Making Mentoring Meaningful
by Rennie Garda with Bill Allison

It seems like a lot of people are talking about "mentoring" these days, but what does mentoring look, feel, and sound like?

What Is Mentoring?
When the Apostle Paul was mentoring a young pastor named Timothy, he wrote the following words: "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). Paul was instructing Timothy to be intentional. Simply put, mentoring is being intentional about relationships. That is, God will actively direct us to specific people in our relational sphere of influence (our RSi) in whom He wants us to invest our lives . We begin to mentor these people when we intentionally start overflowing what God is doing in us into their lives (see 1 Thessalonians 2:8). Mentoring, then, is the umbrella under which all of our intentional relationships stand.

Mentoring Relationships Nuts and Bolts
It's critically important to understand that there is a wide range of flexibility in mentoring relationships. Some mentoring relationships are so informal that you don't even know that the other person views you as a mentor. Other mentoring relationships can be so intense that if you--as the mentor--don't define a clear beginning, middle and end of the mentoring, you'll end up in a relational crash because of undefined expectations. This can be a painful experience. If you receive a request to mentor someone and sense God wants you to do it, then it would be beneficial if you both clarified the focus and the length of time. Let me explain...

* Clarify the focus of the mentoring relationship.
For example, you might agree together to improving the mentee's walk with God, realigning the mentee's direction in life, or walk alongside the mentee in a first experience as a small group shepherd. The focus of the mentoring can range from internal issues such as self-image/understanding who we are in Christ to specific life skills to better live out obedience to God in an area of struggle. The focus of a mentoring relationship could also be helping a mentee with priorities or a life role such as husband, father, young mom, daughter-in-law, friend, etc.

* Define the length of time for the mentoring relationship.
For example, you might mutually agree to meet together weekly for 6 months, or every other week for three months, or some other arrangement. Your role is to come alongside someone for a set amount of time as he/she wrestles through the journey on a specific issue.

Mentoring Others: Proceed with Caution
When in a mentoring relationship, you, as a mentor, should never take on total responsibility for another's life. On the other hand, a shotgun approach to mentoring relationships is doomed to fail because the relationship is not intentional and defined. If you enter a mentoring relationship (and I hope you do), let me reiterate: I challenge you to come alongside someone for a specific season of time for a specific, mutually-agreed-upon focus. Then after the season of time has elapsed (3 months, 6 months, a year) you each can decide if a new season of mentoring should be entered into and if you are the best one to mentor the person in the area of focus for this new season of time.

Jesus: The Master Mentor
For me mentoring begins with my favorite mentor--Jesus. A careful study of the gospels reveals that Jesus intentionally invested his life in his relationship with his heavenly father--AND with people that he targeted for impact. The way Jesus invested his life to win others reveals a wealth of insight into spiritual mentoring that has application for us today. In the Mentoring Connection workshop (see info below), we explore twelve aspects of Jesus' flexible style of mentoring. We offer no simplistic formula for mentoring others--just a flexible pattern of relationship priorities that'll grow you as a mentor. These twelve aspects of Jesus' flexible mentoring style are:

1. Jesus made himself available to people.
2. Jesus dealt with people as unique individuals.
3. Jesus engaged people in creative dialogue.
4. Jesus asked probing questions.
5. Jesus listened attentively.
6. Jesus ministered through unconditional love.
7. Jesus identified obstacles to spiritual growth.
8. Jesus patiently bore with the ignorance, laziness, fears and failures of people.
9. Jesus challenged, confronted and corrected.
10. Jesus ministered in community.
11. Jesus ministered with a sense of lightheartedness.
12. Jesus cared for his own soul.

Look closely at these twelve aspects of Jesus' flexible mentoring style.
* Name one person you view as a mentor. Which of these twelve flexible styles of mentoring does your mentor use in the mentoring relationship with you? How about stopping the carousel of your life long enough to write a thank you note to them?
* Which of these twelve do you do well? In which of the twelve do you need to grow?
* Name one person you are mentoring (informally or formally). Which of the twelve styles might be best for the person you are mentoring at this season of the mentoring journey? Why? How might you effectively use this style in the mentoring relationship?

