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 benefited 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 alrea...

A mentor is (usually) an older and more experienced person who shares information with another person and often serves as an advocate for that person.   Most mentoring is rather informal and unstructured.   This may be one reason the process is often hard to define or identify.   Edward Sellner makes an attempt in this direction with Mentoring:  The Ministry of Spiritual Kinship . Sellner is a professor of pastoral theology and spirituality with a background as a chemical dependency counselor.   This unusual combination provides some fresh insights to the practice of mentoring.   In this book, Sellner approaches the spiritual type of mentorship from several different perspectives.   He draws on the spiritual practices of the desert fathers, Celtic spirituality, developmental psychology, Jungian dream therapy, and the life of C. S. Lewis to illustrate the varied ways in which one might serve as a spiritual mentor.   This does not work ...

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...

“ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” -- Philippians 4:9, (NIV) When I first considered this verse, my initial response was that Paul was being pretty egotistical:  “Look at me!  Do what I do!”  I have come to realize that Paul was justified in exhorting his readers to follow his example.  He was writing to people who had probably seen only one practicing Christian believer and that was Paul himself. If we are going to grow spiritually, we need models and guides who will assist us along the way.  When we seek such help, we are looking for spiritual direction. Spiritual direction has a long history in the Christian church.  For centuries, men and women have sought out mature Christians who could help them to grow in Christ.  In such a relationship, the one giving spiritual direction is providing both information and accountability. ...

A memorial service for Dr. Katharine Bryan was held in Knoxville on November 6.   Katharine was a colleague while we both served the Executive Board of the Tennessee Baptist Convention but she was also a valued mentor and friend to me. Katharine served as a mission educator for a number of years including 12 years as executive director of the Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union.  After “retiring” from her work with the state convention, she served as director of adult education at Carson-Newman University and then as interim director of North Carolina.  Katharine was a visionary mission leader, an insightful educator, and a committed church leader, but I remember her most as a mentor. Katharine exhibited the best qualities of a mentor. She was willing to make herself available .  I enjoyed a number of lunches with Katharine as well as “drop in” visits at her office.  Although she was always busy, she was ready to make the time to talk about personal ...