Right now I’m taking care of myself in some new ways. With the warmer weather, I’m out working in my garden again – what’s so great about that is that I’m able to disengage my brain and engage my muscles. The wonderful result is that I actually end up engaging my brain after all, but in a totally different way. I’m blessed with all sorts of creative ideas and synchronicities that never occur to me when I’m trying to make them happen. I get the same benefits when I take myself for a walk around the block, which I’m doing every day.

Another bonus of my time outside is that I’ll have the company of my dogs, who will pester me constantly to throw the ball for them. That kind of unabashed commitment to play and companionship is so transformational to witness. They are excellent role models for taking time for what’s really important.

Another way I take care of myself is to spend time on my favorite hobby – restoring my Corvette sports car (I’ll post a photo when I’m a little farther along with it). I’m even thinking about joining local club of ‘Vette enthusiasts so I can hang out with some like-minded people.

What are some of the new ways you might take care of yourself? When do you lose yourself in a favorite task or hobby? Who helps you remember to take time to play?

I wanted to stretch into spending more time working ON my business rather than IN my business, a concept explored in The E-Myth Revisted by Michael E. Gerber (highly recommended). Pastors, I know you can relate to this concept of being so busy working IN your ministry every day that you’re not working ON  it – such as taking time to create a vision and working towards making it happen.

Talking with my coach and taking that time to be 100% focused on my own goals, it was effortless for me to be fully present in the conversation and get a laser-focused view of my situation. Even more importantly, this is someone outside of my business – in fact, he’s not professionally involved in the church at all. And that objective perspective is invaluable. This is a good reminder for pastors-turned-coaches to be open to finding clients in corporate settings – they may be just as eager for the new different vantage point you have to offer.

For anyone reading this who has not experienced the power of coaching, please visit our Find a Coach page for a free introductory session with any of our coaches. There is no obligation, only an opportunity for a powerful conversation that is completely focused on your needs and goals.

Choose your coach and book your complimentary session now.

Powerful questions open us to possibilities beyond the reality that’s in front of us today, stretching us into the territory of our visions to ask, “What is God’s invitation for us in this situation today?” – J. Val Hastings, Change Your Questions, Change Your Church

Powerful questioning is one of the most important elements of the coaching approach. Last year I shared a series of my favorite coaching questions, and there are plenty more in my newest book, Change Your Questions, Change Your Church: How to Lead with Questions.

Where could powerful questions lead you and your church?

• To a greater vision of what is possible
• To concrete action steps
• To a place of deeper curiosity, discovery and awareness
• To a much-needed reality check
• To acknowledgement of who you are
• To a deeper experience of God

This book is filled with stories from churches just like yours. You’ll read how they applied a coaching approach of powerful questioning, which led to a greater impact in both their church and their broader community. Using their examples, along with the sample questions and practical instructions included, you can have the same results in your church.

If you’re ready to change your questions and change your church, click here for your copy now.

We encourage pastors to bring along someone else from their worship community, and this is  often a lay leader or church official. Almost everyone who has gone through the training – whether ordained or non-ordained – tells us how useful it is, how they wish they’d gone through it sooner, and how helpful it was to them personally – not just as a skill set for the workplace.

The other exciting thing about this week’s training is that while I’m in Missouri, another Coaching4Clergy team member will be in the UK delivering coach training to another group of pastors.

Every pastor, ministry staff and church leader a coach.

The training is working. The vision is spreading. The world is awakening.

Thank you.

Tom is a life-long learner. He has a BA in Spanish and History with a Secondary Teaching Certificate from Houston Baptist University; a Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Religious Education, and a Doctor of Ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a Certified Coach; trained in Mediation and Dispute Resolution with Richard Blackburn, and Conflict Resolution and Mediation with Nancy Ferrell. He has authored and translated several books as well as produced over 200 book summaries found at booksummaries.tomlaw.org.

Tom finds his most utmost fulfillment in helping people achieve their dreams and visions. He can help you through coaching, whether it’s dealing with personal issues or business issues. Transitions are a dynamic time of change. They can either help us move further down our chosen path or crush us. Tom enjoys helping people learn how to grow through their transitions and become the people they were meant to be.

Business Phone:  214-499-3774

Email Tom

Since we’ve been talking this month about what we can be celebrating in April (there’s Easter, of course, and also National Volunteer Week), is there a way to turn even tax time into something to celebrate? You bet!

Think of it this way: Tax time is a chance to tally up your debits and credits for the year; to step back, take stock and take a good honest look at what you’ve accomplished. And once your taxes are out of the way, you’re free to tally up your ministry the same way.

For some people, looking at the balance sheet shows they’re in the red – depleted of time, energy and ideas. Others haven’t stopped long enough to realize how well they were doing, and they certainly didn’t celebrate or acknowledge themselves.

What do you want your ministry balance sheet to read in April 2013?

What needs to happen between now and then to make that a reality?

Who do you need to be in order to make those things happen?

Another precious thing that organizations all over North America are celebrating this month is the spirit of volunteerism, with National Volunteer Week. This is typically the time of year when many communities honor their volunteers with appreciation, awards and ceremonious events.

One of the best ways to recognize and honor your volunteers is to give them plenty of opportunities to use their natural gifts and talents.  Delegate as many tasks as you can, so that you’re playing to your strengths and letting other people express theirs.

How do you recognize and reward your volunteers for their work?

How do you match volunteers to the jobs that use their strengths?

Please add your comments and ideas below or contact me directly.

