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#76: Coaching Training for Church Leaders

Discover the transformative power of coaching for pastors on the latest episode of the Pivot podcast with guest Dawn Alitz.

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More pastors are taking coaching courses and loving the impact on their congregation. Watch this pivot podcast episode to learn what coaching is, how it’s different from other models of leadership training and why it can be so impactful for church leaders.

In today’s pivot podcast episode, we are interviewing Faith+Lead’s Director of Coaching, Dawn Alitz. Here’s what we mean by coaching: the practice of listening, helping people name their core challenges, discovering solutions to those challenges, and implementing specific practices and action steps to move forward. Jesus often led by asking good questions. Coaching is one form of leading by asking questions. What would it look like if more of your faith leadership took on this approach? How might leaders in the church benefit from coaching? Coaching classes, leadership coaching, and training church leaders all benefit churches and leaders today. Join us as we explore new models for loving and leading our communities.

Show Notes

Featuring

Dawn Alitz
Dawn Alitz
Director of Coaching, Faith+Lead, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MInnesota

The Rev. Dr. Alitz’s expertise is in the area of adult faith formation, coaching, and program coordination. Before joining the Luther staff in 2016, she had over twenty years of experience in congregational leadership in both mission-start and established congregations. 

She has her ACC credentialing with the International Coaching Federation, trained with the Global Team Coaching Institute, and is well-known within ELCA and ecumenical circles for her work with adaptive leadership, developing online learning opportunities, and collaborating with various networks of educational and synodical professionals. Dr. Alitz’s role at Luther places her in a unique position to equip leaders to engage the Gospel in the 21st century by designing, piloting, and building out new business models for theological education and congregational leadership.

She earned her Master of Arts from Luther Seminary in 1998 and her Ph.D. from Luther Seminary in Pastoral Care, Children, Youth, and Family in 2008.

Hosts

Faith+Lead Headshot of The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile, VP of Innovation, Luther Seminary.
Dwight Zscheile
Professor of Congregational Mission and Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile is professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He is the author of Embracing the Mixed Ecology (with Blair Pogue, Seabury Books, 2025), Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press 2023), Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the U.S. (with Craig Van Gelder, Eerdmans 2018), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age (Morehouse Publishing, 2014), People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder, Baker Academic 2011), editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation (Eerdmans, 2012), and co-editor (with Ed Olsworth-Peter) of The Starter’s Way: Leading New Contextual Christian Communities (Church Publishing, 2025).

A graduate of Stanford University (BA), Yale University (MDiv) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Congregational Mission and Leadership), Dwight previously served congregations in Minnesota, Virginia and Connecticut. Dwight’s experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community with neighbors in today’s changing world.

Faith+Lead Headshot of Dr. Alicia Granholm, Senior Director of Faith+Lead.
Alicia Granholm
Senior Director, Faith+Lead, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

Dr. Alicia Granholm is senior director of Faith+Lead at Luther Seminary and a leadership and church consultant based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She helps pastors and leaders engage culture to make a lasting impact. For nearly two decades, she has trained, equipped, and empowered followers of Jesus to engage their local communities by contextualizing the Gospel and its application. Alicia compassionately crosses cultural boundaries having lived, studied, traveled, and served in 25 countries on six continents. Alicia has a Doctor of Strategic Leadership, Global Consulting (Regent University), M.Div. (Bethel Seminary), and M.A. in Teaching (University of St. Thomas).

Dawn Alitz
Dawn Alitz
Director of Coaching, Faith+Lead, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MInnesota

The Rev. Dr. Alitz’s expertise is in the area of adult faith formation, coaching, and program coordination. Before joining the Luther staff in 2016, she had over twenty years of experience in congregational leadership in both mission-start and established congregations. 

She has her ACC credentialing with the International Coaching Federation, trained with the Global Team Coaching Institute, and is well-known within ELCA and ecumenical circles for her work with adaptive leadership, developing online learning opportunities, and collaborating with various networks of educational and synodical professionals. Dr. Alitz’s role at Luther places her in a unique position to equip leaders to engage the Gospel in the 21st century by designing, piloting, and building out new business models for theological education and congregational leadership.

She earned her Master of Arts from Luther Seminary in 1998 and her Ph.D. from Luther Seminary in Pastoral Care, Children, Youth, and Family in 2008.

