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Author: Coach Phil

Phil Pledger has served as a Pastor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod since 1984 (M.Div. from Concordia Seminary), serving congregations in Wisconsin (as Pastor to the hearing impaired), and in California. For eight years, Pledger served as President of Lutheran Braille Workers (a ministry with thousands of volunteers that manufacture Braille and Large Print Bibles and other Christian materials, and serves more than a thousand people with visual impairment throughout the US and Canada).

In 2009, Pastor Phil Pledger completed a Doctorate of Ministry from Fuller Seminary on Organizational Leadership. In 2011, Pledger completed 72 hours of graduate-level coursework on executive coaching from the College of Executive Coaching, and became a Certified Professional Coach (CPC).

Currently, Dr. Pledger is an Intentional Interim Pastor and Executive Coach. For additional information about Dr. Pledger, see his LinkedIn profile, http://www.linkedin.com/in/philpledger, or email: phil@TheHigherCallingCoach.com

June 8, 2018
Coach Phil
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Seven Ways to Create a Dynamite Team

Posted in Christian Leadership Matters, Team, and Team Building

Wouldn’t it be great to lead a truly dynamite team? Imagine meeting your ministry team on Monday morning and seeing EVERYONE excited about getting down to work, each doing their best and excited about their next ministry success. Imagine your whole team filled with passion and a deep desire to work according to their own strengths and fully utilizing the strengths of the other team members. . . Imagine a ministry where everyone is passionate about making your ministry vision a concrete reality. . . Imagine!

A great imagination is a wonderful thing. Reality, however, is often little more frustrating. As great as imagination is, imagination alone doesn’t create  excellent teams. Imagination must be linked with concrete practical plans in order to have the power to change anything. Formation of a world-class team is built from the ground up, not handed down from heaven above. How can we build a dynamite team? Here are Seven Ways to Create a Dynamite Team:

  1. Know your Goal

Leaders have concrete vision. Yogi Berra said: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” Wise words. Most people in ministry (or in business, for that matter) are motivated to do something, but they aren’t sure what. Unless you know your ministry direction, how is it possible to convince others to follow you? And, even if you can convince others to follow, a smart person will soon leave when they are recruited by a leader with a vision. I’m convinced a lack of vision is one of the major reasons congregations and other ministries struggle; people are frustrated by a lack of vision yet too loyal to their congregation or denomination to leave, so they stay around and complain about their frustrations. . . and little if any progress is made.

  1. Overshare your Vision

It’s difficult to overshare a vision, but when in doubt, share again. When you recruit people to your ministry team, make sure they KNOW and BUY INTO your vision. Your vision must be your ministry passion; EVERYONE ON THE TEAM must completely understand your vision and want what you want.

  1. Recruit Mission Partners, not Friends

Ministry leaders have a fine line to walk; you want to be “friends” (or more Biblically, Brothers/Sisters in Christ), but you are called to the mission of Christ. Effective ministries, just like effective businesses (and NGO’s, government agencies, and every other type of organization), exist to accomplish a mission. Therefore, make sure your team knows that the MISSION is more important than the participation of any individual (including the existing leader). The mission of Christ will get done with or without “me”; my job as a Christian leader is to faithfully focus on my calling in Christ and “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

  1. Show the Ropes

Apparently an old nautical term, “show them the ropes” means to demonstrate the proper way to set the sails so that the ship will safely and effectively navigate the ocean and reach their chosen destination. You may recruit very successful people to your ministry team (and you should!), but that doesn’t mean they fully understand how Christian “ministry” works. You’ve heard the expression: “When all you have is a hammer, all the world’s a nail.” People will use the tools they know and understand. Your job as leader is to “show them the [Christian ministry] ropes.” Patiently and strategically equip your team members to become expert ministry team members. That’s your role as a Christian leader, to equip, teach, train, explain, share, encourage, and help each team member reach their fullest potential in Christ.

  1. Create Experts

As you develop your ministry team, choose wisely. Where possible, recruit people according to the needs of the ministry and according to your vision of the future of that ministry. As you “show the ropes” develop the attitude that you are equipping your team to be experts in their field. Are you the smartest person in the room? If you are, then you will do whatever you can to elevate your team members so that each team member becomes the smartest person in the room in regards to their ministry area. Small minded leaders like warm bodies to validate their leadership. Good leaders seek to attract team members smarter than themselves; AND they work hard to help their team members become even smarter and better equipped and even more effective than they alone could ever be. Tom Peters: “Leaders don’t create more followers, they create more leaders.”

  1. Encourage Mistakes

OK, this might seem weird, but I believe it to be good advice. This doesn’t mean that you encourage people to try to do things wrong. . . quite the opposite. Encourage your team members to try new things, to push the envelope, to discover the boundaries of what works and what doesn’t. Every good and new ministry approach was once unconventional (and perhaps even considered unorthodox). Thinking outside the box is healthy for the individual, the team and the Church. Give your team permission to fail, to make mistakes, to fumble the ball (or any other figure of speech you can think of). You will create an atmosphere of joy and creativity; and by doing so, you will increase ministry effectiveness. (By the way: Happy people get more done, attract other happy people, and their  joy is efficacious – happy people will attract like-minded people into your ministry, people who want to be a part of the fun! — just say’n).

