I love the work I do, and I feel like I am more faithfully using my gifts than at any other point in my vocational life. I know that for a variety of reasons, many gifted pastors are now exploring different ways to live out their calls to ministry. This new path might include coaching, consulting, spiritual direction, founding a nonprofit organization, creating art, writing books, developing spiritual formation resources, and much more. This venture might be part of a multi-vocational professional life, or it might be the primary focus. I celebrate the many possibilities!

Starting and sustaining something from scratch is often not easy, though. We all need to get and give support and wisdom to keep at whatever we are building. I have been mulling whether to gather a monthly gathering of spiritual entrepreneurs to meet those needs. Here is a form where you can note your interest if you are a spiritual entrepreneur. The form will remain open through the end of May so that I can plan for a possible start date in August or September of a three-month experiment. If you complete the form, look for an email from me in June about what this monthly meet-up might look like based on your responses and how you can join it.

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash.

When I coach pastors who are searching for a solo or senior pastor position, they sometimes say, “This church is looking for a visionary leader, a vision caster. That’s not me.”

The clergy claiming that they are not visionaries are gifted, imaginative, and dedicated. They have started new ministries. They have led people through all kinds of challenge. They have developed leaders who work alongside them. I can see how they don’t see themselves in the mold of the stereotypical charismatic pastor who alone develops a direction and proclaims, “This way. Follow me!” I reject, however, the idea that these ministers don’t have the ability to be a visionary leader. It’s simply a different model.

I didn’t have good words for this until I listened to an episode of Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead podcast. The guest was Dr. Linda Hill, a professor at Harvard Business School and chair of the Leadership Initiative. Dr. Hill is an expert on managing for collective creativity. On the podcast she makes these key distinctions:

“So management was about dealing with complexity, leadership was about dealing with change…when you’re trying to lead change you have a vision, you communicate that vision, and you try to inspire people to want to follow you, if you will, to the future….And the other thing about when you look at leading innovation, it’s really about the fact that it’s not about individuals having aha moments, it’s about collaborations amongst people who have very different perspectives and you know how to do discovery-driven learning, so really what innovation or leading innovation is about is how do you get people to co-create the future with you, not follow you to the future. So that is a very different process.”

One more time for the people in the back: leading innovation is about getting people to co-create the future with you. This kind of approach is warranted when your purpose is clear but the future is not. Is there any better descriptor of - any greater need in - this time in the Church, in the world?

This is the kind of leadership that the people I coach are made for, that they have already been doing. Whether they have been called into glass cliff situations or had to step up in times of major transition or seen possibilities where others did not, they have invited others into dreaming of and planning for and experimenting with the way forward.

You were made for such a time as this. Step into your authentic leadership, invite others to do the same, and watch what God will do.

Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash.

When I started my coaching practice eight years ago, there was so much I didn’t know. I’d gotten my initial coach training and was seeking more, and I was eager to work with coachees. I was guessing about almost everything else, though. A few of my many questions were:

• How do I find people to coach?

• What are reasonable goals to set for myself?

• How do I manage my time and energy so that I can still parent and do my other job that pays a steady income as I build my practice?

• What are the logistics of getting paid when I don’t have an employer cutting me a check every two weeks?

• How much labor do I give away for the exposure?

• How do I find my distinct voice and approach?

• How do I get my arms around all the tasks I have to do now that I’m a solo practitioner instead of part of a staff or surrounded by volunteers?

• Who will want to know what I’m up to?

• When will I feel like A Coach and not just someone who happens to coach?

• How will I know this venture is sustainable?

There was a lot of shuffling my way along, of trying and reflecting and then trying again.

Maybe you can relate. Maybe you want to establish a coaching, spiritual direction, or counseling practice; start a retreat center; create art that connects us to each other and God; write prolifically about things that matter deeply; take the speaking or preaching circuit by storm; or do something amazing that no one else has even conceived of yet. I want to help you offer your voice and your gifts to the church and the world. We need you!

That’s why I created a new e-course, available now on the Teachable platform. If you a clergywoman who wants to show up in ministry in a way that is new to you, carve out a space for yourself in ministry that doesn’t yet exist, or meet a currently unmet ministry need, this course can help you lay the groundwork. Starting with naming your purpose as a person and as a pastor, Called to Create: Becoming a Ministry Entrepreneur utilizes short videos and worksheets to take you through the tangible and intangible considerations in designing your new ministry venture. Click to see the titles of all the lectures and to preview the first couple for free.

Called to Create is available for $59 during the month of June. (On July 1, the price goes to $79.) As a bonus, anyone who purchases the course gets a discount on an initial coaching session. Happy creating!