This week we have been engaging the topic of Mentoring, specifically how to choose a mentor.  If you have not read through the posts this week, I would highly encourage you to go back and look through them.

How church is modeled out today is very different from the way it was back in the biblical days.

I believe the church is doing it’s best to grasp how to do church, how to be a REAL community, and make disciples of Christ, but there are definitely aspects to discipleship that are not happening as was taught and appealed to us through scripture.

I hope and do believe that most leaders in the church deeply desire authentic community happening regularly, not just on Sunday mornings.

Authenticity, realness, openness, real growth, and pursuit of God are what most might recognize as the core of authentic community, but openness, authenticity is simply the foundation. It’s in discipleship, in mentoring that growth can be pursued.

In life we have 2 avenues for growth, walking through trials and growing through them, or pursuing growth, pursuing knowledge and a relationship that puts you in the seat of the learner.

Mentoring relationships are at the source of what is needed in both avenues.

We have walked through trials, struggles, hard times, but how many walk through them with others lifting them up, helping them to keep their eyes on Jesus through the storm? How many have teachers of life, intentionally speaking life into their circumstances, and interceding for them in prayer?

Fortunately, life is also full of blessings and seasons that could be otherwise mundane, but need gentle reminding to engage and choose growth. That is the role of the mentor: To inspire, to challenge, to lead by example.

Community Groups are widely popular today, and they are good for creating community on many levels, they are providing many opportunities for deep friendship.  Community groups do seem to emulate the Acts churches example by the fact they meet in homes with people from their community.  They are living in real community together, purposing to be transparent.  Mentoring however, as laid out in Titus 2 is also God’s idea for discipleship, yet many Christians today have never been truly mentored, or mentored anyone.  Two common scriptures come to mind that impress the impact of mentoring on future generations.

This section in my study bible just happens to be “Teaching Sound Doctrine”

Titus 2: 2-15 & Titus 3:1-

“Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and steadfastness.  Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves too much wine.  They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, submissive to their own husbands, that the Word of God not be reviled.  Likewise urge the younger men to be self-controlled.  Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,… For the grace of god appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age...Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.  Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient….”

Duet 6:1-25 “The Greatest Commandment”  The passage in scripture where God promises generations of covenant with his people, if they obey the Greatest Commandment as well as TEACH it to their sons and their sons’ sons.  “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise… you shall write them on your doorposts and gates…” (v.6-7) “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statues and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves in Egypt… and the Lord showed signs and wonders… he brought us out from there.” (v.20-25)

You see this Duet. passage is a perfect example of purposeful parenting.  It is sharing testimony of faith along side God’s Word and Law.  Mentoring requires personal relationship, real mentoring is where the person is close enough to you where they can see you in sin and call you out on it.  Where you have the relationship with someone, who you know loves you, wants what is God’s best for you; but recognizes what is best for you, is for you to turn from your sin, repent, receive Christ’s forgiveness and change.  Mentoring, is critically needed in the modern-day church;  in the one on one relationship, sin be called out in a healthy and biblical way.

Older, more wise men mentoring, walking beside, in real life, teaching, training, by their example.  Older women, living holy lives that glorify God, walking beside younger women teaching, training them how to live holy lives.  This is not man’s idea, but God’s design for productive ministry within the church.

Mentoring is God’s Idea!  Choose Growth~  Choose a Qualified Mentor~  Look at the Fruit in their Life~  Be Wise ~ Pray about it!

 In the Journey Together,

Angie

If you would like to read the whole series on How to Choose a Mentor go to: Mentoring