Relationships are the secret sauce of leadership development.  Mentoring is leadership by relationship.  It is tricky to define “mentoring”, but there are some features worth emphasizing as we consider several definitions.  In this post, I would like to consider at least three helpful definitions as it relates to the ministry mentoring relationships.  In the book, Spiritual Mentoring: A Guide for Seeking and Giving Direction, authors Keith R. Anderson and Randy D. Reese write, “Spiritual mentoring is a relational process in which a mentor, grounded in their own faith, guides a mentee towards deeper spiritual maturity through intentional conversation, shared practices, and modeling a life of faith. It integrates prayer, scripture, and discernment to align the mentee with God’s purpose.”^[1] Their definition explains the process of mentoring as relational and emphasizes some priority mentoring activities to employ, while ultimately focusing on the alignment of God’s purposes for the mentee.  They also imply that the mentor must be near the mentee so they can observe and imitate the mentor’s life.  In other words, proximity is irreplaceable in mentoring.

A second definition by Paul D. Stanley and J. Robert Clinton emphasizes the resources of the mentor and the importance of transferring of them to the mentee.  They write: “Mentoring is a relational process in which a mentor, who knows or who has experienced something, transfers that something (resources of wisdom, information, experience, confidence, insight, relationships, status) to a mentoree, at an appropriate time and manner, so that it facilitates development or empowerment.”^[2] This definition emphasizes a transmission of varied resources through relational means from wise mentor to a less experienced mentee.  Certainly, this idea is present when Paul tells Timothy to share what he has received from him with other faithful men (2 Tim. 2:2). This is a primary way the Gospel is passed from one generation to the next.  

The third definition emphasizes the deep and lasting impact a mentor has on a mentee.  Bill and Howard Hendricks share this in their book, Men of Influence: The Transformational Impact of Godly Mentors.  They write, “Mentoring is what happens when one man affects another man deeply enough to where he later declares, ‘I never would have become who I am were it not for that man’s influence’.”^[3] Certainly, this could be said of mentees like Joshua, Elisha, the 12 Apostles, and Timothy in the Scriptures.   Perhaps in your own life, you can think of a person whose relational influence was a determining factor in your character formation. 

In the posts to come, I will demonstrate the mentoring relationship of Paul to Timothy embodies the features of these definitions and can be observed in Paul’s missionary journeys and in several of his letters to the churches. Evidence for this is also seen in the many instances Timothy appears in Paul’s writings. Ramón Trevijano writes that Timothy is, “The most highly esteemed disciple and coworker of the apostle Paul; he is named 17 times in the epistles, six times in the book of Acts and once in the epistle to the Hebrews (13:23).”^[4]  I hope you will join me on this brief mentoring journey ahead. 

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^[1] Keith R. Anderson and Randy D. Reese. Spiritual Mentoring: A Guide for Seeking and Giving Direction. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 13–19.

^[2] Stanley, Paul D., and J. Robert Clinton. Connecting: The Mentoring Relationships You Need to Succeed in Life (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1992), 33-34. 

^[3] Bill Hendricks and Howard Hendricks, The Transformational Impact of Godly Mentors (Chicago, Moody Press, 2019), 62. 

^[4] Ramón Trevijano, “Timothy, Disciple of Paul,” in Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, ed. Angelo Di Berardino and James Hoover, trans. Joseph T. Papa, Erik A. Koenke, and Eric E. Hewett (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic; InterVarsity Press, 2014), 793.