Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders A Practical Guide for Those Who Lead And Shepherd Small Group Leaders

Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders Copyright © 2006 by Willow Creek Association Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Donahue, Bill. Coaching life-changing small group leaders : a practical guide for those who lead and shepherd small group leaders / Bill Donahue and Greg Bowman. p. cm. ISBN-13: 978-0-310-25179-8 ISBN-10: 0-310-25179-6 1. Christian leadership. 2. Small groups. 3. Church group work. 4. Personal coaching. I. Bowman, Greg. II. Title. BV652.1.D66 2006 253'.7 - dc22 2005031941 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version". Copyright © 2001 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other - except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for the life of this book. Interior design by Mark Sheeres Printed in the United States of America 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Part One A Vision for Coaching What is coaching? Why is it so essential to have people in the church who are willing to guide and encourage leaders? What does it look like when someone takes on this role and invests in the life of a leader? In order to become and build effective coaches in the church, first we need to embrace a vision for the practice of coaching. It is often a misunderstood role, mistaken by some to mean "boss" or "fault-finder." But that's not coaching, at least not when the spiritual growth of leaders and church members is at stake. It is different from mere oversight or supervision. Coaching is personal, developmental, and supportive. Coaches bring out the best in leaders. So let's take a few moments to get a clearer picture of what is means to coach leaders in the church. John Donahue, Bill's dad, was in his forties when he became the head swimming coach of George Washington High School in Philadelphia. For fifteen years, the teams he coached remained undefeated in league competition. Think about that for a moment - fifteen undefeated seasons in a row. Obviously he had everything needed to establish such a winning tradition: years of swimming experience on a nationally ranked college team, the fastest swimmers in the league, and the greatest training facilities in the city of Philadelphia. With all of that, one would expect him to win. Except he didn't have all of these advantages - actually, he had none of them. John was an unlikely swimming coach, and Washington High was an unlikely place for a swimming dynasty to take root. The team practiced only three days a week at a rented facility, because that was all the schoolDonahue, Bill is the author of 'Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders A Practical Guide for Those Who Lead And Shepherd Small Group Leaders', published 2006 under ISBN 9780310251798 and ISBN 0310251796.