Mentoring Part V: Concluding Thoughts This series has focused on mentoring, what it is and how we go about finding this kind of relationship. The focus has remained on how we can prepare ourselves to establish a good relationship with positive outcomes for both mentor and mentee. Our Christian faith reminds us that Jesus is our ultimate mentor. However, we really benefit from the guidance we receive from those in our physical world who may have more experience than we do in certain areas. This includes our academic, … [Read more...] about Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?
Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?
Mentoring Part IV: What if it doesn't work out? So far in this series our focus has been on identifying what mentoring is and how to go about getting started. Part III explored some things that the mentee might do to prepare for the relationship and some of the personal formation that may be needed. These are important points to consider as we often look for mentors to suit our needs without considering how we can respect our mentor and the time they have graciously agreed to spend with us. I used the relationship … [Read more...] about Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?
Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?
Mentoring Part III: How to Prepare as a Good Mentee The idea of mentoring has been in place since biblical times, and we have explored the relationship between Moses and Joshua as they prepared to transfer leadership of the nation of Israel. We can safely assume that Joshua spent some significant time with Moses observing and learning from him as he faced the many challenges of leading a fledgling nation. The mentoring relationship was not entirely dependent on the older, more experienced person. There were areas … [Read more...] about Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?
Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?
Mentoring Part II: Where Do I Begin? Where To Begin? As I noted in the last post, it is difficult for us to explain or define mentoring, but we often know it when we see it. Mentoring relationships can be formal or informal and they can happen organically or intentionally. Either way it's a relationship that may have stages focused on “personal, spiritual and emotional development [where] character formation takes center stage.”[1] In the last post I gave the example of the relationship between Moses and Joshua as … [Read more...] about Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?
Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?
Mentoring Part I: Introduction Mentoring is one of those things that is a little difficult to define, but we usually know it when we see it. As Christians we can think of mentors in the Bible such as Elijah, Paul, Naomi, Priscilla and of course Jesus. Many of us long for someone to come alongside us in our personal lives as well as in our academic and career settings who can help us navigate our world, assuring us that we are on the right path, yet challenging us to push our spiritual, personal, and vocational … [Read more...] about Mentoring: What is It and How do we Get There?