By Aline Simpson
A little while ago I attended a big Christian Conference… I went feeling excited, but fairly tired and frustrated, particularly in relation to mentoring. A couple of mentoring sessions hadn't quite gone to (my!) plan, and was starting to develop thoughts around how I could finish a mentoring relationship that felt stagnant and heavy.
The conference was a fantastic one, where fresh ideas were shared and new friendships were formed. In the final main gathering, Miriam Swaffield (Fusion), and Jenny Baker (Sophia Network), shared their thoughts on having an eternal perspective in youth work. They creatively and very engagingly used Paul's teaching in 2 Corinthians 4 provide a fresh understanding on what we should be seeking to focus on in our ministry.
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
For me, this was my awakening. The conference could have simply contained a single talk with the above verse read out from the stage. Fix our eyes on what is unseen. In mentoring, it is so easy to become disillusioned with the idea that we are ineffective mentors, when mentees "go around in circles" with particular life choices or behaviours, and don't respond well to feedback or advice. Although Paul's teaching here was related to focussing on eternal glory, the principles can be applied well for mentors to gain perspective in times of frustration. If we look directly at the trials of those we mentor; if the mind is fixed wholly on them, and we think of nothing else, they appear heavy and long. But if we choose to turn our eyes and focus on what is unseen - the thought processes, the silent understanding, the internal changes happening, the perspective changes entirely. For it is in the unseen where God works the most deeply in us, if we allow Him.
For me, this was my awakening. The conference could have simply contained a single talk with the above verse read out from the stage. Fix our eyes on what is unseen. In mentoring, it is so easy to become disillusioned with the idea that we are ineffective mentors, when mentees "go around in circles" with particular life choices or behaviours, and don't respond well to feedback or advice. Although Paul's teaching here was related to focussing on eternal glory, the principles can be applied well for mentors to gain perspective in times of frustration. If we look directly at the trials of those we mentor; if the mind is fixed wholly on them, and we think of nothing else, they appear heavy and long. But if we choose to turn our eyes and focus on what is unseen - the thought processes, the silent understanding, the internal changes happening, the perspective changes entirely. For it is in the unseen where God works the most deeply in us, if we allow Him.
This has led me to pray differently (or perhaps additionally, rather than differently!) for my mentees, in 2 ways:
1) That God would work deeply on what is unseen in those that I mentor, to enable deep-rooted foundations to be established and nurtured. And in turn, that the fruit of the unseen would have impact on what is seen.
2) That my perspective as a mentor will remain eternal; even where mentoring not last forever, that the frustrations "of the moment" do lead me to loose heart or influence the potential of the future.
1 comment:
hey aline,
this is great, really made me think about how i view mentoring
thanks
lou
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