Coaching
The final method
of discipleship is coaching. So far we’ve looked at modeling,
mentoring, and instructing. All three of these types of
discipleship can be used with the intention of one day establishing
a coaching relationship or occasionally the coaching relationship
can be established without prior discipleship.
Like mentoring,
coaching requires a high degree of trust and intimacy. Modeling and
instructing can be done impersonally but coaching especially
requires a personal relationship.
A coaching
relationship cannot just start from the ground and work its way up,
it must be built upon prior discipleship. This may not have been
done by you but by another person. In regards to the church,
someone who is being coached will already be well grounded in the
Bible due to the instruction and/or mentoring of a mature believer.
In a coaching
relationship, the coach sends a person out to act on the training
they’ve already received. When they return, they report what has
happened. The coach may share encouragement, correction, further
instruction, or other things that will help the person the next time
they go out.
Jesus worked as
a coach when he sent out the 70 (or 72) in Luke 10. They returned
reporting that even the demons submit to them in Jesus' name. Jesus
uses this opportunity to teach them about the authority God has
given them by His name.
What other examples of coaching can you think of?
In sports, if a
team is performing poorly, it is often the coach who takes the
blame. Perhaps this is an unfair assessment, but it emphasizes the
importance of good coaching. While anyone can and should be a model
for others, not everyone can be an effective coach.
A coach has to
be willing to let his disciple fail at times so that they will learn
and not repeat the same mistake. A person can have a great
instructor but once it comes time to apply what has been learned
even great instruction may not prepare a person for application in
the real world.
For example, a
great instruction can tell us all about turning the other cheek,
being humble, and not getting angry. However, when confronted by a
mean, aggressive person who becomes angry for no good reason, it is
a lot more difficult to put into practice. Even a person who has
been well instructed may fail. A coach would use this as a learning
opportunity. Instead of repeating instruction, they would ask the
person how they should handle the situation if it occurred again.
They can share ideas on how to deal with the problem and what they
would do in the same situation.
A coach is less
of a teacher and more of a facilitator. A good coach will try to
cause the disciple to figure things out on their own and will use
“teachable moments” whenever they arise. A teachable moment can be
anything that is unplanned but arises out of circumstances and a
lesson may be taught from it. Jesus had dozens of teachable moments
throughout his ministry.
Name some teachable moments in Jesus’ ministry.
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