There is nothing I love more than being part of the birth of an idea and seeing it come to fruition. However, I find that if I’m not careful, I can easily focus more on the task at hand rather than its substance and the people involved. One of the best pieces of advice I received from a prior employer was to prioritize people and not just administrative tasks. I continue to use this advice as a gauge to check if I am out of balance.<\/p>\n
The \u201cothers-focused\u201d principles outlined in Mining for Gold<\/em> reaffirmed and put language to a leadership style\/lifestyle where I have grown rather passionate. The concepts of Coaching Leadership resonate with me because a godly leader and friend, Kari Kinard, recognized my potential and empowered me to grow. And most importantly, she encouraged me to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and trust Him as the Great Refiner. It\u2019s a very exciting and liberating process and one can\u2019t help but want others to experience the same freedom.<\/p>\n The terms thriving, abundance, and fullness really stood out to me while reading the text. So often I hear the question, \u201cAre we thriving or just surviving?\u201d At times I have tricked myself into thinking that checking all the boxes is equal to thriving. This is not so. Each of Camacho\u2019s six principles had an impact on me, but the last one particularly stood out to me. All true thriving is relational. God is relational and people matter to Him. As someone who works overseas and desires for people to become followers of Jesus, I completely agree with these words. Yes, God is relational. Of course, people matter to Him. These are easy for me to accept. However, it can be hard to look at myself and ask the hard questions necessary to discover where I lack clarity. It is difficult to find the courage to ask myself, \u201cAm I thriving or just surviving?\u201d I hold to the belief that if I am not thriving, I will be unable to fully see or draw out potential in others.<\/p>\n Leaders can easily find themselves trapped in a scarcity, victim mentality (i.e. lack of funds, personnel, personal talent, time, assets, etc.). It takes intentionality and focus to maintain an abundance mentality. God has given and continues to give abundantly. Camacho does a good job emphasizing the importance of keeping an abundance mentality. Gold is everywhere. We just have to open our eyes to see it. \u201cAnd God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Cor. 9:8 [NIV]).\u201d The idea of abundance mentality is something I greatly appreciate as I have seen the importance of asset-based community development in my work in North Africa.<\/p>\n Desiring to bring others into the fullness of their calling is my desire as a Christian leader. I have seen glimpses of this in North Africa and it is incredible. For three years I worked in a small clinic in one of the poorest areas of the city. Some days seemed desperate. There were many instances when I took a Nathanael attitude and asked, \u201cNazareth! Can anything good come from there? (Jn 1:46 [NIV])?\u201d \u201cCan anything good come out of this clinic?\u201d The answer was, \u201cYes!\u201d My colleague Kari and I chose to implement servant leadership into the clinic\u2019s culture, believing that everyone had the potential to be their own solution. I found the leadership culture presented by Camacho was nearly identical to the environment we sought to create. It was incredible to witness the unique God-given abilities of each colleague. None of these colleagues are followers of Jesus, but seeing the holistic growth that has taken place gives me hope for the day they experience true fullness.<\/p>\n All thriving is relational. These words will stick with me. God has given us the gift of living in fullness with him, and I believe growth and health is a natural outflow from this. \u201cThat [we] may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph 3:19 [NIV]).\u201d Unfortunately, we so often limit ourselves because we lose focus and forget to cooperate with the Great Refiner. However, it is a comfort to know God wants us to thrive. He wants us to experience renewal, and he wants us to share it with others. Camacho’s holistic approach in Leadership Coaching has been invaluable to me because it has given me a new standard by which to measure whether I’m thriving or simply surviving.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Camacho, Tom. Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders Through Coaching<\/em> (London: IVP Press, 2019).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is nothing I love more than being part of the birth of an idea and seeing it come to fruition. 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