Help Wanted: Mentors

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There is a desperate need today for spiritually mature men and women to mentor younger Christians.

Larry Kreider | posted 2/09/2009

Topics:	Guidance, Mentoring, Modeling, Shepherding, Teaching
Filters:	Coach, Connect, Discipleship groups, Group Leader, Pastor
Purpose:	Discipleship
References:	1 Corinthians 11:1 , Philippians 4:9
Date Added:	February 09, 2009

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Note: This article is an excerpt from the book Authentic Spiritual Mentoring, written by Larry Kreider.

Instead of deep and nurturing relationships, too often in today's Church a believer is encouraged to participate in church services, Bible studies, parachurch organizations, or evangelistic ministries in order to bolster his or her faith and "grow strong in the Lord." The theory is that more teaching from God's Word plus more ministry participation equals more spiritual maturity. As important as these involvements may be, such a faulty supposition leads to believers inhaling message after message, book after book, CD after CD, seminar after seminar—all in order to fill a void for real relationship.

The result is a Christian who becomes fat spiritually and fails to interpret what he or she is learning so that he or she can pass it on to others. This person doesn't know how to meaningfully and sacrificially impart his or her life to others because he or she has never been properly parented. Without a role model, he or she remains a spiritual infant, needing to be spoon-fed by the pastor or other Christian worker.

But as God's people, we need to grow up. It is very difficult to do it by ourselves, just as natural infants cannot thrive if left on their own. Babies need the care and nurture of parents, just as believers need practical input from loving parents who delight when their children reach their full potential in Christ.

Looking for Role Models

There are countless examples of spiritual mentoring or spiritual parenting in the Scriptures. Jesus modeled spiritual fatherhood to the 12 disciples. Paul discipled young Timothy. Elijah became a spiritual parent to Elisha. Moses trained Joshua to take his place and lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. In all of these examples, the protégé was being prepared to stand in the place of his mentor to eventually fulfill God's greater purpose. We need this kind of connection and impartation today.

In the book Connecting: The Mentoring Relationships You Need to Succeed in life, the authors begin their book with a surprising statement: "Research on biblical leaders led to a startling conclusion—few leaders finish well." They go on to say that in cases when leaders in the Bible did finish well, "their relationship to another person significantly enhanced their development."

The apostle Paul knew that imparting a spiritual legacy should be his highest aim, and he was determined to finish well with strong relationships. He was a role model and spiritual father to many in the early church. He very clearly spelled out mentoring as his leadership model: "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1); "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice" (Philippians 4:9).

In other words, "Let me mentor you. Let me be your role model."

After a long absence from his spiritual children in the church at Thessalonica, Paul wrote a letter to them out of his concern that they might interpret his physical absence as proof he didn't care about them. He ended his letter by praying not only that God would direct his way back to them (see 1 Thessalonians 3:11), but also that they would love others in the same way that he loved them (see v. 12). He expected them to take up the loving responsibility of being spiritual parents for others.

The New Testament Church was to model a growing and developing family. Every Christian was to become a spiritual parent!

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Peter Hartgerink

February 11, 2009 1:15pm

Larry's comments about spiritual parenting are believable because this is the way he lives his life. As a church planter I was part of the DOVE network for years. Although our little church was never a successs story by numerical standards, Larry and Laverne always had words of encouragment for my wife and myself, and their example helped us persevere and attain a level of confidence that we had not previously attained. There was no hype, just genuine love coupled with Biblical truth. We felt valued - we knew they believed in us - so we could carry on even when things weren't easy. Today we are overseeing small group leaders and mentoring younger believers in our church. Although we are no longer part of the movement that Larry oversees, he and Laverne still treat us as friends. We wouldn't be where we are today without them. This isn't just a good book - it's a reflection of the fruit of someone's life, and the fruit is good.