Thursday, July 17, 2014

Mentors

Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”   Ruth 3:18

Every hero journey includes a mentor.

Let’s back up for a moment and take a grand view of our summer theme.  You and I were called to live much bigger stories than we are currently living.  Jesus really meant it when He said that His whole purpose in coming was to give us a full, meaningful, eternally significant life. (John 10:10) That grand narrative of a hero’s journey is displayed time and time again in our world through the narratives we read in great novels or watch in great films or witness on great stages.  All those stories follow a similar storyline, what is called the monomyth or the hero journey, because God has placed His Grand Story within every heart, woven it within the DNA of every human being. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Essential to the hero journey, essential to our lives, is walking with a community of mentors.  The story of Mentor comes from Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was called to fight in the Trojan War. Foremost on his mind was his son Telemachus. Who would walk with his son, in a fatherly fashion to guide, equip, train and initiate Telemachus into manhood while Odysseus was at war? Odysseus entrusted the care of his whole household to Mentor, who served as teacher and overseer of Telemachus. Long story short (and it’s a great read!), Mentor is wildly successful and Telemachus grows into an amazing man who ultimately goes on a quest to rescue his father Odysseus.

The way of Jesus for his apprentices entails a journey with mentors.  This is unmistakably clear in our Great Commission where we are called to make disciples. We see the undeniable results of mentoring in the Book of Ruth.  The relationship between Ruth and Naomi is beautiful and filled with all the critical components of any good mentoring relationship:  loyalty, trust, dialogue, humility, mutual respect, frequency, wisdom, grace, and time. I shudder to think where I would be were it not for the mentors in my life who have guided and poured into me to this day.

Would you stop and ponder with me for a moment--who are you pulling into your hero journey?  Who are you seeking out to serve as sages and mentors in your life?  (By the way, “in your life” probably is too broad--I have a mentor team at my disposal and they are specialists! I have mentors for my character development, mentors for my marriage, mentors for my parenting, professional mentors, etc.  Most mentor me in person, some mentor me through print.) God never designed us to do life alone, friends, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto! Don’t know where to start? Here is a great article on how to find a mentor that I find extremely applicable.  And if you are currently using mentors, when was the last time you stopped and emailed or called and thanked the people who have invested in you?

This week we continue to look at OT Heroes discovering leadership secrets from a Judge named Deborah.  Read up in Judges 4 and come expectant!

I love being your pastor!