While I read the following verse for years, I did not make the connection to coaching until recently.  Here are two verses from Proverbs 19 which I have found when applied to my life as a pastor, help me to be a better leader for God:

Get all the advice and instruction you can, and be wise the rest of your life. (Proverbs 19:20)
To acquire wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will prosper. (Proverbs 19:8)

Please know that I have taken all the classes, degrees, and seminars that I can find to help me lead my church well. I have a doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Masters from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and twenty-five years of experience in ministry.  But nothing has powered up and sharpened my ability to lead like having a regular accountability relationship with a Coach.  These were professional ministry coaches, whom I sought out and paid, because I knew that I needed a more hands-on approach to ministry improvement.

They have helped me in the following ways:

SPECIFICITY
Just as the verse above says, get all the advice and instruction you can, and be wise the rest of your life.  I felt that the general principles for leadership which I was learning through Maxwell books, Leadership Summit conferences with Willowcreek, and various connections from Rick Warren were all helpful, but not specific enough to my situation.  I wanted to be able to discuss the specific application of those leadership truths to my situation.  And I wanted it bad enough that I was willing to pay for it, either by myself or through my church.  And I have done both.

OBJECTIVITY
This is a huge benefit for me.  I need somebody who is not in my situation, who doesn't have exactly my perspective on things, to give me some feedback, or more appropriately, to ask the right questions to elicit the right feedback from me.   The objectivity of a fresh mind from an outsider is welcome.  I want a coach who can evoke answers and encourage their implementation in a way no one from the inside could do.

IMMEDIACY
Because I can contact my ministry coach at any time throughout the month, I get the feedback I need when I need it. Yes, we have an established time where we talk for an hour each month about the issues, but I can also email him or call him as needed.

CONFIDENTIALITY
Anything I share with my coach is completely confidential. There is a certain comfort in the relationship, because, although he is not a counselor, I know that if I share frustrations of fulfilling various aspects of my goals, there are no repercussions.

So, I made the decision in my ministry to make this happen. The second verse in Proverbs 19:8 says that to acquire wisdom is to love oneself.  I had to ask myself if I cared enough about my ministry to absolutely give it my all, and I decided that I do.  Therefore, I have a personal ministry coach, whom I have been using for over two years now.  In fact, at one point, I had two coaches, each with specific skills which I needed at the time.

If you want to increase in wisdom and help your ministry to prosper even more than it already is, please give me a call or email (DrBill@HighPowerResources.com), and we can talk about coaching.