“  for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10)

Though there are different ways to interpret the last book of the Bible I like how author/pastor Bill Johnson applies this verse.  He says that the more his church records and publishes what God is Dr. Joseph Umididoing to change physical, emotional, and spiritual circumstances in people’s lives the more people experience these changes on a regular basis.

We have been collecting up-to-date stories of transformation from our clients, trainees, and coaches; stories of deep and lasting change that only God could do, and for which only God deserves the credit.  We believe that the more we make this known the more we will see these stories actually happen; multiplied throughout our thousands of coaches and clients through the nations.

On Friday, April 4th, I had the privilege of “holding court” for over 25 Formation Track trainees who stepped out of their live workshop to come and “tell” me their stories.  No one was prepped or primed (as a professor this would be called “quantitative research”) and their was one consistent story in all of these testimonies, “this has been the most life changing training I have had in all of my years of secular or Christian equipping, it has exceeded my expectations.”

I want to give testimony of how God used our original team of Doug Fike, Tony Stoltzfus, and myself to hear and obey Him to design this transformational process that is the foundation of these ongoing stories.  God brought us together to converge our own stories so that yours could come forth.  In His unique timing and way we found His path to help you see and believe in others the way the Father does, partner with the present work of the Holy Spirit on God’s agenda for change, and give people over to Jesus to take His lordship responsibility in their own lives.

Every time we hear the story we are motivated to create another one.  As you read the following stories let God arise in your heart to be a prophetic person, with prophetic conversations, in a prophetic generation.  Tell us your story so that another person can be moved to have one for them, their family, their community, and their nation.

Give and it shall be given unto you.

Dr. Joseph Umidi

President

STORIES THAT TRANSFORM…

“After the first six weeks of the Formation course, there is no doubt in my mind as to the ways the Lord is transforming me as a Pastor, Husband, Father, and Friend.  At every level I have found applications for changing the way I listen as well as the way I hold conversations with others.  Whether it is becoming more attentive to my wife and what she is really saying, or listening more intuitively to the leaders in the church, God has been at work in my life to deepen my effectiveness as a listener.  I have found practical keys and principles to aid me in the development of my children as well as the principles that we are using in the development of our church family.  I cannot express enough how grateful I am for the opportunity and the timing of the Formation course, and I look forward to the fruit that others will see as I continue to be transformed through the entire experience. “   -Pastor Kevin Strite

“As I was driving to my office for a phone appointment with my coach trainer, I was not interested in the scheduled subject matter we were to review, but consumed with critical business and personnel issues. “It would be nice if this appointment could focus on the situation and need I have right now.” Somewhat cynical, I even thought of this as a test of my coach/trainer’s values, “I’ll have the opportunity to see if this organization lives the values they say they have.”

Facing one of the top five most difficult situations of my life, I was wondering if my coach trainer would be there for me. As we began to talk, I could see that this was more than just a check up or training call. This was a Divine appointment. Our conversation did two things, 1) it allowed me to continue to process a difficult situation with powerful questions and insight, and 2) the perspective and understanding in new terms of the role of motivational gifts helped me understand, not only co-workers and executive team, but also my son. It was a deep drink of refreshing water. Thank you so much!  -Ron Mitchell, President, Promise Network, Inc.

Using Coaching Language Enhances the Understanding of Coaching…

Even though coaching has been around for over twenty years, many people are still not clear about what coaching is and how it differs from other helping professions. Coaching has its roots in the business world and the natural outgrowth of that has been life coaching or personal coaching. Lyn EichmannBecause coaching involves behaviors, motivation, action and improvement it is often misunderstood and/or confused with the therapeutic process. In an effort to understand what coaching is, people look at the similarities between coaching and therapy, and draw wrong conclusions. One way for us to distinguish and clarify the two professions is to use the language that is appropriate for each of these professions skillfully. In this way we honor the professional differences between coaching and therapy, while equipping the public to make an informed discussion about which would be more appropriate and effective to meet their current circumstances.

The list of words can be quite long, so I will offer some now, and more in a future newsletter. But let’s get started thinking about our choice of words in order to better distinguish the generally accepted terminology of the two professions.

Therapy                     Coaching

Expose                        Focus

Intervene                  Prioritize

Adjust                         Clarify

Help/Rescue             Measure

Diagnose                     Move Forward

Issues                           Achieve

Dysfunction               Delegate

Symptoms                  Acknowledge

Outcome

Positive Action Step

Results

We will continue to look at the language of coaching in the coming months, as we continue to develop the heart and mind of a Lifeforming Leadership Coach.

Lyn Eichmann

Director of Training

Thank you for being a part of our coaching community. Please let us know if we can serve you in any way.

Sincerely,

Joseph, Sam, John, Lyn & Rebekah

Lifeforming Leadership Coaching