Coaching in the midst of #cultural chaos!
Coaching in the midst of #cultural chaos!
It seems as though culturally we have gone from one crisis to another without taking a breath. Collectively and culturally we’ve all battled the #covid19 together and are now finally “breathing a collective sigh of relief”.
However, in only a few short weeks, we have found ourselves tossed back into a collective turmoil that is pulling our nation and our world apart at the seams. #georgefloyd #icantbreathe
This dispensation of time is just fraught with fear, stress, anxiety, anger and rage over chronic injustice, overwhelm and exhaustion.
In spite of this, I am encouraged. I am encouraged by the One who encourages me and the One who calls us to not stand by and to be silent as the enemy wages war against us; rather, we are called upon to help and to #heal and God has called us forth at such a time as this!
There are three key scriptures that come to mind as I think about what helping and healing look like from a coaching standpoint. There may be more, but here goes:
IT’S OUR TIME
Esther 4:14 New Living Translation (NLT)
“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
OUR PURPOSE IS TO HELP AND TO HEAL
Acts 10:38 The Message (MSG)
37-38 “You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.
WE HAVE WHAT WE NEED IN OUR HANDS
Exodus 4:1-3 Signs for Moses
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
“This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
So from here, many of us are like Esther and Moses: We see that injustice is happening, people are hurting and bound and crying out, but in our “humanness”, we feel powerless to respond in the face of such huge, daunting and complex issues. How can I make a difference in the space of something so HUGE? What can I do? Who will listen to me?
Well, Coaches, I charge you and challenge you to consider what my husband, my love and co-business Owner, Dalton says to me, “this is the time for us to show up on the scene and do what we’ve been gifted, called and anointed to do and be; the healers and the helpers. Coaches could be and are a powerful tool to bring healing, bridge gaps or build bridges and help others to move forward.
So, what does this mean? What does this look like for us?
For one it’s going to take courage and a resolve to say YES and to be take the stance that Esther took and follow Jesus example to go into the midst of the people.
It looks like serving, ministering and showing up right where you are, with the people that you’ve been assigned to and using what’s in your hands? It’s time to take who we are and what we possess and apply it practically and powerfully to the culture around us and within us.
Here are some examples of ways that you can help and heal:
1. Artists/Filmmakers/Poets/Writers/Photographers/Dancers/Makers/Creatives:
How can you use your art and creativity to create a space for people to express all of their feelings, emotions, etc. using canvas, paint, graffiti, music, movement, dance, etc.
During this time, asking people what they’re feeling, what is inspiring the outcomes that you see and truly listening. As a Life Coach, it’s not our job to “fix anything”, it’s our job to ASK powerful, deep, challenging questions and to ACTIVELY listen as a means of helping others to move forward.
2. Teachers/Speakers:
What group can you bring together, of those who like, know and trust you to begin to create a safe space where others can “just talk” about what they’re feeling, where critical, challenging and “scary” conversations can happen between different cultures, religions, people groups? Again, ASKING and LISTENING as you moderate and facilitate healing and helping.
3. Life Coaches
Who has God called you to serve? Who is your niche? How has he called you to serve them? Oftentimes, people use their lack of “formal training/education” etc. as an excuse to hold back but I want to challenge you that if God has truly called you to be a Life Coach, then the capacity you need already exists within you.
Training only seeks to guide, formalize and refine the gifts you already possess. I encourage you to think about the answer to the questions above and let this inform you of whom to reach out to.
You can start by:
· Organizing a group coaching session for this niche group and inviting those persons that are on your heart and in your circle to join you
· Reaching out to offer 1:1 coaching to people who have openly expressed pain or who you see are struggling and could use help or just again a LISTENING ear
· Pray and seek God
What will you do?
*Comment below and let me know!
Collins (2010) shares incredible insight on how we can coach across cultures and shares that as Christian Life Coaches, we are actually always doing so, without being aware of it.
REFERENCE:
Collins, Gary (2010). Christian Coaching: Helping others turn potential into reality.