Leadership Training 07 - Mentoring

I. Intro
Time for a Literature Quiz. How many remember the story of the
Iliad and the Odyssey? The Iliad tells the story of how the Greeks
went to war against Troy and fought for 10 years. The Odyssey
tells of Odysseus' 10 year trip back to Ithaca in Greece. Odysseus
knew that he would be gone a long time, so he put one of his
trusted friends that was too old to go to war, Mentor, in charge of
his son. He was not only to teach him what he needed to know,
but impart wisdom to him in Odysseus' absence.
Odysseus is given up for dead in his long absence, and his wife
Penelope is besieged by suitors vying for her hand in marriage.
The goddess Athena appeared to her in the guise of the trusted
Mentor to give the son advice; to stand up against the suitors to
protect his mother and to go search for his father.
Because of this, Mentor had the role in Greek Mythology as the
wise, trusted friend who imparts this knowledge to others with the
specific goal of raising them up. In 1699 a book was written in
France with Mentor as the main character. The book was popular
throughout Europe, and it is thought that the word "mentor"
entered the English language from this book.
Q: When I use the term Mentor, what do you think of?
The dictionary definition is "an experienced and trusted adviser".
The general idea behind the word is someone who not only
imparts knowledge, but is experienced in whatever he teaches
and imparts wisdom and guidance about the subject.

We have been looking at how a leader in the Church, no matter

what position his leadership takes, is a Shepherd because Christ
leads as a shepherd and we are to be Christ-like. While Elders are
Shepherds, this term is not exclusive to them.
Now we're going to look at how leaders are not just to teach, but
to mentor those that they lead.
We all learn thru mentors, whether we realize it or not. There was
an anti-smoking commercial from 1967 called "Like Father, Like
Son". A young boy is with his dad, and is always looking up and
watching his father. Everything the father does the son tries to
emulate. They are painting the house, and the son is just dabbling
with his paintbrush. He sees the father making long, broad strokes
with his brush, and so the son starts to do the same. They are
driving, and the car they are in doesn't have turn signals. The son
is sitting a very old car seat in the front seat, and watches his
father put his hand out the window to signal a left turn. The son
puts his hand out the window in the same manner. They are
walking beside some water, and the son watches the dad throw a
rock in to skip it. He then picks up his own rock and throws it in
the same manner. In the last scene they sit down against a tree,
and the dad takes out a pack of cigarettes, takes one out, and
sets the pack down. The son is watching him, and reaches down
for the pack.
Whether you know it or not, as a leader people are watching you,
trying to learn from you. Our culture, both in the church and in the
world, has gotten away from mentoring in the past. The idea
behind this section is that instead of inactively mentoring, we
should learn to be hands on, active mentors of those that follow
us.

II. What does the Bible say about mentoring?

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Mentoring is a Greek word, but the term is not found in the Bible.
But the action is found
Matthew 20: 25-28 25 Jesus called them together and said, You
know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be
your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
We have read this before, it is when James & John's mother came
to Jesus and asked that her sons sit on his left and right. Now
look at vs 26 and 27. What if Jesus had said " Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be
your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave".
Is that mentoring? The point is valid, isn't it? But look at what the
2nd part adds: in vs 28 "just as the Son of Man did not come to
be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.
vs 28 shows how Jesus taught by mentoring. He didn't just teach
the apostles by talking, instead he was with them and showed
them. Which is more powerful, you reading about Jesus saying
"whoever wants to become great must be your servant", or
hearing that and having all the examples of Jesus serving?
1 Corinthians 11:1 1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of
Christ.
Philippians 4:9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard
from me, or seen in meput it into practice.
2 Thessalonians 3:7 For you yourselves know how you ought to
follow our example.
These are all examples of Paul saying "we were with you, you saw
how we acted, worked, and lived. Now you do the same".
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Jesus taught and modeled his teaching with his life for others to
see. The apostles modeled their lives after Jesus, and lived it for
others to see. We are to follow that example, to mentor in this
way so that others can see how to live.

1 Peter 5:1-3 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder

and a witness of Christs sufferings who also will share in the glory
to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of Gods flock that is under your
care, watching over themnot because you must, but because
you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest
gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to
you, but being examples to the flock
This is a command given to elders, but it is true for us all. Be
examples to the flock.

III. How to be a mentor

A. Be an Atractive Mentor
There was a movie in 1973, The Paper Chase. It was about law
students at Harvard and a particular Law Professor, Charles
Kingsfield. Professor Kingsfield is so demanding, so strict, so
scary, that on the first day the main student, James Hart, throws
up when he is called to answer a question on the 1st day.
Kingsfield doesn't care if his students pass or fail, and feels that
his job is to be so harsh that it winnows out the "wanna-bees"
from the true law students. The ones that can't hack it will drop
out, leaving only the gifted, true students.
On the other hand, winsome means "generally pleasing and
engaging".
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Q. Which do you think makes a better mentor, the winsome,

attractive teacher or the harsh, demanding one?
Q. What do you think happens to Christians who have a harsh
mentor?
The author describes a deacon in their church, named Jake, as the
opposite of winsome. He was very harsh and guff to people that
he didn't know. The description given him is "the grand marshal of
the foyer and the first line of defense against visitors".
Because they are pleasing and engage people, people remember
them and what they do in a good manner. They are the type of
people that after you meet them, you say "I want to be like them"
or "whatever they have, I want it".

B. Be a strong mentor
Mentoring is about showing the way, being an example. Think
about the song "the wise man built his house". How easy would it
be to teach someone the hand movement by describing them?
How easy is it to teach someone the hand movements by showing
them?
That is what being a mentor is about. But how well does the "do
as I say, not as I do" phrase work?
To be a mentor you must be stronger than that. You must be able
to resist temptation and show others how. That doesn't mean you
are perfect, but you must be able to do the strongest thing of all admit your mistakes and learn from them.
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray
for each other so that you may be healed.
Q: Why does God want us to confess our faults. Does he like to
embarrass us? Admitting your mistakes is the first step in
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overcoming them. To be a mentor you must be strong enough to

do this - admit when you are wrong and learn how, with God's
help, to do better.

C. Faithful mentors
Attractive teachers draw followers, strong leaders show us how to
live, and faithful mentors give us hope when we are tempted to
give up.
Think again about the wise man song. By teaching by mentoring,
showing the person the hand movements while singing the song,
you not only teach the song but encourage the person to do
something they might not normally do - make silly hand motions
while singing a song. They see you doing it and believe "I can do
this too" - that is what hope is.
How many times have you taken courage by seeing someone in
the same situation as you succeed? That is what a faithful mentor
does - he doesn't give up because he knows that he is leading
others.