The Mentoring Process By Larry G. Hess

INTRODUCTION A mentor is “a wise and trusted counselor or guide.” We will look at the three stages of mentoring (modeling, motivating, and managing) Jesus took His followers through as recorded in the Gospel of Luke.

INTRODUCTION Christ trained His disciples by modeling discipleship, and focusing on character qualities (Luke 5&6). He trained them by motivating them for ministry (Luke 9-12). He taught them the importance of managing their lifestyle.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER Disciples of Jesus Christ must be readily teachable, even to the point of seemingly absurd commands that violate natural inclinations and cold logic, according to David Schroeder in his book, Follow Me.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER A goal of the Internship Program is that all interns mature in their ability to model to others these traits of Christian character.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER I.TEACHABILITY Kingdom strategy number one: teachability. Teachability is the most basic quality of any disciple. The word disciple literally means “learner.”

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER Why are some people unteachable? Because of prejudice Because of preferences Because of preoccupations

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER II. FLEXIBILITY Kingdom strategy number two: welcoming awareness means that citizenship in the Kingdom of God must be seen as entirely new and unique life and calling, not as something to be added to the old life.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER Kingdom strategy number two involves daily renewal. Daily renewal keeps us flexible, more willing to make positive changes in our mind-set and behavior.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER III. HUMILITY Underlying all the Beatitudes is the Kingdom quality of humility. A big part of humility is contentment. Contentment is the ability to rejoice even in adversity. Kingdom strategy number three: rejoicing in adversity means that disciples of Jesus willingly accept and live by Biblical principles, values, and morals.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER Ours is a day of self-promotion, defending our own rights, taking care of ourselves first, winning by intimidation, pushing for first place, and a dozen other self-serving agendas.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER The ministerial intern should always bear the character imprint of God in every aspect of thinking, attitude, and behavior. Every day Jesus modeled before His disciples God’s standards of purity and maturity.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER IV. COMPASSION This Kingdom trait deals with how we treat people, especially in responding to rejection. Kingdom Strategy number Four: responding to rejection.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER V. INTEGRITY Integrity relates to how we treat people who disagree with us. Integrity relates to how we treat our sin. Integrity relates to how we judge others. Integrity relates to how we work with others.

STAGE 1 MODELING FOR CHARACTER Kingdom strategy number five: self- examination. Instead of focusing on the failures and inadequacies of others, we should engage in meaningful self-examination and spiritual assessment. We must refrain from destructive criticism through the modeling of character, integrity, and self-examination.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING The second stage is Motivating Christian Maturity. In this stage #2, we will look at selflessness, priorities, courage, persistent prayer, dependency, honesty, and contentment.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING I. SELFLESSNESS Strategy #1 for motivation Christian maturity is selflessness. This quality enables us to value the cause of Christ in the world above our own happiness, convenience, comfort, and pleasure.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man He bids him come and die.”

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING II. PRIORITIES Strategy #2 for motivation Christian maturity is priorities. Discipleship demands singleness of purpose, which is demonstrated by a sense of extreme urgency for advancing God’s kingdom.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING III. COURAGE Strategy #3 for motivating Christian maturity is courage. We must manifest the courage necessary to demonstrate and proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING IV. DEPENDENCY The 4 th strategy for motivating Christian maturity involves dependency on God through tenacious prayer. Disciples of Christ place their full confidence in the goodness and power of God, continually depending upon Him for provisions, forgiveness, guidance and spiritual strength.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING Jesus modeled his life of prayer and trust and taught His disciples the importance of a life of persistent prayer.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING V. HONEST AND OPEN RELATIONSHIPS Strategy #5 for motivating Christian maturity requires that we, by faith, live open, transparent lives before others and strive to always be honest and do what is right.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING VI. CONTENTMENT The 6 th strategy for motivating Christian maturity is contentment. The mentor/leader needs to model a life that is free of the worries and anxieties of the world. The hallmark of our existence should be active and courageous lives in which we demonstrate a dramatic trust in God.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING VII. LEADERS WHO ARE MOTIVATORS The secret of motivating others is providing them with hope and with a positive expectancy. A Christian motivator must develop problem-solving techniques and affirmation skills to verbally encourage and guide people through the challenging situations of life.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING The job of mentors is to energize ordinary men and women who are greatly motivated to continue to grow and discover what God wants to accomplish in their ministry in the future.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING VIII. NEHEMIAH WAS A GREAT MOTIVATOR Nehemiah took a dispirited and discouraged group of people who had just been released from foreign exile, and he molded them into a disciplined, cohesive force for rebuilding Jerusalem.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING Nehemiah was bold in his actions. Nehemiah was a thinker, and a problem- solver. Nehemiah articulated and shared his vision.

