I’ve had the privilege of coaching hundreds of Executive Pastors in 1:1 settings and in Coaching Groups. It’s honestly one of my greatest joys in ministry. What I’ve noticed over the years is that there are four really clear times in the life of an Executive Pastor when having a coach is particularly helpful.
NEW EXECUTIVE PASTORS
It should be pretty obvious that every new Executive Pastor needs a coach. You may be experienced in ministry or the business world. You may be further along in your life and career than others, but if you find yourself sitting in the second chair for the first time in the church world, it’s time to get a coach. Not a coaching group (though that’s helpful as well), but an actual, dedicated, 1:1 coach. You are going to need to bounce things off of someone who has been where you are. You don’t know what you don’t know and ChatGPT only gets you so far in research. No matter what your pathway has been to the XP role, get yourself a coach right away for 6-12 months.
WHEN YOU HIT A NEW SEASON IN YOUR CHURCH
Things can get a little predictable in a church when growth is slow or stagnant, or not much is changing from year to year. But every now and then, your church may experience massive change in a short period of time. For example, you get a new Lead Pastor and he does things very differently. Or, you move into a new building and double in size in one year. Or tragedy hits in your church and suddenly you realize you desperately need another XP talk to in the midst of it all. Or you get asked to take on tasks you’ve never managed before, like a massive building project and generosity initiative. These are all new seasons when the old toolbox needs some refreshing and a coach can help you move forward.
YOU WANT TO MOVE INTO AN XP ROLE
I should have anticipated this, when I wrote a book called “Defining The Executive Pastor Role”, but I have found myself coaching quite a few pastors who were in some role in the church other than the Executive Pastor role, and they read my book or listened to my podcast and realized “I think I might be an XP?” So, they reach out for coaching, and I start to look at how God has wired them. If together, we determine that the XP role is a good fit, we begin to look at all the options. Is the job open, or opening at their current church anytime soon? Are they wanting to get into a new church? New city? New state? From there, I’m often coaching the pastor through the resume building and interview process as they work with various church search firms. I love getting texts from pastors saying “I just got offered the job!” or pictures of them and their families saying “First Sunday at our new church!”. And then of course, a new season of coaching begins as they start the new job.
YOU ARE WONDERING IF IT’S TIME TO GO
Just as I often coach people who are getting into the XP role for the first time, I’ve been surprised at how many current XP’s reach out to me for coaching when they are trying to decide if it’s time to move on to another church, or even to an entirely different role in the church or non-profit world or the business world. Leaving a ministry role, or leaving ministry altogether is really hard. It messes with your heart and mind a bit. Having someone walk with you through that season is super important and I consider it a high calling and privilege.
One on one coaching doesn’t make sense all the time, for everyone, but there are a few times when it is incredibly helpful. If you find yourself in any of these situations in your life and ministry, let’s get a 30 minute discovery call and see if 1:1 coaching is right for you in this season. Email me at phil@backstagepastors.org and we’ll talk!
