RESEARCH PROPOSAL ON:

THE IMPLICATION OF THE EXPERIENCED PASTORS’ FAILURE IN MENTORING

YOUNG PASTORS IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

1
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

A. Introduction

The term “mentor” is has its root from the world of Greek Mythology. 1 The concept of

mentoring has since been extended to various fields including management and education. For

example, Godshalk and Sosik define mentoring as “a deliberate pairing of a more skilled or

experienced person with a lesser skilled or experienced one, with the goal of having the lesser

skilled person grow and develop specific career-related competencies.”2 Along a similar vein,

Gay defines mentoring as a “supportive relationship between a youth or young adult and

someone who offers support, guidance and concrete assistance as the younger partner goes

through a difficult period, takes on important tasks or corrects an earlier problem.”3

Contextualizing for Christianity, the concept of mentoring has been defined as “a triadic

relationship between mentor, mentoree and the Holy Spirit, where the mentoree can discover the

already present action of God, intimacy with God, ultimate identity as a child of God and a

unique voice for kingdom responsibility”,4 “a relational experience in which one person

empower another by sharing God-given resources”,5 or more succinctly as “a model that can be

1
Daloz LA 1999. Mentor: Guiding the journey of adult learners, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Publishers

2
Godshalk VM and Sosik JJ 2003. Aiming for career success: The role of learning
goal orientation in mentoring relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior
63(3): 417-437.
3
Gay B 1994. What Is mentoring, Education + Training 36(5): 4 - 7.
4
Anderson KR & Reese RD 1999. Spiritual mentoring: A guide for seeking and giving direction. Downers
Grove, IL: IVP.
5
Wasem JE 2004. Coaching: getting beyond new church mediocrity. In T Jones (ed), Church planting from
the ground up, 169 - 181. College Press Publishing.

2
imitated by others.”6 In this thesis which is informed by a knowledge management perspective,

mentoring is operationally defined as a one-to-one relationship between a mentor and a protégé

through individualized attention where the mentor transfers needed knowledge to the protégé.”7

Mentors have been characterized as models or exemplars of behavior and quasiparents. In

a survey among Christian leaders, Stanley and Clinton note that “a study of major biblical figures

and the biographies of Christian leaders clearly underscored the conclusion that one of the major

influences most often used by God to develop a leader is a person or persons who have

something to share that the leader needs.”8

To be sure, the term “mentor” cannot be found in the Scripture. However, the idea of

mentoring permeates in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Mentorprotégé pairs

described in the Old Testament include Moses and Joshua (Deu 31:7- 8), Naomi and Ruth (Ruth

1:7 -18; 2:17 - 3:16) as well as Elijah and Elisha (2 Kg 2:1 - 6). In the New Testament, Jesus

mentored the Twelve. One of them, Peter, forged some form of mentoring relationship with

Barnabas (Gal 2:11 - 13), who went on to mentor Paul and Mark (Acts 12:25 - 13:5). Paul in turn

mentored Timothy, Titus and several others (2 Tim 2:2). Timothy mentored “faithful brothers

and sisters” including Epaphras (Col 1:1 – 7) who in turn mentored “those at Laodicea and

Hierapolis” (Col 4:13).

6
Lee SR 1999. Spiritual mentoring: A synergistic school therapy In CA Mullen and DW Lick. (eds) New
directions in mentoring. 125 - 132. London: Falmer Press.
7
Mullen EJ & Noe RA 1999. The mentoring information exchange: When do mentors seek information
from their protégés? Journal of Organizational Behavior 20(2): 233-242.

8
Stanley PD and Clinton JR 1992. Connecting - The mentoring relationships you need
to succeed in life. Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress.

3
 Throughout the history of the church, mentoring relationships play a crucial role in

developing and passing the faith from one generation to the next. Mentors not only help clarify

the call of God in the protégés’ lives but also develop the inner character and spiritual depth of

their protégés. The people of God have always continued in this tradition by engaging in some

form of mentoring for the formation and preparation of godly servant-leaders for the

communities in their generation. They include “Augustine in the fourth and fifth century Africa,

Catherine of Siena in the twelfth-century Italy, John Newton in the eighteenth-century England,

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in twentieth-century Germany…”9 As a result of the lives of these men and

women, each generation lives out “the biblical truth that healthy, obedient congregations can

reproduce in chain reactions of daughter, grand-daughter, great grand-daughter churches.”10

In the contemporary church, it is also not uncommon to find mentoring activities in a

variety of format, ranging from formalized mentoring programs lasting from a few months to

those that are intended to be informal and perpetual. Yet, the theological underpinnings of the

mentoring process have rarely been accorded with substantial attention.