About Pivot Podcast

Join us on Pivot Podcast, where we journey beyond church-as-usual to discover how God is reshaping ministry for today’s world.

Each week, we dive into conversations with innovative leaders and practitioners who are navigating four game-changing pivots: shifting from quick fixes to deep listening, from membership to discipleship, from rigid models to creative ministry ecosystems, and from clergy-centered leadership to unleashing everyone’s gifts.

Whether you’re a member of the clergy seeking fresh inspiration or a volunteer stepping into new leadership territory, Pivot Podcast equips you with the insights and practical wisdom to follow Jesus into a faithful future.

Through their work with diverse cohorts of preachers, they’ve discovered that the most compelling sermons aren’t necessarily the most polished – they’re the ones where preachers have learned to listen deeply to both God and their congregations. Learn practical tools for gathering meaningful feedback, understand why vulnerability matters more than ever in preaching, and discover how shifting from evaluation to understanding can deepen your sermon’s impact. Plus, hear why reimagining God’s agency in preaching might be the key to unlocking more powerful proclamation.

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Featuring

Dawn Alitz
Dawn Alitz
Director of Coaching, Faith+Lead, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MInnesota

The Rev. Dr. Alitz’s expertise is in the area of adult faith formation, coaching, and program coordination. Before joining the Luther staff in 2016, she had over twenty years of experience in congregational leadership in both mission-start and established congregations. 

She has her ACC credentialing with the International Coaching Federation, trained with the Global Team Coaching Institute, and is well-known within ELCA and ecumenical circles for her work with adaptive leadership, developing online learning opportunities, and collaborating with various networks of educational and synodical professionals. Dr. Alitz’s role at Luther places her in a unique position to equip leaders to engage the Gospel in the 21st century by designing, piloting, and building out new business models for theological education and congregational leadership.

She earned her Master of Arts from Luther Seminary in 1998 and her Ph.D. from Luther Seminary in Pastoral Care, Children, Youth, and Family in 2008.

Hosts

Faith+Lead Headshot of The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile, VP of Innovation, Luther Seminary.
Dwight Zscheile
Professor of Congregational Mission and Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile is professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He is the author of Embracing the Mixed Ecology (with Blair Pogue, Seabury Books, 2025), Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press 2023), Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the U.S. (with Craig Van Gelder, Eerdmans 2018), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age (Morehouse Publishing, 2014), People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder, Baker Academic 2011), editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation (Eerdmans, 2012), and co-editor (with Ed Olsworth-Peter) of The Starter’s Way: Leading New Contextual Christian Communities (Church Publishing, 2025).

A graduate of Stanford University (BA), Yale University (MDiv) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Congregational Mission and Leadership), Dwight previously served congregations in Minnesota, Virginia and Connecticut. Dwight’s experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community with neighbors in today’s changing world.

Faith+Lead Headshot of Dr. Alicia Granholm, Senior Director of Faith+Lead.
Alicia Granholm
Senior Director, Faith+Lead, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

Dr. Alicia Granholm is senior director of Faith+Lead at Luther Seminary and a leadership and church consultant based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She helps pastors and leaders engage culture to make a lasting impact. For nearly two decades, she has trained, equipped, and empowered followers of Jesus to engage their local communities by contextualizing the Gospel and its application. Alicia compassionately crosses cultural boundaries having lived, studied, traveled, and served in 25 countries on six continents. Alicia has a Doctor of Strategic Leadership, Global Consulting (Regent University), M.Div. (Bethel Seminary), and M.A. in Teaching (University of St. Thomas).

Dawn Alitz
Dawn Alitz
Director of Coaching, Faith+Lead, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MInnesota

The Rev. Dr. Alitz’s expertise is in the area of adult faith formation, coaching, and program coordination. Before joining the Luther staff in 2016, she had over twenty years of experience in congregational leadership in both mission-start and established congregations. 

She has her ACC credentialing with the International Coaching Federation, trained with the Global Team Coaching Institute, and is well-known within ELCA and ecumenical circles for her work with adaptive leadership, developing online learning opportunities, and collaborating with various networks of educational and synodical professionals. Dr. Alitz’s role at Luther places her in a unique position to equip leaders to engage the Gospel in the 21st century by designing, piloting, and building out new business models for theological education and congregational leadership.

She earned her Master of Arts from Luther Seminary in 1998 and her Ph.D. from Luther Seminary in Pastoral Care, Children, Youth, and Family in 2008.