faith at work ml218 lesson 03 of 05 · up in the training and instruction of the lord.” (see also...

Transcript - ML218 Faith at Work

© 2019 Our Daily Bread University. All rights reserved.

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LESSON 03 of 05ML218

Mentoring

Faith at Work

They were just 12 ordinary men forever impacted by one solitary life—the life of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 10:2-4 records their names:

“These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

John MacArthur observes in his book Twelve Ordinary Men,

“From a human perspective, the future of the church and the long-term success of the gospel depended entirely on the faithfulness of that handful of disciples. There was no plan B if they failed.”

Think about that for a minute: There was no plan B if they failed.

It appeared that failure was indeed possible after that terrible, sorrowful day when Jesus was crucified. But Jesus’ miraculous resurrection changed everything. The frightened, disbanded apostles became the enlightened, courageous apostles.

In Acts 4:13, it was said of Peter and John,

“When they [the Sanhedrin] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus”.

They “had been with Jesus.” They had been mentored by Jesus! Who can estimate the impact of one life on another? Especially the impact of Jesus Christ.

Robert Harp, D.Min.Experience: Executive Director of the Office

of Innovation/Biola LaunchPad and Adjunct Professor, Nonprofits/Social Enterprises,

Biola University

Transcript - ML218 Faith at Work © 2019 Our Daily Bread University. All rights reserved.

Mentoring

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Ted Engstrom, author of The Fine Art of Mentoring, says,

“To the Christian believer, there is no greater ‘mentor’ than Jesus Christ the Lord. How He fashioned His meek-spirited followers into an invincible company of overcomers is a display of divine mentoring to which humans can only aspire.”

The impact of Jesus Christ’s life has continued throughout the centuries, as reflected in the closing lines of One Solitary Life:

“Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.”

In Lesson 1, we examined how our life’s purpose should bring glory to God. We need to be mindful of time, take inventory of our life, and resolve to set God-honoring priorities.

In Lesson 2, we discussed calling and giftedness. We are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, to be faithful with the talents God has given us, and to give an account for the stewardship of our talents.

In Lesson 3, we will look at the importance of mentoring in the context of family, Christian community, and the workplace.

Before we begin, let’s define mentoring. What comes to your mind? Instruction? Modeling? Coaching? Teaching? Something else?

Who comes to your mind? Can you think of some people who are or have been mentors in your life? Take a few minutes and write down their names. Why do you consider them to be mentors? What qualifies them to be mentors?

Ralph Waldo Emerson penned,

“Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can.”


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A mentor can be that person. In their book The Making of a Mentor, Ted Engstrom and Ron Jensen define Christian mentoring this way: “Mentoring is a broad term describing the process of assisting a man or woman to develop his or her maximum potential in Jesus Christ regardless of vocation.” They identify nine essential characteristics of effective mentors, namely: encouragement, self-discipline, gentleness, affection, communication, honesty, servanthood, godliness, and confrontation.

An effective mentor can help us to know ourselves better and to avoid the dreadful words expressed by Francis Bacon: “It is a sad fate for a man to die too well known to everybody else, and still unknown to himself.”

1. Mentoring in the Family

Mentoring in the family is not an overnight process, yet it must be intentional. A treasured picture that hangs in our home beautifully illustrates this point.

In the picture, a mare and her foal stride along together through a pasture in front of a farmhouse. It is obvious from the secure and confident look of the foal that it is growing up to become a healthy well-bred horse. The observer can sense that the mare is committed to caring for, protecting, and mentoring her foal. The heads of the two animals are pointed in the same direction. They look comfortable, so close to each other that they almost touch.

Besides their size, the only difference is the slight turn of the mother’s head toward her foal. She is leading and is fully aware that her foal is following her. She is mentoring.

As Christian parents, we have the unique opportunity and responsibility to mentor the children who have been entrusted to our care. The Bible is our guide as we model how to love the Lord God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. It is one thing to tell our children about our faith (which is indeed necessary and important). But it is quite another thing to live out that faith before their eyes—in good times and bad.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and


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with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates”.

The imagery in this Scripture powerfully describes parental mentoring:

“Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Mentoring children often happens best when it is up close and personal in informal settings. Your children probably won’t even know it is happening, until they reflect back as adults.

Because I grew up in Indiana, the scenery of Midwest country roads reminds me of some of the mentoring I received as a boy. During the summer, I’d sometimes ride along with my father on his sales calls in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. It was during this time that I saw my father in his work world. We’d talk about life and business on the drive. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was mentoring me. It was informal, yet it made an impact.

Family mentoring should also include biblical instruction.

Ephesians 6:4 says,

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

(See also Colossians 3:21.) The book of Proverbs is a great place to start—it’s easy to read with memorable biblical truths.

There are also creative ways to teach biblical truth in the home. For example, I remember a painting that hung in my childhood bedroom of a young man with both hands on the wheel of a ship, making his way through a storm. With one hand on the young man’s shoulder, Jesus points forward, clearly guiding him. The young sailor has a calm sense of assurance on his face. As a kid, I thought it was just a cool picture. As a grown man, I now know about storms in life and the title of the painting rings true: Christ Our Pilot. That picture now hangs in my home.

