My first mentor

I was fortunate to have a mentor early on in my life.  Pastor Phil took me under his wing when I wasstill only a high school student.  Hestarted teaching me biblical Greek one summer, and then theology, and generallyhow to live a good Christian life.  I soakedit all in.  His words affected me greatly.  At that age I was like a sponge.  I feel very blessed to have had a mentor likethat, and am deeply indebted to him.  Ourmentoring relationship continued throughout my  seminary years, and was formalized when he eventuallyhired me.  One day it came to an end, but I will always be the benefactor of its impact.

No matter how many great tools we have at our disposal,there will never be an invention to replace life on life mentoring.  Wikipedia is cool, but there are some thingsit can’t teach.  Google will answer manyquestions, but it will not guide us to the right conclusions. Reading books will give you a huge boost, but the influence of unmet persons has its limits.  Entering into a serious mentoringrelationship that spans the course of many years will change the trajectory ofyour life, and make you someone better thanyou would be capable of on your own.

Two questions that are helpful to ask every once in a while(despite your age!): who am I currently mentoring?  And, who is mentoring me?  If you can’t answer both of these questions,it’s time to give each an answer.  Youwon’t regret it!  The value is priceless.