{"id":35016,"date":"2024-01-18T19:14:25","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T03:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35016"},"modified":"2024-01-18T19:14:25","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T03:14:25","slug":"pay-dirt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/pay-dirt\/","title":{"rendered":"Pay Dirt"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I saw the cover of “Mining for Gold” by Tom Camacho, my mind raced back several years to when my wife and I binged a reality TV show called “Gold Rush,” which follows crews mining for gold in the Yukon Territory.\u00a0 By the end of the second season, we were experts ready to set out and stake our claim.\u00a0 We learned the lingo and threw around terms like “Pay Dirt” and “Efficient Volume” with a tone of expertise. It is fascinating to consider the resources they are willing to expend for one speck of gold.\u00a0 Thousands of hours, thousands of gallons of diesel fuel, tons upon tons of dirt.\u00a0 It is mining at an industrial scale with the goal of a high-efficiency rate.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This mining is very different from the panning process described by Camacho, where a miner would take a pan along a creek or riverbed, scoop up some gravel and dirt from the bottom, and allow the running water to remove lighter dirt and rocks, leaving behind the heavier gold pieces (Camacho, 59).\u00a0 When you do find gold, according to my expertise gained from hours of \u201cGold Rush,\u201d the dirt you are sifting is called “Pay Dirt.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are all \u201cPay Dirt,\u201d a mixture of debris with deposits of gold God has placed in us.\u00a0 However, it requires mining.\u00a0 Camacho explains a four-part Mining for Gold process in Chapter 4, which I find beneficial:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Deep listening<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Asking great questions<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Cooperating with the Holy Spirit\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Determining the right next steps<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As I consider this four-part process, I can\u2019t help but see it as a slow and steady process, requiring patience and waiting on the Lord.\u00a0 Camacho contends it is a simple and powerful process that requires cooperation with the Holy Spirit, but according to his own story, it is not expedient.\u00a0 In the same way that panning for gold is a significantly different approach to mining than the industrialized mining used in the Yukon Territory, this Mining for Gold coaching process is a slower process that may conflict with the productivity and results-driven priorities in our current culture. I wonder if we aren\u2019t more industrialized in our approach and need to consider the patient Holy Spirit-dependent process encouraged by Camacho.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    In my leadership experience as a Senior Pastor, I have been using a coaching model similar to the one explained by Camacho with my team.\u00a0 It takes time, patience, and trust.\u00a0 When done well, it helps cultivate a flourishing culture by prioritizing people’s development over task accomplishment.\u00a0 It\u2019s the paradigm shift of freeing people vs. filling positions Camacho describes in Chapter 2.\u00a0 Coaching in a way that gives room and freedom for gifts, callings, and passions to surface. However, Camacho seems to leave out the challenges this can pose in an organizational context.\u00a0 \u00a0Organizations inherently require a certain infrastructure complete with org charts and job descriptions.\u00a0 People are hired to fill specific roles that come with specific responsibilities.\u00a0 The Mining for Gold process empowers people and can result in people changing roles or even leaving the organization altogether, generating further transitions churning up confusion and, in some cases, fear.\u00a0 For an organization to facilitate the development of people, it needs to develop a flexible structure and appreciate the leading of the Holy Spirit in the life of its members as he unearths and refines the gold deposits. In light of this, I appreciate the emphasis in chapter 3 Camacho places on the thriving a good coach can help bring by helping people through pain and fear by bringing clarity. \u00a0 Camacho states, \u201cClarity changes everything.\u00a0 With clarity, we can see the larger story.\u00a0 When we get clarity around our Christ-centered identity, thriving is the natural result.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    As I read \u201cMining for Gold\u201d this week, I was studying through John 14-16 with my church family. I\u2019ve read those chapters of John several times before, but this time, I couldn\u2019t help but notice Jesus coaching his disciples, bringing clarity in areas similar to those Camacho references in Chapter 3.\u00a0 Camacho identifies those areas needing clarity as:<\/span><\/p>\n