  1. Know your Team as Individuals

To build a dynamite team, you gotta know A LOT about the players. How many hours will a football coach spend recruiting and getting to know a player’s skill set, how fast they run, how far and accurately they can throw a ball, how well they catch, etc.? You are the coach of your team and you need to know your players very well. What are their particular set of skills, what expertise do they already have, what limitations might they have, and what is their ministry passion? A great leader knows their team members and gives them opportunity to serve in their areas of strength and helps the “players” shore up areas of relative weakness.

Your next team meeting might not be perfect, but over time, it can become better, and filled with joyful effectiveness for the cause of Christ. If you would like to talk about it, contact me!

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Dr. Phil Pledger is The Higher Calling Coach and writes Christian Leadership Matters blog each week, a weekly blog that seeks to help Professional Church Workers discover and enhance the leadership skills needed to make positive changes in their lives and in the ministry with which they are connected. As “The Higher Calling Coach,” Dr. Pledger helps Professional Church Workers and the ministries they serve find new ways to meet challenges, overcome roadblocks, and to find joy in serving Christ and His Church.

If you don’t want to miss his blog posts, sign up for his newsletter at:  www.TheHigherCallingCoach.com. Email Coach Phil at: Phil@TheHigherCallingCoach.com if you would like to set up a no-cost/no-obligation consultation or would like to ask a question.

May 31, 2018
Coach Phil
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Move over, Moses, Jeremiah Has Something to Say

Posted in Christian Leadership Matters, Coaching, and Professional Church Worker Experiences

Coaching Professional Church Workers is one of the most rewarding careers on the planet! I’m profoundly inspired by the deep dedication Christian leaders have for God and His people. I am also amazed at the selfless determination Christians have to fulfill their call to bless people for whom Christ died. Although Christian ministry is rewarding, it is also often stressful.

My question is this: Can we do ministry better? Is it possible to serve Christ and be filled with optimistic hope at the same time? Is it possible to work in such a way that our efforts produce a crop “yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23)?

I say “Yes!”

Moses was one of the most important and impressive people who ever lived. He was the one through whom God communicated His Ten Commandments; Moses led Israel from the enslavement of the Egyptians to the Promised Land; Moses was the one that wrote down the words of the Torah; and Moses demonstrated greatness in other countless ways!

Yet Moses, at one time, tried to do everything himself. He was the one-man educational and judicial system for a community of millions. He would listen to every single issue, complaint, and problem a wandering nation of millions ever had. And Moses was at the edge of his ability to cope. If things didn’t change, Moses would soon become so emotionally and physically depleted he would be of no use to anyone.

Along comes Jethro, his father-in-law. “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone” (Exodus 18:17). Moses, one of the greatest figures of the Old Testament, was being taught by this Priest of Midian how to multiply his ministry. In business and in non-profit organizations, this is called delegating.

Jethro said: “select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied” (Exodus 18:21-23).

OK, so we’ve heard this before. Delegate, raise up additional leaders, recruit and train and deploy. Great. Frankly, it’s easier to do the work myself!

Jethro is NOT teaching Principles of Organizational Management

What’s really going on in Exodus 18 is the start of a reformation of the way God and His people interact. If we fast-forward to the time of Jeremiah, we read the prophecy that promises what God will yet do (31:33-34), ““I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.”

Delegating is GREAT!

When we delegate as we should, great things happen for leaders AND among those we lead. As with Moses, when we learn to effectively delegate, our capacity to fulfill our call becomes possible. And, the people to whom we delegate find joy and fulfillment. Afterall, people were created to contribute and make a difference. When we can’t for whatever reason, we are slightly diminished as a person. Additionally, by delegating, more gets done, more people are served and we realize greater advancement toward our goals. All good!

Delegating isn’t enough!

Delegating is exceedingly powerful, but there’s something even better. Partnership.

Which is better, being given responsibility or being asked to join a partnership? A partner has “ownership” in the organization. A partner transitions from someone to whom we delegate labor to a stakeholder, someone who has ownership. That’s a very powerful transition!

God calls His people into partnership, an infinitely powerful relationship. Christian ministry is best built in partnership with people in the Church. Effective delegating empowers people to greatly expand the ministry. But God calls us into partnership with His Son. He makes us heirs, co-workers with Jesus. God refers to us as His children; sons and daughters in the family business, co-heirs with Christ, partners in the Gospel, fellow laborers (along with Paul, Peter, James, John, and the other Apostles, Disciples, Evangelists, Teachers, every first-century Christian through whom God established His Church).