Don't Just Be a Mentor--Find a Mentor!
A final thought for you to ponder: Mentoring is a 360-degree experience. The best mentors are those who are also being mentored.
* Who is one person whom you need to formally ask to mentor you?
* What would the focus of this mentoring relationship be? (In other words, what does this mentor have to offer you--that you need to learn? Be specific about this.)
* For what length of time and how often should the mentoring relationship continue?
Now, dare to make the ask! Why? Because if you want to mentor others, you need to be mentored.

Why not send this article to a potential mentor right now and get the dialogue started?

Tell your friends about this issue!

About Rennie Garda
Rennie Garda is a missionary of encouragement serving Jesus Christ with Cadre Ministries. She has lived her life asking Jesus to help her overflow into others what He has been flowing into her life. This includes Jesus' priority of mentoring. Rennie is intentional about relationships--and wants them to count for Jesus. Rennie is currently mentoring a range of gals from jr. high to women who are her peers. Rennie says, "It's constantly a growing experience, but I know that mentoring is a calling that I must grow in and pursue." You can contact Rennie at info@cadreministries.com.

BRAND NEW:
The Mentoring Connection Workshop

Mentors don't create arrows for God's purposes. God does that. Mentors polish the arrowhead of potential that God has already created in another. This is why YOU can participate in this high-impact mentoring process as led and directed by God. But first you must be a mentee--and then ultimately you can serve as a mentor in your local church. In the Mentoring Connection workshop, Dave and Rennie Garda of Cadre Ministries will come alongside to help you on your mentoring journey.

What Will You Learn?

• That God can use you to have a powerful impact in the life of another person.
• Practical relational and mentoring skills based on Jesus' model of life and ministry.
• Thankfulness for people God has used formally and informally as mentors in your own life.
• What mentoring is and isn't.
• An understanding of different styles and types of mentoring--and where you fit as a mentor.
• A helpful process for identifying a mentee's needs and then walking alongside him/her.

Who Should Attend?

• Volunteers in the church who already walk alongside others or who could with proper encouragement and equipping, men's or women's ministry volunteer teams, youth ministry teams (volunteers and students), church boards, and pastoral staff teams.

The Mentoring Connection workshop can be tailored to best engage the dynamics of your group. This training workshops includes a mentoring training manual. Integrated into this training manual are 23 follow-through challenges to help you keep learning when the workshop is over.

To discover more about bringing this workshop to your local church email info@cadreministries.com.

The Ultimate Time Management Mentor
by Bill Allison

Call me crazy (I've been called worse), but I believe that if you want to learn to lead, then you should study and mimic the greatest leader who ever led... Jesus.

If you want to learn to teach, then you should study and mimic the greatest teacher who ever taught... Jesus.

If you want to manage your short life on this earth in a way that will have the greatest positive impact for God and good, then you should study and mimic the person who had (and continues to have) the greatest positive impact for God and good... Jesus.

And in what priorities did Jesus invest his short earthly life? That's a fascinating and compelling question! Why? Because the answer to that question is worthy of your study and mimicry. If we can indentify what Jesus lived for--then we can clarify what we should live for.

After studying the time and life management of Jesus Christ, I've come to believe that Jesus thought life was all about building three key relationships:

1. His relationship with the Father
2. His relationship with key followers
3. His relationship with "sinners"

Can you think of a single instance in the life of Jesus (during his waking hours) when he wasn't investing his short earthly life in one of these relationships? Stop for a moment and really try to think of a single instance. Better yet, crack open your Bible and thumb through the gospels.

If the time management genius of Jesus shows us that life is about building these three key relationships, then you must dare to answer this question:

To what degree are Jesus' relationship priorities YOUR priorities?

If you don't dare to answer that question with specifics, you can forget about living a life that will have the greatest positive impact for God and good. You'll just have to settle for being normal. And if the thought of living a normal life doesn't make you nauseous, you may have a deeper problem than managing your time.

