Where I am today as a minister of the gospel and ministry leader I owe to significant mentors: my father, a high school teacher, a college chaplain, a campus ministry staff member, and a senior pastor/leader who brought me onto his staff team. The list grows when I consider the profound impact of other mentors who have influenced my personality, character, and manhood.
Mentoring has always been a fundamental task of the church: Elisha's school of the prophets, Jesus' training of the 12, Paul's development of Timothy and his charge to Timothy to equip reliable people (2 Timothy 2:2). The history of the church is replete with discipling and training relationships: person-to-person and life-on-life. Organizational guru Peter Drucker asks a question leaders must also ask, "Who will take your place?" He then responds with an unforgettable principle, "There is no success without a successor."
"There is no success without a successor." - Peter Drucker
In a television address during his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy said, "It is time for a new generation of leadership." Though he became a national leader in a decade filled with radical changes, the decades surrounding our new millennium promise to be years of greater opportunity and challenge for the church. That's why mentoring cannot be optional for the church, parachurch organization, or Christian education institution.
Why Mentoring is so Important
Why is mentoring essential today? Here are three key reasons:
Modeling. As society becomes more high-tech, it longs for greater high touch. Deep relationships, always longed for by humans, become high priority as technology increases and change becomes hyper. Young leaders must learn that relational skills are essential for effective leadership. As roles and expectations change in society and the church, mentorees need models of godly roles and Spirit-led adaptability. In a society of broken families and blurred identities, mentors model godly manhood and womanhood, affirming a healthy identity.
Mobility. The high rate of relocation leads to instability and rootlessness. Natural mentors in extended families and long-term relationships are fractured by many miles of separation. So, mentoring intentionally builds new and deep relationships, substituting for grandparents, aunts, uncles and other mentors.
- Minority. Christian leaders are increasingly a minority in a post-Christian and postmodern world. The Christian world view, values and absolutes, are no longer accepted by the majority in this generation. This requires a greater urgency to raise up vibrant leaders who can face the popular tide with a divine voice, Christlike character and Spirit-led abilities.
The Pay-Off for Mentors
This call for mentoring every person begs the question, "What is the pay-off for the mentor?" As a pastor/mentor for several years, I discovered uniquely satisfying rewards:
The joy of mentoring a person who is motivated to grow, change, and serve God. Few joys equal mentoring a person who catches your passion for God and for leadership.
The accountability mentoring gives you, the mentor, when the mentoree asks probing questions about your own character ("How do you deal with sexual temptation?") or about your ministry ("Why is the church weak in evangelism and what are you doing about it?").
The participation by lay leaders (on the mentoring team) causing them to grow and find personal satisfaction in developing future church leaders.
The satisfaction of investing in future kingdom leaders. Seeing former mentorees in ministry and knowing of their effectiveness gives satisfaction when many ministry activities have few measurable results
May this encourage you in your mentoring and in seeking mentors for your own life who will develop your leadership for this critical day.
This article published with permission of Denver Seminary Denver Seminary.
Dr. Clyde McDowell was president of Denver Seminary from 1996 until his untimely death in June of 1999. He wrote this article prior to being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1998. You can learn more about Denver Seminary's cutting-edge mentoring program at their website: www.denverseminary.edu.
