Gospel in Life is privileged to share stories from Redeemer City to City (CTC)—stories of gospel-changed lives and communities (like the one below). Gospel in Life is a ministry of CTC, which was co-founded by Tim Keller. CTC exists to multiply churches and Christian leaders committed to a shared vision for gospel movements in the great cities of the world. Through a worldwide network of regional affiliates, CTC accomplishes this by training, coaching and equipping local leaders and pastors to start and strengthen churches and initiatives that serve the flourishing of their cities. Please pray that God will continue to bring about gospel change through this worldwide network of leaders and trainers. To learn more, visit their website: redeemercitytocity.com.
Ignacio Moya is not a superhero.
He is a pastor and has been for more than a decade. He’s planted a church, ministered to people, given advice and counseling to others, helped many along their journey. Through the years rarely has someone done the same for him. And that came at a cost. “As a pastor, because I was constantly helping others resolve their issues and helping them solve their problems,” Ignacio says, “I began to focus on being self-sufficient.”
This past spring everything changed. Ignacio is in the process of starting a new church. The senior pastor of Iglesia Cristo Mi Pastor in Santiago, Chile, where Ignacio serves as assistant pastor, connected him with Pedro, a Redeemer City to City (CTC)-trained gospel coach. Ignacio knew Pedro from seminary and felt excited to start meeting with him. The experience has been full of surprises.
“It was a very uncomfortable process at times,” Ignacio says. “I had to look introspectively and ask myself very personal questions: why do I do what I do? Why am I focused on pastoring? Sometimes I felt vulnerable and exposed. I began to feel more like a sheep versus a shepherd, but I looked forward to the sessions so I could reflect and think and process.”
CTC calls this kind of coaching gospel coaching, and it’s different from coaching found in the business world. CTC Director of Coaching David Whitehead explains it like this: “Traditional coaching takes into play all the answers being within you. Gospel coaching takes into play that actually we need Jesus Christ every moment of every day. It’s the truth from above that needs to come in and guide.”
And that’s what Ignacio experienced with Pedro. Ignacio explains: “Pedro never gave me the answers or told me what to do. Instead, each session he asked a new set of questions that would connect me back to the Bible—to the gospel. He nudged me forward in grace.”
Ignacio discovered many things about himself. He never wanted to appear weak or as if he were struggling. He focused on not being a burden to anyone. He began to see how he’d brought those same tendencies into his marriage. “I didn’t even bring Leslie [his wife] into some of the hardships that I was facing,” he explains. “The questions that I had, the struggles that I was feeling, I always kept her on the margins so that she wouldn’t have to experience any of the trials or hardships.”
As he began to focus on his relationship with Leslie and his two kids, he realized he’d been so busy pastoring that he’d not always been there for them. And in his desire to protect Leslie from his own struggles, he recognized his self-sufficiency at work. “Rather than the gospel being the saving grace,” he says, “I was making myself out to be the person that needed to save my family and shield them and save my church. And now a burden has been lifted. I’m able to share my ministry experiences, my woes, my joys, my questions more freely with the team, with the main pastor, and with my wife. Because of the coaching, I no longer see myself as someone that has to position himself as the savior or the superhero.”
I no longer see myself as someone that has to position himself as the savior or the superhero.
There’s a Tim Keller quote that resonates deeply with Ignacio. Tim says, “We’re far worse than we ever imagined, and far more loved than we could ever dream.” Ignacio explains, “That truth has become a reality for me, and it’s more than just doctrina—something I’ve read about or understood in my head—but now my heart understands. The gospel—what Christ did for me—is much more amazing and beautiful to me than it was before. I’ve experienced not only revitalization in my marriage but also revitalization in my relationship with Jesus. To any pastor who has an opportunity to have a gospel coach, I would say, ‘Do it. Go with an open heart. Go expecting to examine yourself. Go expecting to change.’”