When Christian leaders lead by inviting people into partnership with themselves as leaders and co-leaders in Christ, they are leading as Moses learned to lead and they are fulfilling, in part, the prophecy of Jeremiah 31: “they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” Moses’ activity of delegating was the prelude to what God was fleshing out in Jeremiah (which reached its greatest expression at Pentecost). This is the foundation of God’s earnest desire for all His people, partnership with Christ.

By empowering others as God has empowered you as leader, you deeply impact those you lead. Your investment in their lives will create a ripple effect throughout their lives that will continue into the next seven generations (at least). This is the ministry to which the Christian leader has been called.

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Dr. Phil Pledger is The Higher Calling Coach and writes Christian Leadership Matters blog each week. Christian Leadership Matters is a weekly blog that seeks to help Professional Church Workers discover and enhance the leadership skills needed to make positive changes in their lives and in the ministry with which they are connected. As “The Higher Calling Coach,” Dr. Pledger helps Professional Church Workers and the ministries they serve find new ways to meet challenges, overcome roadblocks, and to find joy in serving Christ and His Church.

If you don’t want to miss his blog posts, sign up for his newsletter at:  www.TheHigherCallingCoach.com. Email Coach Phil at: Phil@TheHigherCallingCoach.com if you would like to set up a no-cost/no-obligation consultation or would like to ask a question.

May 17, 2018
Coach Phil
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Christian Leadership Matters — How to Lead Like Fred Astaire!

Posted in Christian Leadership Matters, Coaching, and Consulting

I use to think (and even taught) that I would never ask anyone in my ministry to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do. There is (almost) nothing in Church work that I haven’t done at one time or another. More than once, I vacuumed the sanctuary at 6 am on a Sunday morning. I’ve washed windows, been responsible for taking out trash, been the musician on Sunday morning, preached, taught the Adult Class, and, at the end of the day, the one who locked all the doors and set the alarm.

Although the principle might sound noble or even spiritual, I was cheating a lot of people by being the one-man-show.

Ministry is an “us” event. And a leader that isn’t willing to equip, deploy and trust others as partners in ministry isn’t doing their job. But in order for that to happen, the leader needs to understand his/her unique role and know when to step in and when to step aside. Leadership is like dancing a waltz not a military maneuver (or a one-man-show).

The Duet Dance Studio in Chicago provides great lessons in ballroom dancing. [You can find their website here: http://duetdancestudio.com/blog-dance-lessons-chicago/leading-following-ballroom-dancing] Their front page not only gives good dance advice, but also good leadership advice by providing the answers on “HOW TO LEAD LIKE FRED ASTAIRE”

 

  1.    Maintain a Strong Frame

Szewai, the author of the article, states: “The dance frame is the most important thing in lead and follow as it helps you maintain the connection between you and your partner. Your frame should be firm and steady at all times.”

As a leader, know your strengths, take the lead. Your “dance partner,” the one(s) you are leading, need to have confidence in you and what you are trying to accomplish. Good dance leaders engender trust with their partner. For that to happen, you must know who you are, where you are going and have confidence in yourself.

  1.    Take Decisive Steps

“Accidents often happen when the driver isn’t sure where he/she is going and is being hesitant with his/her moves” writes Szewai. Good leaders know their organizational direction; they know their objectives and take strategic steps toward accomplishing those objectives.

  1.    Lead with Your Body

Leaders must be “all in.” Good leaders, like good dancers, don’t have the luxury of merely telling others what to do; leaders lead by what they do, not only by what they say. People may not be able to articulate why they know their leader is completely committed, but most people do know that a leader is committed. Good leaders (to use a cliche) “walk the walk.”

  1.    Be Gentle

Leadership, like dancing, should be enjoyable, rewarding, and even fun. Good leadership is also enjoyable, rewarding and fun for those we lead. If not, there’s something wrong. Too many Christian leaders don’t lead like Fred Astaire, but mandate like Genghis Khan or “fiddle while Rome burns.” Being gentle doesn’t mean you have low ministry standards, but neither does it mean we throw someone off the dance stage if they step on our toes now and again.

  1.    Listen to Music

This is the most important part to Christian leadership, listen to and follow the music. Every Christian has a copy of The Score, God’s Word. God’s Score is conducted by His Holy Spirit, and Christian leaders keep their ears open and closely follows the conductor’s lead. When we dance to a different tune, we’re out of step with God’s Spirit and the people we are called to lead become confused, and toes are mashed and people trip and fall — including the leader.

Jesus certainly danced well, even better than Fred! His dance moves were innovative and for the casual spectator, often unexpected. Here are some of the ways Jesus taught by example how to “dance” the leadership dance:

  • He Chose unlikely partners, some with poor resumes, even those with poor people skills; but Jesus invested Himself into the lives of these unlikely characters and grew His Church.
  • Though God-in-the-flesh Jesus still washed His followers stinky feet. He loved His people and demonstrated true Christian leadership.
  • Jesus always had laser-focused vision; He encouraged His people to do the same.
  • The disciples were partners in the Gospel; they were co-heirs with Christ. His disciples were given great responsibility as well as ownership and trust.
  • Jesus constantly spent time listening to The Music; praying and listening to His Father and doing His will.
  • People were more important to Jesus than human traditions, rules, customs and regulations.
  • Jesus expected a lot from those who followed Him, but He was also eager to forgive and trust again.

