Mentor Leadership

This week, I began meeting with a young man who has asked me to be his mentor. First of all, I was humbled that he would approach me to provide that type of influence in his life. Secondly, I began this new adventure praying that the LORD would work through me to provide spiritual leadership in his life.

To better prepare me for this new relationship, I bought the new book written by Tony Dungy entitled, The Mentor Leader. The author begins his description of mentor leadership with the following statement: “Mentor leadership focuses on building people up and building leaders for the next generation.” He continues with this description of effective leadership, “It’s not about you and what makes you comfortable or helps you get ahead. It’s about other people.”

There is a desperate need for more and more people to take on the call to be a mentor leader to pour into the lives of those who are younger the lessons that we have learned along the way in our own personal journey. We see this example in the Bible through numerous relationships where one individual of faith invests in the life of another. Moses and Joshua, Naomi and Ruth, Elijah and Elisha, and the Apostle Paul and Timothy are just a few examples of relationships that involved mentoring. The Apostle Paul gives the following instructions to Timothy to continue the chain of mentoring. He wrote, “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” 2 Timothy 2:2 NLT

I am ready to embrace the privilege of mentoring my younger friend and I take to heart the challenge of Tony Dungy when he wrote, “Mentor leadership can be taught and learned; but in order to be absorbed, it must be practiced. The best way to evaluate leadership philosophies and find your own style is by testing them in action. You can’t stay in the ivory tower reading books and discussing theories. Eventually you have to wade into the fray.” (Dungy; The Mentor Leader; 2010).

I am ready to wade into the fray … How about you?