Mentoring

by David Shannon

Almost Every Successful Person has benefited from a Mentor!

Jesus came to save the whole world, but even Jesus couldn't mentor to the whole world. He gave much of his time in "public ministry" to only 12. Mentors focus on a few � sometimes only on one!

A mentor is

• a trusted guide or counselor
• one that shares their life with others
• one that has walked for a long time in the right direction
• one that lives for the next generation

Barnabas spent time helping Paul become accepted after his conversion. Can you imagine how encouraging Barnabas was to Paul as others ran, but Barnabas called them back to explain his conversion.

Paul in turn would mentor Timothy. Timothy owed much to Paul. Timothy's life would not have been the same without Paul. Two of Paul's epistles are addressed to him. He is mentioned in six other epistles. Timothy traveled on the second missionary journey with Paul. Timothy was with Paul during the days of strife in Ephesus. He was with him during prison time. Paul sent for Timothy during Paul's last imprisonment of II Timothy 4. Timothy's life was filled with the blessing of a righteous, supportive mentor.

Mentors must be available.

It takes time to mentor. Will you make an hour or two a week � and sometimes much more � to mentor someone?
Mentors must spend time in prayer, meditation, and other times interacting
with the person.

Mentors are committed.

A spiritual mentor has a genuine commitment to help the other person grow closer to Christ. Mentors must be humble and pure in motive. Mentoring is not to stroke your ego or make you feel empowered because you give another advice. Mentors simply love to encourage others to grow in their relationship with God!

Mentors practice Agape.

I Corinthians 13 defines agape as a commitment that "never fails." Relationships built on agape protect each other, trust each other and offer hope to each other (vr 7-8). A mentor should honestly warn about dangers ahead. They should never gossip or betray trust by violating confidentiality. A mentor must instill hope! We all need a cheer leader! Mentors are in a position to do it well! Will anyone pass by your casket thinking about how positively different their life is because of you? Will they remember how you were always there for them, or that you instilled hope in them? You can't impact many lives in this way, but you could a few � or at least one. Mentoring is Living for the Next Generation!

• Chisel -Aug 24, 2008
• Chisel 2008 --Sculpting Young Men to Lead Great Works -Aug 10, 2008
• Making a Difference -May 18, 2008
• Youth ministry subject of university workshop -Feb 05, 2008
• Home is Where you Make It -Aug 07, 2005