From Jethro to Barnabas…

Biblical Coaching according to Jethro: An Old Testament Model 

The IQ-BEST Biblical Process of Coaching 

            While studying the story of the great personal coach of the Old Testament, Jethro, I discerned a biblical process of coaching that I term IQ-BEST, which is a play on the notion of the Intelligence Quotient. However, here IQ means Impact Quotient in terms of how much spiritual impact do we make for the cause of Jesus Christ with our own lives. In any event, here is what the acronym IQ-BEST stands for:

 

I = Importance of the Biblical Coach

 

Q = Quality Questions form the Biblical Coach

 

B = Biblical Framework of Coaching Principles

 

E = Explanatory Statements of those Coached

 

S = S.M.A.R.T. Goals Indentified, Implemented and Achieved

 

T = Tips of Grace from the Coach to those Coached 

 

Now that you are introduced to this idea, let’s look at the personal coaching of Jethro as he interacts with his son-in-law Moses:   

I = Importance of the Biblical Coach

 

            Even the casual reader of Exodus 18 quickly picks up on the importance of coach Jethro in this episode between him and Moses. Jethro will give Moses greatly needed advice on how to become a more efficient and effective servant-leader on behalf of the people of Israelfor the glory of God. A number of times (13 times) in this chapter Jethro, the priest of Midian, is called “Moses’ father-in-law.” Why so many times since it seems redundant? Well, two straightforward reasons come to my mind. First, there seems to be a little Hebrew humor going on in the story. Even your in-laws can render you good advice as “Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.” (Exodus 18:24, emphasis added) How often in ordinary life does a son-in-law listen to all that a father-in-law tells him? The ironic message here is that an extraordinary family event is occurring here—the in-law is giving great advice and it is being heeded! Second, the repeated emphasis in the biblical record of Moses’ father-in-law also highlights the importance of Jethro as a reliable coach in the life of Moses as Exodus 18:7 indicates. Jethro’s quality coaching of Moses will pay great dividends as he told his famous son-in-law, “Now obey my voice; I will give you advice . . . if you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people will go to their place in peace.”     

Q = Quality Questions from the Biblical Coach

 

            Jethro is a master at asking penetrating questions as Exodus 18:13-14 reveals, “The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?’” (emphasis added) Jethro’s questions zeroes in on two key problems, one that Moses faced and the other the people suffered. Moses was doing way too much, which would have brought him to a frazzled psychological condition. Whereas the people where standing around. What is more frustrating to normal people then having to stand and wait in line? Jethro’s challenging questions bring all the issues into a comprehensive focus in order to work out solutions for them. This is the essential task of any skillful biblical coach.  

 

B = Biblical Framework of Coaching Principles

 

            Jethro operates in his communications with Moses in a biblical God-glorifying manner as the following verses indicate:

• And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done (18:9)

 

• Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord . . . Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods . . . sacrifices to God . . . before God . . . (18:10-13)

 

• God be with you . . . represent the people before God . . . bring their cases before God . . . men who fear God . . . God will direct you (18:19, 21, 23)

 

It is this God-centered emphasis of Jethro that is most appealing to his son-in-law. Moses transparently discloses his spiritual motives when he observed, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God . . . I make then know the statues of God and his laws.” In other words, because Jethro’s advice was squarely in line with the Bible it motivated Moses, a man of the Book. Everything a biblical coach advises must correspond to the Word of God in order for it to be powerfully effective in the life and times of the one coached (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

E = Explanatory Statements of the Coach and those Coached

            Jethro listened keenly to the answers Moses gave to his questions. Moses replied, “Because the people come TO ME to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come TO ME and I DECIDE between one person and another, and I MAKE THEM KNOW that statutes of God and his laws.” (emphasis added) Jethro courageously responds, “What YOU are doing is not good. YOU and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. YOU are not able to do it alone.” (emphasis added) Jethro’s questions revealed that Moses was operating from a “me, myself, and I” perspective rather than a “we as the leaders of God” viewpoint. Jethro, like a good soccer coach, pointed out that as there is no “I” in the word TEAM—Moses needed to learn to rely on his team that the sovereign God surrounded him with for the purpose of leadingIsrael. A biblical coach will be listening intently to how those they coach interpret their situations—it is here where a coach can often glean the real problems within a person’s mindset that acts as a block for achieving greater success.   

S = S.M.A.R.T. Goals Indentified, Implemented and Achieved

 

            Every good coach will leave their client with S.M.A.R.T. goals to work on, which refers to specific, measurable, attainable, relevant goals that bring needed traction in completing the mission. Jethro gives specific steps for delegating to other men (look for able men; 18:21a) that were measurable (men who fear God; 18:21c) and attainable (from all the people; 18:21b). Furthermore, he gives him real relevant advice by telling Moses to look for men “who are trustworthy and hate a bribe.” Jethro even points out, “So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you”—it doesn’t get any more relevant than this for an overworked leader. He shows him how to gauge the positive traction for this endeavor as he achieved the process of appointing chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens (18:22). In this regard, he presents the appropriate division of labor when he notes, “Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they will decide for themselves.”  It is not enough as a coach to tell someone to “go for it” or “you can deal with it to overcome it”—that’s not coaching but cheerleading. Coaching is when you tell someone how to “go for it” or the exact steps to walk in order to overcome a challenge. Jethro’s advice worked because it was workable—he showed his client, in this case Moses, how to precisely implement a winning plan. Now, that’s superb, expert biblical coaching. Any caring person can cheerlead, only a wise caring person can coach.     

T = Tips of Grace from the Coach to those Coached 

 

            Jethro’s major tip of grace to empower Moses included the idea of “delegating” and how it would make the entire judicial procedures more effectively efficient for all and more exalting to the glory of God. This tip of grace brought shalom to Moses and the people of God (Exodus 18:23). Each biblical counselor must prayerfully discern what grace-filled words from Scripture they can give to their client in order to impact their world for good.