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Spiritual mentors help us “grow up” in Christ

Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4, “We must no longer be children… But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…” That’s the purpose of our spiritual formation—to grow up into Christ.

Jim Houston said, “If we have been born again, then we must also be taught to live again.” God is up to something in the world—calling us to grow up into Christ in the company of others, a companionship of shared participation in Jesus. This shared participation binds us, creating a sense of belonging and connection in our spiritual journey.

Spiritual mentors help Jesus-followers to “grow up.” They help us navigate our inner landscape, shining a light on the shadows we struggle to see. Helping others grow up into Christ rests on an understanding and conviction that the primary shaping work in a person’s life belongs to God.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do 

(Ephesians 2:10, NIV).”

Our burden as people, and as mentors in particular, is to first be alert and receptive to God’s relentlessly creative handiwork in the world. Our best thinking, acting, listening, asking questions, and praying are secondary to and cooperative with the Spirit’s work.

But what qualifies spiritual mentors to say to another, “I have something to say about you and God in your life?”

First, we do not say, “Imitate me because I have it all together, all figured out, and am a big shot expert in the field of spirituality.” Instead, we say, as did Paul: “Imitate me as I (do my best to) imitate Christ.” It is that alone. Not our degrees or books we’ve read, our experience, or our leadership position.

Secondly, the essence of a mentor-mentee relationship lies in the art of humble curiosity. As mentors, we are never alone with a mentee. We are always in the presence of Another to whom we listen. The Spirit is present in that office or living room, and our mission at that moment is to listen. It is not to form our “answers” or prepare a little sermonette but to listen, ask more questions, and pray. 

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Our next  Mentor’s Workshop is November 19, 2024, from 7:30-8:45 PM CT. You can join the waiting list to be the first to get a notification when registration opens.

CategoriesJesus' Way, Mentoring Matters by

Mentoring matters.

Mentoring matters.

I have been rereading David Kinnaman’s essay, “The Need to Rediscover: Mentoring as a Crucial Formation Process.” He thoughtfully writes about the need for mentoring among young adults within the Church. His conclusions stretch far beyond the confines of young adult faith development into the whole lifespan of adult faith development. His last three paragraphs capture both the challenge and the opportunity before us as men and women who care deeply about helping others develop and mature in Christ. Kinnaman writes,

There are so many compelling reasons to institute mentoring in our schools, churches, and communities. Though it can be hard to get it off the ground and you’ll confront obstacles—people are busy, they don’t think they have the abilities and/or time, or they just have never mentored before—there’s so much opportunity.

            Even in Scripture, we see how Jesus chose his disciples to mentor them. In fact, the real lasting impact of Jesus’s life on earth was through the relationships with those who were closest to him. Perhaps we’ve relied too heavily on mechanisms that attempt to mass-produce disciples. We’ve created this sort of automated approach, and yet there’s so much to be gained for the Christian community to come alongside young people in a life-on-life manner and provide this kind of meaningful, catalyzing agent in the form of mentoring.

            Mentoring matters. It’s time for the church and agents into which it breathes life, such as colleges and universities, to rediscover this crucial formation process.*

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