by Brian Bennett
Becoming a coach is a vulnerable journey. Many of us have transitioned from a career path where we developed a certain level of familiarity and competency. Coach training required us to become beginners again. After a significant investment in learning the art and science of coaching, we find ourselves ready to coach, but walking into unfamiliar territory called marketing and building the business side of the coaching practice. In the coaching sessions themselves, we often find ourselves as coaches standing with and for clients amid moments where neither knows how to proceed. It takes a tremendous sense of rootedness and finding security in who God has authored our lives to be as Christian coaches, to offer ourselves as a secure partner to the client in these moments. We must constantly reclaim our God-given identities and personhood in Jesus to face our own insecurities and build powerful partnerships with clients.
In his book, The Gift of Being Yourself, David Benner talks about the importance of discovering and anchoring into who God has authored you to be.
“There are many false ways of achieving uniqueness. These all result from attempts to create a self rather than receive the gift of my self-in-Christ. But the uniqueness that comes from being our true self is not a uniqueness of our own making. Identity is never simply a creation. It is always discovery. True Identity is always a gift from God.”
As Christian coaches, we first discover our God-given identity through the life, death,and resurrection of Jesus, and then we can walk out our God-given uniqueness. As we search the scriptures, we see many passages inviting us to receive and reclaim our God-given identities.
- Through Jesus (individually and collectively) we are:
- Holy, chosen and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12)
- God’s children (John 1:12)
- Sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
- Free (Romans 8:1-3)
As we exchange the treadmills of performance and shame connected to our old ways of being and seeing ourselves, we can begin to rest and drink deeply from the freedom of who God declares us to be as his sons and daughters. As this grace works itself out within our being and internal dynamics, we can offer a more secure and rooted partner presence as a coach.
As we think about offering ourselves through our vocation as Christian coaches in service to others, we receive the transformative invitation to walk out our uniqueness (Ephesians 2:10) as beloved children. This workmanship extends to how we coach and serve clients. God has uniquely formed and gifted each one of us with experiences, passions, perspectives, a personality and presence that is a blessing to others as it is revealed. This walking out of our workmanship happens as we prayerfully listen, reflect, and come to a greater understanding of God’s authorship over our life journey. We are all created in God’s image, yet we are unique compared to every other human being, and that uniqueness is a blessing when it is stewarded and released in service to others.
- Learning to coach out of our God-authored uniqueness means
- Rooting and resting in grace
- Discovering who God has authored us to be
- Appreciating the beauty in God’s authorship of our lives
- Developing our signature coaching presence and style
- Celebrating the gift of other coaches’ styles
We are blessed to be a blessing as we anchor into the vine (John 15:5), coming to know and understand God more fully and as we do, coming to see and understand ourselves more clearly. A self whose life has been authored to participate in God’s global mission of blessing the world (Genesis 12).
“Genuine self-knowledge begins by looking at God and noticing how God is looking at us. Grounding our knowledge of our self in God’s knowing of us anchors us in reality. It also anchors us in God.” – David Benner
Blessings
Brian Bennett, President
Christian Coaches Network International
Brian seeks to be a blessing in the world by empowering leaders to bring their best self to their life and work. He brings management and executive perspective from his experience as the Director of the KCLI Leadership Institute, Executive Coach, & Executive Pastor. He has the privilege of coaching leaders across thesectors of business, non-profit and church ministry. He holds an MBA, an M.A. in Organizational Leadership and an M.A. in Christian Ministry and Leadership. He is a Korn Ferry certified Leadership Architect, is a Certified Behavioral Analyst by TTI Success Insights, and a certified Professional Leadership & Life Coach by Professional Christian Coaching Institute. Brian resides in Missouri with his wife and two sons.
