Sustaining the Future Through Mentoring
I recently had occasion to begin a mentoring relationship with a student attending an Ivy League institution. We share a connection in our love for technology, and speak often on many subjects. At our last meeting I asked him the big question every youth wants to hear (note the sarcasm), “John, Read more 
Conflict Management: Ministry in Mentorship
Servant-Leaders will face a variety of conflicts and problems in his/her service: everything from plugged toilets and church mice to Sunday School kids in an all-out fist fight and two church leaders in an all-out silent treatment (or visa versa); not to mention one’s personal conflicts in marriage, family, and relationships in and out of the church. It is imperative that God’s people, especially leaders, know how to manage conflict effectively. After all, we still are humans dealing with humans! Where there are people there is conflict. Conflict is an inevitable part of life. Problems aren’t . They are . They just need to be handled and solved. Read more
Building Strong Local Churches Through Team Ministry
A great commitment to a great commandment and the great commission will grow a great church!
(Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren, p. 102)
The foundation of your church will determine both its size and strength. One can never build larger than the foundation can handle.
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Best Practices for Mentoring – Part 3
Progress You Can Measure
It is important to encourage your potential leaders to review their goals and progress frequently. Ben Franklin set aside time every day to review two questions. In the morning he asked himself, “What good shall I do today?” In the evening he asked, “What good have I done today?”
How do you overcome discouragement so you can move ahead?
- Take time to grow.
I minister better when I take time to relax, read, recreate, spend time with family and friends, and grow professionally. Read more
Best Practices for Mentoring – Part 2
Guidelines For Mentoring Relationships
from “Developing The Leaders Around You, by John C. Maxwell
When you find someone who can personally mentor you, use these guidelines to help develop a positive mentoring relationship with that person.
- Ask the right questions: Give thought to questions you will ask before you meet with your mentor. Make them strategic for your own growth.
- Clarify your level of expectations: Generally, the goal of mentoring is improvement, not perfection. Perhaps only a few people can be truly excellent – but all of us can become better. Read more
Best Practices for Mentoring – Part 1
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Here are some simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life:
1. Ask yourself the question, “Will this matter a year from now?”
Is what you are worked up over going to matter a year from now? If not, don’t let it destroy you today.
2. Practice Humility.
The less compelled you are to try to prove yourself to others, the easier it is to feel peace inside. Read more
Mentoring: The Ministry of Multiplication
“And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus” (Acts 9:26-27).
Mentoring is a relationship between two people, the mentor and the one being mentored.
Long ago when the Greek warrior Odysseus went off to battle in the Trojan War, he left his young son in the hands of a man named Mentor. The father was away from his son for twenty years and when he returned home his son had grown into a man. He had been trained by Mentor. Read more
Reproducing Leadership
Key Scripture: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so” (Genesis 1:24). Also see Genesis 1:11-12; 25.
In Genesis God initiated a principle of life: everything reproduces after its kind. Whatever talents, skills, and abilities God has graced you with, you should endeavor to pass them on to someone else. This does not have to be your children. As a pastor, church leader, or organizational official, you should pass the wisdom, knowledge, commitment, and character that have made you successful, on to someone else. This is not a choice. It is ordained by God. Read more
Passing the Baton From Generation to Generation
“For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed” (Acts 13:36, NIV).
A relay race is run by a team of four runners. The first runner carries a baton. After running a specified distance, called a “leg” the runner hands the baton to the next team member. The exchange must occur within a zone a few meters long. Timing is crucial. If the runners do not exchange the baton within this zone, the team is disqualified. The length of the race varies from four hundred to six thousand meters. In some relays each team member runs an equal distance, but in others run different distances.
The relay race is not necessarily won by the team that runs the fastest, but by successfully passing the baton in the exchange zone. That’s right; races are won or lost in the passing of the baton. Teams can be disqualified by a bad pass. Passing the baton is essential to win the race. Read more
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