Nonetheless, two areas of lack can be observed in many of these studies. First, little

attention has been paid to an important aspect of mentoring: its knowledge-intensive nature.

Productive mentoring relationships entail the processes of knowledge transfer from the mentor to

the protégé. This is not merely confined to the cognitive domain but also encompasses attitude

and mindset. Thus, knowledge management, and knowledge transfer in particular, affords a

vantage perspective to examine the extent to which mentoring has been efficacious. As a distinct

9
Williams BA 2005. The porter’s rib: mentoring for pastoral formation. Vancouver, Canada: Regent
College Publishing.

O’Connor JP 2006. Reproducible pastoral training: Church planting guidelines from the teachings of
10

George Patterson. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.

4
discipline on its own, knowledge management teases out the nature and types of knowledge that

can be transferred. It helps identify sources from which knowledge is created and accessed. In

addition, a slew of knowledge transfer strategies have been proposed.11 However, in the context

of mentoring, there is a dearth of research that adopts a knowledge management perspective.

Second, the number of mentoring research articles that are situated in the Christian

context pales in comparison to the volume of popular press that dispenses advice on Christian

mentoring.12 There exists much scope to bring theological formulations and reflections on the

topic of mentoring to bear. Timeless principles drawn from the Scripture can and should

informed contemporary practice such as mentoring in the church. This exemplifies the thrust of

practical theology. Anderson argues that practical theology “demands a very specific

understanding of the nature of theology. It demands that the theologian hold the practitioner

accountable to the truth of God’s revelation in history and that the practitioner hold the

theologian accountable to truth of God’s reconciliation in humanity”.13

B. Statement of the Problem

The leadership challenges are both within and outside the church, cannot be

overemphasized. “It can be argued that in the world at large, leadership is in a state of crisis,

having, in so many cases, lost the confidence of those they are meant to lead.14 With about 906

11
Bhatt GD 2002. Management strategies for individual knowledge and organizational
knowledge, Journal of Knowledge Management 6(1): 31 – 39.
12
Raab L and Clinton JR 1985. Barnabas—encouraging exhorter: A study in
mentoring. Altadena, Calif.: Barnabas Resources.
13
Anderson RS 2001. The shape of practical theology: Empowering ministry with
theological praxis. Downers Grove, IL: IVP. Chapter 2.
14
Meyer, M. & Fourie, L. (2004). Mentoring and coaching: tools and techniques for implementation.
Johannesburg: Knowledge Resources.

5
million people, Africa is also the richest in natural resources. But Africa has some of the poorest

communities in the world. Poor leadership, corruption, civil war, unemployment, greed,

selfishness, disease, and mismanagement of resources continually characterize the continent.

Social problems such as crime, drugs, immorality, and HIV/AIDS are on the rise in most African

cities. Former president Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria estimates that “corrupt African leaders

have stolen at least $140 billion from their people in the decades since independence”.15

It is evident from the figures above that Africa’s problem is not a lack of resources but a

lack of leaders who are competent in their leadership abilities. Africa has seen many leaders both

in the church and in the secular realm who started well but did not finish well. Stanley and

Clinton rightly noted that “to finish well does not mean to reach perfection, but, like Paul, to

keep pressing on toward it”.16 Therefore, if the church is to make a difference and make an

impact that will be a point of reference to the world, then the church must mentor its young ones

into a leadership that will enable them to start well and to finish well.

Unfortunately, the situation in the church is no better. The Evangelical Church of West

Africa, for example, has more than 70 district leaders, but many of them do not finish their three-

or six-year terms well. Those who managed to finish well do that without leaving any concrete

footprints for the future generations to come. Sadly, it is not only the ECWA that is facing the

leadership crisis. One of the Nigerian Dailies recently featured the leadership succession battle in

one of the churches:

15
(www.iteministries.org/africancrisis)
16
Stanley, P.D. & Clinton, RJ. (1992). Connecting: The Mentoring Relationships you Need toSucceed in Life.
Colorado Springs: Navpress.

