The Coach Approach Ministries Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode Summary

In this Maundy Thursday episode, Brian explores the meaning of the gospel through the lens of forsakenness and belonging. Reflecting on Jesus' cry from the cross—"Why have you forsaken me?"—he reframes the good news not as what we must do, but what Christ has already done.

Through personal stories, coaching insights, and biblical reflection, this episode invites listeners to experience the gospel as restoration, not requirement.

Key Themes & Takeaways 1. What It Means to Be a Christian Coach

• First: be a competent, professional coach
• Second: let your faith naturally shape how you show up
• The gospel is often seen before it's spoken

2. The Problem with How We Share the Gospel

• Many presentations focus on:
  • Rules
  • Tribal interpretations
  • "Do this or you're out"
• But the real gospel is good news—not more pressure

The good news isn't that I'm a sinner. That's still bad news.
The good news is that Jesus has come.

3. A Story of Being "Left Behind"

Brian shares a childhood story:

• His brother is accidentally left after a game
• Miscommunication leaves him stranded
• A stranger steps in and rescues him

👉 The takeaway:

• The hero isn't the responsible or the irresponsible
• The hero is the one who steps in and restores

4. Understanding "Forsakenness"

• Jesus experiences complete separation on the cross
• This is:
  • Deeply human
  • Deeply painful
  • Spiritually ultimate

Forsakenness = total disconnection

• From God
• From others
• From belonging

5. The Big Biblical Pattern: Lost Things Get Found

• Lost sheep → searched for
• Lost coin → turned everything upside down
• Lost son → should have been searched for

👉 The missing piece:

• Someone must go after the lost

6. Jesus as the True "Rescuer"

• Humanity lives in a state of low-grade forsakenness
• Jesus:
  • Enters that experience
  • Absorbs it fully
  • Bridges the gap we couldn't cross

He experienced forsakenness… and then filled it.

7. Heaven vs. Hell (Reframed)

• Heaven = complete belonging, restored relationship
• Hell = complete separation, no connection

👉 Not just pain—isolation

8. Why This Matters Today

• We live in a loneliness epidemic
• Technology hasn't solved it
• People feel:
  • Left behind
  • Disconnected
  • Forgotten

👉 Coaching becomes a small picture of the gospel:

• "I'm here"
• "You're not alone"
• "Let's move forward together"

9. The Prodigal Son Revisited

• The point isn't the son's apology
• The point is the father's joyful restoration

👉 The gospel is:

• Not about earning your way back
• But being welcomed home

10. A Humbling Gospel

• Jesus:
  • Leaves heaven
  • Enters humanity
  • Experiences abandonment
  • Restores connection

👉 Maundy Thursday reminder:

• Love looks like humility and service
• (Even foot washing…)

Final Reflection

The gospel is not:

• "You're the problem—fix yourself"

The gospel is:

• "You were lost—and I came to get you"

Episode Summary

Brian Miller reflects on a growing ache he feels in both the church and the wider culture: we do not seem to know who to trust anymore. Trust in politicians, pastors, institutions, even the police has eroded. In that setting, Brian turns to Jesus — not as an abstract doctrine, but as a real person whose life reveals why he can be trusted.

Drawing especially from Matthew 4, Brian frames Jesus' temptations in the wilderness as a test of trustworthiness. Jesus is tempted through need, fear, and power — the very pressures that often cause leaders and ordinary people alike to betray their mission, their values, or the people who depend on them. But Jesus does not yield. He refuses to put his hunger above his calling, his fear above his trust in God, or his desire for kingship above the path of the cross.

Brian connects this directly to coaching. Trust is the real currency of coaching relationships. Clients do not open up unless they believe they are safe. And coaches cannot become trustworthy people unless they themselves are grounded in something secure. Brian's central claim is simple but weighty: because Jesus can be trusted, my life is secure — and only then can I become someone who is trusted.

Big Ideas & Takeaways 1) Brian wants to talk more directly about Jesus

Brian opens with a personal longing: he hears people talk about God, the Bible, and Paul, but not enough about Jesus himself. He compares it to his wife's grandmother after her husband Hugh died — people avoided mentioning Hugh because it made her cry, but Brian sensed that what she really wanted was for someone to remember him.

His point: there is something powerful about speaking of Jesus as if he is real, present, and worth remembering.

2) We are living through a crisis of trust

Brian names trust as one of the defining problems of the present moment. In his view, trust in public life is at a lifetime low:

• people do not trust politicians

• people do not trust churches or pastors

• people do not know whether to trust the justice system

• even formerly stable sources of authority now feel suspect

This loss of trust is not just political or institutional. It is personal and spiritual. People feel alone, uncertain, and abandoned.