I know ministry isn’t always fun and games. Serious and difficult work needs to be done and there will be times when we we will cry out as did the Psalmist and ask: “How long, Oh, Lord, How long?” At the same time, however, no matter what happens, God has given each of us something that no one can ever take away from us. In Christ, we have forgiveness, His continued presence and Divine Hope. And no one and no thing can ever take that away from us.  

I encourage you, dear reader, to lead with that joy no one can take away, fully confident in who you are in Christ, and proceed forward in your ministry full of faith in the One who has redeemed you and has entrusted to you the opportunity to bring about that same joy in those we are called to serve. May God grant each of us grace in Christ Jesus!

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Dr. Phil Pledger is The Higher Calling Coach and writes Christian Leadership Matters blog each week. Christian Leadership Matters is a weekly blog that seeks to help Professional Church Workers discover and enhance the leadership skills needed to make positive changes in their lives and in the ministry with which they are connected. As “The Higher Calling Coach,” Dr. Pledger helps Professional Church Workers and the ministries they serve find new ways to meet challenges, overcome roadblocks, and to find joy in serving Christ and His Church.

If you don’t want to miss his blog posts, sign up for his newsletter at:  www.TheHigherCallingCoach.com. Email Coach Phil at: Phil@TheHigherCallingCoach.com if you would like to set up a no-cost/no-obligation consultation or would like to ask a question.

May 7, 2018
Coach Phil
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Christian Leadership Matters — Introduction

Posted in Christian Leadership Matters, Coaching, and Consulting

Introduction

David Kinnaman, a “Preacher’s Kid” and the President of the Barna Group writes:  “I came away from my childhood with a pretty accurate slogan for church ministry: Where you control nothing and are responsible for everything.” (Page 7, The State of Pastors.) The statement is obviously not literally true, but for every Professional Church Worker, it certainly feels true at least some of the time. All the more so as we struggle to make sense of a rapidly changing culture and frustrating trends of Church attendance and general attitudes about commitment.

Complicating the issue? Barna’s The State of Pastors reports (page 9):

  • More than one-third of pastors are at high (11%) or medium (26%) risk of burnout.
  • Two in five tally high (27%) or medium (16%) on the risk metric for relational problems.

I don’t have hard data on other Professional Church Workers, but it stands to reason that if the organizational leaders are at high risk, those serving in that same organization are also at risk, perhaps even more so. Do you sometimes feel as though you are responsible for EVERYTHING but control NOTHING? Do you feel as though you are at risk of BURNOUT? Are the people closest to you encouraging or depleting your reserves and effectiveness?  There are steps you can take that will make your life better, reenergize your Call as a Professional Church Worker, and help you grow in your leadership effectiveness. That’s the goal of Christian Leadership Matters!

Christian Leadership Matters is a weekly blog that seeks to help Professional Church Workers find leadership and ministry clarity and enhance the leadership skills needed to make positive changes in their lives and in the ministry with which they are connected. It is my intent to provide relevant and practical leadership principles that can be used personally, shared with your leadership team (Church, School, Non-profit Organization), or discussed at various leadership forums in which you participate.

Practical and Useful

So, to get started:  No matter how much formal education we have had, no matter how many years of experience, it never hurts to re-examine the basics. First, then, the question: “What is Leadership?” In less than one second, Google posted more than 339 MILLION web links to that topic. And, the web answers are all over the map! Being somewhat selective, here are a few examples:

  • Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. [Link]
  • A leader is the one in charge, the person who convinces other people to follow. A great leader inspires confidence in other people and moves them to action. [Link]
  • Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.
  • Peter Drucker: “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers.”
  • Warren Bennis: “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”

More central to Christian leadership:

  • Dr. J. Robert Clinton, Prof. of Leadership & Extension @ School of World Mission, Fuller; in his book The Making of a Leader, p. 197:  “A leader, as defined from a study of biblical leadership, and for whom we are interested in tracing leadership development is a person (1) with God-given capacity and (2) with God-given responsibility to influence (3) a specific group of God’s people (4) toward God’s purposes for the group.” p. 202
  • Henry and Richard Blackaby: “Spiritual leadership is moving people on to God’s agenda.”

