Video Transcript: The Coach’s Character Compass

Henry - So we looked at the styles, and again, someone can go deeper in them when they take further training, but at least you know what we're talking about. But today is probably the fact is, is that integrity is very important in the coaches world. So in this section, we're going to 

Steve - explore key character traits of a godly coach. Understand how virtue guides behavior and decision making, commit to a spiritual formation as a foundation. 

Henry - So this is about the coach. Yep. Okay. Yeah, why character matters. So skill without characters can harm 

Steve - Yeah? So, yeah, I guess you know, it goes back to when you and I first met and we figured out that there's ministry, there's leading a church, there's churches trying to help people, but you know, you and I are spending our lives trying to help people, but if we're not walking with God in our own life, oh yeah, the connections, yep, our marriage, our family, then what are we doing? Why we're getting people in the Bible study, getting them to sing on Sunday, but the guy leading isn't even walking with God. I mean, then how are you ever going to get anyone else to walk with God? Right? Right? You'll get them singing and coming to church. But right. So right, 

Henry - if this isn't mattering to us, and we're just doing it for other people, how 

Steve - sad. It's almost like it's a business. I just doing this as a job in a way, not out of the fullness of my life. Yeah, powerful. 

Henry - Four points on the character compass. One we talked about earlier. I am not the fixer, right? Compassion, I care without control, right, integrity, I honor truth and trust, courage, I speak when called right. But all of this is about those connections, those that relationship with God. Point one, humility, posture of dependence, 

Steve - credits. God is the source of transformation. Well, I remember there was a, I forget the name of it, but it doesn't matter that there was some class on getting your finances in order that got a popular person put together. And I remember our church was going to do it, and he had his name on everything of everything was his thing, yeah, and I remember, like, you know, I wish he let you put your church's name on it, right? Because I want when, when people got fixed, financially, speaking, saved in a way, financially, I wanted them to give all credit to God and the church that helped them, not some guru guy, right? All Praise and glory to Him. So that idea that I the coach, I'm going to get the glory when your life gets better, or it the whole time I'm with you, I'm always pointing to God. God is speaking to us, God. What is God telling us? What is God helping me do with you? It's, you know, if you're always saying things like that, you're like, you have to constantly do it, or otherwise, they're gonna think you did it. 

Henry - right. Apart from me, you can do nothing, yeah? And sometimes we create a ministry in the kingdom, so to speak, that's just so branded, yeah, when we're forgetting, yeah, that it is God, right? 

Steve - Yeah, the Grace Community Church brand, rather than the god brand, 

Henry - you know, powerful. I'm no offense to any grace, right, or faith or point to compassion, yeah, a posture of presence, right? See the image of God and others. 

Steve - Coaches with gentleness. Jesus had Jesus hurt for people. You know that word compassion was something in your gut turning over. Yes, you feel it, 

Henry - yeah, oh, I feel that. I feel every single relationship God put to my life. I feel for that right, I do right and, and that's that the the character, yeah, of the coach, right, 

Steve - posture of trust, keeps confidences, speaks honestly, stays consistent when one when no one's watching, I think that truth part you know that you know I hold on to the truth, and there's something I. I'm not like, I think a lot of coaching today in the secular world and counseling in the secular world, there is no real truth. It's just we're flowing where, whenever you wherever you go, or whatever you think is true, is true. Yeah. There's no tacking Yeah. 

Henry - And it's all Yeah, within, somehow within you like, truth is somehow in, you know, from the Ministry coaching perspective, the truth is in God, right? And then we try to learn what it is, and I am bound to it. You are bound to right? I'm the coach. I'm bound to it. You're bound. He's the Creator. He's the Redeemer. He designed us. We are as new as we are in relationship to him. We have been saved through grace, through Christ, not of ourself. We are resurrected to new life. I mean, we're talking like this whole story in worldview becomes our story in worldview. 

Steve - Right? Courage. Point for posture of bold love, confronts when needed, doesn't shy away from hard truth, speaks in love, not fear. You know in some ways that you are if you don't model some of that, then how are they going to pick up on that for themselves, right? Like, this is what it means to be a Christian, right? And this is who God is. God is a courageous guy, and so that's part of otherwise. Again, you're just shrinking back into letting the client run everything 

Henry - right back to just secular coach, yeah, 

Steve - back to letting Hitler be Hitler, whereas if you were coaching Hitler, you confront Hitler. Yeah, you know what? 