3) Matthew wants us to know early: Jesus can be trusted

Brian argues that Matthew's Gospel is intentionally anchored in trust. Before Jesus begins his public ministry in full, Matthew shows us who Jesus is and whether he can be trusted with our lives, our hearts, and our eternity.

The wilderness temptation is not random. It is a revelation of Jesus' character.

4) Jesus was tempted by need — and did not abandon his mission

The first temptation is hunger. After forty days of fasting, Jesus is in real physical vulnerability. Brian emphasizes that this is not symbolic discomfort; Jesus is nearing the limit of human survival.

The temptation: meet your own need first.

But Jesus refuses to place his hunger above his calling. Brian connects this to conflict and relationships: many people make decisions based on unmet needs, short-term relief, or self-protection. Jesus does not. He can be trusted because he will not put his need above his mission to reconcile people to God and to one another.

5) Jesus was tempted by fear — and did not let fear direct him

The second temptation places Jesus in a position of danger. Brian imagines Jesus' human nervous system reacting like any other person's would: fear, survival instinct, the urge to escape.

This matters because if Jesus did not really feel fear, the temptation loses its force.

Brian's insight here is especially strong: Jesus can be trusted not because he never faced fear, but because fear did not move him away from his mission. He did not test God, take the shortcut to safety, or let panic govern his choices.

6) Jesus was tempted by power — and refused the shortcut

Brian calls the final temptation "the one that ends all men." The devil offers Jesus power over the world, but without the cross.

That is the real temptation:
the crown without the cost.

Brian suggests that many religious traditions major on fleshly temptations while underestimating the temptation of power. But power is the deeper danger. It is what undoes leaders, distorts motives, and creates illusions of security and control.

Jesus refuses it. He will not grasp power in a way that violates God's will. That refusal reveals a kind of trustworthiness no human leader fully possesses.

7) Trust is the real currency — especially in coaching

Brian brings the reflection back to coaching. No meaningful coaching happens without trust. Clients must believe:

• they are safe

• they will not be judged

• they will not be exposed

• the coach will not use their vulnerability against them

And for the coach, trustworthiness begins with security. Brian's line here is central:

I have to have trust in order to offer trust.

Because Jesus can be trusted, Brian says, his life can become secure enough that he does not need to manipulate, protect, or elevate himself in the coaching relationship.

8) Because Jesus can be trusted, I can become someone who is trusted

This is where the whole episode lands. Brian is not saying coaches become perfect or immune to temptation. He says the opposite: he knows he will often succumb to need, fear, and power.

But Jesus does not.

So the coach, leader, or Christian can rely on Jesus:

• to meet needs

• to steady fear

• to expose the illusion of power

And only from that secure place can trustworthiness begin to grow.

The Three Temptations Brian Names 1. Need

Will Jesus put his own hunger above his mission?

2. Fear

Will Jesus abandon trust when safety is threatened?

3. Power

Will Jesus take the kingdom without the cross?

Brian's answer to all three:
No — and that is why Jesus can be trusted.

Memorable Lines / Ideas

• "I just want to hear stories about Jesus."

• "Trust is at a lifetime low for me."

• "Jesus can be trusted not to put his needs above his mission."

• "Fear was not going to move his trust away from his mission."

• "The temptation was to rule without the cross, to take the crown without the cost."

• "Trust is the only real currency."

• "Because Jesus can be trusted, my life is secure."

• "I have to have trust in order to offer trust."

Timestamped Highlights (based on your transcript)

0:00–1:18 Intro + Brian's desire to talk more directly about Jesus

1:18–4:56 Story of Imogene and Hugh → why remembering and naming someone matters

4:56–6:36 Trust as the core issue in coaching and counseling

6:36–9:39 Brian names the broader crisis of trust in politics, church, and public life

9:39–12:20 Matthew's Gospel and why the wilderness story matters for trust

12:20–16:24 Temptation 1: need / hunger / mission

16:24–20:58 Temptation 2: fear / danger / survival instinct

20:58–24:44 Temptation 3: power / shortcut / crown without the cross

24:44–27:18 Why trust is the real currency in faith and coaching

27:18–end Wrap-up + Brian's hope to keep telling stories about Jesus

Core Theme

Jesus can be trusted in the places where every other leader eventually fails: need, fear, and power.

And that matters not only for faith, but for coaching, leadership, and becoming the kind of person others can trust.