I gravitate toward Blackaby’s definition because it is so succinct, but what’s practical and useful at the moment will be for the reader to consider and formulate a definition that suits you, that expresses your particular giftedness, attitudes and personality (and, of course, staying in bounds of Scripture). Become an expert in that to which you have been Called. As a Professional Church Worker, you have been Called to Lead. Exactly WHO you lead, how many, the age group of those you lead, direct lines of responsibility, etc., are determined by the terms of your Call, but by definition, a Professional Church Worker IS Called to Lead.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, a definition of a leader is more connected with his/her attitudes, adaptability, and actions (each of these three concepts will be a focus of a future blog). A true leader is in what a person consistently DOES, not the title printed on the business card. There are a number of great books and assessments that focus on what a leader consistently does as leader. In future blogs I will share additional leadership resources, tools, and concepts. Here’s one great resource:

Leadership Practices Inventory (referred to as LPI) by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner is a great place to start. Kouzes and Posner focus on: “The Five Practices” of Exemplary Leadership:

  • Model the Way
  • Inspire a Shared Vision
  • Challenge the Process
  • Enable others to Act
  • Encourage the Heart  

Kouzes and Posner believe that leadership is a skill that can be taught and (of course) learned. Their website is here. Their approach, though “secular” in nature, lends itself very well to the Professional Church Worker environment. You can take this inventory online. To make the most of these results, you will benefit from a certified and professional Coach.   [I just happen to be one; contact me via my website, thehighercallingcoach.com, or directly, Phil@thehighercallingcoach.com]

Becoming a better leader involves learning the basics of responsible Christian leadership and consistently putting these basics into action.  Here is my (still growing) list of leadership principles:

  • Christian Leaders lead from character and integrity.
  • Christian Leaders practice healthy self monitoring.
  • Christian Leaders are powered by the Mission.
  • Christian Leaders invest themselves in the lives of other people.
  • Christian Leaders empower others to reach their fullest potential.
  • Christian Leaders are action-oriented and results-driven.
  • Christian Leaders are lifelong learners.
  • Christian Leaders are adaptable.

With your help, these principles will be fine tuned. What are your leadership principles? What is missing? What is redundant? What is unclear? What do you suggest?

To lead people to the cross and to effectively lead the people of Christ, wise Christian leaders will seek to become Christian Leadership Experts. Christian Leadership Matters intends to be one of the tools that will help you find leadership and ministry clarity and enhance the leadership skills needed to make positive changes in your life and in the lives of the people you are Called to serve.

In the coming weeks I will post blogs on general leadership (and sometimes management) topics such as:

If there are topics you would like to include, please add to the Comment section below or email me: Phil@thehighercallingcoach.com.

Until next week,

Blessings in Christ,

–P

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Dr. Phil Pledger is The Higher Calling Coach and writes Christian Leadership Matters blog each week. Christian Leadership Matters is a weekly blog that seeks to help Professional Church Workers discover and enhance the leadership skills needed to make positive changes in their lives and in the ministries they serve. As “The Higher Calling Coach,” Dr. Pledger helps Professional Church Workers and the ministries they serve find new ways to meet challenges, overcome roadblocks, and to find joy in serving Christ and His Church.

If you don’t want to miss his blog posts, sign up for his newsletter at:  www.TheHigherCallingCoach.com. Email Coach Phil at: Phil@TheHigherCallingCoach.com if you would like to set up a no-cost/no-obligation consultation or would like to ask a question.

March 9, 2018
Coach Phil
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How to Build a World-Class Ministry Team

Posted in Uncategorized

(Seven Ways to Create a Dynamite Team)

Wouldn’t it be great to lead a world-class ministry team? Imagine meeting your ministry team on Monday morning and seeing EVERYONE excited about getting down to work, each doing their best and excited about their next ministry success. Imagine your whole team filled with passion and a deep desire to work according to their own strengths and fully utilizing the strengths of the other team members. . . Imagine a ministry where everyone is passionate about making your ministry vision a concrete reality. . . Imagine!

A great imagination is a wonderful thing. Reality, however, is often little more frustrating. As great as imagination is, imagination alone doesn’t create a excellent teams. Imagination must be linked with concrete practical plans in order to have the power to change anything. Formation of a world-class team is built from the ground up, not handed down from heaven above. How can we build a world-class ministry team? Here are my Seven Ways to Create a World-Class Team:

Know your Goal

Leaders have concrete vision. Yogi Berra said: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” Wise words. Most people in ministry (or in business, for that matter) are motivated to do something, but they aren’t sure what. Unless you know your ministry direction, how is it possible to convince others to follow you? And, even if you can convince others to follow, a smart person will soon leave when they are recruited by a leader with a vision. I’m convinced a lack of vision is one of the major reasons congregations and other ministries struggle; people are frustrated by a lack of vision yet too loyal to their congregation or denomination to leave, so they stay around and complain about their frustrations. . . and little if any progress is made.

Overshare your Vision

It’s difficult to overshare a vision, but when in doubt, share again. When you recruit people to your ministry team, make sure they KNOW and BUY INTO your vision. Your vision must be your ministry passion; EVERYONE ON THE TEAM must completely understand your vision and want what you want.

