{"id":34883,"date":"2024-01-15T03:14:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T11:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=34883"},"modified":"2024-01-15T03:14:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T11:14:23","slug":"going-for-the-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/going-for-the-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Going for the Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

No pressure here folks.\u00a0 Our second blog post, not fully confident in our reading and writing abilities and we are assigned Tom Camacho\u2019s Mining for Gold [1]<\/a>. I picked up the book and read the comments on the back, I read a blog post I found online and then I read the reviews inside the front cover and there is one written by Dr. Jason Clark stating that leaders need to read this book.\u00a0 Then I read the Acknowledgement page and there is an acknowledgement directed to Dr. Clark \u201cI thank my dear friend Jason Clark for activating this book project in me and opening the door to it being written\u201d [2]<\/a> How thoroughly do I read this book is a question? I asked myself.\u00a0 I did not read every word or every page, but what I did read caused me to think and process many things. I\u2019m looking forward to hearing from Camacho on the twenty-second.<\/p>\n

I really had no concept as to what a life coach<\/em> is.\u00a0 When I hear the word coach, I think about sports, my kids\u2019 track and cross-country coach or The Ohio State University football coach.\u00a0 Along with that, I think of kids that are unhappy with the decision the coaches make or the parents and fans that constantly question the coach\u2019s decisions because they, parents and fans, know better.\u00a0 Camacho\u2019s book provided for me a clearer and brighter picture of what coaching can look like.<\/p>\n

I appreciate Camacho\u2019s metaphor of Mining for\u00a0Gold<\/em> used throughout the book.\u00a0 I like how we need to be looking for the gold<\/em> that already exists inside the church walls, or whatever a person\u2019s ministry context is.\u00a0 How many people attending our churches already possess the gifts, talents, and skills we are looking for to help our church flourish?\u00a0 I also appreciate how we, as leaders, need to help those within our circle of influence find the untapped gold<\/em> that exists within them.\u00a0 We are tasked with helping people find and develop their unused gifts, talents, and skills.<\/p>\n

As a social worker and professor, I see many similarities between the Mining for Gold process and what I teach my students to do when working with clients.\u00a0 Deep listening is a skill many of us struggle to do well, we are often quick to give suggestions or think about what we want to say next.\u00a0 As we look to mold and shape leaders, I really like what Camacho says \u201cmost leaders rarely get a chance just to talk and process life with a caring, trusted friend.\u00a0 Deep listening is where this begins\u201d.[3<\/a>] As<\/u><\/span>\u00a0a Christian who is in the helping profession, I too attempt to practice both deep listening and \u201cdual listening\u201d, listening to my client and to the Holy Spirit. [4]<\/a> This is where I find silence to be very helpful.\u00a0 After a client has spoken, silence can be used as a time for the client to self-reflect on what they just said, and I have time to process what they said and pray for the words God would have me say next.<\/p>\n

The final step of the Mining for Gold Process, \u201cDetermining the right next step\u201d again is similar to what I do and teach my students but differs greatly from the idea of coaching that I had.[5<\/a>] I<\/u><\/span>\u00a0see a coach as being the decision maker, the one who makes the calls.\u00a0 However, Camacho says that we help the person determine and take ownership in what they do next, we are there to support them and hold them accountable.[6]<\/a> No blaming the coach.<\/p>\n

Camacho uses Psalm 92 to discuss what a thriving leader looks like [7]<\/a>.\u00a0 Being able to bear fruit, naturally, and with little effort, what Camacho refers to as our \u201csweet spot\u201d caused me to stop and reflect. [8]<\/a> Have I found my sweet spot?\u00a0 I felt a call into the ministry in high school and there have been several occasions over the years that people have made me question whether I have been running away from that call.\u00a0 I have responded through prayer and asking God for clarity.\u00a0\u00a0 I do know that one of my sweet spots is being in front of people.\u00a0 I love teaching and I have preached a few sermons in my church.\u00a0 However, the idea of pastoral leadership frightens me.\u00a0 \u00a0I served as an elder in my church from 2017\u20142022.\u00a0 Camacho talked about warning lights that we may see that \u201cpoint to a need for us to embrace the cross.\u201d[9]<\/a>\u00a0 During 2022 I experienced some of those warning lights in various degrees and could not wait to be done serving as an elder.\u00a0 I entered 2023 saying that I will probably never serve as a leader in my church again and entered this program to learn what good healthy leadership is supposed to look like.\u00a0 One of our assignments for this semester is to have a meeting with a coach. \u00a0It is an assignment I was not looking forward to.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need a coach.\u00a0 \u00a0After reading Camacho\u2019s book and processing what he had to say maybe a session or two with a coach would not be a bad idea.\u00a0 Maybe I can get some clarity and seek to find my true sweet spot.<\/p>\n

One final closing thought, reading the Foreword to the book, I really appreciate the words of John Wright \u201cMost of us are probably doing some of the good works which God has designed someone else to do.\u00a0 As long as we hold on to them, not only are we in danger of striving rather than thriving, but actually we could be denying someone else the opportunity to fulfil his or her calling.\u201d[10]<\/a>\u00a0 If I haven\u2019t found my sweet spot, am I standing in someone else\u2019s?<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Tom Camacho, Mining For Gold<\/em> (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2019).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Camacho, xi.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Camacho, 61.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Camacho, 67.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Camacho, 69.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Camacho, 69.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Camacho, 92.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Camacho, 133.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Camacho, 150.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Camacho, X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No pressure here folks.\u00a0 Our second blog post, not fully confident in our reading and writing abilities and we are assigned Tom Camacho\u2019s Mining for Gold [1]. I picked up the book and read the comments on the back, I read a blog post I found online and then I read the reviews inside the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1555],"class_list":["post-34883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-camacho","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34884,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34883\/revisions\/34884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}