For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. -Colossians 2:9-10
In my first foray into Spiritual Life Coaching I learned that one of the foundational principles of coaching is to believe that the coachee/client is Capable, Creative, and Complete in Christ. The idea is that everyone I meet with to offer coaching, already has all that they need within them. I make the assumption that the coachee is capable of finding their own solutions, creative enough to know what to do, and complete as a person. At first, it sounds funny; but in reality if the coachee isn’t one of these things then they need therapy, counseling, or professional medical help. (Thus the difference between coaching and counseling.)
As I’ve thought over this principle I’ve discovered how wholly freeing that is to me as a pastor. Those who are pastors are always supposed to have the answers, or at least it is insinuated that way sometimes. For example, I remember having a problem with a soccer team I coached last year, and telling someone that I needed to speak with somebody about how to control this rowdy bunch. They then reminded me that I would be the one to ask! For example, it is also assumed by those around me that because I work with kids for a living that somehow I have a better handle on raising my own. That might be true in some situations, but you must know that my parenting skills are a journey to discovery everyday. A journey of discovering how much I really suck at it sometimes!
Here’s where the power of Colossians 2:9-10 comes in. If I assume that the parents, children, and families that I work with are “complete in Him”, then they already have the solutions within them to solve whatever is keeping them from experiencing God’s very best. Then the burden is only on me to help them discover what’s already within them. It’s liberating to me that I don’t have to present the “right and perfect way” for them, but that I only have to help them discover the passions, values, and purpose already existing inside of them.
