Walking With People in Transition: A Call to Leaders Who Walk the Hard Roads With Others

If you serve people, you’ve probably noticed this:
Transition doesn’t knock politely. It sweeps in, turns things upside-down, and brings people face-to-face with questions they didn’t know were waiting beneath the surface.

As a coach who has spent decades walking alongside leaders, ministry workers, missionaries, and those navigating major life changes, I’ve learned something simple yet profound:

People in transition don’t need us to have all the answers.
They need us to walk with them—wisely, humbly, and with Christ at the center.

But that’s not always easy.

Transitions stir grief, identity questions, relational strain, and vocational uncertainty. They expose false beliefs and surface long-buried fears. They can also open doors to fresh imagination, deeper trust, and unexpected growth—but only when someone is present enough to help them navigate the messy middle.

And that’s where you come in.

Why This Webinar Matters Right Now

Many leaders tell me they feel under-equipped when someone turns to them and says, “I don’t know who I am anymore,” or “Everything is changing and I feel stuck.”

You want to help,
you want to care well,
you want to offer Christ-centered guidance…
but it’s easy to either say too much, say too little, or start trying to fix things that aren’t actually the issue.

This is exactly why I created my upcoming webinar:

Walking With People in Transition

A 90-Minute Live Webinar for Coaches, Leaders, and Anyone Who Walks Alongside Others
📅 Thursday, January 22 • 10 AM MST
🔗 Register here:
https://encompasslifecoaching.podia.com/walking-with-people-in-transition

In this 90-minute live training, we will slow down, step inside the lived experience of those in transition, and explore:

• What’s really happening beneath the surface during seasons of change

• The internal and external needs people carry—often without the language to describe it

• Growth obstacles and growth opportunities that show up when everything is shifting

• A Christ-centered way of being present without taking over the process

• Practical tools and conversation openers you can use immediately

You’ll leave with a clearer framework for guiding others with confidence, compassion, and clarity.

And for those who attend live, you’ll also receive:
The Walking With People in Transition Resource Packet
—a practical set of tools designed to help you go deeper as you support others.

Is This Webinar for You?

This webinar is for you if:

1. You’re looking for Christ-centered solutions to help others navigate transition
   You want to support people spiritually, emotionally, and with grounded wisdom.

2. You want to be better equipped to walk alongside others without taking over their process
   You desire a posture that empowers rather than directs.

3. You want tools you can trust—simple, clear, and immediately usable
   Tools you can bring into coaching conversations, pastoral care, leadership settings, or everyday relational life.

If that sounds like you, I’d love for you to join me.

A Final Word From My Heart

Every transition is a journey of faith.
A holy invitation.
A wilderness that God actually uses to reshape identity, deepen reliance, and open new paths.

But most people can’t see that on their own.
They need someone walking with them—someone like you.

My hope is that this webinar not only equips you with tools,
but also strengthens your calling and renews your confidence in the sacred work you do.

If you’re ready to walk more wisely, more intentionally, and more compassionately with those you serve…

👉 Register for the webinar here:
https://encompasslifecoaching.podia.com/walking-with-people-in-transition

With you on the journey,
-Tim

P.S. If you’re someone who loves practical tools, stories, and frameworks for guiding others through change, be sure to join the webinar live—you’ll automatically receive the full Walking with People in Transition Resource Packet as a thank-you for being there in real time.

Waiting Well: Finding Purpose in the Pause

Advent is a season rich with meaning—a time for us to embrace the tension between the promise of God’s kingdom and its full realization. This time of year invites us to pause, reflect, and prepare. In a culture that prizes instant gratification, the art of waiting can feel counterintuitive. Yet, waiting well is not only essential to Advent but also transformative to our spiritual journey.

The Land Between Promise and Fulfillment

“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Life often feels like a series of waits. Perhaps you’ve waited in a line on Black Friday or camped out for a grand opening. These experiences can feel like exercises in frustration—a kind of self-imposed torture. But God’s waiting works differently. He uses it to shape us, building patience, resilience and faith. Waiting well is about trusting the process and the One who holds time itself in His hands.

Why Does God Ask Us to Wait?

1. Developing Patience: Waiting refines our ability to remain steadfast without becoming overwhelmed.

2. Building Resilience: It strengthens us to face disappointments and bounce back with renewed hope.

3. Encouraging Reflection: Waiting creates space for deep focus, helping us examine our hearts and align with God’s will.

4. Fostering Trust: In uncertainty, waiting invites us to surrender control and deepen our faith in God’s promises.

Advent reminds us that there is purpose in the pause. Grounded in the rich traditions of Scripture, it becomes a season to actively anticipate the fulfillment of God’s promises. In the waiting, we align ourselves with a rhythm that is countercultural, choosing stillness and focus over chaos and distraction.

