The great Revivalist John Wesley had a General Rules for Methodist Fellowships that was released in 1743 and in it he stated, 'Watch over one another in love'. That was the key to his success in retaining those who were converted through one of the world’s greatest spiritual revivals. That key is called discipleship.
The point is, that we are our brother’s keeper in some respect and the revived Christians of Wesley’s day understood that and had an innate understanding that they needed to care for one another, as did the early Christians of the New Testament.
So basically what mentoring really is, is simply watching over one another because we love each other as Christ loves us. Most people seek out mentors to help them develop in some area of their life that they feel need an extra hand in reaching the goals they have set for themselves, to maximize the grace of God in their lives.
It requires a unique amount of trust on both the person who will mentor or disciple and the one who is being mentored or discipled. Finding the right person may take a few tries, but is well worth the effort once they do.
Mentoring or discipleship is taking place all around us and at all levels of industry, education, commerce and public life. Parents mentor their children. The journeyman mentors the apprentice and Coaches mentor their teams.
Those who take their Christian discipleship and service seriously are seeing the value of having a mentor as a friend and adviser with whom they can share openly and to whom they can be accountable to. As the scripture instructs us, “Two are better than one” in Eccl. 4:9.
Mentoring is a very significant role every Christian disciple can fulfill, irrespective of age or experience. It is not restricted to people who are giants in their faith, but as God’s Word tells us that all who are in Christ are to be disciples going into the world and declaring the gospel to all nations making disciples in Christ.
That scripture does not stop at sharing salvation in Christ alone. It means to make disciples of Christ and that takes a little bit of time to do. The basic requirement of discipleship or being a Spiritual mentor is having a living, growing relationship with God and a willingness to invest in the life of another believer in their spiritual walk and growth in Christ.
How about you? You can be God’s agent in enriching another person’s life. All you need is to be available.
Hold Fast,
-Bren
Brenda Parson is a regular contributor to your Tate Record Church Page.
