Why Most Churches Feel Stuck (And How Coaching Changes Everything) with Laura Stephens-Reed

·28 min·2 clips

Laura Stephens-Reed reveals why churches feel stuck and how coaching can transform their leadership and direction.

Brian Miller, president of Coach Approach Ministries, hosts Laura Stephens-Reed, a longtime pastor and consultant. They open by examining the state of churches, with Laura noting that thriving churches have shared purpose, spiritual grounding, balanced leadership, and willingness to experiment. Struggling churches often operate from scarcity, anxiety, and nostalgia, viewing church as an obligation rather than joy. Laura shares a story from an interim pastor role where a leader expressed inability to handle more loss, highlighting the grief churches face amid cultural shifts. She observes that churches are now at the margins of community life rather than the center, which requires a new mindset. The discussion turns to how coaching can help, starting with building a lay leadership pipeline to move beyond stagnant roles and develop new leaders. Brian introduces the concept of using assessments like Working Genius to identify if a church is more responsive than disruptive, which affects its ability to change. He shares an 'aha' moment about evangelism, where knowing a congregation's own traits through assessments can clarify who they should be seeking. Laura emphasizes coaching around values, purpose, and vision to create alignment, suggesting questions like 'what brought you here and what keeps you here' to uncover deeper congregational identity. Brian reflects on how integrity and alignment often matter more than edgy ideas in leadership. Laura adds that coaching skills like presence, trust, and active listening can help churches navigate conflict by creating brave spaces for disagreement. Brian discusses personality differences using Myers-Briggs, noting how thinkers and feelers clash in decision-making. Laura recommends setting agreements or covenants to define behaviors for healthy team dynamics, with everyone taking ownership. The episode concludes with Laura's hope for the church to be a faithful witness for Jesus, loving and kind, working toward heaven on earth through diverse gifts.

As heard by us

A grounded look at church purpose, lay-leader pipelines, and handing responsibility forward.

Church leadership comes across as a coaching challenge with real spiritual weight. Brian Miller of Coach Approach Ministries speaks with pastor, consultant, and mentor coach Laura Stevens-Reed about what coaching can offer congregations in a complicated season for the church.

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Why you'd press play

You will hear church purpose meet lay-leader succession, with that buttered-bread coaching metaphor riding alongside the practical discernment.

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