| As Iron Sharpens Iron |
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by Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks
The Hendricks’ father and son team ask the reader, “Who are the people who, through a personal relationship, helped to make you who you are today?” Most of us can point to two or three key people whom God used in our formation – our mentors.
Where did we get the word mentor? “When the Greek warrior Odysseus went off to fight in the Trojan War, he left his young son, Telemachus, in the care of as trusted guardian named Mentor. The siege of Troy lasted ten years, and it took Odysseus another ten years to make his way home. When he arrived, he found that the boy Telemachus had grown into a man – thanks to Mentor’s wise tutelage.
“Based on this story, we now speak of a mentor as someone who functions to some extent as a father figure (in the best sense of the term), a man who fundamentally affects and influences the development of another, usually younger, man.” (pp. 17-18)
“Mentoring is a relational process [in which a] mentor, who knows or has experienced something…transfers that something (resources of wisdom, information, experience, confidence, insight, relationship, status, etc.) to a mentoree, at an appropriate time and manner, so that it facilitates development or empowerment.” (p. 165)
Hendricks emphasizes that mentoring is based on a relationship. “There is no substitute for knowing and being known by another human being. There is no other way to experience what deep down we really want as people - to be heard, to be understood, to be affirmed, be significant, to feel that our life counts.” Yet countless men feel inadequate and insecure, no matter how much talent they possess.” (p. 21)
Chuck Swindoll struggled with self-doubt and considered leaving the ministry but a relationship kept him there. “Hendricks believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”
Mentoring in the Bible
Relationships: (pp. 180-181)
Jethro and Moses
Moses and Joshua
Moses and Caleb
Samuel and Saul
Samuel and David
Jonathan and David
Elijah and Elisha
Jehoida and Joash
Barnabas and Saul/Paul
Barnabas and John Mark
Priscilla and Aquilla and Apollos
Paul and Timothy
Paul and Titus
Why Mentoring Is Needed Today
We need leaders. Few men have been prepared by anyone to be leaders. The heroes and models have vanished. When asked whom he would want to be like when he grows up, a boy answered, “Mister, I ain’t found nobody I want to be like!” This is a tragedy. That boy may be a potential Timothy. “But if we want to produce a Timothy, then we need to produce a Paul. And if we want to produce a Paul, then we need to find a Barnabas.”
What Does a Mentor Do?
1. He provides wisdom. (for making a decision or for a counseling problem)
2. He promotes specific skills and effective behaviors. (evangelizing, teaching youth, organizing)
3. He provides feedback. (after a ministry, a Bible study, a committee meeting)
4. He coaches. (a new elder, a teacher, a youth leader, a group leader)
5. He is a sounding board. (when planning activities or preparing a message)
6. He is someone to turn to. (in discouragement, in a problem, when afraid)
7. He helps devise plans. (for a service, a church activity, youth or women’s ministry)
This review originally published by CAM International, 1997.
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Hope Network Ministries
22 Park Mountain
San Antonio, TX 78255
(210) 690-2597
email: Hope Network
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