We put the brakes on asking why and looking for quick fixes. Instead we ask growth-oriented questions such as What are you teaching me, Lord? What are you preparing me for? What’s your invitation here?

Practical Steps for Waiting Well

Waiting well is not passive; it’s an active engagement with God and His promises. Here are some ways to make this Advent season meaningful:

• Slow Down: Resist the urge to rush. Create moments of stillness to reflect on God’s presence.

• Spend Less: Focus on what truly matters, shifting your attention from material gifts to spiritual blessings.

• Give More: Offer your time, love, and resources to those in need.

• Create Space: Say no to distractions so you can say yes to meaningful moments with God and others.

• Prioritize Relationships: Invest in time with loved ones, deepening connections that reflect Christ’s love.

• Release and Receive: Let go of control and allow God’s promises to unfold in His timing.

• Reflect and Anticipate: Meditate on the hope we have in Christ and the promise of His second coming.

This Advent season may our waiting be intentional, filled with hope and trust in God’s perfect timing. Let us wait well by finding purpose in the pause.

—Tim

P.S. - In-between times are perfect for working with a transitions coach. Let’s have a conversation. Schedule a call

Enlarge Your Capacity by Doing Less in Transitions

A common tension in transition revolves around the question of how to sustain a healthy balance between being and doing. While transition requires leaning into both, we often wrestle with finding a healthy cadence.

How does your style and temperament react to change? Do you tend to lean into your doing/task orientation side, while neglecting God's invitation to just be? Or, do you welcome and create space for rest and reflection, ending up with a long list of transition-to-do's, overwhelmed at the end of the day?

Navigating a transition back to the states following 20 years of life overseas, I vented to my counselor and rattled off all the reasons I was not getting a fair shake. He interjected something which stopped me in my tracks. He said, “Tim, have you taken time to breathe?”

It hit me: I needed to come up for air, but I was fighting it. I needed fresh perspective, and the only way for that to happen would be to enter into God's invitation to rest. At that juncture in transition, I needed to slow down and choose what I had been considering a luxury for later when the dust settled…reflection and rest. Yet, slowing down in transition was one of the best things I did for myself (and those around me).

Here I'm reminded of a quote by Charles Spurgeon:

Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength…. It is wisdom to take leave. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less. (An All Around Ministry)

Indeed.

Difficult transitions are often complicated by decision fatigue, “the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making.” (Lark). If that's where you're at, why not linger a spell at the crossroads, allowing God's unhurried wisdom and counsel to take root in your heart, mind, and spirit?

Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' — Jeremiah 6:16, NIV

Slowing down, noticing, and asking is God's prescription for the clarity and confidence we so desperately need in seasons of change. It's also the path to enlarged capacity.

When we pause long enough and observe closely, we just might find ourselves moving beyond merely looking at the fog and feeling the stress levels rise; we actually might see more options and opportunities as the fog lifts. At the very least, we will know more peace through the uncertainty. When we only define capacity as doing more, we miss when our capacity for being—in this case peace—grows.

The following exercises combine the doing and being components of transition. Done with intentionality, in community, and possibly with outside support such as coaching or spiritual direction, they will help you slow down and serve to inform your transition to-do list. Thus, your to-be and to-do list reflects what truly matters. Here are three exercises:

1. Values clarification helps us discover (or remember) our true north in transition seasons. Taking a deep dive into values clarity has a way of grounding us through the uncertainty of change. Knowing our needs and values serves to anchor us in what matters most and to prioritize those areas. From time to time at Global Trellis, we offer a full needs and values assessment and the opportunity to unpack your results within a group of like-minded individuals. For a start, you may want to try out this abbreviated needs and values worksheet and unpack your findings with a trusted friend or family member.

2. Discernment takes time and intentionality. Simply forming the questions we need to ask in transition is no easy task. Slowing down long enough to enter into conversations with God and His people helps solidify the important questions and top priorities. Here are some examples of great questions to ask in a season of discernment.

3. Rest, renew, and review on a regular basis. I've discovered it helps me to regularly sit with a set of reflection questions. Engaging with these questions weekly helps me celebrate wins, cultivate gratitude, re-align with my values, and decide my priorities. They aren't magical, but they are another way to cultivate a rhythm of purposeful reflection.

One final word of encouragement

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. (Ephesians 6:13, The Message)

Transitions are opportunities to stand in the juncture of two or more paths and consider the options. When we take time to put on the brakes and stand in a crossroads, we are able to notice what lies in front of us with prayerful curiosity. We are more likely to end up in a good place when it's all said and done, with capacity for being able to handle all of the doing that transitions require.

A season of coaching can help you strike a healthy balance between being and doing in transition. Let’s have a conversation!

Schedule Custom Life Coach Call — Encompass Life Coaching

*This article was originally published on Global Trellis