Links Mentioned

Coach Approach Ministries:
coachapproachministries.org

Brian Miller and Rev. Dr. Brian Tracy keep the January theme rolling—escaping the tyranny of the urgent—but this episode zeroes in on leadership coaching: why leaders get stuck, what beliefs jam the gears, and how a coach helps a leader climb out of survival mode and back into purpose. It opens with some playful "Brian spelling reform" banter (the Y can repent), then turns into a surprisingly practical coaching framework for leaders who feel like every week is "sludging through the mud."

Key Highlights

• Why leaders stall out: Many leaders know the hill they want to take… but their Monday–Friday reality feels like mud, and they can't translate vision into Tuesday afternoon.

• Triple-loop coaching lens: Brian frames the problem as actions → strategy → identity. Tracy agrees most leaders stay stuck at the surface level (tweaking actions) without addressing strategy or identity.

• Balcony view: They talk about moving leaders from minutiae to perspective using "psychological distancing" and future-oriented questions: "Where do you want this to be in 5 years?" "What would 10-years-from-now you tell you to focus on?"

• Unsticking the gear: Brian describes a coaching move that creates safety—"I'm not holding you to this"—to help a frozen leader name a first step and regain momentum.

• Beliefs that sabotage leaders:

  • Scarcity vs. abundance (closed-handed vs. open-handed leadership)

  • "If I'm the leader, I should know everything" (which kills curiosity and learning)

  • "If I'm leading right, there won't be complaints" (spoiler: change creates complaints)

Takeaways

• Coaching gives leaders a place where every sentence isn't a grenade. In leadership, words carry 10x weight; coaching offers a safe lab to think out loud without collateral damage.

• A good leader reviews and prunes. Tracy describes doing a regular "stop/start" review twice a year because clutter expands like glitter—once it's in the room, it's everywhere.

• Don't build everything around yourself. Brian reflects on leaving "holes" when he exited organizations earlier in life—and names that as a leadership mistake. Healthy leadership equips others until the organization can run without you.

• Empowerment is the job. Tracy grounds it in Ephesians 4: leaders equip others to do the work, not hoard the work to feel needed.

• Criticism isn't a sign you're failing—sometimes it's proof you're leading. If you're changing anything meaningful, pushback is part of the fee. Even Jesus had bad Yelp reviews.

Memorable Lines & Moments

• "Survival" as a strategy is still a strategy… just a terrible one.

• "The more authority you give away, the more authority you have."

• "If I'm successful, it's not because I got the job done—it's because they got it done."

• Moneyball reference: "The first guy through the wall always gets beat up." (Accurate, and also why most people prefer to be the second guy.)

This week on the podcast, Brian Miller, Executive Director of Coach Approach Ministries, sits down with Christy Foldenauer, an Executive Coach, to explore her transformative journey from full-time pastor to successful entrepreneur. Christy shares her insights into navigating career transitions, finding sustainability in her work, and blending her pastoral background with business acumen to create a thriving coaching practice. Through candid reflections and practical advice, Christy reveals the pivotal moments and strategies that propelled her towards redemptive entrepreneurship. From overcoming challenges to embracing value-based pricing, listeners gain valuable insights into building a fulfilling coaching career rooted in purpose and sustainability. Join Brian and Christy as they delve into the nuances of coaching dynamics and illuminate the path to entrepreneurial success in the realm of executive coaching.

You can reach out to Christy at:

• christy@illumineyourwork.com.
• website: https://illumineyourwork.com
• ministry site: https://revchristyfoldenauer.com
• Shear Gifts book (on Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Shear-Gifts-Finding-Hope-When/dp/B0BYRGQHMR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=C3MK4MX5F3UC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4HOA1M_0mwIKxQ13KRtr0w.ZvBCHVhhIzR46vTz2bWEhQqeZ0WeMe-qS8kH0lE7LFI&dib_tag=se&keywords=shear+gifts+christy+foldenauer&qid=1714074441&sprefix=Shear+Gifts+Christy+%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-1

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Website: www.coachapproachministries.org

On this episode of the CAM podcast, Brian Miller, Executive Director of Coach Approach Ministries (CAM), engages in a conversation with Chad Hall, President of CAM. The discussion centers around the challenging task of helping clients define success. Chad shares insights from his experience, highlighting the complexity of this process and the common misconceptions surrounding it. They explore the importance of probing deeper into clients' aspirations, moving beyond surface-level definitions of success. Drawing from the teachings of Stephen Covey, they discuss the significance of being versus having, and the role of intentionality in shaping a fulfilling life. Throughout the conversation, they emphasize the coach's role in guiding clients towards a clearer understanding of their goals and values. The episode concludes with practical advice for coaches on facilitating meaningful discussions around success with their clients. Overall, the podcast offers valuable insights into the nuanced nature of coaching and the profound impact it can have on individuals' lives.

