St. Timothy Lutheran Church

It's a strange thing to have mentors in this culture, especially for Christians.  You're more likely to hear about mentors in a business context, a lawyer, an accountant, or a real estate agent who is learning from an older, more experienced person in the same field.  As far as growing and learning as a Christian, we're more likely to say “I've got my pastor,” or “I've got the Bible, and that's enough.”  With this, I strongly disagree.

The Bible, especially the New Testament, is full of interactions between mentors and their pupils, or disciples.  Even though the people living during these times had Scripture, they sought out and submitted themselves to the guidance of mentors.  It was every Jewish boy's ambition to become a rabbi, and they would study hard and memorize huge portions of scripture, and then eventually seek to be accepted as the disciple of a rabbi, who would then mentor them directly, so in addition to submitting themselves to the study of Scripture, these disciples submitted themselves to the guidance of their rabbi.

John the Baptist had disciples (John 1:35), and even the Pharisees had disciples (Matthew 22:16).  Paul was a mentor to Timothy.  Perhaps the strongest endorsement of the value of a mentor is the fact that it was into the Jewish system of rabbis and disciples that the Son of God chose to incarnate Himself.  

There are many people out there who have received vast amounts of insight and wisdom from God as they submitted themselves not only to the teaching of Scripture, but also to the teaching of their own mentors, who in turn had a lifetime's worth of insight and wisdom to pass on.  Those mentors also had other mentors, so that generations worth of wisdom are being passed down, and I am thrilled to be able to call some of these people my mentors, and to have the privilege of receiving from them the incredible insights that God has given them.

Actually, you've probably heard of some of my mentors.  John Ortberg, Philip Yancey, C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, John Piper, John Eldredge, these are just a few of my mentors.  Some of these guys have mentored each other, and lots of them have other mentors who I plan on learning from too, people like Jonathan Edwards, Francis Schaeffer, and Martin Luther.  

All of these men have learned a great deal about God, and they have graciously recorded what they have learned for us, so that we too may benefit from and grow through their insights.  The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.”  To love God with all of your mind means to be thirsty for the knowledge of Him, and to actively seek it out, and to have the discipline and make the time to absorb it.  This knowledge transforms us, by transforming our minds (Romans 12:2).

I know.  Lots of people today don't like to read.  It seems boring, it takes time, focus, attention, and discipline, and plenty of people aren't willing to exert the effort.   Can I suggest that maybe we've succumbed to mental laziness, and that we're worse off for it?  In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul talks about the discipline of an athlete, and how, like an athlete, he disciplines himself in order to best serve the purpose for which God had called him.  Our first and greatest purpose is to love and glorify God with everything we are, including our mind, and this means, among other things, learning to discipline our mind, to pursue the knowledge and wisdom of God, to fill our mind with Him.  

As Paul said, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”  God has shared that wisdom and knowledge with a lot of people, who are ready to share it with you, if you'll take the time to listen to them.