What can you learn from the way Jesus made disciples?
The Jesus way to make disciples always leads to “transformation”. Man and woman were created with a spirit. Jesus understood how the spirit interacts with the mind, and the mind with the body, the body with the social dimension and how these aspects were encapsulated with the soul. Dallas Willard created a helpful diagram to illustrate these elements.
Three ways Jesus engaged people in their spiritual journey:
Jesus used the miraculous to engage people in their spiritual journey.
Think of examples like the Woman at the Well (John 4).
Jesus used stories to engage people through his teaching and preaching to engage people in their spiritual journey.
Think of examples like The Beatitudes (John 5:1-12).
Jesus listened and asked people questions to engage people in their spiritual journey.
Think of examples like: “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15)
At the core, making disciples is a relational process, and relationships are built on conversation. Discipleship conversations move the spiritual journey – either forward by building trust and challenging assumptions or backwards when a question is so powerful that it causes the disciple to “press pause” on their spiritual journey when they are unable or unwilling to follow Jesus.
Take a moment to reflect on what it means to be a good listener and ask powerful questions, and consider ways to grow and improve.
Making Space
Making the time and space for disciple making relationships. You can intentionally create opportunities “as you go” about your life to allow for conversations of this variety. The opportunities are endless. The grocery store, gas pump or in more relaxed settings like a park or cafe.
Listening Well
Listening well begins with respect and empathy for the other person. When engaging in a conversation, approach them with curiosity. An open mind. Hold onto your assumptions and judgements. Be aware of what your agenda is and lay it aside. Be open to the Holy Spirit and His agenda for the other person.
Tips: 1. Stop doing anything that distracts from the other person and the conversation. 2. Switch attention to the needs and preoccupations of the other person. 3. Observe closely, listen carefully and be attentive to non-verbal cues.
Recently my wife and I were going out to dinner with another couple. They are people far from God. As we were taking a stroll before dinner, I remember the conscious shift I recognized I needed to take. I was overly focused on my needs in the moment and forgot about the bigger purpose for our night out together. Once I made the mental, emotional and spiritual shift – I was surprised what happened during our meal together. Read more below…
Asking Questions
Listening well is a crucial skill and lets the person you are speaking with know they are seen, safe and heard. You need to be aware of opportunities to ask questions, probing questions to challenge. Asking questions allows you to gently encourage exploration. Powerful, open-ended questions elicit thoughtful responses that can’t be answered with “yes” or “no”.
Continuing the story from above. During dinner I remembered the question the Holy Spirit had given me that morning to ask the couple. When I initially asked the question, everyone reacted with a verbal response like “Wow – that is a crazy fun question,” or something to that effect. The actual question is not important. But the reaction and ensuing conversation was amazing. By my estimation, that question opened up the relational flood gates and created a safe place to share personal thoughts to help us understand each other.
Tips:
1. Use follow-up questions 2. Leverage the power of the pause after asking a powerful question 3. Don’t interrupt
Reflection Questions:
How do you rate yourself as a listener? How would your friends or spouse rate you??
How are you at asking questions? What would your friends say?
What is the Holy Spirit showing you about how you relate to people?
Key Question:
What changes do you need to make to be more effective at making disciples “as you go”?
We asked this question a few years ago: What are the essential habits to be a disciple that makes disciples?
From our understanding of Jesus’ ministry, observations from others who make reproducing disciples, and studying disciple making movements – these are the habits we landed on in response to that question:
Habit #1 – Missional Values – knowing and understanding your personal values and living them out through consistent behavior
Habit #2 – ACTIVE PRAYER – utilizing prayer as a critical key element in the disciple-making journey
Habit #3 – RELATIONAL CONNECTIONS – building strong and authentic relationships with both Christians and non-Christians in your community
Habit #4 – DISCIPLE MAKING CYCLE – creating intentional and enduring disciples who, in turn, create intentional and enduring disciples
Habit #5 – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS – forging strategic partnerships to keep you on mission in your disciple-making journey
The Discipleship Collective is a learning community to support, nurture and coach disciples to make disciples makers.
Sharpen Your Discipleship Effectiveness
Finish 2023 strong with a commitment to sharpen your discipleship effectiveness.
