In his seminal work on leadership, Dr. Robert Clinton uncovers seven major leadership lessons. One of those lessons is that "Effective Leaders See Relational Empowerment As Both A Means And A Goal Of Ministry."
Two NT leaders who demonstrated this were Christ and Paul. Both used mentoring for applying this principle.
What is mentoring? Clinton defines mentoring as "a relational experience in which one person, the mentor, empowers another person, the mentoree, by sharing God-given resources."
Clinton and Stanley develop an intriguing thesis in their excellent book on mentoring, . The thesis is that Over A Lifetime A Christian Leader Needs A Balanced Relational Network With other Christian Leaders Who Will Help Him/Her And Vice Versa.
Simply stated, we need upward mentors, lateral mentors and downward mentors in our relational network. Each type of mentor brings a different type of empowerment.
I want to focus on just one of those types of mentoring relationships in this post. The upward mentor.
The upward mentor is someone who mentors you They are more experienced in the Christian life and help you grow, gain perspective, and provide accountability.
As you grow in your maturity and faith in Christ, finding more experienced Christians can get more challenging. However, you will never outgrow your need to have upward mentors in your life. What do you do when you can't find anyone immediately available to mentor you?
I want to pass along a suggestion I learned from Clinton and Stanley. It is called historical mentoring.
A historical mentor is someone who is separated from you by time and space, but whose life mentors you. They encourage ongoing development in your own life, and inspire you to press on and finish well.
Clinton says,
"The mentor ideal [historical mentor] serves as a vicarious model. This person is usually not known personally by the protégé. The mentor is separated from the protege either in space or time. The power transfer involves vicarious learning of lessons from the hero or heroine's life. Lessons are learned only if the protégé deliberately seeks them out."
Historical mentoring removes the excuse for not being able to find an upward mentor. Need an upward mentor, read about them in scripture or pick up a biography and read about a Christian leader who finished well.
So who is mentoring you? At this moment, I am being mentored by a fellow who lived nearly two hundred years ago. His name is John Williams.
Well said. When I was digging into the life of Blaise Pascal I often told people that I was allowing myself to be mentored and shaped. I think I still fail, but he provides lots of great insight and life lesson.
Man is a relational creature. The second we say we have no mentors, or no need of mentors, we begin to cut ourselves off from the body of Christ.
We also need those who inspire us in the here and now. Chuck Colson inspires me as I know he does for you.
Good post. I will have to add this book to my every growing pile of books. My wife is about to ban me from Amazon.com
Posted by: Carl Holmes | May 17, 2006 at 09:32
Great thoughts! I spoke this past Sunday on the necessity of "Spiritual Parents" within the church. This type of mentoring/discipleship seems to be lacking.
I'm currently being mentored by a man named Isaac Watts. And yes, it is historical.
Posted by: Nephos | May 17, 2006 at 09:47
Any recommendations on historical mentors for those inclined to be hermits?
Posted by: carlaviii | May 17, 2006 at 18:08