 

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Website: www.coachapproachministries.org

In this insightful podcast episode, Brian Miller, Executive Director of Coach Approach Ministries, engages in a meaningful conversation with Samantha Amit, a seasoned leadership coach with a specialization in mindfulness. Recorded shortly after a tragic event in Israel, where Samantha resides, the dialogue delves into the essence of mindfulness, emphasizing its application in the face of adversity. Samantha introduces her three-tier mindful act leadership model—Achieve, Connect, and Thrive (ACT). They explore the significance of being present, cultivating intentionality, and fostering connections in leadership. As they navigate through the challenges of achieving personal and collective goals, the episode unfolds as a guide to mindful living and leadership, offering a powerful model that extends beyond individual growth to the flourishing of interconnected communities.

 

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Website: www.coachapproachministries.org

In this podcast episode, Brian Miller, Executive Director of Coach Approach Ministries, engages in a conversation with Chad Hall, the President of Coach Approach Ministries. The discussion touches upon various topics, including their current reading preferences, coaching tools, and the importance of understanding emotions. The main focus of the conversation is on three books that will improve coaching, with the first recommendation being "Million Dollar Consulting Proposals" by Alan Weiss. Chad and Brian delve into the valuable insights offered by Weiss, emphasizing the importance of identifying decision-makers and framing proposals around desired outcomes rather than coaching sessions. The second book recommendation is "The New Leadership Literacies" by Bob Johansen, exploring the evolving nature of leadership in the digital age. Chad and Brian discuss the significance of leaders adapting to a distributed approach and the impact of gamification on future leadership. The third book, "Atlas of the Heart" by Brené Brown, is presented as a resource for understanding and navigating a diverse range of emotions. Chad and Brian highlight the benefits of using emotion wheels in coaching to help clients articulate and process their feelings more effectively. This podcast provides valuable insights into coaching methodologies, professional development, and the evolving landscape of leadership in the 21st century.

 

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Website: www.coachapproachministries.org

In this engaging podcast episode, Brian Miller, Executive Director of Coach Approach Ministries, sits down with Justin Vajko, founder of dialogwith.us, to delve into the art of becoming a thought leader through video content. The conversation covers essential elements such as opinions, value, and consistency. Justin shares valuable insights on how having a unique perspective, providing actionable value, and maintaining consistency can elevate one's presence as a thought leader. The duo discusses the challenges and misconceptions surrounding video content creation, emphasizing the importance of genuine opinions and the delivery of valuable insights that resonate with the audience. Justin also highlights the role of consistency in building trust and staying top of mind. Whether you're a seasoned content creator or a newcomer, this podcast offers practical tips and a fresh perspective on leveraging video to establish yourself as a thought leader in 2024.

 

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Website: www.coachapproachministries.org

In this thought-provoking podcast, Brian Miller, Executive Director of Coach Approach Ministries, engages in a dynamic conversation with Chad Hall, President of the organization. The duo explores the concept of "Vuja De," a term coined to describe a fresh perspective on familiar situations. Drawing inspiration from an interview with the author of "Hidden Figures," they delve into the idea of recognizing the significance of one's experiences and expertise. The discussion unfolds into insights about coaching, the curse of knowledge, and the importance of guiding clients to explore unfamiliar territories within their own thinking. Brian and Chad skillfully navigate the nuances of coaching, emphasizing the need to balance expertise with an open-minded approach. Join them on a journey of self-discovery and coaching wisdom that challenges the status quo.

 

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Website: www.coachapproachministries.org

In this insightful podcast episode, Brian Miller, the executive director of Coach Approach Ministries (CAM), engages in a meaningful conversation with Motoki Asai, the president of CAM Japan. The conversation covers Motoki's journey, from marriage to the recent addition of a baby daughter named Coco. As the discussion unfolds, Motoki shares the significant developments in CAM Japan, which has recently achieved Level One ICF program status. Motoki emphasizes the critical role of coaching in addressing societal challenges, particularly focusing on the rising suicide rates and feelings of hopelessness in Japan. The podcast delves into the concept of well-being, exploring how the understanding of this term is evolving in Japanese culture. Motoki introduces the importance of incorporating love and honor into family dynamics, emphasizing the transformative impact on individuals and society. The episode concludes with Motoki sharing practical insights into balancing work and family life while prioritizing the mission of fostering a culture of love and honor within the family. Overall, the podcast provides a thoughtful exploration of coaching, cultural nuances, and the profound impact of love and honor on personal and societal well-being.

 

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coach.approach.ministries
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Website: www.coachapproachministries.org