Transforming Church

When identifying faith practices some see six and others seven. From my experience those who identify six leave out mentoring (or encouraging or enabling). Not only do I see mentoring as one of the practices, with the total number being seven I find biblical and spiritual significance in God’s repetitive use of that number. From Judaic roots the numbers 7 (3 + 4) and 12 (3 x 4) are the numbers of perfection. Universally they describe God (3) embracing His creation (4). That numeric identification is seen in nearly all of the world religions. Offering added significance here, we see 3 associated with a vertical relationship with God (to pray, study and worship) and 4 associated with horizontal relationships (to witness, mentor, serve and give).

When mentoring becomes a faith practice, whether our contact with a personal mentor is in person or by way of print or media, we see Christ in that mentor. The passion and enthusiasm we experience from that relationship are more than just from someone who is a great example. We have encountered Christ through that person. Equal in significance for the mentor, he or she is also able to see Christ in the mentee. Great mentors in Christ have echoed this through the ages.

Given the corporate world’s attraction today for mentors in leadership, appreciate that mentoring as a faith practice is something different. That also brings to light that not all mentoring in the church is faith practice. Perceived as a parallel to the corporate world the most frequently identified need for mentoring leadership in the church relates to the membership of the congregation and how to lead its ministry.

Mentoring as a faith practice is quite different, connecting instead with discipleship and the faith journey with Christ. Once a congregation determines to set aside membership in favor of discipleship, it quickly follows that mentoring as a faith practice is able to come fully into its own. Considering how few congregations have made that transformation, it should not be a huge surprise that mentoring sometimes gets overlooked or not clearly identified as a faith practice.

Our outreach to younger generations has been failing so disastrously since the beginning of the Post-modern Age, can there be little surprise they do not look to church “members” as faith mentors? What is at play here is more than just the usual characteristic differences from one generation to another.

Modern Age generations, including Builders and Boomers like those before them, have been completely oriented to church membership as their key this-life identification with Christ. Discipleship had been sold short throughout the Modern Age. Even though member-based congregations continue to search for the right approach to reach Post-moderns, the vast majority of Post-moderns will never relate to membership congregations.

And because they have not so far seen or experienced discipleship congregations, they are presently convinced the church has nothing to offer them. However, congregations that have allowed the Holy Spirit to transform them into disciple-based organizations do have the spiritual depth that will speak to and meet the needs of Post-moderns.

The last hurrah of the Modern Age church has been the mega-churches that filled with Boomers. Only now, getting close to fifty years into the Post-modern Age, are we finally able to see that these program congregations are not able to generate the spirituality that will attract younger generations. Servanthood grounded in faith practice that allows Christ to live in and through His disciples is the way to mentor post-modern disciples into the spirituality they already seek.

As to mentoring Post-moderns in the corporate world today we see this concept being used with increased intentionality. Most Fortune 500 companies are even initiating formal mentoring programs to bridge the brain drain with Boomers now leaving the work force. The church, instead of paying little or no attention to corporate America as it did the last forty-five years, would do well to reverse that immediately.

Young corporate professionals today are in search of mentors with a talent base they can tap into to develop their own professional style. They are not looking for someone they can simply model or deem worthy of being cloned. Discipleship fits right into that.

With the church’s first problem being how to even get younger people inside the door, we need to exude spiritual passion and enthusiasm they will desire when they see it, and model for them how each of us is uniquely called to and gifted for our own unique discipleship journey with Jesus. If you have been paying attention, the only Christians with whom Post-moderns have so far even wanted to connect are global Christ-like mentors whose spiritual passion and enthusiasm stand very tall. That they can emulate.

Mentors and mentees paired up anywhere in our society will always be most effective if they share common passion and enthusiasm. Ways to have that happen for you and your congregation can be inspired by numerous other articles that can be found at this website, too many to list here but offered to you.