Friday, January 21, 2022 Submitted by Donna Lindquist
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16
What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is simply personal coaching from an experienced trusted friend, like an advisor or trainer. Some might refer to them as a therapist or counselor, but what does the Bible say about mentoring?
Scriptures are filled with several examples of teachers giving advice, guidance, or instruction to someone who is less experienced or to a child. Proverbs has many verses on accepting wise counsel and listening and accepting instruction, and Jesus counseled with his disciples all throughout his earthly ministry,
Later, Paul trained Silas, Barnabas and Timothy in the ministry and continuously mentored these men who were younger, less experienced, less educated, by observation and apprenticeship. He sought to impart not only skills for life, but spiritual wisdom and discernment.
Spiritual wisdom can only come from a personal relationship with God, and is not based on extensive experience, immense skill, or vast knowledge on a particular subject or concept. Christians naturally seek advice from a more experienced spiritual person when confronting a difficulty, such as a Christian family member, grandparent, or parent, or even a trusted family pastor.
These older people have spent countless hours mentoring and demonstrating essential life lessons, like how to drive a car or tractor, create that unique family recipe, or operate a machine. They coached, offered guidance, and encouragement until the training or domestic skill was mastered. They are comfortable in asking questions and seeking practical life application to decide for themselves or for their family. This informal method of mentoring may not require excessive knowledge or study but provides training and necessary skills that develop life skills and confidence for future aspirations.
Are all Christians supposed to mentor others?
In biblical times, God used human teachers, or prophets to proclaim and instruct the people. In Titus 2:3-4, Paul discussed how older men and women are to mentor and counsel those younger in their domestic and cultural roles, to prevent temptation and idleness.
Colossians 3:16 asks Christians to counsel each other with God’s wisdom using psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Christians should rely on the power of the Holy Spirit as the only essential authority in equipping believers in spiritual wisdom and transforming lives.
Many of us can recall favorite teachers that motivated and inspired us throughout our school years. These teachers did more than just relay the facts of a subject or lecture information; they created a special connection that challenged us to achieve more, act better or excel higher in the subject. They are remembered as educators reaching beyond the standard academia and promoting life-long learners.
Proverbs 9:10 states that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and reveals the true essence of wisdom is the cohesiveness of discernment and knowledge. This means to truly understand the spiritual concepts of God, a person must first acknowledge and reverence the aspects of God. Teaching can involve different methods, and most desire to evaluate both the cognitive and behavioral, but few measures the desires and longings of the heart.
“Without God’s Spirit, we are simply going through the motions of spiritual acts, without any power, or spiritual fruit and destined to fall into the temptation of evil.” Colleen Derr
Christian mentors can utilize these methods as well, but as they lean into the power of the Holy Spirit to teach others spiritual truths, extra strength and passion ignites their calling from God. Whether we are confident in counseling or not, God will use His followers to encourage others. Confidence, plus humility in the calling, is a great responsibility (James 3:1) not only for the instructor, but to the ones they teach. Philippians 2:13 says that God is working in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.
“The Holy Spirit grants believers the ability to live and act differently and faithfully as a “new creation”. When you consider the caterpillar and the butterfly, why would you want to go back to crawling when you now have the ability to fly! It is the goal of believers to live faithfully, not looking back, but in the culture, God has placed us.” Francis Chen