Recruit Mission Partners, not Friends

Ministry leaders have a fine line to walk; you want to be “friends” (or more Biblically, Brothers/Sisters in Christ), but you are called to the mission of Christ. Effective ministries, just like effective businesses (and NGO’s, government agencies, and every other type of organization), exist to accomplish a mission. Therefore, make sure your team knows that the MISSION is more important than the participation of any individual (including the existing leader). The mission of Christ will get done with or without “me”; my job as a Christian leader is to faithfully focus on my calling in Christ and “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Show the Ropes

Apparently an old nautical term, “show them the ropes” means to demonstrate the proper way to set the sails so that the ship will safely and effectively navigate the ocean and reach their chosen destination. You may recruit very successful people to your ministry team (and you should!), but that doesn’t mean they fully understand how Christian “ministry” works. You’ve heard the expression: “When all you have is a hammer, all the world’s a nail.” People will use the tools they know and understand. Your job as leader is to “show them the [Christian ministry] ropes.” Patiently and strategically equip your team members to become expert ministry team members. That’s your role as a Christian leader, to equip, teach, train, explain, share, encourage, and help each team member reach their fullest potential in Christ.

Create Experts

As you develop your ministry team, choose wisely. Where possible, recruit people according to the needs of the ministry and according to your vision of the future of that ministry. As you “show the ropes” develop the attitude that you are equipping your team to be experts in their field. Are you the smartest person in the room? If you are, then you will do whatever you can to elevate your team members so that each team member becomes the smartest person in the room in regards to their ministry area. Small minded leaders like warm bodies to validate their leadership. Good leaders seek to attract team members smarter than themselves; AND they work hard to help their team members become even smarter and better equipped and even more effective than they alone could ever be. Tom Peters: “Leaders don’t create more followers, they create more leaders.”

Encourage Mistakes

OK, this might seem weird, but I believe it to be good advice. This doesn’t mean that you encourage people to try to do things wrong. . . quite the opposite. Encourage your team members to try new things, to push the envelope, to discover the boundaries of what works and what doesn’t. Every good and new ministry approach was once unconventional (and perhaps even considered unorthodox). Thinking outside the box is healthy for the individual, the team and the Church. Give your team permission to fail, to make mistakes, to fumble the ball (or any other figure of speech you can think of). You will create an atmosphere of joy and creativity; and by doing so, you will increase ministry effectiveness. (By the way: Happy people get more done, attract other happy people, and their  joy is efficacious – happy people will attract like-minded people into your ministry, people who want to be a part of the fun! — just say’n).

Know your Team as Individuals

To build a world-class team, you gotta know A LOT about the players. How many hours will a football coach spend recruiting and getting to know a player’s skill set, how fast they run, how far and accurately they can throw a ball, how well they catch, etc.? You are the coach of your team and you need to know your players very well. What are their particular set of skills, what expertise do they already have, what limitations might they have, and what is their ministry passion? A great leader knows their team members and gives them opportunity to serve in their areas of strength and helps the “players” shore up areas of relative weakness.

Your next team meeting might not be perfect, but over time, it can become better, and filled with joyful effectiveness for the cause of Christ. If you would like to talk about it, contact me!

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Dr. Phil Pledger is The Higher Calling Coach. Each blog post and newsletter will discuss principles of solid and effective Christian leadership. If you don’t want to miss his blog posts, sign up for his newsletter at: www.TheHigherCallingCoach.com. Email Coach Phil at: Phil@TheHigherCallingCoach.com if you would like to set up a no-cost/no-obligation consultation or would like to ask a question.

February 8, 2018
Coach Phil
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How to Maximize your Coaching Experience

Posted in Introduction to Coaching, and Uncategorized

Are you thinking about working with a Coach? Perhaps you have read an article featuring the many benefits to Coaching. Or, maybe someone in your congregation or at the denominational headquarters suggested that a Coach might be helpful for you at this stage of your ministry. Whatever the reason, welcome!

I’m writing this article in order to provide you with ways you can maximize the benefits of a Coaching relationship. This advice will help give you a more positive Coaching experience, allow you to achieve quicker and more satisfying results, and even save you some time and money.

While Executive Coaching is becoming a standard in the business world, many Professional Church Workers are unfamiliar with the many benefits of Coaching. So, let’s start at the beginning: What is Coaching?

Answer: Coaching is a specialized relationship designed to help you find clarity and skills needed in making positive changes in your life and in the systems with which you are connected. More succinctly: Coaching helps you become a better “you”!  Coaching empowers, fosters personal and professional growth leading to discovery of important breakthroughs that will help you achieve a more satisfying and productive ministry and life.

