M&A #8

Mentoring Like The Master
How to transition your apprentice to mentorship

Last week, we learned about how Jesus mentored His Disciples.  We saw how his method equipped them with the tools they would need to be successful members of the Kingdom of God.  He did more than that, though.  Jesus worked to prepare His disciples to be even more effective than He was, both at acting as well as mentoring in the Kingdom of God.

Go Ye

Before he ascended into heaven, Christ prepared His disciples for what they were to do next:

And [Jesus] said unto [the disciples], Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)

This is the most empowering statement of Christ's ministry. He was releasing His disciples to bring the message of salvation to the world. They were to continue His work. He had prepared them to lead others and now the time necessitated them to take up the mantle. How did they fare?

Infilled and Infused

It took the disciples ten days after Christ's ascension to fully realize the power of God and salvation moving in them. This was not due to a lack of faith, though. It was God's timing. The festival of Pentecost was at its peak and the multitudes swarmed the city of Jerusalem. At this peak moment, God poured out His Spirit on His followers and the multitude poured towards them (Acts 2:6).  Less than an hour after receiving the Holy Ghost, the remnant of Christ's followers ballooned from 120 to 3000+ (Acts 2:41). That number went up daily from then on. In fact, multiple times in the short time period of the Book of Acts detail multitudes receiving the Holy Ghost and being baptized and saved (Acts 5:14, 11:24, 13:48). The disciples had become apostles and they were fulfilling their mandate by Jesus to go and lead people to God. 

When God delivers a command to us, He is not just going to leave us unequipped.  Just as He filled the apostles with His Spirit, both saving and empowering them, He is looking to empower us with His saving grace.  Just like the apostles, though, we can't sit on the resources and the commands that God delivers us.  We have to go and do it as soon as we are empowered.  God will be with us and we will be successful.  We just have to commit and go.

Going Further Than Experience

The apostles didn't just get these people saved and abandon them. The entire New Testament shows evidence of the apostles establishing hubs in every city and district they entered. The apostles created opportunities for locals who were saved to take up the apostle's mantle and lead their own region.The apostles accomplished this without any textbooks or resources like we have today.  The people they taught had never seen Jesus or heard his teachings.  It was all on the apostles ability to remember and recite what Christ had said. That they accomplished the spreading of the gospel is a testament to the apostle's skills as mentors. They were able to speak of the Master and his edicts with confidence, having learned and applied them while under his tutelage. They trained an entire generation and more to lead the world to Christ. As apprentices, they fulfilled their great commission from Jesus. As mentors, they further established it for generations to come.

We can be mentors to those who are new in God.  We can establish them so they can be effective in their segment of the community and their area of expertise.  It takes a commitment to learning the ways of God as His apprentice, first.  If we can get the core of what Christ is teaching us and let Him empower us to go forth, we will be effective in winning new converts and training them to be effective servants of God. 

A. Individual before God pours into them B. Stream of God's blessings and knowledge pouring into the individual (i.e. the Holy Ghost, scripture knowledge, wisdom, fruit of the Spirit) C. Fully empowered individual D. Streams of influence from an empowered individual E. Future followers of Christ

Mentors

• Start training your apprentice to take on leadership roles in their areas of the community

• Give/lead them to the tools and resources they need (i.e. scriptures, Bible study materials, etc)

• Encourage them but stay within reach if they need help.

Apprentices

• Start bringing Christ's message to people within your realm of influence

• Reach for the lost and the wayward, but also be prepared to teach them once they are saved.

• Let God empower and direct you each day before you pursue any action in His Kingdom.

Next week our series on Mentors and Apprentices ends with one man's blueprint for passing on the legacy.  Thanks for joining us share this with your friends if you enjoyed it.