6
 General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God Nigeria, (RCCG), Pastor Enoch

Adejare Adeboye, astounded critics of the church when he publicly announced that the church

had begun the ultimate search for his own successor.17

“I already have many children who can succeed me, but as you know there is need for me to test

more people and correct them where they go and prepare them for the assignment ahead”18

If the said experienced pastor had imbibed a mentoring culture for leadership

development earlier in his life, I am sure it would not have been only at the age of 66 that he

would have begun the search for a successor. Therefore, it follows logically that leadership in the

church at all levels is facing a lot of problems and challenges. This is majorly because, the

experienced pastors failed to mentor the young pastors. It is quite absurd that even the secular

systems are loosing confidence in the leadership of the church. One of the governors in one of

the states in Nigeria is reported to have said in one of the dailies that, “The church is no longer

the church we know, I am even more confused looking at the leadership crisis in most of the

churches to the point that I wonder if they still use the same old bible that I know”19

Zachary’s comment is appropriate at this point. He states that the church is neglecting, or

rather putting aside the absolutes of leadership successes that are outlined in scriptures. “I

believe you will be convinced that the idea of a mentoring culture is a perfect solution to some of

the most pressing leadership problems facing modern corporations, institutions, and

17
\ The Church had Begun the Ultimate Search for my Own Successor. www.punchonline.com. Retrieved
on 23/7/2018
18
Solomon, V.J. (2001). The subtle power of Leadership. Minneapolis: Bethany House.
19
Altman, H. (2007). Theoretical Basis for Research. Pushers, Trust Publishers.

7
organizations”.20 I strongly believe that mentoring will also be an appropriate tool to aid the

African church to grow leaders in continuity, after God’s own heart. Thus it is evident that the

world today and the church in particular, are facing a leadership crisis.

The problem of leadership development of young pastors with proven character and

integrity is a need of the hour. This thesis is of the assumption that only if the experienced

pastors invest in mentoring the young pastors into leadership, leadership challenges will be

minimized to a greater extent and only fewer young people will be tempted to leave the church.

The implication is this, if the young pastors are not well mentored by the experienced

pastors, there will be a high level of young people migrating from one church to the other among

other implications. This migration of young people envisions/foreshadows a paralysis in the

future leadership of the church.

In view of the fact that mentoring practices in the church, which are essentially

knowledge-intensive, are often ad-hoc, organic, and generally uninformed by the Scripture, the

main problem of this thesis is as follows: how can a biblical model of mentoring by experienced

pastors be developed with a knowledge management perspective?

We should recognize that it as a call in equipping God’s people for service (that of living

sacrifice) according to Romans 12:1, hence to God’s glory and to model in the pattern of

influence to the young people in a relational environment that would propagate continuity for the

next generation. Paul models this as evident in 2 Timothy 1:2. This will enhance the propagation

of the Gospel which is the church’s highest command (Mt. 28:18).

20
Zachary, L.J. (2005). Creating A Mentoring Culture. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley

8
C. Purpose of the Study

Dating as far as back as the Old Testament, mentoring activities have been ongoing in the

church. They have been called by different names such as replication and discipleship and take

on different forms, ranging from intensive and occasional to passive.21 Whether they have been

implemented in a highly formalized format or evolved organically in an ad hoc manner,

mentoring programs generally lack robust theological underpinnings to inform practice.

Specifically, they are largely a function of the subjective conceptions of mentors.

Next, insofar as mentoring is concerned, Christian literature tends to focus on areas such

as the process of mentoring including attraction, relationship, responsiveness, accountability and

empowerment, the roles of mentoring including that of a discipler, spiritual guide, coach,

counselor, teacher and sponsor, the qualities of the mentor including the ability to inspire,

honesty and integrity, and a passion to help others.

Therefore, the purpose of this research work is to explore, “The Implication of the

Experienced Pastors’ Failure in Mentoring Young Pastors in the Contemporary Church .”

Practical theologians are unlikely to venture into the grounds of knowledge management.

Conversely, knowledge management scholars do not usually view practical theology as a subject

of research. The second purpose of this thesis is therefore to study mentoring in the Christian

context with a knowledge management perspective. This represents a novel undertaking as well

as a contribution to extant literature to fields of practical theology and knowledge management,

both of which have implications on mentoring.

