“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”  Decouvertes

What would you do if you just heard that the book you wrote was going to be published?

Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. (Luke 2:46, NKJ)

A little over a month ago (Oct. 4) I wrote of one of the leaders that I had been blessed to train as a lifestyle coach.  I exuded how much I love what I do as a coach because I get to speak into people’s lives who will go on and transfer significant portions of that message to up and coming leaders in their spheres of influence, and so on.

I was treated to another reminder of how much fun this is just this past weekend.  One of the young men I was privileged to train was a 24 year-old student at Regent University by the name of Kevin Mahaffy, Jr.  At the time I was assigned to work with Kevin, I was still pretty new at coach training, but over the course of the year Kevin and I grew to deeply respect one another.  I witnessed some pretty significant changes in this young man as he made his way through the coaching curriculum.  It was clear to Kevin that his destiny call was in the ministry.  Coaching was a leadership style shift that he quickly embraced and which truly transformed his ministry.

When we first met, Kevin was a youth pastor for a large church in the area.  After our time together in coach training, I had the privilege of being one of Kevin’s “multitude of counselors” as he wrestled through an offer to head up the youth ministry from another church in the area.  Then about two years ago, I connected Kevin to one of the leaders at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle on Long Island whom I was also training to be a coach.  Kevin, now in his early 30’s has been leading a dynamic youth program in Smithtown, NY since 2005.

This past Saturday, Kevin was in town for a couple of reasons.  One was to perform a wedding for one of his old friends here in the area, and the second was to do a book signing at one of the local Christian book stores.  Yes, Kevin has just released his first book.  It was pretty special for me to go and spend a brief time with him and to congratulate him as a newly published author.  (I’ve never written a book, but I can still remember the excitement of getting an article published in a magazine.  I can only imagine the euphoria to get that first book published.)

Kevin’s book is entitled, What Would You Do? 500 Questions To Get Your Teens Talking.  Wouldn’t you just know that someone with a coach’s heart would write a book about questions.  Today’s link takes you to the Amazon review which describes the book quite well.  I read it today and would only add that this is one of the most fun collection of zany “ice-breaker” questions I have ever seen.  It also has a number of incredibly insightful and deep questions.  They all take the form, “What would you do if….”    It’s clearly written for teens, but would be just as useful with groups of adults.  It would be a great way to break that communication barrier that so often crops up between parents and their teen-aged children.

Way to go, Kevin!!!

Prayer Power
Lord, I thank you for the blessing of bringing Kevin into my life and pray that you would continue to use him mightily as he ministers to the young people in his community through Smithtown Gospel and now even world-wide through his book.

Link of the Day
What Would You Do?

Blessings on you as you use powerful questions to probe someone’s heart today.