I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
John 14:15-16
I am in awe to know God, Creator of Heaven and earth, sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die a sacrificial death for me so that I could someday live with Him in eternity. And when Jesus left to be with Our Heavenly Father, He did not leave me here as an “orphan.” He sent Holy Spirit to be with me as my Helper. He will never leave me and He lives inside of me. He is with me with every client and knows who they are and what they need.
Christian coaches are chosen, set apart to do this work called coaching and make an impact on the world using our unique gifts, talents and experiences. And, we are not doing this work alone. Unlike secular coaches who are not privileged to be connected to Holy Spirit, He empowers us in all facets of our lives, including our coaching ministries and businesses.
A critical aspect of coaching is the formation and maintenance of a partnership between the coach and the person being coached (client). And the Christian coach partnership doesn’t stop at two persons. There are always three persons in the Christian coaching relationship, the coach, client and Holy Spirit.
What does it mean to fully partner with Holy Spirit in our coaching conversations? When we invite Him into the partnership with our client, then we must trust Him, the Spirit of Truth, the Third Person of the Trinity, and part of the trust is believing that He already knows what our clients need. He also knows what kind of training we have received and how we have prepared for the session with a client. He knows what coaching is and is not. He knows our hearts and intent. So, if we trust this to be true, do we also trust Holy Spirit will not steer us down a path that is not honoring to the client or to our profession of coaching?
I believe Holy Spirit is the consummate gentleman, and that He won’t force His guidance upon us. When we submit to Holy Spirit, He aides us. In our coaching conversations, Holy Spirit helps us to serve within the competencies. He helps us to be an engaged active listener as we offer generous amounts of silence – that sacred space where Holy Spirit directs us and speaks to our clients. Sometimes, we are surprised when a brilliant, powerful question rolls off our tongue at just the right moment and we wait. Ah, yes, the power of Holy Spirit.
Christian Coaches, if you believe you were called to this profession, then I challenge you to step into it more boldly, confidently, and joyfully to make an impact for His Kingdom. Our role is to believe and trust in Holy Spirit’s presence within us, submit to Him, seek Him, listen to Him, and obey Him. In this way, we will create a climate where the Power of Three is realized for the greatest benefit of the client and the Glory of God.
About the Author:
Janice LaVore-Fletcher is President and Founder of Christian Coach Institute and an ICF Professional Certified Coach, a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, a Certified Christian Professional Coach, a Certified Mentor Coach for the ICF Competencies, and a Commissioned Stephen Minister. Janice is author of a soon to be released book, “Called to Coach, Inspiring Stories of Christian Life Coaches Who Answered God’s Call” .
