SP767 Day 2
If you need to refer someone to a professional, it is better to send him/her to a good atheist than a bad Christian.
The only thing that is worse than no mentoring is bad mentoring.
As pastor we are no better than the people we serve. We are only set apart for some specific functions.
Every encounter is not between the 2 same persons from last time.
When mentoring, we have to let go of our prejudice towards our mentee accumulated from past meetings with him/her, and we have to let go of our desire for him/her to do what we want him/her to do.
Mentors should always be looking for ways to ask who you are and who do you intend to be. -Walter Wright, Mentoring
Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak. “Is the life I am living the same as the life that wants to live in me?”
Most problems in ministry arise from issues of character.
I am not ashamed to admit that I am ignorant in what I do not know. - Cicero
Surrender as much of yourself as you understand, to as much of God as you understand. -Sam Shoemaker
We model character, not just by being perfect but also by struggling.
There are people that we will not be the best mentor of. We have our limitations.
Never fail, whatever may befall you, be it good or evil, to keep your heart quiet and calm in the tenderness of love. -St. John of the Cross
Be their example, not their legislator. Be a healer by getting well.
The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there. -L. P. Hartley
Do not prefer your leisure to the need of the church. -St. Augustine
How we pray reveals how we think about God. Our prayer is our theology.
We cannot remain Christian without Christians.
A brother asked Abba Matoes: What shall I do? My tongue causes me trouble, and whenever I am among people, I cannot control it and I condemn them in all their good deeds and contradict them. What, therefore, shall I do? The old man answered him: If you cannot control yourself, go away from people and live alone. For this is a weakness --- Those who live together with others ought not to be square, but round, in order to turn toward all. Further, the old man said: I live alone not because of my virtue, but rather because of my weakness. You see, those who live among people are the strong ones. -Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Mentoring can be painful. When you ask a question, are you really willing to listen to their "stuff"?
"We cannot remain Christian without Christians." <-- feels very true. Being away from a Christian support group makes it so much easier to drift away.
Posted by
Unknown |
June 27, 2012 8:50 AM