Model Mentoring

7-14-2011 by Boyd Bailey

Model Mentoring


“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” Psalm 71:18

Your life is a stewardship. Owned by God, He expects us to invest in others. This is who we are as followers of Christ. Part of our life management is giving back to younger men and women in the form of mentoring. We mentor others because someone took the time to mentor us. Or, we may mentor others because we did not have a mentor and, as a consequence, we stumbled and bumbled around until we found our way.

The opportunity for mentoring compels us to protect others from our own mistakes. God can use our life experiences to help young men and women not to repeat bad history and to create good history. This is an important process of wisdom transference from one generation to the next. More important than the transfer of wealth is the transfer of wisdom.

Wealth without wisdom can lead to wickedness or, at the very least, weirdness. And we do not need to set up others for either. In fact, in some ways it is easier to pass on wealth than it is to pass on wisdom. The transfer of wisdom takes time and understanding. It takes getting involved in someone’s life to the point that it costs you something. More than likely it will cost you time, money and relational equity—your most valued assets.

However, by investing in someone through a mentoring relationship, think of the savings. You may save them from the heartache of a messed-up marriage. You may save them from the gut-wrenching experience of not getting to know their children. You may save them from a stupid business decision that leads to insolvency. You may save them from chronic indecision and insecurity because their identity resides somewhere else other than in Christ. Your mentoring is a cost-saving proposition. Everyone wins in the mentoring process, especially the m e n t o r !

Furthermore, gray hair does not automatically qualify you as a mentor. Your first qualification as a mentor is an unyielding submission to your heavenly Father. Because of your love and fear of God, He is your model for mentoring. You are patient when you need to be patient. You confront when you need to confront. And, you ask tons of caring questions. Mentoring is not revealing all of the answers. Rather it is helping another through the process of discovery.

Yes, there are times to give ardent direction and warnings, but many times it is sharing what you have learned and are learning. It is asking the one being mentored to take your life experiences and God-given wisdom and, prayerfully, apply it to their own life. Your goal is not a clone of yourself (God help us). Your goal is a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. A wise mentor will transfer humility, gratitude, teachableness, contentment, selflessness, forgiveness, discipline and grace. It is a character-driven model.

Mentoring without character is like driving a car without gas. It is not possible.

Hold high a standard of living life on purpose with a bent toward God, and then invite others to join you. The masses will not flock to be mentored, but a few will. Go with a few and watch God do a work of wisdom that eventually influences the masses. Model mentoring, for it makes men and women!