems the only way is to follow the model of Jesus by engaging the poor, especially with soul-piercing questions that will help them inventory, develop, and use their God-given gifts for the common good.
[1] Camacho, Tom. Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders through Coaching. (London. Inter-varsity Press, 2019), 16.
[2] Camacho, Mining for Gold, 19
[3] Ibid, 19.
[4] Ibid, 171
[5] Ibid, 171
[6] Ibid, 171
[7] Ibid 171
About the Author
Henry Gwani
Follower of Jesus, husband, father, community development practitioner and student of leadership working among marginalized communities in South Africa16 responses to “Goldmining at the margins”
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Hi Henry, I too am new to the term “coaching leaders.” As a baseball coach with a sports ministry in Hungary and Slovakia, the term “coach” meant lots of things. Teacher of baseball skills, the source of transportation, cook, and even janitor. He was also the glue that held the team together, the disciplinarian and behavior standard setter. Comacho’s book and the comments of our fellow students have opened a whole new world for me. However, one of our organizations questions to coaches was “Who is your GoodSports Junior?” It forced our coaches to realize that they have a certain shelf life. That they were going to have to train up the “coach” for the next generation. This required a spiritual, mental and physical investment in the generation to come. Thanks for your comments. Shalom…Russ
Hi Russ, thanks for your kind words and for highlighting the importance of succession planning and intentionally investing in the next generation. I wish there was more strategic investment in developing godly leaders across Africa. I’m certain that would radically transform the continent and release a generation of young African leaders equipped with the competence to significantly contribute to global leadership in more ways than we’re seeing from Africa today.
Henry. Thank you for your post. I would like to know more about how you might implement the principles in the book, while partnering with the Holy Spirit’s work within your leaders?
Thanks Denise. I think my approach would be to integrate Christian coaching with daily experience. For instance with regards to identity being the foundation of thriving, I would explore helping coachees find their identity in Christ as well as link that identity to the unique significant contributions of their countries, communities, and cultures. I believe this will help address the general inferiority complex among many Africans and release them into the abundant life the Lord desires for us all.
Thank You, Henry; I identify so much with the context that you highlight of the low-income people and the challenges they face in discerning their God-given potential. You have pointed out the role of the coaching leader to help the mentee get to places they cannot reach on their own. What are some of the ways that this coaching approach is practically applicable in your context, can you share a practical example?
Much thanks Mary. I think one way the coaching approach is practically applicable in my context is through regular accountability sessions. This can be weekly or preferably not less than once every two weeks. With the mentee’s permission it should cover questions on practical steps the mentee has taken since the last session on reaching predetermined goals, intimacy with God, family and economic challenges; morality issues, etc.
Henry, I so appreciate your ability to weave your biblical knowledge in your posts. Also, when I read the book and saw Camacho’s repeated biblical input, it made me think of how you do the same so often. My guess is that you are very good at what the book challenges leaders to do: develop others. If you had to share one lesson you’ve learned along the way about developing future leaders, what would it be?
You’re very gracious Roy. I would say I greatly desire to develop leaders but alas, fall very short of developing many. One lesson learnt from the few I’ve been involved with is the importance of modelling the Christian life before talking about it. This way, one speaks with authenticity and person al experience on subjects one is familiar with. For instance, I’ve found it to be much more rewarding to be a prayerful person and then talk about prayer, than to just discuss the subject without a personal experience.
Henry G: I also picked up on that phrase, “Get to places you cannot get to on your own.” I think there are time sin my life when coaching would have helped me a great deal. I got a lot from this book, very helpful, practical and biblical. Nice post.
Much thanks Troy. Like you, I greatly appreciate coaches getting people to places they cannot get to on their own. Imagine the disciples without Jesus and His coaching. Peter would probably still be denying and Thomas doubting 🙂
Sounds like this was a helpful book for you! So glad to hear that. What principles (if any) do you anticipate incorporating into the work God has given you to do?
Much thanks Eric. One of the principles I hope to adopt is helping people thrive through finding their identity in Christ. Imago Dei is a critical issue for the poor, as you know very well through your work at CLDI. So I hope to work with people in helping them know they are made in God’s image and not defined by their circumstances but by what God says about them.
Henry thank you for your Biblical connections with Meshach, Shadrach, and Abindago.
If you were to compare and contrast coaching with servant leadership what would that look like for you?
Thanks Nicole. I never cease to be amazed by the story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego’s courage and faith. I see coaching mainly as “journeying” with coachees in reaching their goals through accountability, and servant leadership as valuing humility in one’s leadership. I believe we need both.
Henry: I feel as if you are an example of being something that you didn’t even know. Innately, you coach those you are walking with – you are clearly a discipler. Now that you understand the term a bit more, would you be interested in also going through coaching? If so, is there anything that comes to mind that you would like to focus on?
Kayli, you’re always so gracious. Yes, I will love to have some coaching, and the area I’ll like to focus on would be to be held accountable for regular progress towards reaching personal and ministry goals. I feel this is such an area of critical need for me but know I can’t commit to a coaching relationship now until after graduation 🙂