Yesterday, I met with a local Brother who is an entrepreneur with a successful start up business.  I say successful because he only has to work one day per week.  He has hired someone else to manage his business during the rest of the week.  He does it this way to free up this time so he can spend the rest of his week ministering to college students full-time.

The purpose of our meeting was so that I could see the campuses he works on and to see how we can best partner with him and the church he attends in this collegiate ministry.

We walked around the campus and he shared his ideas in how we can partner.  Most of them had to do with evangelism.  I have to admit, it wasn’t what I was hoping to hear.  After a bit, he invited me to a place where we could talk more openly.  I decided this would be a great place to share about mentoring/discipleship in detail.

In this somewhat more secure location, I shared my ideas on mentoring and he respectfully told me, “I don’t see how it will help”.  I have to admit; I was a tad frustrated and wondered if I had jumped into the deep end of a pool without first looking.

However, I figured if I’m in the deep, I might as well try to swim.  So I did.  I quietly asked the Lord to give me wisdom in sharing so my friend could understand where I’m coming from.  PTL that He gives abundantly to all who ask and believe!  I believe He did just that.

I further shared about mentoring.  I showed him in the bible where I believe mentoring is personified in the life of Jesus and the effect it had on my life.  Somewhere along the way, he looked at me and told me that he had been meeting with three guys for six months, one-on-one.  I looked at him and explained that he was mentoring.  He had this bewildered look on his face when I said that and then asked me to teach him how to mentor.

I believe at this point he understood what I had been sharing.  The next two hours ended up being an “Impromptu” training on mentoring. 

Overall, it was very insightful for me.  I do hope he feels the same but our time revealed to me that mentoring is not second nature to everyone.  With those God will bring into our path, we may have to educate them first on mentoring before we actual mentor.

So far, with the exception of one pastor here, I typically have to pursue those I sense God might be leading me to mentor.  Normally, they don’t ask to be mentored.  For my new friend, I’ll probably have to pursue and I intend to do just that. 

I’m so thankful God is using us in this type of ministry.  When I step back and look, I can see that none of my efforts found the people we are partnered with and/or ministry to.  God brought them to us.  Now and in the end, God truly gets the glory.