{"id":35042,"date":"2024-01-18T17:36:21","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T01:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35042"},"modified":"2024-01-18T17:36:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T01:36:21","slug":"to-them-who-are-called","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/to-them-who-are-called\/","title":{"rendered":"To Them Who Are Called"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the title of this week\u2019s reading, I expected to learn how to coach Kingdom leaders.\u00a0 Although, Camacho speaks to this, what I gleaned from <\/span>Mining for Gold<\/span><\/i> was much different.\u00a0 It affirmed my belief that I\u2019m designed to thrive, not just survive.\u00a0 He confirmed that stunted growth is a result of an empty cup and a forgotten purpose.\u00a0 He reminded me that awkward silence is only uncomfortable because of a cultural norm that expects all space must be occupied.\u00a0 Kingdom coaches guide to thrive, fill cups, remember God\u2019s design.\u00a0 They comfortably sit in discomfort and wait for breakthroughs to create more space for the Holy Spirit to reside. I appreciate this wisdom as I prepare to find my own coach to support this doctoral journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Camacho is very clear in his delineation between a good leader and a Kingdom leader.\u00a0 A good leader can learn the skills and master the practice to lead folks anywhere for any purpose, despite their character. Kingdom leaders are called \u201c<\/span>to mine for the gold in others, cooperate with God as he refines that gold and then help them invest that gold in the kingdom.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>To be called to do something is very different than just picking something to do.\u00a0 A calling is given, a gift – one that Camacho says not everyone gets.\u00a0 This is also why I will be very careful and pray for discernment when it comes to selecting my coach.<\/span><\/p>\n

My coach will need to understand my past in order to be present and help build my future. Camacho makes reference to this past and reframes it: \u201c<\/span>Whatever difficult circumstances we have endured, God knows where we are and has allowed us to be there.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>I did not grow up religious. In fact, my mother did her very best to instill a strong anti-Christian sentiment.\u00a0 Despite her efforts, the call of God was loud enough to temper such influence.\u00a0 In time I came to Christ, tripping and stumbling, and unsure what to do next. I asked my self during this reading: how might my life have been different if I’d had a Kingdom coach?<\/span><\/p>\n

I suppose my first glimpse of what a Kingdom coach might have looked like was through my cousin Suzanna who lived \u2018round the bend of our country backroad.\u00a0 She was one year older than me, a regular church-goer, and lived in the bliss of being well protected from the world.\u00a0 She also magnified the \u201cO\u201d in Camacho\u2019s GOLD model; she remained open to see God working in my life.\u00a0 She could see and hear through the Spirit, so when I told her what my world looked like at home or school, she didn\u2019t offer me advice, she just sat with me.\u00a0 Her silent presence was so filling, I believed I was not alone.\u00a0 That belief is what my soul needed to grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When she did speak it was to tell me that God made me for a purpose.\u00a0 She believed in it, even if I didn\u2019t, because she believed in God.\u00a0 Her conviction convinced me, and I accepted Christ into my heart at age nine. A Kingdom coach might have helped me as a new disciple, perhaps expedite the growth and progress in my Christian walk, but God did put people in my life to at least keep me merging into the right lane to become a good leader.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping this program will put me on the freeway towards becoming a Kingdom leader.<\/span><\/p>\n

Camacho\u2019s coaching is similar to the spiritual direction I experienced while living in South Carolina.\u00a0 I\u2019d just returned from teaching at a Christian school in Incheon, South Korea to work at a faith-based community development corporation. I was inspired by the leader\u2019s intentional involvement in the spiritual formation of his staff. He helped me find a spiritual director to match my movement in life.\u00a0 It was the first time I had someone help me one-one-one with a Christ-Centered focus.\u00a0 I was 41 years old.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Admitting the length of time that occurred between accepting Christ and allowing myself to be formed by Christ makes me feel like an imposter in an audience of Christian leaders. I imagine most folks in this program have been in the church all their life, or have been guided by fathers who were pastors, or hold MDiv degrees.\u00a0 I\u2019m a layperson. I don\u2019t have the religious background, or the pastoral degree.\u00a0 I am encouraged, however, to find a Kingdom coach who will see me and join me in the search for the treasures I can offer. A Kingdom coach is Open to see the child inside the coachee, to recognize Kingdom leaders through God\u2019s eyes, not what they think such leaders should be or look like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have met many people with a similar life experience to mine.\u00a0 Like me, they have invested considerable effort to heal and grow from past hurts through self-help books, professional therapy, special retreats, etc.\u00a0 The expected result of these types of approaches is that once I heal myself, I become whole and can therefore thrive – as a leader at work, as a parent at home, as a neighbor in the community.\u00a0 What Camacho suggests, however, reminded me from where this power to heal comes. \u00a0 \u201c<\/span>We will never experience real and lasting thriving when we begin with ourselves. To thrive we must begin with God<\/span><\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the title of this week\u2019s reading, I expected to learn how to coach Kingdom leaders.\u00a0 Although, Camacho speaks to this, what I gleaned from Mining for Gold was much different.\u00a0 It affirmed my belief that I\u2019m designed to thrive, not just survive.\u00a0 He confirmed that stunted growth is a result of an empty cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":192,"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":[3001],"class_list":["post-35042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-camacho-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35042","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\/192"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35042"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35044,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35042\/revisions\/35044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}