D. Delimitation/Limitation of the Study

21
Mendez AE 2010. Opening his gifts: God’s love for you. Xlibris Corporation.

9
 The researcher recognizes that this study will be limited by several factors. Due to time,

finance and other factors, the researcher may not cover more than the stated case study area. In

terms of delimitation, this study will not attempt a full study of Christian mentorship rather the

researcher will restrict his study to the aspect of the need for experienced pastors to mentor

young pastors.

E. Research Questions

This research intends to answer following question:

1. What is the importance of leadership and mentoring for church leaders?

2. Is there need for experienced pastors to mentor young pastors following the 2 Timothy

2:1-2 principle?

3. How can the church maximize the leadership potentials found in the youth?

4. What principles and themes can we draw that will help the church to set the pace for the

society in terms of leadership development, mentoring, sustainability and accountability?

F. Significance of the Study

The study of practical theology, according to Hendriks is “concentrated on understanding

what is happening around us.”22 Practical theology is a continuing hermeneutical concern

discerning how the Word should be proclaimed in word and deed in the world. Practical

theology’s main emphasis is on the action field of the church, and leadership is one of the

fundamental action fields of the church. It is obvious that Nigeria is facing a leadership crisis

22
Hendriks, B.H.R. (2004) Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning. San Francisco, CA:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers

10
both in an outside the church.

Hence, this study will contribute in helping to add to the many other efforts in resolving

the current Nigerian leadership crisis both in and outside the church, by providing models from

mentoring, leadership and biblical principles for the church and by extension, the larger African

context. I strongly concur with Hendriks that “we believe that doing theology is especially

relevant in times of transition, when people must cross boundaries and face new problems and

predicaments. In such situations, guidelines for commonsense are: work experimentally, create

learning points, evaluate failure and learn from it.

Understand that change takes time - it is a gradual process. Build bridges between

opposing groups and try to be allied with those challenged by the same problems; work together

and create islands of hope. Move steadily and be accountable. If the African leadership crisis,

especially in the church, is to be resolved, then our theology of God and His leadership principles

found in Scriptures must be studied, properly interpreted, and be put into practice. Moreover,

practical theology stresses the correlational, hermeneutical, critical and transformative character

of doing theology. This is a correlational method because it works by holding two things in

reciprocal relationship - the vision and values of our religious traditions (“the world as it should

be”) and the state of the actual world in which we live (“the world as it is”).

So also, practical theology is a hermeneutical method because it recognizes and

highlights the role of interpretation in reading our world and our traditions. Therefore, this

research will look into leadership and mentoring from both the correlational and the

hermeneutical dimensions of practical theology, since ‘practical’ theology on the other hand,

begins not from Christian beliefs but from contemporary living and part of its process is to re-

11
investigate assumed Christian beliefs.”23

Higgins, noted that “in recent decades practical theologians worldwide have agreed on

starting their investigations in practice itself. Practical theology has become a description of and

a reflection on the "self-understanding of a particular religious tradition."24 This approach moves

from practice to theory, then back to practice.” Darragh’s comment on ‘doing practical theology’

is appropriate at this point: “discerning and articulating a current concern, attending carefully

with our heads and heart to the world as it is and to the world as our faith traditions teach us it

should be, asking “what must we do?” in the light of that attention, doing it, and then evaluating

what we have done.”

Thus, this study will contribute to the field of practical theology, not just academically

but will provide a working tool for the church to ask pivotal questions regarding leadership, re-

read scripture and tradition on mentorship/leadership and make the appropriate responses and

choices regarding leadership and mentoring for youth development of young pastors as leaders

of today.

Moreover, practical theology serves the mission of the church, not only in terms of its

internal life of worship and ministry but also in terms of its mission to proclaim and demonstrate

the kingdom of God in the lives of the people and practical theology is usually done by persons

who themselves belong to Christian communities of faith. These persons are concerned with how

people behave and function within the very concrete and complex realities of everyday life. 25 On

this this background, this study will contribute to the field of practical theology by restoring the

23
Darragh, S. (1991). A Commentary on Ezekiel. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
24
Higgins, N. (2002). Leaders for Tomorrow. London: Hamilton.
25
Cartledge, G. (2004). Practical Theology. Chapin, SC: Youthlight

12
biblical consciousness of leadership in the church.

