04/12/2010
Author: John Powell
Moses and Joshua, Eli and Samuel, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and the Disciples, Paul and Timothy. All examples of mentoring in the Bible. But are there examples we can model our ministries after or principles that we can follow?
As I grew up I was mentored by watching models of ministry in my family. Missionaries on furlough gave me a picture of what serving the Lord was all about. Travel to Argentina gave me first hand experience. My great aunt and grandmother had a rambling apartment house on the edge of Western Michigan University. Their ministry of hospitality rubbed off on me.
Over the 30 years of ministry in Las Cruces I have had many and varied experiences mentoring. Sometimes it has been intensive discipling, after leading someone to trust Christ. I have taken many through the Milk and Meat series and helped them develop scripture memory and inductive Bible study skills, as well as helped them develop a prayer life. Some have been mentored in evangelism skills as well.
Several have gone on to Bible college or seminary and then returned to Las Cruces where I mentored them through the process of licensing or ordination to vocational ministry. Others have been mentored in marriage ministry or peacemaking. Some have been mentored through the process of holding an office and learned how to shepherd the flock. I have coached Pastor Gordon on various things over the years, standing back and watching and then giving a word here or there about how he’s doing.
These experiences have varied from Intensive Mentoring, through Short term Mentoring and Model Mentoring as people have watched at a distance. And some of my favorite experiences mentoring included short term teaching of skills like electronics and radio ministry, car repair, cycling, welding, air conditioning service and other physical skills that give opportunity to show kindness and provide a platform for ministry.
Recently, a group of college students asked several of us older leaders to mentor them on mentoring. They want to learn to be mentors as well as mentor younger students. That reminds me that mentoring can be both “down” or “up”. That is, we can be a mentor and be mentored by someone at the same time.
The basic ingredients of a mentoring relationship include:
1. Verbalize that you’d like to start the relationship. “Would you mentor me on ______?” or “I’d like to teach you to _____?
2. Decide on the time frame involved. An hour or two on using an audio recording program. A semester on having a quiet time together. A year on getting a ministry license. Two occasions helping you open your home to a group of students for Sunday dinner.
3. Communicate along the way so that expectations can be met both “up” and “down”.
4. Evaluate at the end of the mentoring timeframe agreed on and decide whether to stop, modify the plan and continue or be mentored to mentor someone else in the same area.
5. Keep the cycle going. My hope is that this stimulates you to be involved both “up” and “down” in the mentoring opportunities around you and enjoy the fruit of the experiences as I have.
