It is amazing to me that with so many communication opportunities at our fingertips in today's culture, that our understanding of relationship and trust has suffered so much. As we continue to talk about wisdom and what we need as students to thrive in our relationships with Jesus, our understanding of true biblical mentorship is extremely important.
My fear is that what our culture and society has done to the idea of trust and relationship and how we define these two, it will have subtle, yet huge implications on how we define the wise mentorship for students who seek to know and follow Jesus.
For most of students who are a part of church, we have people who are good "role model" for us, but is that enough. Do we have people who aren't just telling us what to do and not do, but rather, are pouring into our lives. People who not only love Jesus and show us that by example, but people who are passionate about litterally showing us what that is like. Do we have people in our lives that aren't just warning us about the pitfalls that lie ahead of us as students, but rather people who have been so transformed by the gospel of Jesus, that they are willing to be vulnerable enough to show us their battle wounds of life and share the heart break that comes with following "creation rather than the Creator"...? This is the type of mentorship I am speaking about. This is the type of relationship Paul and Timothy had.
Here is how you know if what you have is true biblical mentorship. The Rule of 4's. What is the Rule of 4's? In 2 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul explains to Timothy the process of wise mentorship:
1. What you have heard from me...
2. Entrust to faithful men...
3. Who will be able to teach others...
There is it...Paul, Timothy, Faithful Men, & Others...Thw Rule of 4. So this week, think about that person in your life who you would say is your mentor, and ask yourself how they have taught you, and then also, how you have passed what you have learned onto others younger than you.
There is so much wisdom for life that comes from mentorship. God has placed people in our lives for us to learn from and walk through life with....do it, it'll make a HUGE difference in your walk with Jesus!
Use the questions below to help you go deeper with this topic this week!
1. Do you have someone in your life like a Paul? Are they more of a role model or mentor? What is the difference in your eyes?
2. How much does trust take in a relationship like this? What brought you to the point that you could trust your mentor? How do you go about being trustworthy to someone you can mentor?
3. Read 2 Timothy 2:1-2. Why is it key to see mentorship as a ripple effect?
- When will you know you are "ready" to be a mentor to someone else?
4. What is more effective to you: Learning a bunch of rules about life or having somone walk through life with you who will take the time to work through what wisdom looks like?
5. Do you learn better by listening/observing or by teaching/doing?
- Why?
6. As a senior high students, is there someone in your life that you can be intentional about beginning the process of mentoring?
Join us at Matt & Amanda's this Thursday at 7pm as we continue discuss the importance of this topic as it pertains to wisdom!
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