Although similar to other leadership disciplines, Coaching is unique and specific. Coaching is NOT:

  • Consulting. A consultant is the “expert” in solving a particular problem or the giving of specific advice. Consultants focus on issues and problems in an organization. A Coach focuses on the individual being coached not on the organizational issues.
  • Counseling. Counseling typically deals with psychological needs a person might have. A counselor often attempts to understand a person’s past and diagnose maladaptive thinking and behaviors. A Coach works with emotionally strong people and focuses on empowering the individual toward self-discovery and action.
  • Mentoring. Mentors are also experts who’s experience and wisdom is transferred to the one being mentored as they learn to do what the mentor does. A Coach recognizes that the one being coached is the expert about themselves. The coach seeks to draw out strengths, skills, and abilities the client already possesses (or utilizes client strengths and passion to acquire what’s needed) to become what the client decides they want to be (or do what the client is called to do).

There are other things Coaching is “not” but those are the ones most often confused with Coaching. To summarize: The coaching relationship recognizes expertise of the one being coached; the Coach’s role is to facilitate discovery, empower, and work together toward achieving client-driven goals.

Maximizing Time with your Coach

Know the reason for the meet’n

If you are the one that contacted the Coach, you likely know why you called. Sometimes, however, the client has been referred by a supervisor, denominational leader, their Board, or other entity; for those who didn’t set up the appointment, it is especially important that you know how to make the best use of your time (and expense) of having a Coach.

Remember, a Coach doesn’t solve the issues you are having, they coach you so that you are empowered to determine your own future. (Who needs someone else telling you what to do? Answer: No one!) You are the expert in “you”; it’s just that you might be “stuck” or need a thought partner or you are too close to an issue (or person) to see a clear path. Whereas Coaching isn’t rocket science, it is a discipline; Coaching utilizes unique skills and ways of thinking. That discipline and way of thinking can be transferred to you!

Here are some helpful questions to consider as you prepare for Coaching:

  • What is frustrating your progress right now?
    • What discomfort are you experiencing?
    • What issues keep coming up at work? (or home or school or . . .)
  • What would you prefer to see happen?
    • How would you like to feel in your situation?
    • What changes would you like to see take place?
  • What obstacles are preventing you from making necessary changes now?
    • What needs to change in your life?
    • What needs to change in how you feel about your situation?

First Meeting

Your first meeting with your Coach will be a discovery session. Like any relationship, time is needed to get to know one another. During your first session, your Coach will seek to understand you and your situation. The Coach will want to know who you are as a person, what motivates you, and what issues concern you. Don’t expect instant answers; a relationship takes time.

Too often people are looking for a technical answer to an adaptive problem. Technical questions can be easily answered, for example: “How much will it cost to build this building?” The answer can be calculated. An adaptive issue is: “How do I motivate this class of teenagers?” There’s no “one” answer and every good answer you will find will begin with, “Well. . . it depends. . .”

Coaching deals with adaptive challenges and it will take time, energy, and some hard work to accomplish your objectives.

Second Meeting

To maximize time with your Coach, you and your Coach can begin to prioritize your objectives and goals. The questions listed above are broad and general. Your Coach will help you take one issue at a time. If at any time you have new information, new insight, or desire a new direction, that will be important to share with your Coach. Since the goal of your Coach is to help you succeed, any issues you find important that need to be discussed ought to be brought up during your session.

Be Prepared

Ultimately, YOU drive the Coaching sessions. Prior to your session, think through what YOU want to accomplish, what questions you want to discuss, what goals you want to pursue. Coaching is about you, for you, and depends on you for success. A good Coach might suggest a path and will, when appropriate, even challenge new thinking, but you are the expert on “you.” Your Coach is the expert on bringing out the BEST from you.

Memorialize Progress

Often your Coach takes notes during the coaching session. As a Coach, I take notes so that I can map your progress toward your stated objectives and so I can be prepared for each session. By writing a few bullet points during or directly after each coaching session, you will be able to track your progress toward your objectives. Writing can also help make sure you make forward movement between sessions and give a you greater sense of accomplishment. One of the major goals of coaching is to help you become skilled at coaching yourself; writing notes will help fulfil that goal.

Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before!

Aside from ripping the Star Trek theme, it’s important to remember that coaching is about YOU becoming a better you. You don’t need to impress your coach just like you don’t need to impress your family physician. The Coach, like the physician, is there to help you discover and maintain your own success objectives. If you secretly want to become Teacher of the Year, say it out loud; let’s work on this together; let’s make a plan. There’s nothing wrong with ambition and working toward high-level achievement!

It’s Up To You To Be A New You

The Coach cannot, no matter how great they might be, make your life what you want it to be. Only you can know what you want to accomplish and only you can take the necessary steps toward success. Your Coach will encourage you, help you think more creatively and completely, and will help you formulate winning strategies. But you are in the driver’s seat; you decide the destination, the route, speed, and stops along the way. Your Coach will help you navigate and decide and help keep you focused on your life’s goals.

By understanding these basics, your Coaching sessions will be much more productive and you will be well on your way to accomplishing your objectives and living a more fruitful and enjoyable life. If you have other suggestions on how to make Coaching more effective, please share your thoughts. I can be reached via my personal email: philpledger@gmail.com, or via my cell number, 909-255-1054.

