Coach Training isn’t for everyone.

There are some specific people groups who would not really benefit.

1. Those who are all set!

If you are knocking it out of the park in your personal and professional relationships and have nowhere to grow, coach training is not likely to benefit you.

2. Those who prefer solely to teach!

While there’s a place for teaching in the kingdom of God, in the continuum of growth, it is only at the beginning.

In Bridges Coaching we promote the leadership growth model of:
Telling > Teaching > Training > Trusting 

If you are not able to encourage maturity and help the people in your life to grow in their own relationships with the Holy Spirit, then coach training is probably not for you.

3. Those who enjoy being needed!

It’s the classic, but on steroids! You can give a man a fish or teach him how to fish.

In coaching it sounds like this: You can give a man the answers, or you can help him learn to discern for himself.

It...

If I’m honest, I totally didn’t get it.

I mean, I really didn’t get it.

I was way too busy to prioritize this right now. My leadership skills were fine for the time being. The Holy Spirit will lead me to say what I should say. This was like, thing No. 5 on my priority list. It’s just going to need to wait. Too busy.

Then I got it. And boy, oh boy, was I wrong.

Bridges coaching changed my life.

That’s a serious sentence that I just wrote. I understand that sentence carries a lot of weight. And I completely stand by what I wrote.

Bridges coaching changed my life because I simply gave it a chance.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that the coaching paradigm allowed me to be a better husband, a better dad, and a better church leader.

As a husband and dad, I considered myself a pretty good listener, but what I learned in coaching, was I could be an even better husband by being an active listener by truly being invested and asking questions. A true...

Maybe the better question is “Who do you know that doesn’t need this?”

Soul Care is so needed, likely this year more than ever.

Who hasn’t been consumed with adjusting plans or dealing with friends and family with differing opinions on social justice or politics? Or maybe someone you care for has lost their job, or been stressed way more than usual at work? Perhaps there’s a pastor you want to especially bless this year?

How about you? What do you do when you feel flat, or overwhelmed, sad, or fearful?

Whether you want to add this to your own list or purchase it for someone else, the Bridges Coaching Soul Care Retreat offers hope in a step-by-step plan to reconnect with God in a meaningful way.

The printable workbook journal and short videos make the plan easy to walk out as we share our real-life experiences and we prompt you to walk your journey toward replenishing your soul.

Eric and I wrote and then recorded this retreat after we went through a...

Man oh man, if you are like me you are ready for a New Year -- it’s time!

Especially if you are in a leadership role anywhere, you know -- it’s time!

It’s time to dust off some old initiatives, reinvigorate your team (which may be you and your children), and make some forward movement.

Our pastor reminds us weekly we were made on purpose for a purpose. But I’ll be honest, it has been a bit hard to hear that some Sundays this past year.

At times it has felt like the purpose was just to survive the day, another cancellation, another shutdown, or dread of all dreads, to actually try to navigate travel on an airplane.

Yet, here we are.

We’ve almost made it through 2020.

And you know what, I am willing to bet you are the stronger for it.

Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in D.C. said recently, “We just got a master’s degree in leadership through all the adjustments needed to be made this past year.” I think he’s...

Editor's Note: April facilitates the Destiny by Design cohorts as well as peer pairs for Coaching Culture. She and her husband John have four girls and live in upstate NY. Our Destiny by Design course will help you unlock the personal path God has created for you, and learn how to lead others in finding their destiny as well. Simply put, we believe when you know who you were designed to be you know who you are meant to become. 

Most days were pretty good overall. We had a fairly consistent routine that kept things running smoothly. Smooth like that one road with the potholes and unexpected bumps that make you spill your hot coffee on your white pants (not that moms actually wear white pants, but you get what I am saying.)

I didn’t expect this season of high demand 'momming' to be easy. I expected having 4 girls would be messy and joyfully exhausting. But, this level of frustration that seemed to happen between 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm had to change.

I wanted more...

Editor's Note: Sarah Fulton facilitates the Coaching Certification cohorts for Bridges Coaching. She and her husband Jordan live in upstate NY with their 5 children. Her heart for coaching comes out in every area of her life and she helps others grow to their full potential.

I have a confession... I have always been kind of scared to parent teenagers.

Maybe it’s all the horror stories: “Oh, they’re cute now, but just wait until they’re teenagers!”, “They’ll turn into little monsters that you can’t wait to get rid of...”

Have you heard those too?

I knew God had more for me during this season of parenthood.

He wanted to equip me to navigate it well; I just had no idea I’d find powerful tools for parenting in coach training.

My first coaching course was intended for ministry training. I wanted to learn the most effective way to help people navigate transitions and grow quickly -- and it did that!

I still believe that...

So, does this headline surprise you?!

Here’s why we can’t really trust coaching. (I know it will sound “churchy” but I need to say it.) We can really only trust God!

*HOWEVER*

God is trustworthy!

Here’s what Jesus thought about coaching.

John 14: 16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

Now is that time! The Holy Spirit is available to live within us!

When people are looking for answers and we as leaders give them what we think they should do, we bear the risk of becoming a mediator or “God-man” in their lives. This does not mean there isn’t a place for teaching - of course, there is, but coaches help people walk out what they have...

"What’s at stake?"

That’s a great question!

It could be the single straw that is the tipping point between ideation and implementation.

There are 4 basic reasons “What’s at stake?” could be the lever needed for forward movement.

Never trying.

Sometimes realizing what will not happen if the idea is kept in the “dream cloud” is just what is needed to help someone get started and stop procrastinating.

Rightsizing the risk.

Recognizing that if the outcome doesn’t end exactly where hoped, the forward movement is at the least good research, and at worst an idea can be crossed off the list to make room for more possibilities to try.

Naming the loss.

Someone needs whatever it is that is being considered! Realizing what could happen if this idea isn’t carried out could be just the motivation fuel to get the motion started.

Regret.

You’ll never know if you never try.

Sometimes the big idea works. Sometimes it doesn’t, but...

Okay, I gotta be honest.

I was surprised and thrilled when Dr. Walt Hastings helped take my coaching to a next level with this simple tip.

I first met Walt when he was assigned to assess the recorded coaching sessions I submitted for credentialing. If you know me you know I am a go-big-or-go-home kinda gal and I had it in my head I should go ahead and apply for CCNI Master’s level credentialing on my first go. Walt was so kind when he let me down easy that I needed a little more work before that level. (I am proud to say I have a CPCC credential now (Certified Professional Christian Coach) and am working toward CMCC this year.)

Walt’s assessment taught me so much that I hired him to do Mentor Coaching for our Bridges Next Level coach training.

In that course, he shared his coaching prep form which shared the simple key I want to share with you today.

Without an articulated outcome your coaching conversation is just a good chat!

A good chat allows the other person to...

Telling > Teaching > Training > Trusting

That’s the growth paradigm we unpack in Coach Training.

Seems so simple at first glance. It goes like this:

When a child is young we tell them, “You can’t cross the road!”

Then we teach them, “Don’t cross the road without looking - there may be cars coming!”

Training comes next, where we teach them to look both ways and ask them if there are cars coming.

Then comes the day when we trust them and let them ride their bike to a friend’s house on their own and eventually “confidently” give them car keys, etc.

Easy right?

But what about topics where the stakes are much higher.

How does it work with issues like choosing a mate, career choices, financial investments, or even walking out a life of faith?

Often when parents of adult children have questions or concerns they revert back to telling or teaching.

It’s easy to do.

You have such deep concern about your adult...