Even though he said it years before coaching was fully developed as a profession, the line fits right into the coach approach to ministry. In coaching, our focus is on what’s great, what’s right and what’s going well. We’re looking ahead to Sunday, rather than getting bogged down with trying to fix whatever feels wrong about today.

Well, right now I know that many of you are feeling bogged down in Easter preparations in your own congregations and communities. Some of my clients have even been asking, “So when is it going to be Easter for me?”

The first thing I tell them is that they’re not alone. I’m hearing similar things from pastors and church leaders across the board. The next thing I suggest is to reframe the question - from looking at what is wrong and needs to be fixed, to what is great and worth celebrating.

I ask them the same thing that I’ll now ask you: “How can YOU celebrate Easter?” On a personal level, not in your leadership role. More importantly, how can you celebrate in the simplest way possible? Instead of adding to your feelings of overwhelm and obligation, what would feel like you were adding to the joy of the season?

Keeping with the theme of simplicity, how can you simplify your Easter preparations in your church? What can you delegate to people who would be thrilled to use their own particular strengths? How can you pare down your plans where they’ve gotten more elaborate or complex than they need to be?

Re-living and re-hearing the stories behind the holiday is the most important way to celebrate. As clergy we’re often so immersed in helping others do that, we don’t get to do it ourselves. I commented back in December about how reading the Christmas story in the scriptures is one of the ways I take time to celebrate.

Another big theme in coaching is empowering the individual to create his or her own reality. So if you’re feeling bogged down with Easter preparations, what can you do to create a different experience for yourself? Instead of wishing and pining for your own Easter holiday, how can you add some celebration and rejuvenation to your life right now – in the midst of your busy-ness?

I’d love to hear your ideas – please comment below or contact me personally.

She has over 25 years of experience in training and leading people in faith-based settings. Jane has worked with individuals and groups to define purpose, develop a strategic plan and implement action steps. She uses her teaching skills, education, and experiences in coaching, consulting and training approaches to meet clients on their terms. Jane is a Coaching4Clergy certified trainer. She also has MA and MACE degrees in education and several certifications.

In addition to training, she also works with clients as a personal coach. Personal coaching, customized training, and speaking are available through Take the Next Step LLC which she founded to help others go for their IT!

Contact Jane via email, or phone.  She will help you take the next step!

Business Address:

5405 Maltdie Ct.
Sugar Hill, Ga 30518
United States

Business Phone: (404) 432-2701

Email:  Jane Bishop

What do today’s pastors, church leaders and leadership teams need to stop? They need to stop asking questions!

You’re probably surprised to hear me say that, being a coach and coach trainer. After all, questions are the very foundation of coaching. In fact at a recent coach training program, several of the students were struck by the potential value of a well-placed powerful question and were eager to try it out at their own churches. One pastor was excited about how “this is going to transform our church leadership meetings.” Off they went, back to the real world, new skills in hand.

The following week, one by one, these new coaches came back into the class. Yet those bright, hopeful faces from the previous class were gone. Instead, we saw puzzled, bewildered and confused expressions. As we debriefed their experiences from the previous week, several students reported that when they tried out the powerful questioning techniques they had learned, their questions had fallen as flat as lead balloons. One pastor stated that after posing his powerful question, a board member actually responded, “Huh?”

Upon further discussion, what we discovered is that while they believed they were asking powerful questions, some of their questions were too long or in-depth for their listeners to follow. Others had asked what they thought were open-ended questions, but which turned out to be closed questions in disguise.

Another group of pastors, who were all from the same church, had asked very strong powerful questions, yet they weren’t relevant to the leadership team’s agenda. “We were so focused on using powerful questions that we completely forgot to listen to what the team was talking about. No wonder they looked at us like we were from Mars or had two heads or something.”

What these students ran into is the same thing happening in churches everywhere. Limiting, unhelpful questions that bring innovation and collaboration to a screeching halt. Today’s pastors, church leaders and leadership teams need to stop asking these types of questions, and start asking powerful questions instead!

Here’s a story that demonstrates how one church group reframed their unhelpful question into a powerful question and saw remarkable results.

What is God’s invitation for us in this situation today?

“We don’t have any children or youth at our church on Sunday mornings. How can we compete with the other churches in town? What will it take for fill up our Sunday morning classes again?” 

The church asking these questions was made up of people primarily 65+ years or older. Their children and grandchildren had grown up in this church and moved on. They desperately wanted to fill their Sunday programs for children and youth.

Their church coach asked them, “What are the unique opportunities for kids at your church right now?” The group couldn’t come up with any answers. “Okay,” the coach finally said, “Never mind Sundays. What are some opportunities for kids to be at your church on the other days of the week?” They agreed to ponder that question on their own.

A few weeks later, the coach returned for a follow-up session. To his surprise, the church members reported: “You know, we need to stop trying to be like other churches on Sunday. That’s just not us – at least not right now. On Sunday, we’re church just like we’ve been for the past 50+ years. That’s not going change in the near future. But we can be different from Monday-Friday. Most of us are retired and the community really needs an after-school program with tutoring. We can offer that.

The question had changed from, “What will it take to fill up our Sunday morning children’s programs?” to, “How can we make a difference from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday?”

Can you see the difference it made in this church when they changed their question? Are you ready to change your questions and change your church? Good news! This blog post was adapted from an excerpt from the newest book by J. Val Hastings, and it’s available now! Click here for more information about Change Your Questions, Change Your Church: How to lead with powerful questions.