The first step is to identify your strengths and areas for development – there is no better tool for that than the Discipleship Quiz. Included in your report is a coaching guide with suggestions for the best resources to help you target growth in the identified areas. This assessment is truly the tool to take your disciple making to the next level.
“Gary Reinecke and the team from InFocus have created a crucial resource for leaders and churches who are serious about being with Jesus on His Mission. I highly recommend the Disciple Coach Quiz as a tool for shaping the future of your disciple making efforts. The five qualities it measures and the behavior it supports provide a solid foundation for helping people authentically follow Jesus.”
Steve Pike – President, Urban Islands Project
Harness the power of disciple making using a coach approach by enrolling in the Discipleship Collective. The Discipleship Collective is structured to maximize your growth and sharpen your effectiveness as a disciple maker. Collectives are limited to no more than 12 participants per session. Each session offers 10 hours of training including:
5 Habits of a Disciple Maker webinar – Monday, October 16, 2023 from 10-3 PST and
This Sunday we celebrated the one-year anniversary at the church plant Gina, and my wife, and I have been serving. With one year behind us, the congregation has out-grown the space we launched in and to commemorate our first year, we launched a second service. The high point of the services was celebrating baptisms of new Jesus followers as they took this important step on their journey of faith. Two hundred fifty people now call The Refinery their church!
How do we define discipleship?
Reflect on the different ways the term discipleship may be used in your ministry.
Some might use the term to focus primarily on the spiritual development of new believers.
Others will apply it in a more general way, to develop people in their specific area of ministry, like “discipling a small group leader”.
And still others will use it in relation to a curriculum that is designed so that the student graduates from the course as a fully-devoted follower of Jesus.
While all of these might have their place, what observations do you have about these various interpretations?
One observation I have is that the way we use the word “discipleship” blurs the intent behind the term. When Jesus invites Peter and Andrew to “Follow me…”, Jesus is inviting them into an apprenticeship relationship with Him (Matthew 4:18-20).
Later in Matthew 28:18-29 at the commissioning of the disciples, Jesus is launching the disciples into their apostolic mission. After three intensive years of apprenticeship with his disciples, Jesus equipped them to make other disciples, baptizing and teaching them to obey God’s commands – love God, love your neighbor, and make disciples. He desired to shape their hearts to be aligned with the Father’s heart.
What can we learn from the early church?
The emphasis in the early church was to help people understand the commitments new Jesus followers were making to follow Christ. Two activities they would participate in that would mark, remind, and renew their commitment of course, included baptism and the sacraments. Foundational disciplines of a local faith community that they celebrated corporately (small or large groups) that made them distinct from other institutions.
The early church had a period of instruction and preparation for baptism. The goal was so that people would count the cost before taking the step to baptism.
I like the imagery that Colin Noyes provides in his work in Making Disciples – A Journey to Jesus. Notice the 4 transitions below. Each leads to the next stage in the journey of following Jesus.
Stage One – The potential disciple begins to explore what a relationship with Jesus will look like
Stage Two – The Holy Spirit continues to guide the discipler and disciple on the ‘Journey to Jesus’
Stage Three – The disciple is involved in a period of intense preparation for Baptism
Stage Four – The disciple participates in the Lord’s Supper, is welcomed into the Church and continues a lifelong growth in faith and obedience.
If you would like the Coaching Guide that unpacks the process above, CLICK HERE and request the doc: Making Disciples – A Journey to Jesus
How can you help people fully embrace the purpose, place, and power of baptism?
Every pastor and congregation has their unique views on baptism. In an effort to reconstruct what time and trends have deconstructed, here are 5 questions to consider:
Who is baptism for?
What should baptism mark?
What preparation and instruction should disciples experience?
What place does baptism play in our faith community?
Full transparency – this blog was generated using Bard, Google’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) platform. When AI entered the internet it changed the Intellectual Property landscape overnight. Plagiarism was already suspect due to the accessibility of information on the internet, but AI has shot the trajectory of curated information into another galaxy.
Should you not be concerned?
I tested AI in generating this blog and entered several topics to narrow my focus. In each round I was able to zoom in more and more until I arrived at what I thought would be helpful information. Here is the progression I followed to arrive at my blog focus:
Positive applications of AI in coaching leaders in ministry
Applications for coaching pastors and church planters using AI
How can I coach church planters and missionaries using AI?
Which platforms are using AI to coach leaders in ministry?
