Election Bulletins that May Help You Decide.
Still Undecided About the Upcoming Election? The following sites have bulletins that analyse the issues that are important to these organizations.
January 18, 2006
How to be an effective mentor
An extensive article on mentoring at Christianity Today.
Making Devoted Disciples —Erik Johnson
Why do the trades have apprenticeships and medical professions require internships? Because personal attention from experienced practitioners helps learners master essential skills, attitudes, and knowledge. This, of course, is no surprise to Christians familiar with the mentoring relationships of Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Naomi and Ruth, Paul and Timothy, and Jesus and the disciples.
What does a mentor actually do? At first, the tasks are:
- Set the tone.
- Clarify expectations.
Sharpening your mentoring skills
Once the relationship is established, the mentor does several things.
- Maintain trust.
- Have an agenda.
- Offer your network.
- Offer perspective.
Questions Mentors Ask
- How is your ministry affecting your own relationship with God?
- How is your sense of God's call being clarified?
- Where are your skills being tested?Where is your character being tested?
- What are your hopes and dreams for your future ministry?
- How can I help you?
- What evidence can you point to of the presence and power of God in your ministry?
- How is your relationship/communication style impacting your ministry?
- What are some new things you could try?
- What are some things we could do that would help you to be more a person of integrity?
- What pain have you experienced and what were some of the effects of that pain?
- How has that shaped who you are?
- How might God use your past to prepare you for ministry in the future?
- Let's pretend that God knows what he's doing in your life, even though things haven't worked out as you'd hoped. What might he be teaching you through that?
- As you assess your growth, where do you see areas you need to work on? What are your felt deficiencies?
Read the article: Making Devoted Disciples - How to be an effective mentor
Technorati Tags: Leadership, Mentoring, Mentors, Training, Development, Personal+GrowthJanuary 17, 2006
The 50 Most Influential Christians in America
The Church Report has published a list of The 50 Most Influential Christians in America. (Makes me glad I live in Canada. 
) This list brings to mind one of Richard Foster’s Seven Steps For Renewal:
“Let's quit using the strutting peacock CEO of contemporary culture as a model for Christian leadership.”
November 09, 2005
Leadership
Jordon posts some good thoughts on The question of leadership.
"I have been mulling over the issue of church leadership. A couple of professors of Bible colleges contacted me about how to teach "postmodern leadership" to their students. I didn't really know what to say at the time that would have been beneficial but the idea of teaching leadership at Bible colleges might be one of the problems."
His point is well taken, leadership can't be mass-taught in a classroom or picked up from a list of 21 laws. There a many businesses that have seen the benefit of one-on-one mentoring to create a new generation of leaders. This is one place where the church could afford to emulate business.
Powered By Qumana