Wednesday, May 06, 2015

If you were listening during our last visit you will appreciate the following experience I had. My first staff assistant was a relatively young convert. I discipled him following his conversion at a Billy Graham crusade, and he, in turn, discipled a group of young adults to work with the youth in our church. After I pointed out to him the importance of modeling what you are trying to teach, he invited me to one of his staff sessions. Without informing me, he told one of the group members to watch my reactions during the session. Then he deliberately tried provoking me by suggesting an idea he knew I wouldn’t like. Fortunately, I responded in a constructive way as he predicted I would, and his point was modeled to his disciple. When he later told me what he had done, I suggested his technique was a risky way to illustrate a point. But I accepted his confidence in me – that I would make the right response – as an unexpected compliment. It also reinforced the importance of modeling at all times the message we teach. More recently my son phoned me while interacting with a group of young men he was discipling. He had bragged about my ability to identify where a particular statement is found in the Bible. But when he put me to the test with his group of disciples listening in I drew a blank. We laughed and he had to explain that his Dad must be getting old. Amazingly, he called again while talking to a neighbor. This time I knew the answer. I guess my son didn’t expect me to be perfect, but he had confidence in me. Yes, mentoring does have its challenges!