Our method of mentoring in AlphaCitiCorps is pretty simple – ‘Doing Life Together.’ There’s nothing programmed or fancy about it. We eat together, meet together, laugh and cry together. If there is a model we would like to pattern our efforts after it would be that of the Master Mentorer, Jesus Christ. Our goal would be to point the men we work with to him. Robert Coleman talks about the master’s philosophy in his book The Master Plan of Evangelism. He identifies eight mentoring principles modeled by Jesus. Here are a few of his thoughts on three of those principles (more to come later on the other five):
Men Were His Method – It all started by Jesus calling a few men to follow him. His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with men who the multitudes would follow.
These early efforts had little or no immediate effect upon the religious life of his day, but that did not matter greatly. What is more revealing about these men is that at first they do not impress us as being key men. They were “unlearned and ignorant” according to the world’s standard [Acts 4:13]. These ordinary men were, in fact, destined to become leaders and the significance of their lives would be felt throughout eternity.
He Concentrated on a Few – The method of Jesus makes it apparent that the way is to keep the group small enough to be able to work effectively with them. In fact, it became necessary by the middle of his second year of ministry to narrow the select company to a more manageable number. As Jesus ministry proceeded there was a diminishing priority given to those outside the Twelve.
This is where we need to begin. It will be slow, tedious, painful, and probably unnoticed by people at first, but the end result will be glorious, even if we don’t live to see it. We must decide, like our Master, to focus on reproducing a few chosen people who will carry on long after we have gone. We have been chosen to “bear fruit that will last” [Jn 15:16]. It all depends on how we train the men we have selected.
Having called his men, Jesus made a practice of being with them. This was the essence of his training program – just letting his disciples follow him. Amazing as it may seem, all Jesus did to teach these men his way was to draw them close to himself. He was his own school and curriculum. His disciples were distinguished primarily by people noticing that they had “been with Jesus” [Jn18:19, Acts ___]. Knowledge was gained most often by association before it was understood by explanation.
Building men and women is not that easy. It requires constant personal attention, much like a father gives to his children. This is something that no organization or class or program can provide. The example of Jesus would teach us that it can be done only by persons staying close to those whom they seek to lead. Every new believer needs a ‘spiritual father’ to follow until such time as he or she can lead another. The ‘father’ should stay with the new believer as much as possible, studying the Bible, praying, answering questions, clarifying the truth, and seeking to serve others together, and just living life together.
None of the Jesus’ disciples were asked at first to make a statement of faith or accept a well-defined creed. For the moment, all they were asked to do was to follow Jesus. Following him seemed easy enough at first but it soon became apparent that it involved far more. There could be no compromise. “No one can serve two masters” [Lk 16:13]. The old thought patterns, habits, and pleasures of the world had to be conformed to the new disciplines of the kingdom of God [Mt 5:1-7:29; Lk 6:20-49]. Perfection of love was now the only standard of conduct [Mt 5:48].
The Way of the Cross – This was strong teaching. Not many people could take it [Jn 6:60, 66]. The surprising thing is that Jesus did not go running after them to try to get them to stay on his team. He was training leaders for the Kingdom, and if they were going to be fit vessels of service, they were going to have to pay the price. Many separated themselves from the chosen company by reason of their own selfishness, greed or shallowness [Jn 6:25-59]. The way of the disciple would not be the easy way and Jesus was very always very frank about the cost of discipleship: [Mt 8:19, 20; Lk 9:57, 58; Lk 14:28, 33; Mk 10:21; Mt 19:21; Lk 18:22].
DEMONSTRATION:
“I have given you an example.” John 13:15
DELEGATION:
“I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
SUPERVISION:
“Do you not yet perceive?” Mark 8:17
REPRODUCTION:
“Go and bring forth fruit.” John 15:16
