There’s nothing quite like opening day: high energy and great anticipation in the air, hope springs eternal and all things seem possible.
So it is with us as we look forward to our first meeting of The Bench on Friday September 14th at 2pm (Eastern). The Bench is a place for men who are committed to coaching from a decidedly Christian perspective, to come aside for one hour and begin to build a community.
The ‘us’ above is Dave Peterson and Thomas Kenyon and it is our honor to open The Bench to the men of CCNI as an opportunity to talk shop, swap war stories, learn tips and trends from one another, while supporting each other in our mission to be professional coaches who impact lives for Christ.
Our great comfort in leading this endeavor is the knowledge that we will be relying on the Holy Spirit to guide each meeting. We will come with some ideas for what we might want to twist the knobs on that day, but remaining fully open to what will best serve those present and bring the most glory to God.
Being that it will just be a bunch of guys getting together, there won’t be many rules. No dress codes, few formalities and, hopefully, a good deal of laughter. Our one big requirement is one that all of us are already well familiar with: confidentiality. Our major hope is that all will feel welcome to participate and that none of us will feel the need to dominate.
Each of us in this profession are aware that ‘Lone Ranger living’ is a recipe for disaster, and we also realize that it often is too easy to slip into. The truly great thing that we hope happens repeatedly is that a couple of fellows that might never have met outside of The Bench recognize that it might be beneficial to meet one-to-one and new friendships are formed.
It is our strong belief that God is in this and we are excited to see what He is going to do through this vehicle for fellowship, encouragement and growth in Christlikeness.
See ya at The Bench on September 14th!
About the Authors:
David H. Peterson has been a pastor and church planter for most of his adult life. He entered full-time into coaching in late 2016 helping men “discover and live into their dreams rather than out of their memories”. He holds an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the CPLC from Professional Christian Coaching Institute and the AGAC with the Assemblies of God. He loves to travel and has taught in the Baltics, Eastern Europe, Africa, and India. Dave and the love of his life, Julie, have been married 42 years, live in the Hudson Valley of NY, and have four adult children and four grandchildren.
Thomas Kenyon is a late-in-life Christ-follower, who almost immediately after a dramatic conversion experience at age 44 began ministering to men. After successful decade-plus runs in three varied business fields, he attended the Professional Christian Coaching Institute in order to become proficient in serving men as a life coach. By the grace of God, Thomas and his bride, Lorene, recently celebrated their 34th anniversary. They enjoy having their two married daughters living within 20 minutes of their home in Sarasota, FL so that their four grandkids can visit frequently!
