Take 5 Series - "Speaking With Authority"

I recently had a Journey leader email me asking how do I speak authoritatively into the life of those I am leading in the Journey? I wrote the following response and then sent this leader the

Now, how are you taken seriously? How do you speak authoritatively? First, below is a list of things that I composed off the top of my head in about 30 seconds. These are so ingrained in me that I they are an extension of who I am.
 
1. Be passionate.
2. Be real.
3. Be biblical.
4. Be relevant.
5. Be consistent.
6. Be there.

I pulled from our DC Training Series lesson on this very issue and share the following excerpt for you:

Clearly, this is one of the central issues in the life of a mentor.  The key question is:  How can I speak into the life of my mentoree, and be relevant, profound, timely and life-transforming?  How can I share with my mentorees in such a way that it empowers them?  How can my words “carry weight,” so that the mentoree not only listens to them, but trust them enough to act on them? 

Obviously, not everything we say should carry an inordinate amount of weight.  After all, we’re human and sometimes our opinions are faulty and our judgment biased.  But as discipleship coaches, often we can be an ambassador and spokesperson for God.  By being a diligent student of the Word of God (in others, being a role model in reading our One-Year Bibles), we can be faithful to convey those truths to our mentorees. 

Speaking into the life of your mentoree is a learned art.  In the Bible, we read of fathers blessing their sons.  In a sense, as a discipleship coach, we can be a spiritual father or mother and speak blessing into the lives of our spiritual sons or daughters.  According to Gary Smalley and John Trent, authors of the book, The Blessing, they describe 5 elements of this blessing:

1.       Meaningful touch

2.       Spoken words

3.       Expression of high value

4.       Description of a special future

5.       Application of genuine commitment

Three Components Necessary for Inner Health

1.       A sense of worth.  If missing, we feel inferior. 

2.       A sense of belonging.  If missing, we feel insecure.

3.       A sense of purpose.  If missing, we feel inadequate.