Concerns for AI in coaching ministry leaders
I was then able to thoughtfully reflect on and curate the information to land on my topic: “Best practices to leverage AI when you coach leaders in ministry”. This was a tremendous advantage to facilitate my brainstorming process!
Note: by “leaders in ministry”, I am casting the net broadly (small group leader, staff member, church planter, pastor – to name a few) and I will exchange the term “client” from time to time.
There are also a number of concerns surrounding the use of AI when coaching leaders in ministry. Some of the concerns you should be aware of include:
Depersonalization: AI coaching platforms can sometimes feel impersonal and disconnected. This can be especially problematic for leaders in ministry, who often rely on close relationships with their mentors and coaches.
Lack of empathy: AI coaching platforms may not be able to provide the same level of empathy and understanding as a human coach. This is because AI systems are not able to fully understand the complex emotions and experiences of human beings.
Bias: AI systems can be biased, and this bias can be reflected in the coaching that they provide. For example, an AI system that is trained on a dataset of successful ministry leaders may be biased towards certain types of leaders or certain types of ministry contexts.
Accountability: It can be difficult to hold AI coaching platforms accountable for the results that they produce. This is because AI systems are often complex and opaque, and it can be difficult to understand how they make decisions.
In addition to these concerns, there are also some ethical concerns about the use of AI in coaching leaders in ministry.
For example, some people are concerned that AI coaching platforms could be used to manipulate or control ministry leaders. Others are concerned that AI coaching platforms could be used to create a surveillance state in which leaders are constantly monitored and evaluated.
It is important to be aware of these concerns when considering using AI to coach your clients. It is also important to choose an AI coaching platform that is reputable and that has a good track record.
Five tips to leverage AI to coach leaders in ministry:
Make sure that the AI coaching platform you choose is designed specifically for leaders in ministry. This will help to ensure that the platform is culturally competent and that it addresses the specific needs of your clients.
Use the AI coaching platform in conjunction with other methods, such as mentoring and providing resources. This will help to ensure that your clients are receiving a well-rounded coaching experience.
Be mindful of the limitations of AI. AI coaching platforms are not a replacement for human coaches. Make sure that your clients are aware of the limitations of AI and that they are still receiving the support they need from human coaches and mentors.
Be transparent about how the AI coaching platform is using data. Make sure that your clients know what data is being collected about them and how that data is being used.
Give clients control over their own coaching experience. Allow them to choose whether or not they want to use the AI coaching platform and allow them to set their own goals for coaching.
By following these tips, you can help to ensure that the use of AI in coaching your clients is ethical and effective.
Getting practical.
Here are some specific examples of how you can use AI to coach leaders in ministry:
Use an AI-powered coaching platform to develop a personalized coaching plan for each of your clients. The coaching plan should be tailored to the individual needs of the small group leader, staff member, church planter, pastor – to name a few – and should address their specific goals and challenges.
Use an AI-powered ministry assessment tool to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each leader in ministry. The assessment results can be used to identify areas where your client needs to improve and to develop a coaching plan to address those areas.
Use an AI-powered simulation to create a realistic ministry scenario for each client to practice in. The simulation can be used to help the client develop their ministry skills and to learn from their mistakes in a safe environment.
Here are some additional tips for coaching leaders in ministry using AI:
Be intentional about how you use AI. AI is a powerful tool, but it is important to use it intentionally and thoughtfully. Make sure that you are using AI in a way that is helpful and supportive to your uniquely gifted clients.
Be mindful of the limitations of AI. AI is not perfect, and it is important to be mindful of its limitations. For example, AI-powered coaching platforms may not be able to provide the same level of personalized attention as a human coach.
Use AI in conjunction with other coaching methods. AI can be a valuable tool for coaching leaders in ministry, but it is important to use it in conjunction with other coaching methods, such as mentoring and providing resources.
Overall, AI is a promising tool for coaching leaders in ministry. By using AI thoughtfully and in conjunction with other coaching methodologies, you can help leaders of all kinds to be more effective in their ministries.
My first experience using AI to generate this blog content was impressive:
Reduced the amount of time spent in research and development by 80%.
Helped narrow my focus for sharper content without having to be a subject-expert on the particular topic (in this instance, using AI in coaching ministry leaders)
Allowed for more energy to be spent on how to say what I wanted to communicate
AI is here to stay. The choice is always in your hands. Choose carefully. Choose wisely. But choose – or else others will choose for you.
