What Is the Goal of Mentoring Christians?
#3 in the Gospel-Centered Mentoring Series
Today, mentoring and the related practice of coaching are common in the business world, sports, and education to help clients, employees, athletes, and students advance further and faster than they could ever do on their own. New approaches to Christian mentoring, coaching, and discipling are also popular. But what makes mentoring specifically “Christian” and what is the goal of mentoring Christians?
We encounter many examples of one believer mentoring another throughout the Bible.
Jethro mentored Moses. We often associate mentoring with the young, but Moses was over 80 years old when his father-in-law mentored him (Exodus 18).
Solomon mentored his son. In Proverbs 2:1-6, he says that becoming wise requires hard work. You must store up commands, apply your heart, cry aloud for understanding, and search for it. But the boy's father is there to guide him, correct him, pray for him, etc. That's the essence of Christian mentoring.
Priest Jehoiada mentored King Joash. Joash was 7 years old when Jehoiada began mentoring him, and it was transformational, not only for that young ruler, but for the whole kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 11 and 12).
Jesus mentored his disciples. Though he preached to crowds of thousands and healed countless people, his primary attention was dedicated to mentoring a handful of men and women who would carry his message to ends of the earth after he had ascended into heaven.
Barnabas mentored Mark. Barnabas mentored Mark even though Missionary Paul did not feel they should invest the time in that young man who had abandoned them before. Mark eventually wrote the gospel named after him and became a great help to Paul in his ministry (2 Timothy 4:11)—all thanks to the mentoring of Barnabas.
Paul mentored Timothy. The Bible shows Paul investing countless hours in Timothy to help him achieve a balance of life and doctrine as a young pastor (Acts 16:1-3, etc.).
Priscilla and Aquila mentored Apollos. Priscilla and Aquila were ordinary lay people, but they mentored a bright theological student, helping him hone his skills as an evangelist and teacher (Acts 18:24-28).
We notice immediately that there are many different types of mentoring relationships between believers: a father mentors his son; a father-in-law mentors his son-in-law; a godly religious leader mentors an inexperienced politician; a godly couple mentors a budding evangelist. We also notice that godly mentors always help mentees center their lives on the Lord.
Wholehearted
But what does that mean? In modern English Bibles, Noah and Job are described as “blameless;” in the King James Bible, they are described as “perfect” (Genesis 6:9; Job 1:1). In Psalm 26:1, King David claims to have led a “blameless” life. Now, we all know that Noah, Job, and David were anything but perfect. The Hebrew word translated “blameless” or “perfect” is TaMiM which conveys more of the idea of “completeness.” Professor John Jeske writes, “The unhappy incident of Noah’s drunkenness affirms that he was neither blameless nor perfect. There was, however, a completeness, an all-around quality to Noah’s faith. Living, as he did, in an ungodly world, his faith was not confined to his heart, but showed itself also in his life, which was devoted to God.” Concerning Job, Professor Jeske writes, “His faith in the Redeemer and his consequent life of sanctification made him a ‘well-rounded’ child of God. ‘Wholehearted’ or ‘devout’ seem preferable translations [of TaMiM].” This is why David, who was well aware of his fallenness, begged God, “Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11b; see also Psalm 119:80).
But what does it mean to be “wholehearted”? Imagine for a moment that after eating a delicious dinner at a friend’s house, she parades out a fresh apple pie. It has just been pulled out of the oven; steam is still rising from the crust, and the fragrance makes your mouth water. Your friend hands you a slice; you immediately dig in and take a bite…only to chomp into air; your slice of the pie is hollow! “Hey,” you complain, “There weren’t any apples in my slice of apple pie!” “Oh,” replies your friend, “Sorry, only certain slices have apples in them. The others are empty!” You would assume something is wrong with your friend.
Now, imagine that the life of a person is like an apple pie. Noah and Job didn’t limit God to one or two of the slices of their life. God was baked into the entire “pie” of their lives, just as the apples of an apple pie are baked into the whole pie and not just a few slices. To state it another way:
Their faith wasn’t limited to worship services and other church events;
Their application of God’s Word wasn’t limited to certain vocations;
Their faith wasn’t limited to the spiritual or private realms of their lives.
Noah, Job, and David were not perfect, but they did their best with the Spirit’s power to weave God into every realm of their lives—spiritual, physical, emotional, and social/vocational. God and his Word shaped their whole lives versus a few slices of their lives. That’s what made them wholehearted.
Believers with divided hearts keep Jesus in certain slices of life, such as the spiritual realm, “I may have a filthy mouth on the job, but I go to church regularly; I pray sometimes.” or the career realm, “I may not spend much time with my wife, but I try to let my faith shine at the office” or the citizen realm, “I may not be involved much in the family of believers, but I try to support good government policy.” Because of guilt, shame, fear, bitterness, or denial, they are resistant to letting Jesus fill every slice of their lives.
The Goal of Mentoring Christians
The goal of mentoring Christians is helping them develop into wholehearted children of God.
Next: What Makes Mentoring Gospel-Centered?