The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.  (2 Timothy 2:2)

How many spiritual generations do you see in this verse?  We see the Apostle Paul was mentoring his protege in the faith, Timothy.  That’s two generations, but it doesn’t stop there.  Timothy was to entrust this teaching to faithful men.  The word “entrust” literally means “to place beside or to set before” and by implication “to commit to one’s charge or  entrust”.

The faithful men represents the third spiritual generation and then these men were to teach others, the fourth spiritual generation.  Paul presents a process for spiritual multiplication just like links in a chain.  My earlier post on mentoring emphasized the need for you to have a mentor and this post will focus on your responsibility to pass on the faith you’ve received to faithful people who can repeat the process.

This is not an optional luxury but a vital necessity for the church.  The sad reality is that  many leaders start off well in their ministry, however a considerable number do not finish well.  This was true of leaders in the Bible as well as leaders in the church today.  A careful study of the lives of successful leaders who do well reveals that they have a network of healthy relationships providing support in a variety of ways.

Bobby Clinton and Paul Stanley in Connecting:  The Mentoring Relationships You Need to Succeed emphasize the importance of relationships in effective leadership,

A growing leader needs a relational network that embraces mentors, peers, and emerging leaders in order to ensure development and a healthy perspective on his or her life and ministry. A network of vertical (mentors) and horizontal (peers or co-mentors) relationships is not an option for a believer who desires to grow, minister effectively and continuously, and finish well. It is imperative! In our studies of leaders, we can clearly conclude with few exceptions that those who experienced anointed ministry and finished well had a significant network of meaningful relationships that inspired, challenged, listened, pursued, developed, and held one another accountable. (p. 159)

In Clinton and Stanley’s Constellation Model, mentoring ideally should occur simultaneously in three directions—upward, downward, and horizontally.

Upward mentoring involves finding a leader with more wisdom and experience from whom you can learn and grow.  All of us need people who have gone before us and can give us perspective.  Bernard of Clairvaux wisely observed, “He who makes himself his own teacher becomes the pupil of a fool.”

We must also practice downward mentoring in developing the next generation to know and serve God.  I find that I gain as much as the one I am mentoring.  It’s been said that the teacher usually learns the most.  Goethe teaches us, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”

Peer mentoring involves relationships that enable us learn from one another.  These may fall into two quadrants—internal and external. Internal peer relationships are with one’s peers within the organization.  External peer relationships are with those on a comparable level but are outside the organization.  Here’s the overall model:

Ideally you should have people in each one of those quadrants.  Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators, would challenge his disciples with this question, “Who’s your man, who are you training?”  Your Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation, Bill Hybels likes to say, “Spiritual formation takes place within three feet of another person.”

Who is your Timothy?  You have a responsibility to equip others so that they can pass on spiritual truth to faithful men and women.  If you are planning for one year, grow rice. If you are planning for twenty years, grow trees. If you are planning for centuries, grow men.  May God richly bless you as you encourage and equip others.

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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