Who Coaches the Senior Pastor?

MARIO
by Mario Vega

Joel has already explained that the coaching must start with the Senior Pastor. The big question is who coaches the Senior Pastor? It seems obvious to me that the one coaching the senior pastor should be from outside the local church. The coach should also be someone who believes and embodies cell church ministry. And the senior pastor must be willing to listen to his coach and do what is requested.

Another way the senior pastor can find encouargement is by attending cell church conferences, visiting cell churches, reading books on the subject, and nurturing friendships with those who work or know the cell system. All these are elements that help the Pastor to feel connected and coached in ministry.

You can also be coached by specialists, as is the case with most of the members of the JCG Board of Directors. This is a privilege that can only be enjoyed by a few people, but it is the most direct way to have personalized coaching.

What about you? If you are a cell church Senior Pastor, who coaches you?

Mario

Translation in Spanish:

La supervisión del Pastor Principal.

Joel ha explicado que la supervisión debe comenzar desde el Pastor Principal de toda iglesia celular. La gran pregunta es ¿quién supervisa al Pastor Principal si con él termina la estructura celular de la iglesia? Obviamente, la supervisión debe venir de alguien externo a la iglesia local.

Dado que se trata del trabajo celular, los encargados de supervisar al Pastor Principal deben ser otras personas que conocen los principios y valores del modelo. Por su parte, el Pastor Principal debe tener la disposición de rendir cuentas cada vez que se le requiera.

Otra forma de ser animado es asistiendo a conferencias sobre el tema celular, visitando otras iglesias celulares, leyendo libros sobre el tema, cultivando amistades que trabajan o conocen el sistema. Todos estos son elementos que permiten al Pastor no sentirse solo en una tarea como ésta.

También se puede tener la supervisión de personas especializadas. Tal como sucede con la mayor parte de los miembros de la Directiva de JCG. Este es un privilegio que pueden disfrutar solamente unas pocas personas, pero es la manera más directa de tener una supervisión personalizada.

Si usted es un Pastor Principal de una iglesia celular ¿quién le supervisa?

Love Those You Coach

Jeff Tunnell

I am on the central coast of California this morning.  My youngest son’s wedding is at noon, on the beach.  He is in love, making a lifetime commitment and joining two families together by this biblical act.  I am very proud.  In parenting, coaching is a non-stop process that shapes the lives of our children.  I am seeing the fruit of my life being poured into my son.  He’ll be a great husband and will become a great father in turn.  I am privileged to have been his coach in life and I think the relationship will now grow richer and stronger.  It’s a beautiful day!

I think there’s a blog in here about coaching starting with the Senior Pastor and working it through the rest of those engaged in the cell ministry, hope you find it.  My thoughts are dominated by this right of passage.  Love those you coach, it really helps.

Coaching Simplicity

JOELby Joel Comiskey

Cell church ministry is very simple. It starts with a single cell. Both cell church planting and cell church transitioning begin with a pilot group. Who leads the first cell in both cases? The lead pastor (senior pastor). The lead pastor’s involvement is critical in the cell church and this is especially true when it comes to coaching.

Coaching can appear over-complicated. We talk about G12, 5X5, G12.3, and other coaching structures. Year ago, I followed one coaching structure that called the coaches Ls, Ds, and Xs. I quit using this system when I realized I spent way too much time defining the names!

The simple coaching truth is that when the pilot cell multiplies, whether in a church plant or a church transition, the lead pastor becomes the coach of the new leaders. In other words, coaching begins with the lead pastor. Yes, the lead pastor will eventually raise up supervisors to help carry the load, but the coaching vision/structure always resides with the lead pastor.

Some lead pastors are blessed to have additional pastors on the pastoral team. Ideally, those pastors are the fruit of the cell system (e.g., in a cell, multiplied a cell, became a supervisor, and eventually rose to the role of fulltime pastor on the team). The lead pastor primarily coaches the staff pastors who then coach the rest of the cell system

Most churches are small and have no full time staff, but the lead pastor can still establish a coaching team made up of lay cell leaders.

Remember: coaching is simple. It stems from the lead pastor and extends to all cell leaders. Don’t overly complicated the process.

Comments?

Joel

Prioritizing Coaching Principles over Structures

mario
by Mario Vega

Human nature is always inclined to giving a greater value to the tangible rather than the intangible. That happened with the Pharisees. Jesus accused them of being very thorough in the subject of tithing but at the expense of sacrificing the greater values of justice and love (Luke 11:42).

The same pattern can occur within the cell model. There is a tendency to give greater importance to the tangible (e.g., the coaching structure), rather than to the intangible values of making disciples, caring, encouragement, and mentoring.

When coaching structures are excessively emphasized, the coaching values and principles tend to be neglected. I don’t know of any ONE coaching structure that God is blessing more than others. God’s support will alwasy be for the coaching values.

Let us fix our attention on the development and application of those values and principles, since in the long run, they will produce the fruit of God’s blessing. I believe the best coaching structure is the one which magnifies the application of coaching principles. Any structure that emphasizes the values will be blessed by God.

Comments?

Mario

Translation in Spanish:

Estructura y valores de la supervisión.

La naturaleza humana siempre se inclina por dar mayor valor a los aspectos tangibles que a los intangibles. Eso ocurrió con los fariseos. Jesús les acusó de ser muy meticulosos en el tema del diezmo pero a costa de sacrificar los grandes valores de la justicia y el amor (Lc. 11:42).

La misma pauta se produce con el modelo celular. Existe una tendencia a dar gran relevancia a lo tangible, la estructura de supervisión, que a los grandes valores: el hacer discpulos, el cuidado, el estmulo, el ser mentores.

Normalmente, cuando se enfatiza excesivamente el tema de la estructura de supervisión se tiende a descuidar los valores y principios de la supervisión. No existe una estructura que cuente con un mayor respaldo de Dios. Solamente existe el respaldo de Dios a los valores de la supervisión.

Fijemos nuestra atención en el desarrollo y en la aplicación de esos valores y principios pues son, los que a la larga, producirán el fruto de la bendición de Dios. Una buena estructura de supervisión es toda aquella que permite la aplicación de esos principios. Cualquier estructura que lo permita será buena y bendecida por Dios.

Structure with Growth in Mind

By Michael Sove

When thinking through a coaching structure for your context, here are a couple of questions to ask yourself.

#1  What will be our spans of care?  How can I make sure every leader is cared for well?

I like smaller spans of care as we ask our coaches to do the following:

a)  Pray daily for the leaders under their care.

b)  Contact weekly for the purpose of encouragement, prayer and care.

c)  Sit down monthly for the purpose of personal care, and helping the leader to develop action plans around the habits that make a difference both in the cell and outside the cell.

d)  Visit their cell occasionally.

#2  How will I multiply my coaches as the number of cell leaders expands?

One of the mistakes to avoid in a coaching structure is not thinking out past your current need for coaches.  I am currently asking myself “Who will take care of the next ten leaders?”

#3  How will I measure the effectiveness of my coaches?

Is it new cells?  The number of members turned into leaders?  Lower leader turnover, or a combination of all these things?  It is important to identify some coaching objectives.

You can see why you can’t just adopt someone else’s coaching structure but need one tailor-made for your setting, vision and objectives.

What other factors have you considered in forming your coaching structure?

Michael