The critical task of practical theology of leadership is to consider more carefully its

theological methods - in particular its correlation between scripture and contemporary

organizational objectives.26 Therefore, any practical theology of leadership in the church must be

aligned to the biblical injunctions as well as cultural distinctions to achieve the overall purpose

of the church.

G. Summary

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

A. The Concept of Leadership

Importance of Leadership

Types of Leadership

Old Testament and New Testament Biblical Leadership Models

New Testament Models of Leadership

Leadership in the Old Testament

Main Themes of Leadership

Current Leadership of the ECWA

B. The Concept of Mentoring

Types of Mentoring

26
Frank, A.A (2006). Nigeria, in Palmer-Fernandez, G (ed), Encyclopaedia of Religion and War, 67. New
York: Routledge.

13
 Mentoring and Coaching

Mentoring models in the Old Testament

Mentoring models in the New Testament

Main Themes of Mentoring

Current mentoring state in the ECWA

C. Guidelines for Developing Young Leaders for the African Church Through Mentoring

Guideline 1: Leadership in the ECWA must begin with a call

Guideline 2: Identifying and selecting leaders

Guideline 3: Empowering leaders

Guideline 4: Equipping leaders

D. Guidelines for Mentoring

Cultivation

Separation

Redefinition

E. Guidelines for Mentors and Mentees

Characteristics of a Mentor

How to be an Effective Mentor

14
 Bibliography

Altman, H. (2007). Theoretical Basis for Research. Pushers, Trust Publishers.

Anderson KR & Reese RD 1999. Spiritual mentoring: A guide for seeking and giving direction.
Downers Grove, IL: IVP.
Anderson RS 2001. The shape of practical theology: Empowering ministry with theological
praxis. Downers Grove, IL: IVP. Chapter 2.
Bhatt GD 2002. Management strategies for individual knowledge and organizational knowledge,
Journal of Knowledge Management 6(1): 31 – 39.
Cartledge, G. (2004). Practical Theology. Chapin, SC: Youthlight
Daloz LA 1999. Mentor: Guiding the journey of adult learners, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Publishers
Darragh, S. (1991). A Commentary on Ezekiel. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Frank, A.A (2006). Nigeria, in Palmer-Fernandez, G (ed), Encyclopaedia of Religion and War,
67. New York: Routledge.
Gay B 1994. What Is mentoring, Education + Training 36(5): 4 - 7.
Godshalk VM and Sosik JJ 2003. Aiming for career success: The role of learning goal
orientation in mentoring relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior 63(3): 417-437.
Hendriks, B.H.R. (2004) Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning. San
Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Higgins, N. (2002). Leaders for Tomorrow. London: Hamilton.
Lee SR 1999. Spiritual mentoring: A synergistic school therapy In CA Mullen and DW Lick.
(eds) New directions in mentoring. 125 - 132. London: Falmer Press.
Mendez AE 2010. Opening his gifts: God’s love for you. Xlibris Corporation.
Meyer, M. & Fourie, L. (2004). Mentoring and coaching: tools and techniques for
implementation. Johannesburg: Knowledge Resources.
Mullen EJ & Noe RA 1999. The mentoring information exchange: When do mentors seek
information from their protégés? Journal of Organizational Behavior 20(2): 233-242.
O’Connor JP 2006. Reproducible pastoral training: Church planting guidelines from the
teachings of George Patterson. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Raab L and Clinton JR 1985. Barnabas—encouraging exhorter: A study in mentoring. Altadena,
Calif.: Barnabas Resources.
Solomon, V.J. (2001). The subtle power of Leadership. Minneapolis: Bethany House.

15
Stanley PD and Clinton JR 1992. Connecting - The mentoring relationships you need to succeed
in life. Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress.
Stanley, P.D. & Clinton, RJ. (1992). Connecting: The Mentoring Relationships you Need to
Succeed in Life. Colorado Springs: Navpress.
Wasem JE 2004. Coaching: getting beyond new church mediocrity. In T Jones (ed), Church
planting from the ground up, 169 - 181. College Press Publishing.
Williams BA 2005. The porter’s rib: mentoring for pastoral formation. Vancouver, Canada:
Regent College Publishing.
Zachary, L.J. (2005). Creating A Mentoring Culture. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley

16