Church consulting and coaching

Everywhere I go people ask what I'm going to do after I retire at the end of the year. While there are several things I plan to do, two of those things are to do consulting with churches and coach pastors and church leaders. My current ministry responsibilities did not allow me to do as much of that as I would have liked, especially with churches outside our region.

I should hasten to add that the Executive Ministers I was privileged to work with in our region never objected to my leading seminars throughout the US and Canada. In fact, they encouraged me to do so. One told me that I was one of the few who was doing such seminars and conferences for bivocational and small church leaders, and he would certainly not prevent me from leading those. At the same time, I felt that I had to be careful to not ignore my primary work in our region.

With my upcoming retirement I will have more time available to lead such events. I already have four speaking engagements scheduled for 2016, and I have been in conversation with one church about the possibility of consulting with them in 2016.

Like many churches, this church is not associated with a denomination, so there is no one they can contact to help them address some issues in their church. The church leaders are currently deciding whether to invite me to come and work with them.

One of the things I enjoy is coaching church leaders. My DMin thesis was "Coaching Bivocational Ministers for Greater Ministry Effectiveness." That thesis later became the basis for my book The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide. That work demonstrated how effective coaching can be for church leaders who are ready to move forward with their lives and ministries. In my retirement I would like to coach church leaders who are feeling stuck, facing problems, or are just ready to move to a higher level of effectiveness. I believe this will be a great way to add value to their lives and ministries.

Conferences, consulting, and coaching. Three of the ministries I enjoy doing the most. If your district is ready for a conference to help train your bivocational and small church leadership, give me a call. If your church needs a consultant to help them work through a challenge they are facing, I may be able to help. If you are a church leader who is ready to move forward, let me coach you through that process.