{"id":34997,"date":"2024-01-18T09:02:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T17:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=34997"},"modified":"2024-01-18T09:08:59","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T17:08:59","slug":"whos-gold-are-you-minding-errr-i-mean-mining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/whos-gold-are-you-minding-errr-i-mean-mining\/","title":{"rendered":"Who’s Gold Are You Minding? Errr … I Mean Mining?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Created in Canva by Nancy Blackman<\/p><\/div>\n

The title Mining for Gold<\/em> is such an appropriate phrase for the coaching process because a coach isn\u2019t panning on the surface but hoping that the coachee is willing to dig deep for the gold within them. The gold is already there because God put it there. They just need to find it and come to the realization that it\u2019s been there all along.<\/p>\n

I call those aha! moments, and watching a person have an aha! moment is like watching the sun ripple across the ocean. It is beautiful as their face lights up and the Light literally turns on. Priceless. When you watch the movement from \u201cthings I still didn\u2019t understand and hadn\u2019t addressed inside me\u201d[1]<\/a> to that precious space where \u201cclarity helps them make concrete next steps that lead them forward. Those small steps lead to small wins, and a string of small wins leads to momentum.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

And, in my perspective, when a person can dig down deep through the pains and joys of life, they see a true version of themselves and God. And \u2026 that person leads and exists in the world much differently. They laugh a little bit more. They\u2019re more authentic. They even allow themselves to shed a tear in front of others instead of running away because \u2026 last I checked God created humans with many emotions and crying (whether because of sadness or joy) is part of that bag of emotions. So, it\u2019s ok to cry, even in public.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m still working on that part\u2014the crying in public. Part of digging down deep for me is knowing that it\u2019s ok for me too. It\u2019s ok for me to laugh at your funny joke and also cry when something deeply touches me, which is all part of my God-given identity, and yours, too.<\/p>\n

When a person reaches that place something wonderful happens. The genuine and true aspects of their character, which embody the leader that God intended them to be, radiate brilliantly. People become drawn to them like a magnet attaching to a refrigerator. Why? Because they authentically show up being who God intended them to be in the first place.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t you think it\u2019s interesting that Camacho points out that part of the multiplication process is about investing in other people? I love the connection he made between Jesus going off to pray and then knowing who to choose. [3]<\/a> This isn\u2019t about who to choose on the playground but more about who God knows you can invest in because not everyone is meant to meet everyone where they are, right?<\/p>\n

And, just as Camacho has also pointed out, \u201cThe gold and gifts inside people were given for the good of all. We don\u2019t own our lives or our gifts. All we have, we have received. Our role is to be faithful stewards over all God has entrusted to us.\u201d[4]<\/a> There is a process with this, or rather, a caution maybe. We all need to be careful with the who and how. Who is God inviting you to invest that kind of energy and time into and how are you meant to do that?<\/p>\n

As a leader in our last church, I had to learn that lesson when being pulled in many different directions. I also needed to tap into that lesson when I was a missionary to Russia. The word \u201cto\u201d is used intentionally because Americans aren\u2019t granted long-term visas, so I traveled 3-4 times per year, and in between I met virtually with women leaders. But when I was on the ground, my time was theirs because I was only there for a short time, but I had to be careful. I\u2019m an extreme introvert. I learned how to politely let the women know that in the evenings when they would stay up very late, I needed to step away and recharge. It wasn\u2019t that I didn\u2019t want to be with them, but I always told them that if I didn\u2019t, I wouldn\u2019t be any good the next day.<\/p>\n

Camacho shares that sentiment so eloquently, \u201cAs leaders learn how to sow and reap, they enter into the powerful dynamic of this parable. God wants to entrust more to us, but he wisely doesn\u2019t do so until he is sure we are mature enough to handle it all.\u201d[5]<\/a> And that there became my process of maturation, knowing when to sow and when to witness the reaping because that last part \u2013 the reaping \u2013 can be life-changing and magnificent.<\/p>\n

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Here’s the other aha! moment for me. When I noticed what Camacho refers to as the vein of gold within me, I knew I was moving in too many directions that weren\u2019t meant for me. I\u2019m a writer and artist. Those are my sweet spots. \u201cOur sweet spot is a vein where our gold keeps showing up.\u201d[6]<\/a> Some people refer to the sweet spot as the \u201czone\u201d or the place or thing that doesn\u2019t feel like work. That\u2019s what writing and creating does for me. Recently I have added editing to that. Editing, to me, especially helping students with their final portfolios or dissertations is no different than a coach helping someone uncover their gold. I get to witness the glimmer of gold through their writing, and, in some small way, help them cross the finish line.<\/p>\n

Years ago, as I made my way through one job after another, always feeling like I was trying to be the orange when really, I was the apple. Or, here\u2019s a better visual\u2014you know those kids’ toys where they have to put the square object into the right hole? I was always the square trying to fit myself into a circle.<\/p>\n

But no more. I\u2019m done. My body is done and now I do my best to live in my sweet spot so the world can see the vein of gold.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Tom Camcho, Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders Through Coaching <\/em>(London: IVP Press, 2019), 50.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid., 60.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid., 88.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 91-92.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 92.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid., 136.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The title Mining for Gold is such an appropriate phrase for the coaching process because a coach isn\u2019t panning on the surface but hoping that the coachee is willing to dig deep for the gold within them. The gold is already there because God put it there. They just need to find it and come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"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":[2996,2203,2531,3000,1574,35],"class_list":["post-34997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03-camacho","tag-leadershipidentity","tag-miningforgold","tag-veinofgold","tag-coaching","tag-leadership","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34997","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\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34997"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35012,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34997\/revisions\/35012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}