Shepherd or Coach? When the Pulpit Isn't Enough for Your Ministry
Why Some Pastors Become Coaches
As I’ve done marketing with my coaching business I have crossed paths with quite a few life coaches. And the question has come into my mind—Wouldn’t being a life coach be a great discipleship ministry? Helping people reach their potential; assisting people who want to change; seeing real results from your time and efforts.
Some pastors are just delighted to share what they have learned from God’s Word, and what God is speaking to them. And that is enough for them. They just want an outlet from their personal growth and study.
But others deeply long to see others grow and follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Sermon prep is a drag because they don’t see the impact of their words. People literally fall asleep while they deliver their week’s work and pour out their heart.
Is there a better way?
Several weeks ago I had a great phone conversation with Jeff Bryant. He is a life coach based out of Missouri, and also the Program Director at I Pour Life, a non-profit ministry to help at-risk youth develop life skills and social capital. He can be found at But more than that, he was a pastor for 19 years. That’s long enough to know the pastoring gig inside and out.
So, I actually found a pastor who had become a life coach! Who better than Jeff to answer the question I was wondering about? I asked Jeff if he could share his perspective on pastoring and life coaching.
The following is Jeff’s article. Enjoy! Maybe it will help a pastor or two out there consider how to reinvigorate their ministry.
When the Pulpit Isn't Enough Anymore:
Why Some Pastors Become Coaches
For years, Sunday mornings were the highlight of my week.
I poured myself into sermons, crafted counseling calendars, ran staff meetings, and fielded a dozen texts before lunch on any given Tuesday. Like many pastors, I saw my work as a calling, something sacred, weighty, and deeply personal.
But something started to shift. It wasn't burnout exactly. I still loved preaching. I still cared about people. But more and more, I found myself growing increasingly frustrated by the same conversations, the same conflicts, and the same invisible ceiling.
Eventually, I stepped out of full-time ministry and into full-time coaching. It was one of the most difficult — and freeing — decisions I’ve ever made.
And I’m not the only one.
Why Some Pastors Start to Drift
No one enters pastoring for the sake of ease. But somewhere along the way, many pastors begin to feel stuck. Two of the most common pain points that push them toward coaching are chronic conflict and limited growth, both personally and organizationally.
1. The Weight of Chronic Conflict
Congregational conflict isn’t new. But what wears on pastors over time isn’t just disagreement, it’s the emotional energy required to manage people’s expectations. One week, you’re praised for a bold message. Next, you’re blindsided by a passive-aggressive email about “concerns.”
You learn to smile through it, but the dissonance grows.
Eventually, some pastors begin asking, Is anyone actually growing from this? Or am I just managing spiritual consumers?
Coaching offers an alternative. You’re no longer refereeing. You’re partnering. Instead of putting out relational fires, you get to sit with someone ready to grow, ask questions that unlock clarity, and watch them take ownership of their own change.
It’s not easier, but it’s cleaner.
2. Hitting the Growth Ceiling
Most pastors live with a quiet ache: How do I help people grow when they don’t want to?
The weekly grind of preparing messages, leading programs, and praying for change can feel like planting seeds in dry soil. People listen, nod, even say “great sermon,” but the transformation is slow and often invisible.
Meanwhile, many pastors themselves feel stifled. Their leadership is boxed in by tradition, board decisions, or denominational constraints. There's a vision inside them that no longer fits the structure they’re in.
Coaching opens up a different path, one where you’re not waiting on the system to catch up to your capacity.
Instead, you’re pouring into clients who’ve already said yes to growth. And that changes everything.
From Shepherding a Flock to Coaching a Person
One of the biggest mindset shifts is learning that you’re still shepherding, just in a different context.
One of the biggest mindset shifts is learning that you’re still shepherding, just in a different context.
In ministry, you’re often guiding a whole flock, sometimes without knowing who’s actually following. In coaching, it’s more like walking alongside one sheep at a time, watching them actually move.
You start to realize: the skills you honed for years listening deeply, asking heart questions, drawing connections between belief and behavior, these are the same tools great coaches use every day.
Here’s how the transition unfolded for me (and how I’ve seen it happen for others):
I stopped trying to “fix” everyone in a Sunday-sized room and started coaching people ready to change.
I traded sermon prep for personalized frameworks that helped individuals find their next step.
I shifted from hoping people would apply the message to watching them build something from it.
What Coaching Gave Me That Pastoring Couldn’t
Let me be clear: I’m deeply thankful for my years as a pastor. They shaped me. They taught me how to lead through pain, speak to complexity, and love people where they’re at.
But coaching has given me three gifts I didn’t know I needed:
1. Clarity of Impact
Every coaching session ends with clear progress. No guessing. No, wondering who was listening. Just two people working toward a visible goal.
2. Freedom to Innovate
I’m not constrained by programming calendars or committee approval. I can build tools, offer workshops, and adapt my model to fit who I’m called to serve.
3. Reignited Passion
Coaching brought back something I hadn’t felt in a long time: joy. Not the “Sunday high” kind of joy, but the slow-burning satisfaction of watching people grow because they chose to, not because they were guilted into it.
For the Pastor Who’s Wondering
If you’re reading this and feeling that same quiet tension, let me say this:
You’re not crazy. You’re not quitting. You’re evolving.
Pastoring and coaching aren’t rivals; they’re cousins. Both exist to serve, to guide, and to help others become who they were meant to be. Coaching just gives you a front-row seat to that transformation, without the extra layers.
So if you’re a pastor who:
Feels drained by constant conflict
Wants to invest in people who actually want to grow
Has more vision than your current role allows
...coaching might not be a departure. It might be your next ministry.You’re still called. You’re just being called forward.