* NOTE: For a fifty-eight page workbook and one hour CD that explores the specifics of what it looks like to live with the relationship priorities of Jesus Christ in our busy 21st century-- Check This Out!

Great for personal use, small groups, or Sunday school.

NEW:
Mentoring PDFs You Can Download NOW!

Need some biblical, practical, fun, challenging, and highly interactive resources that you can use to mentor others? You can get whole books--or even just a single chapter--as PDFs by clicking the link below:

View Downloadable PDFs Now!

Experience Cadre Training

For the latest training information, dates, and locations, visit:
http://www.cadreministries.com/training/locations.php

11/11/2006 Central Illinois Area, Saturday Ministry Is Relationships! Date: 11/11/2006 Location: Northwoods Community Church, Peoria, IL, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM Tuition: $15.00 (Training materials included) Aimed at adults who volunteer in any ministry. For more information, please contact bill@cadreministries.com

12/01/2006 Louisville, Kentucky, Friday night and Saturday morning Ministry Is Relationships! Date: 12/01/2006 - 12/02/2006 Location: Southeast Christian Church Tuition: $15.00 (Training materials included) Bill Allison and Tim Reist trainers... For more information, please contact KSauder@SECC.ORG

12/02/2006 Northern IL Ministry Is Relationships! Date: 12/02/2006 - 12/02/2006 Location: Oregon, IL, 8 AM to 12 PM Tuition: $10.00 (Training materials included) Trainers: Heidi Underhill and Gary Lisle. The $10 registration includes a training manual and follow through devotional guide. For more information, please contact hju@insightbb.com

12/08/2006 St.Paul/Minneapolis, MN Area Ministry Is Relationships! Date: 12/08/2006 - 12/10/2006 Location: Camp Shamineau Tuition: $15.00 (Training materials included) Contact info for the host of this workshop is at http://ncdefca.org/ministrysegments/student.asp For more information, please contact pamabuch@gmail.com

01/10/2007 Carlinville, IL, Wednesday Time Management for Painfully Pooped-Out People Date: 01/10/2007 - 01/10/2007 Location: Lake Williamson Camp, 8 AM to 12 PM Tuition: $.00 (Training materials included) For more information, please contact bill@cadreministries.com

01/13/2007 Central Illinois Area, Saturday The Teaching Genius of Jesus Date: 01/13/2007 Location: Bloomington/Normal, IL, 9 AM to 12 Noon Tuition: $25.00 (Training Materials and lunch included) What made Jesus such a compelling teacher? What you learn and apply from this workshop will change your life... and your teaching! You'll explore how YOU can become a P-E-A-C-H of a teacher: * Preparation * Engagement * Authenticity * Challenge * Heart For more information, please contact Stokeruholl@aol.com

01/27/2007 St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN Beyond Boredom! Date: 01/27/2007 - 01/27/2007 Location: Contact www.mcmaonline.org, 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM Tuition: $.00 (Training materials included) Bill will be doing the Engaging Teaching workshop. For more information, please contact information@mcmaonline.org

Cadre: We're guilty of inciting a volunteer TRAINING revolution in the church!

Cadre is a not-for-profit ministry [501(c)(3)] that exists to assist local churches in becoming the greatest volunteer training organizations in the world. We're asking God to give us 5,000 non-staff trainers who are obsessed with Ephesians 4:11-12! To pursue certification to take Cadre training to your church, contact info@cadreministries.com.

Cadre staff serve as support-based, God-dependent missionaries to come alongside volunteers and those who care for volunteers in the church to help accomplish their God-given mission.

We provide FREE monthly online training for volunteers in the church (Cadre Connection), for volunteer Jr. High Youthworkers (Batteries Included), and for Student Leaders (Spiritual Caffeine). Visit www.cadreministries.com to preview our recent free training or to sign up to receive training in your email-box monthly.

For more information about bringing a certified Cadre trainer to coach and train the volunteer teachers, leaders, and youth workers in your church, contact info@cadreministries.com

For Cadre training resources visit http://www.cadreministries.com/store

All other tax deductible donations can be sent to:
Cadre Ministries
PO Box 278
Sycamore, IL 60178

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