Mentoring

About 2 1/2 years ago my church and I had an opportunity to connect with a group called Church Resource Ministries. With them, we enrolled in a program called "Focused Living." The first year of the program is to become focused on our lives and what God is calling us to do. The second year is to bring our gifts to the church and help the church become focused in what God is calling her to do.
At the end of the first year, the individuals are challenged to continue in their growth by being mentored. As a pastor, I was excited to be able to be mentored, and mentor others. I contacted 2 people who might be willing to be a mentor to me (one is a friend of mine who is an elder at another church. I wanted him to keep me on track in regards to my personal calling statement. The second is a minister colleague, who helps me to keep on track ministry wise).
On top of my mentors, I have been regularly mentoring 6-8 people. This is a great opportunity, because the mentoring sessions are about me helping them to stay focused on the call God has given to them. Because it is easy to get sidetracked in life, I am able to meet with them every 2-3 weeks, and remind them of the goals, and help them to move forward. I also am able to encourage them in who they are, and challenge them with who God has made them to be, and continuing to make them.
If you do not have a mentor, then I encourage you to think about someone who can mentor you. It could be someone who could serve as your spiritual guide, coach, counselor, model, or even teacher. We all need to be mentored, because without it, we stray off course and keep ourselves from bearing the fruit God has for us.
You might also consider how you could mentor someone else. What a joy this is in my life. If you have any comments, or any questions, e-mail me at pastorchrislogan@yahoo.com.