Henry - We don't expend people's lives. You know, evolution is not true. That there's supposed to be a master race, and it's supposed to be survival of this fittest, and people are like, are not fittest. I mean, you know, in a sense, you know, Bonhoeffer is a great story. Here is the minister in Nazi Germany, Germany, who who stands up and calls into question a nation, and who ultimately gave him his life for this, right? Yeah, so let's get practical. How to cultivate 

Steve - character spiritual practices. That's that's the way he started. Yes, then whole daily scripture. You know, if you want a relationship with God, you have to talk, listen, listen, reading the Bible. That's the basics. Yeah, repeatedly, repeatedly. So if you only talk to God once a week on Sunday, and most of the talking and listening is some pastor doing it for you. What kind of relationship you actually have with God, right? And if you don't have a great daily walking with God relationship, how are you going to pour prayer and Scripture into the person that you're trying to coach all that stuff we've been talking about, right? 

Henry - How do you take the connections class and go deep dive into that. 

Steve - So, confession, repentance, being a part of a community or church community, you know, studying the Bible together, 

Henry - giving a soul center that you're with other people, prayer independently, again, in some ways, let's talk that cultivation of character itself. What's the philosophy of that? I know we have talked about this for decades, the philosophy of the cultivation of character so a little child is born, right? Okay? It's not long when the sinful nature comes through and that life experiences happen, sounded very negative. Like in this story, we told that one of those previous sessions, a loved one died, and the person was crushed, but yet the Lord said we don't grieve as those who have no hope. So you know, experiences God shows up. We push against it, we we sin, we find brokenness, we experience, we live brokenness. You know, in a lot of ways, character is, you know, it we confront, there's our freedom. So the Lord didn't create robots, right? So now we hit our head against the wall. So all of this, this happens as well. 

Steve - So all of this is part of your whole life has been a cultivation process of your character, right? 

Henry - And there's where it when you welcome scripture in and the Holy Spirit, and you pray, and you realize that there's forces like spiritual warfare forces. Then you go hear a sermon, you go to church on Sunday, and you're connected. There. You open your Bible, you memorize Scripture. You know, in a lot of ways, it's all part of this that is critical if you're. Going to coach others, 

Steve - right, that all these things form you, right, and form you into a consistent person, right, that consistently loves because not perfect, not perfect, not perfect. But you're not just here, today, gone tomorrow, with with your beliefs, like, right? A lot of people are. They're like, blowing in the wind all the time. The wind shifts. And now they think this. Now they think that they go here and there. They have no consistent pattern, right? Any sort and a lot of us do that. We're exploring life. What does it all mean? And then we found Christ, the Bible, church, and now that has been cultivating our integrity. Integrity is about sticking with what you think is true, right? If you say this is true and you don't do it, right, then that then integrity is broken. So your parenting, your kids figure that out right away. Oh, you want us to do it, but you don't do it, yeah, you know. And then they rebel against it and so on. So cultivating your own personal integrity is, you know, the closer you get to God, the more he chides you, and you, you know, you start going awry. You were dishonest. And all of a sudden, in your conscience, you go, No, that wasn't a good thing. He 

Henry - gives you if you repent, your sins, he has been just so in a lot of ways, the relationship with God is part of this whole picture. 

Steve - Yes, yes. And you can, you can give it lip service, or you can lean into it right as reading the Bible every day, praying every day, worshiping every day. You know, I learned play the guitar. I play the guitar every single day. There's things you can actually do that can help you in this process. 

Henry - So conclusion, be the coach. Before you coach, you're like, be, be, well, 

Steve - be like a football coach. Be, be football before you start telling other people how to play football, right? That's powerful. Your life is the first coaching tool. In other words, yeah, coach yourself. 

Henry - Right, right, yeah, follow me as I follow Christ I Corinthians 11:1, that's the Apostle Paul's Way to ground this, you know, and maybe just really to include the fact is, of is, you know, we want to be real, correct? You know, we're called to ministry, and we're taking this class because we know how to be effective ministry coaches. But in the in the end, is we want to be that 

Steve - person. Yeah, we don't want just some techniques. Oh, that's a good question. I'm going to use that is good but, but if it doesn't come from a real thing, people will figure it out. It often is not very effective when it's when it's real, it becomes effective. So be some of the things that we're talking about. Don't just apply them. Start living them. Make it a natural part of who you are. I listen before I talk I I try to really understand people. I try not to tell everyone around me what to do with their lives. I try to help them figure out what God wants them to do with their lives. That that whole thing starts becoming a natural part of who you are. 

Henry - You know, at this point, we say goodbye to everybody in this class. We've gone through so many different encouragements, growing. I know doing this class for me, Steve, with you, was really enjoying bringing together. You know, I've gone through your other two classes that really were, life changing for me, as I reflect on ministry. But to do this class, and now, really, that's the final charge to you, is to be that type 

Steve - of coach. Yeah, it's start Do it. Do it. Do it with your family situation. Do it with your friends. Do it in the Bible study. Start putting some of these things that you've heard into practice, 

Henry - and the God of peace will be with you. Amen. Amen.