If you have insights you would like to share about your use of AI in coaching Christian leaders in ministry – please share them below or email me directly at greinecke@infocusnet.org.
You heard it here… coaching is not always the best approach. There are times when, as a coach, you will need to switch hats in order to meet the needs of your clients. Let’s dive into the when and how.
When you have a problem with your car, you need a mechanic to diagnose and fix it. If you slice your finger, you need a doctor. When you need a ride to the airport, you call an Uber. Different needs require certain expertise.
The 5 Hats You’ll Wear as a Coach The table below was shared by my friend Micah Dodson of www.thrivechurchplanting.org. I personally found the descriptions of each role helpful to distinguish one from the other. These roles can easily blur into each other, especially if you have a background in teaching, counseling or mentoring and are now adding coaching into your toolkit. A key point to being a new coach is to learn to be clear in your mind when you are functioning in a particular role, or it will confuse and potentially frustrate those you are attempting to help.
Each role has a specific function. Here are the functions along with the scripture reference. Look below and contemplate which ones you resonate with:
Counselor
Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. / Proverbs 13:20
Advisor
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. / Proverbs 13:20
Teacher
He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. / Colossians 1:28
Mentor
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. / I Corinthians 11:1
Coach
The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out. / Proverbs 20:5
*All scripture passages from NIV
You Can Over-Coach
A classic problem I faced parenting my kids, I over-coached them. This surfaced when they were home as young adults during COVID. I was using questions to help them challenge them to “do something”. My approach was making them suspicious of my intent. I was using key questions to help them come around and do something I wanted them to do, in the way I wanted them to do it. Manipulation is not the intent of coaching. But that is how it came across. Fortunately, my family pointed this out and I became more aware of what I was doing.
This raises a few important questions that arise when I am training leaders in coaching:
Is coaching always the best approach?
What cues should we look for to determine when to use another approach?
How to make the shift from one approach to another without confusing clients?
Is coaching always the best approach?
No, but I’ve found the more we can use a coach approach, the better. Realistically, you can blend coaching into each of the other four roles above. I view coaching on a continuum. One end of the continuum is Directive and the other end, Non-directive. The more Non-directive approach, the more likely we can help people discover for themselves. The goal is for the client to feel empowered to take action.
Of course, when you play that out in each role, it becomes obvious when you need to stop asking questions. You need to learn to be aware of what the client needs at the moment! For example, if I take a bad fall on my mountain bike, I need to go to the ER. The only question I want to ask is – “Which way to the hospital?”
What cues should we look for to determine when to use another approach?
The simple answer is when it stops working; like in my example with my kids. At the peak of frustration, they gave me explicit feedback: “Just tell us what you want us to do!” Below are some ques to look for when coaching so it doesn’t go this far:
Frustration – you are agitating your client more than helping
Silence – this can be a sign that your client really does not know what to do
Lack of follow-through; the client in not engaged
How to make the shift from one approach to another without confusing clients?
I’ve found that being clear with what role you are playing is respectful to the client – and critical for you. When it is murky in your mind personally, it can be confusing or frustrating for the client. For example, when a client comes to you for advice and you are operating as a coach, then you are going to approach the conversation differently than your client.
For example, let’s assume you have been serving a client as a coach but you also have the capacity to switch into counselor mode. When you make the switch it is helpful to signal your client about the switch. This can be simply saying something like, “I’m taking off my coaching hat and now putting on my counselor hat.”
This will have several benefits. First, it will reinforce the shift you are making. Second, it will communicate a shift in the tone of the conversation. Third, it has the potential to accelerate the conversation. The caution here is, only switch when it’s absolutely essential for the client to move forward.
When the Hat Isn’t Your Size
I’ve found that, to some degree, most coaches can navigate through these 5 roles. That doesn’t mean that everyone is excellent at all 5. The key is to know when your client’s needs surpass the help that you can give them.
Assessing your roles
What reflections do you have from the table above?
Of the 5 passages, which one resonates with you most?
As you reflect on the 5 roles above, which ones do you naturally gravitate to?
When you are in coach mode, what other roles do you tend to lean towards?
What can you do to stay in a coach mode when you’re in the role you typically operate?
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
