Barnabas File

Mentor was the friend to whom Ulysses entrusted his son, Telemachus, when he went off to the Trojan War.   We use the term “mentor” now for any trusted advisor, especially an older person who trains and guides a younger person.   The person guided by the mentor is often called a mentee or sometimes an apprentice but I think protégé is a better term. I have benefitted from a number of mentors in my life.  Most of these were on an informal basis; others were supervisors who guided my work.  On a couple of occasions, I purposely sought out a person to be my mentor in a particular area of expertise.  They agreed to share information, suggestions, and life experiences with me. Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said, “There are two ways to acquire wisdom: you can either buy it or borrow it.  By buying it, you pay full price in terms of time and cost to learn the lessons you need to learn. By borrowing it, you go to those men and women who have alre...

I f you read my last post, you will remember that I talked about making yourself indispensable.  Here is the other side of the coin.  How do you go about making yourself dispensable? At one point in my denominational career, I was looking for a person who would become my associate.  The executive director of the state Baptist convention had one word of advice: “You need to find someone who could step in and take your place if you were hit by a truck tomorrow!”  Not very subtle, but his comments make sense.  There are certain things that you have learned how to do that you can pass on to others.  This not only calls out new talent but makes a smooth transition to new leadership more likely. Andy Stanley provides a similar challenge when he tells his staff members, “You should always be training someone who could step into your position.”  So how do you make yourself dispensable? How can you prepare someone to take your place? First, you nee...

As I was doing some research for a course I will teach this summer for Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, I came across a concept that I have not thought a great deal about, and I found information about it in an interesting place.   First of all, the concept is “apprenticing.”   The idea was much more common in a world where there were no trade schools, community colleges, or employee training programs. Although it has certainly been around since the beginning of civilization, the idea of apprenticeship took off in the Middle Ages.   A master craftsman would enter into an arrangement with a youngster fifteen or sixteen years of age and teach that apprentice a trade such as blacksmithing, baking, etc.   After a certain number of years and proven competence, the student would either become a journeyman practitioner of the trade or set up his own workshop. The second surprise is that I found a great explanation of apprenticing in a podcast by past...