STAGE 2 MOTIVATING Nehemiah was willing to risk death, to abdicate his comfortable life in the king’s court, to do the very work that “my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:12).

STAGE 3 MANAGING Managing our lives wisely and managing our human relationships requires that we be trustworthy and loyal. The negative side of managing is manipulation

STAGE 3 MANAGING The opposite of manipulation is something like actualization. Actualizing is wise management of our lives and our work with others so we can be all we can be! In managing and actualizing, we exercise extreme discipline, self-control, honesty, accountability and diligence to go beyond our potential as God works in us by His power.

STAGE 3 MANAGING The key to success in our ministry is learning how to wisely manage our life priorities.

STAGE 3 MANAGING I.MANAGING WISELY: TRUSTWORTHINESS Strategy #1 managing Christian lifestyle in trustworthiness.

STAGE 3 MANAGING I.MANAGING WISELY: TRUSTWORTHINESS Spiritual responsibility should never be given to those who have not previously proven themselves trustworthy with material possessions.

STAGE 3 MANAGING Only people who manage worldly resources faithfully can handle responsibility for the care of souls. We must see ourselves as managers of what we have, not owners.

STAGE 3 MANAGING II. ACCOUNTABILITY Strategy #2 for managing Christian lifestyle in the mentoring process is accountability. Leaders/disciples must become accountable to each other for the purpose of stimulating each other’s spiritual advancement.

STAGE 3 MANAGING This even involves courageously and compassionately confronting each other concerning sin, weakness, and error.

STAGE 3 MANAGING III. SERVANTHOOD Strategy #3 for managing Christian lifestyle involves achieving greatness through servanthood. Self-seeking blinds us to the sacred. Serving others is not to be viewed as a stepping-stone to greater power and position.

STAGE 3 MANAGING True servanthood is an act of love, totally devoid of selfish striving toward personal goals. Leadership in the kingdom is fundamentally different than leadership in the world.

STAGE 3 MANAGING Spiritual leadership is granted for the purpose of serving, not for personal benefit. In the kingdom of God, neither programs nor profits are more important than people.

STAGE 3 MANAGING IV. MENTORING AND LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT The difference between success and failure, between achievement and collapse, between having an impact of others for Christ and having no influence at all comes down to just one word: perseverance.

STAGE 3 MANAGING Our goal as disciples and as mentors is to learn to endure criticism, to overcome past hurts, to break bad habits, and to keep moving forward. In so doing, we will model perseverance before those who are watching our example.

STAGE 3 MANAGING Patrick M. Morley said, “The secret of spiritual objectivity, growth, and wisdom is to seek the God who is and to carefully examine our own lives.”

STAGE 3 MANAGING Lead an Examined Life Maintain Private Devotions Think Differently

STAGE 3 MANAGING The most revealing questions we can ask ourself as concerning the identity of those matters about which we are passionate. Knowing our “passion points” reveals how we think and allows us to target areas of change.

STAGE 3 MANAGING Paul addresses this important transformation of thinking in Romans 12:2 where he said, “And be not conformed to this world: But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

STAGE 3 MANAGING Act Unselfishly An unselfish person is generous, thoughtful, and gentle. They have an unpretentious spirit and they are a servant-hearted leader.

STAGE 3 MANAGING “Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others” (Philippians 2:3,4).

STAGE 3 MANAGING Keep Your Balance As we take on the challenges of ministry, we need to keep things in balance. 1. Balancing Purpose and Power 2. Balancing Attitude and Action

STAGE 3 MANAGING Maintain Accountability and Integrity

STAGE 3 MANAGING CONCLUSION These strategies and principles mark the concerns of a life filled with wisdom. Mentoring is designed to produce a life that is well managed, controlled, developed and authentic with a life- changing faith and ministry.