by Pamela Mertz, CPCC, PCC, CPD
Listening is the beginning of all things. That is a profound awareness that I have recently received.
Listening is the beginning of learning. We hear, then take action and learn.
Listening is the beginning of leadership. We hear, assess, plan, and then lead.
Listening is the beginning of love. We hear there is a God who loved us first, and we respond with love, but it all begins with listening.
In coaching, listening is the beginning of the coaching process too. We hear the client with our ears, a passive activity, but we listen to them and formulate our responses, our powerful questions, and calls to actions that we hear from them and the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible, I have referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Action Figure” of the Trinity. If you do a doctrinal study of the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God, you will also see this to be true. Things happen when the Spirit comes upon, is with, is present, or fills the character of the story we are reading. I challenge you to read Scripture with this context and see it afresh!
Listening IN is the 4th level of listening, and the extra level we get to tap into as Christian coaches. In this space of listening in to the Holy Spirit in the moment is access to the limitless provision of God.
As Christian coaches, we have the privilege of bringing the Holy Spirit into every client call. We are able to provide our clients access to the One True Triune God and His plans for them.
When we listen first to the Lord before we meet with our clients, we have an opportunity to hear Him speak about them, and we can also hold that space for them to hear directly from Him as well.
When we are attuned to His Spirit, as Paul instructs us to walk by the Spirit, and pray by the Spirit, we can live by the Spirit. The Spirit is our Advocate, our Helper, our Counselor, and many other references to giving an assist whenever we need it! Jesus tells us to “take courage” and this word take is the same meaning as receive in the Greek language. Wow…can it be that simple to ask and receive what we need in the moment? Yes! Try it!
As I learn more and more to lean into His provision in my coaching, I am keenly aware of the outcomes being so much more than I could ever ask for or imagine! I want this for my clients, so I purpose to invite Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct my coaching sessions. The little “s” spirit of Performance is not able to hijack my coaching anymore. I am the conduit, through which the Lord gets to speak. These are the “smarter than me” questions and direct communication that I call out at times. So enjoyable!!
When we are ourselves connected to the Lord intimately, and in constant conversation with Him, it is a natural outworking that those in our lives benefit from our relationship with Him too. He is our source of all things, our provider, and when we can step into that space of truly believing that He will provide and sustain us in all ways, it can be so fun to watch Him work!!
To do this, it is simple, practice His Presence and have dialogue with Him. I love A.W. Tozer’s Pursuit of God and Brother Lawrence’s book Practicing the Presence of God. I have given many copies away to people. Check them out, and settle into a new depth of intimacy with Him for yourself, your family, and your clients.
For more, watch for Pamela’s upcoming book, Listen IN, coming soon!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pamela Mertz, CPCC, PCC is passionate about Christian coaching and loves sharing how God continues to show her how impactful it is for the world! She works with many Christian coaches around the globe through her roles at Promised Land Living, Professional Christian Coaching Institute and CCNI as Board Secretary. For more information about Pamela you can visit her website at www.blueprintlife.com
