And it saved me for ministry. I know that sounds like hyperbole, but it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n
I was neck-deep in the stuff of a turnaround ministry environment, and I was lost. I was young (with three whole years<\/em> of vocational ministry under my belt), newly married, and overwhelmed. The little church on the brink of closure I was pastoring was starting to show signs of life, and the \u201cold guard\u201d struggled with new faces and the stories of brokenness and redemption that came with them. I was clumsy and struggled with how to lead change. I was swimming in the doubt and discouragement that makes you question everything from identity to purpose when a friend reached out by email. The subject line was, \u201cYou need a coach.\u201d \u00a0And in the body of that email, he offered to coach me as part of his development toward further certification there.<\/p>\n We walked through deep waters together, and he played an instrumental role in helping me get clarity of purpose in that season and within myself. Those simple monthly calls helped me cultivate a greater focus on Holy Spirit\u2019s voice and develop courage to follow the leadership of the Spirit. Our relationship became more than just a monthly coaching call. Over time, that coach became a mentor and friend<\/p>\n Years later, after an especially trying period of life and ministry, I was spent<\/strong>\u2014emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially. It felt like any reserves were gone. I called up my coach-mentor-friend and let him know I would be taking a break from the whole ministry thing, and maybe someday I might re-engage with it in a vocational way, but I couldn\u2019t see a path forward for that. He asked good questions, elicited processing from me, and then interjected something: \u201cSometimes, the most restful and recharging thing you can do is go to a place where God is clearly working and join him in it<\/strong>.\u201d He offered me the opportunity to come and just \u201cbe\u201d at his local church, where God was working, and join in with him.<\/p>\n That place became one of great healing and joy for me and my family. I\u2019m not sure what my family’s story would be if it hadn\u2019t been for his coaching, compassion, and willingness to risk with me. His leadership also encouraged me to take a coaching approach to my own ministry and leadership\u2014I had experienced the value of someone working with Holy Spirit to call out really good things even in hard circumstances.<\/p>\n Camacho\u2019s Mining for Gold[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/em> reminded me of those interactions with my friend. It highlighted the value of not only having<\/em> people in our lives who can see what we cannot about how God might want to invite us into his story but also being<\/em> one of those people for others. The process is one of leadership development and multiplication, and Camacho takes an approach that honors the divine-human collaboration of developing others. In some ways, the perspective in Mining for Gold<\/em> reminded me of J. Robert Clinton\u2019s in The Making of a Leader<\/em>[2]<\/a>, where the reader is invited to see the process of development in a cruciform way and see God as the one at work even (or especially!) in seasons that require us to embrace crushing and refining\u2014that\u2019s the only way to get the purest gold.<\/p>\n Everyone longs to know identity, belonging, and purpose. When we are secure in these parts of our lives, we\u2019re freer to give ourselves away and experience the adventure of ministry\u2014whether vocational or not\u2014in a way that leads to flourishing. That security frees us to live authentically (or to \u201cbe real\u201d in Camacho\u2019s terms[3]<\/a>). While I agree that a sense of \u201cstuck-ness\u201d for people may come out of a lack of clarity in this space and failure to live into their design[4]<\/a>, I believe it is important to remember it may be that the leader is in a refining or transforming place\u2014liminality feels a lot like being \u201cstuck,\u201d after all[5]<\/a>.<\/p>\n One thing I\u2019m continuing to process as a follower of Jesus and as someone who leads others is that we are always reproducing ourselves in others (whether intentionally or not). Mining for Gold<\/em> includes the reminder that we don\u2019t reproduce what we wish<\/em> we were\u2014we reproduce what we actually are<\/em>. I want to be the kind of leader who can say, \u201cWhatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me\u2014put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you<\/strong>\u201d (Philippians 4:9). I think I\u2019m closer to that today than I was yesterday, but with miles to go; it will mean continuing to sit in those places of refining even while \u201cmining for gold\u201d with others. It\u2019s there that God may invite me to play some small part in someone else\u2019s story, where they might say, \u201cGreat coaching changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n [1]<\/a>Camacho, Tom. Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders through Coaching<\/em>. Kindle. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2019.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Clinton, J. Robert. The Making of A Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership<\/em>. Revised edition. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2012.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Camacho, Tom. Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders through Coaching<\/em>. Kindle. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2019, 83).<\/p>\n