Should A Christian Have A Mentor?

Is having a mentor a good idea? Should every believer need one or only those who are young?

The Great Commission

Part of the Great Commission is not just to go into all the world but to go into all the world and find people and then make disciples of them which mean they are to learn everything that Jesus taught His disciples. Just before Jesus returned to heaven, He told His disciples “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:18-20). They were told to “make disciples of all nations” and to teach them all the things that Christ taught them. To make other disciples means that they enter into the Master’s teachings and discipline their life according to what they learn. A disciple is essentially a learner or a student who learns the way of the Master and then goes out and seeks other to make disciples of. It is very much like mentoring.

Paul and Timothy

I am presently mentoring a young man in our church that has only been there about a year. He wants to grow in the knowledge of God but growing more Christ-like is a more worthy goad I told him. Knowledge can puff us up. Knowing a lot about the Bible can make us arrogant and look down on others who know less than we do. Here is why a recent convert makes a poor pastor; “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Tim 3:6). There is no doubt that every Timothy needs a Paul. Every person needs a mentor, no matter what their age. I have one and I am one. The older Christian women should teach the younger women from their own experience (Titus 2:4) and so every young man and woman in the faith; every parent and adult; and every person at every age should have a mentor but should also be mentoring someone else.

Teaching all Things

Jesus spent just over three years with the disciples. It took a few years for Jesus to teach them all the things that they should know. What better source of the Truth than the Truth, and that is Jesus Christ (John 14:6) and He is the only way to be saved (Acts 4:12) and the only way to the Father (John 6:44). We have access to a Mentor already and it’s probably right under our nose; it’s the Bible. Paul instructed Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2nd Tim 4:2). The Word does all of those things because “the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight” (Heb 4:12-13a). Even your mentor cannot do that.

Why Mentors?

Why would you still not be convinced that mentoring is a good idea? It is not only biblical, but many need mentors through their college years, through business situations, and even in our own children and grandchildren’s lives. An older mentor can help you identify blind spots in your life. They can be a trusted accountability partner who you can share your failures and shortcomings with and know they’ll keep it confidential. Their failures add up to their experience and the mentor can pass along the experiences from which they learned, even learning them the hard way. In turn, you can pass these experiences along to someone else, perhaps someone you’re mentoring. They don’t teach experience in a textbook; you generally learn that the hard way so I suggest that we all have a mentor but at the same time we can all be mentoring someone else in teaching them the things that Christ commanded the disciples to teach. That is just as much a part of the Great Commission as is going into all the world. Discipling should start in your own church. Seek out someone who you think would be a good mentor or allow others to use you to help them be disciple.

Conclusion

Jesus isn’t seeking more religious people; He is seeking people to have a relationship with. The Word of God can mentor us for it is alive, active, God-inspired and breathing (Heb 4:12; 2nd Tim 3:16) but we also can use men and women who have been in the faith for some time to help us grow in Christ-likeness. There is much wisdom in having a mentor for “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy” (Prov 27:6) and as painful as it sounds, “Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue” (Prov 28:23). I would rather be corrected than incorrect. Flattery is useless and only serves to create pride but teachability keeps us humble and God is not opposed to the humble at all (James 4:6). Here are God’s thoughts on humility; “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:15). That’s a good place to be…where God is dwelling.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.