Blessings in Christ,

Coach Phil

August 15, 2017
Coach Phil
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What to Expect from Coaching

Posted in Uncategorized

Coaching is an intentional beneficial relationship between two or more people focused on helping the one coached successfully obtain their goals.

Good coaching can help you:

  • reach your potential in Christ
  • discover what you truly want in life
  • overcome obstacles to success
  • connect short-term strategies to long-term plans

A Coach is a  “trusted role model, adviser, wise person, friend, Mensch, steward, or guide — a person who works with emerging human and organizational forces to tap new energy and purpose, to shape new visions and plans, and to generate desired results.”  Someone who “facilitates experiential learning that results in future-oriented abilities” (F. Hudson, The Handbook of Coaching).

An Executive Coach offers specific help by:

  • Maintaining Confidential Partnerships
  • Utilizing a Structured Process
  • Goal Directed for Optimum  Performance

Executive Coaching is NOT Psychological therapy! Coaching is designed for emotionally and psychologically healthy individuals. Coaching focuses on:

  • Performance
  • Achievement
  • Fulfillment

So, what can you expect from our coaching relationship? Here are a few appropriate expectations:

Expect your coach to ask questions. . . sometimes hard questions, questions you may have been avoiding for a long time. The coach is to be curious, to help you discover more about yourself and in general, create the foundation for better self-understanding.

Expect your coach to focus on your potential, what you can do, and the formation of your best self. A coach will help you go over, under, or even plow through obstacles, help to equip you to find your own way and avoid the fear, doubt, or circumstances that hold you back.

Expect your coach to help you stand firmly on your own set of values and Christian faith, to know who you are in Christ, and to become more confident in your relationship with God as His beloved child.

Expect your coach to challenge you. Sometimes the most loving thing anyone can do for us is to tell us the truth. Though uncomfortable and sometimes difficult to hear, we all need to be challenged in order to grow. Einstein said once: “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” A professional coach will encourage you break the cycle of “same-ness” and help you make way for more satisfying results.

Expect your coach to be your encourager. Your professional coach will serve like Aaron and Hur who helped keep Moses’ hands held high and allowed the Israelites to prevail (Exodus 17:12). A good coach helps you re-think situations and helps reveal new possibilities, ideas, and successful strategies.

What the coach will not do:
Don’t expect your coach to be your new boss or tell you how to live your life. Coaching is about empowering the person, not dictating someone’s life. The last thing most of us would ever want is someone telling us what to do!

Don’t expect your coach to be triangulated. The coaching relationship is between the coach and the one coached. The coach is NOT a middle-manager between the Board/Council or Principal or Pastor or anyone else. The relationship is between the coach and the one being coached. Coaching is NOT a disciplinary activity, it is an encouraging, positive and engaging relationship that helps the one being coached to reach their own fullest potential.

Don’t expect your coach to do YOUR work. Successful coaching is empowering and equips people to change their own future. It might seem strange, but the one being coached pays me to get them to work. That’s the only way coaching will be helpful. Maximize your own success by suggesting areas of strength AND weakness; suggest activities that need to be measured and where it would help to be held accountable. Accountability is key to a successful coaching relationship.

September 9, 2016
Coach Phil
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Welcome from Coach Phil

Posted in Introduction to Coaching

Welcome to TheHigherCallingCoach.com!

My name is Phil Pledger and I have been a professional Church worker for more than 32 years, serving congregations in Texas, Wisconsin and California. I’ve served small ministries as well as large, healthy communities and the not-so-healthy. Through it all, God has blessed me and my family in more ways than I can count (or even know about). I’ve enjoyed every congregation and ministry I’ve served, but there have also been some exceedingly tough times as well.

As is often the case, I think I learned more about ministry and life through the tough times. As President of one of the ministries I served, I had the privilege of meeting hundreds of professional Church workers throughout the world. Meeting all these great people, it became increasingly apparent that professional Church workers may have the best jobs in the world, but are also some of most professionally isolated people in any profession. There is an unfortunate attitude among many people that since we “work for God,” everything must always be “OK.”

So, what happens when things are NOT OK? Who can the professional Church worker safely talk to? What happens when the professional Church worker is “stuck” in their profession, in their spiritual walk, in their marriage or other relationship? Sometimes we need a thought partner, someone to help us acquire a fresh perspective, or help getting “un-stuck.” Perhaps you are trying to write a book, but “life” gets in the way. Or, your spouse points out (again) that you don’t have a healthy work/life balance. . . and your stress level is through the roof! Some feel as though they are being taken advantage of, and still others are on the verge of burn-out.

These are some of the reasons I became an Executive Coach, to help the professional Church worker regain their joy, effectiveness, and confidence. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

As you peruse TheHigherCallingCoach.com consider emailing me so we can set up a phone call and talk. Together we can discuss how a Professional Executive Coach might help.

May God fill you with Joy and Peace, in Christ!

Coach Phil

Phil@thehighercallingcoach.com