Just this week the Dallas Cowboys were sent home packing from the NFL Playoffs. Down 27-0 in arguably the worst first-half playoff performance in team history with the half winding down and Dallas seconds away from being shut out the Cowboys have time for one more play. The home crowd is hopeful, many on their feet. We are all glued to our TVs and electronic devices. It is now 3rd and 10 on the Green Bay 11. Dak Prescott steps back and throws a quick pass connecting with Cee Dee Lamb for the catch right at the 1-yard line and just as Lamb begins to position his body to turn and take it into the end zone for the score\u2026. BAM!!! He is quickly crushed by two defenders falling just short of the goal line, never making it in.<\/p>\n
Tom Camacho’s Mining for Gold can be described similarly. Falling just short of taking it all the way into the end zone. A Leadership book that can easily capture readers through its suggestive headline is indeed filled with potential and possibilities. Camacho’s writing is hinged on a great premise, the successful marriage of leadership coaching principles into our daily lives will generate an impact that can be multiplied as people are set free to succeed in leadership and life. More specifically, discovering the gold in people by looking deeper at their talents, gifts, and skills, while allowing the Holy Spirit to be the head coach.<\/p>\n
This book is a definite golden resource for beginners. His writing is very authentic. You can sense him wanting to genuinely equip others for leadership. He guides readers into his personal journey of leadership formation as a platoon leader, helicopter pilot in the US Army, and corporate leader with General Electric. These secular experiences would serve as the foundation for Camacho as he would later transition into pastoral ministry.<\/p>\n
Leadership Coaching is certainly not for everyone but if a person has an interest this book has helpful and practical cues in steering someone in the right direction, \u201cCoaches become thinking partners who help leaders discover what is most important in their busy lives and move them towards a more fruitful future.\u201d Coaching is a major aspect of emphasis in the book and I have an appreciation for how Camacho takes the time to spotlight how to become more effective in this area.<\/p>\n
One nugget worth highlighting was Camacho’s perspective on filling positions vs freeing people to be who God wants them to be. This was truly a golden nugget. This predicament has the potential to leave many leaders and ministries in a precarious position. In my ministry context as a Senior Pastor, I could easily relate to this. Looking with a closer lens across the post-pandemic landscape, churches are in survival mode while navigating the pros and cons of congregational volunteerism. Couple that alongside a surge in apathetic attendance, and one can easily see how filling positions can and has become the default mechanism so many utilize for sustaining ministry.<\/p>\n
Another highlight of the reading is the careful attention placed upon emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the leader and people. All too often we read, see, and hear of leadership failure and can point to how the flesh, power, and ego are the prime suspects in their demise. Reading in a detailed manner how the Holy Spirit can be enabled daily was refreshing.<\/p>\n
While there were several strong points made throughout the book from my perspective, Mining for Gold did not take the deep dive itself. Several times throughout the reading, I felt as though I was going through my reel section on social media with, “Here are five things, here are ten things….”. From my perspective, the multiple key points formats created a lack of cohesiveness, making it difficult for a reader to easily harness and retain the essentials needed for leadership excellence.<\/p>\n
If you are looking for a good Christian leadership book, I would say this is a great tool for those in the formative years of spiritual leadership. It is replete with scriptural and spiritual references which makes the connection very easy for people of the Christian faith. However, this centralized approach does have its drawbacks. If you are not Christian, this reading probably would not be appealing to you as it lacks the crossover dynamics needed to reach a hybrid audience. Overall Camacho has a high-powered product, but leaves experienced leaders and readers just short of the goal line.<\/p>\n
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Camacho, Tom. Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders Through Coaching, 43. IVP, 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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