Mentoring Matters

This coming weekend, I will be preaching a sermon on investing in key relationships. Of course, this includes family. Anyone that knows me knows how important family is to me. But the main focus of the message will be about mentoring. I truly believe that mentoring relationships are of vital importance. I guess that's because I know this from personal experience. More on that in a moment.

When I talk about investing in a general sense, it means putting something in with an expectation of some kind of return. If you invest in the stock market, you put money into it in hopes that you will get more money out of it. When you invest in relationships, you put in money (especially with kids!), time, knowledge, and most of all love. What do you get in return? Hopefully love, companionship, encouragement, and more. But mentoring is different. Mentoring requires a great investment of time, knowledge, encouragement, and more. The return? This is where it is different. The return isn't primarily back to the mentor. The return is, in many ways, a pay it forward. The mentor invests to benefit others. Let me share a personal example.

Outside of my wife, there is no question about who has been the most influential person to me in ministry: the Rev. Geoff Posegate. Geoff came to our home church during a time of conflict and turmoil. Oh yeah, and a time I was wrestling with my call. Two weeks after Geoff I arrived, I walked into his office ready to share my news that I believed I was being called to ministry. I fully expected to catch him off guard and leave him stumbling for a way to respond. Only Geoff wasn't the one who ended stumbling for words. After sharing my news, Geoff looked at me with a little smile and said, "I wondered that about you." Really? How? I can say now, that was ( and still is) Geoff.

From that moment on, Geoff invested in me. He had me writing credo before I ever attended a class at seminary. He had me attending committee meetings with him (thanks a lot!). When attending those meetings, the chair would ask Geoff to open with a word of prayer. Geoff's response? No, but Chris will. As he explained, I needed to get used to it. I could go on and on. Geoff was my biggest cheerleader and teacher. Even more, he was, and continues to be, my friend. I learned more from Geoff about being a pastor than I could have ever imagined.

So what is the return? For Geoff, it wasn't about personal gain. It was about personal and corporate growth. My growth as a pastor and growth in the kingdom of God through the ministry he was preparing me for. It was a way for Geoff to invest with a pay it forward kind of return. I can never thank him enough for what he has meant to me. Correction, continues to mean to me. I can only aspire to be a fraction of the pastor Geoff is and I hope that I have the opportunity to mentor at least one person as Geoff mentored me.

I could ramble on and on, but I leave you with this: what relationships are you investing in? Are you mentoring anyone? Whether you realize it or not, it can make all the difference in the world to that person. Maybe, just maybe, it will make a difference to many more.

Chris

You Never Know

I say it all the time to my wife, "You never know." Do you know what I am talking about? I'm sure you do. You never know what is going to happen one day to the next. We go through life, day after day, not knowing when something will come along and change everything. That hit close to home this week.

Early Monday morning while I was still recovering from my Easter "Hallelujah Hangover,"  I received shocking news from my office manager: her husband had been shot and was in surgery in critical condition. They didn't know if he would pull through. He is a delivery driver for a large bakery. It appears a couple of men followed him in to his first stop of the day (at 4am) and shot him before going for the safe. He was rushed to the hospital barely clinging to his life. Senseless.

The good news is that he pulled through the surgery. It's nothing short of a miracle. Not only that, in just a couple of days he received to the point of moving him out of ICU and even making plans for his eventual return home. There is a long road ahead of him. Right now, he has no feeling in his legs. Its hoped that it will turn when the swelling goes down. Its just unknown right now. There is also the mental and emotional healing that will need to take place. All of that is secondary right now. What matters right now is he is alive and the family is so thankful that they are together yet another day. My prayers continue with them all.

This brings me back to where I began, "You never know." For the most part, we take life for granted. We take each day for granted. But each day, each moment truly is a gift to be treasured. It is a gift filled with opportunity. Don't waste it. I always say that we were created to love and be loved. So love more today. Count your blessings. Spend time with loved ones and friends. Make sure they know how much you love them. Spend time on the things that truly matter in life. because, well... you never know.

Chris