Invitation to the Spiritual Mentor Plan

We come to church each week expecting to find community and support for the Christian life. So often the numbers present and the atmosphere of praise keep us from sharing our current stories and really feeling heard. Even church services can begin to feel like a mockery, hardly touching life where we live it. Yet we know that church is meant to fill our every need and we cling to our once-joyful commitment to it.

Some of us have found that the act of reaching out for a spiritual mentor was the next step in our growth. Some of us were afraid to ask for it, especially of someone we respected, but when we found the other person pleased to share his or her current story and listen to ours, we entered a new realm of spiritual growth. In some instances spiritual mentorship grew into a close friendship.

Biblical support for this plan can be found in Matthew 18:19-20; Galatians 6:1-6; Hebrews 10:24-25; James 5:16-18; and in the stories of Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 1-4), Jonathan and David (1 Samuel 19-20), Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 19:19-21; 2 Kings 2), Paul and Timothy (2 Timothy 1-4), and especially Jesus and His disciples.

The biblical picture of Jesus and His disciples provides illustration of two more points. First, anyone can start or join a small group of Christians and find spiritual mentorship in the group. Second, notice that good mentors sometimes restrain themselves from telling all they know (John 16:12).

This is the invitation for you to find your spiritual mentor among us.