There may be times as a parent when you say, “I can’t do this


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mentoring stuff.”The culture is colliding with biblical principles, and it’s hard to find like-minded parents for support. Don’t lose hope. Jesus will also guide you through your storms. And it may be at these times that your faith will shine brightest to your children.

Be reminded:

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

“[God said,] ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Mentoring is the process (one day at a time) of assisting our children in developing their maximum potential in Jesus Christ. When we learn to know our child’s giftedness, we can come alongside and nurture them. We cannot control their output, but we can control the input.

Mentoring in the family is for life. It takes on different forms, but everyone needs a fan, a person to lean on, a person to learn from. What safer place than in the family, on the homestead where it all begins. When children are young, they say, “Watch me.” “Play with me.” “Tuck me into bed.” Once grown, our children still need to know that we care about what they are doing (Watch me), that we care about the relationship (Play with me), and that we are there for them and can be counted on (Tuck me into bed).

In closing, consider the story of Jethro and Moses in Exodus 18:14-27. Their story is an example of a trusted mentoring relationship that developed over years. We are never too old to have a mentor or be a mentor.

Exodus 18:14-27

When his father-in-law [Jethro] saw all that Moses was doing for the people [of Israel], he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you


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will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice [italics added], and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

Moses made a good decision. He listened and accepted the advice of his family mentor.

2. Mentoring in Christian Community

Next we’ll look at mentoring in the context of Christian community—church life and Christian relationships.

When I took driver’s education as a sophomore in high school, I learned about blind spots. During the drives with my instructor, he would tell me never to fully trust the mirrors when changing lanes. He talked about blind spots and the importance of taking a quick look over the shoulder to avoid them. That advice has served me well.

There are blind spots in our lives as well. An effective mentor can help us identify and avoid them. A good mentor can also help us consider options and choose wisely when making decisions.

Fred Smith was a businessman and author who desired to be


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remembered as a person who stretched others—which he did. In the article How to Find a Mentor, he wrote,

“A good mentor has lived long enough to understand cause and effect. Many of us have not lived long enough to see that what looks great starting out isn’t always great later on. I’m interested in ‘vector decisions.’ At the time of decision, there is little difference between two options, but over time, their results diverge widely. It takes wisdom to see where that vector is going to go . . . The job of a mentor is to open a window, the right window. And then point to the best path.”

How do you go about finding a mentor in the Christian community—someone who can help you avoid blind spots and weigh decisions? Smith suggests that we ask these questions:

1. Do they have wisdom from experience?

2. Do they feel noncompetitive toward younger people?

3. Can they spot talent?

4. Is there good chemistry between us?

5. Will they take the responsibility seriously?

6. Are they willing and able to confront?

7. Do they ask good questions?

Can you think of a person like this in your church or among other Christians you know? Have you thought about approaching this person to be your mentor? Or maybe you are the mentor another person needs. Have you thought about mentoring someone?

Clearly, the Bible teaches the value of such relationships.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

“It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person, than to listen to the song of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:5).

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).


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“Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses” (Proverbs 27:6).

What’s the value of being a mentor? Howard and William Hendricks, in their book As Iron Sharpens Iron, write,

“There is no greater legacy for a man to leave than wisdom. Solomon—who knew a thing or two about wealth and wisdom—wrote in Ecclesiastes that wisdom is unsurpassed as a gift that keeps on giving: Ecclesiastes 7:11-12. Wisdom lasts . . . Friend, there are men out there who would willingly give all they have—indeed, they would forego any material inheritance—if instead they could inherit your wisdom. To deprive them of that is like dying without a will. So I challenge you: Build into another’s man’s life. By doing so, you will pass on a permanent, even an eternal, legacy.”

A good example of someone, on a global scale, who intentionally made a decision to mentor young Christian leaders is Leighton Ford, author, evangelist, and brother-in-law of Billy Graham. Through the personal tragedy of the death of his son Sandy at age 21, Ford gained a deep desire to mentor young Christian leaders. In 1991, he established the Arrow Leadership Program to accomplish this goal.

The book The Mentoring Tree, by Todd Hahn and Jim Osterhaus, captures Ford’s legacy through the illustration of two trees. The big idea of the book is “that leaders may be visible and grow tall and spread widely [like a Banyan tree], but unless they are growing a whole network under the surface [like an Aspen tree], how will their influence last?” The book points out four qualities of a mentor: authentic, available, focused on the mentee, and discernment. Ford is passionate about mentoring, and the book highlights the testimonies of many who have been impacted by his legacy.

Carson Pue, author of Mentoring Leaders: Wisdom for Developing Character, Calling and Competency (and former CEO of the Arrow Leadership Program), describes the mentoring process as a matrix:

1. Self-Awareness–deep-seated understanding of who we are as children of God through Jesus Christ.

2. Freeing Up—disentangling ourselves from those things


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that hold us back and having our needs fully met by Jesus.

3. Visioneering—discovering God’s purpose for our lives.

4. Implementing—being purposeful in how we live and lead.

5. Sustaining—learning how to realize our purpose and maintain zeal for ministry.

In some ways, the mentoring process can be likened to the passing of a baton from one leader to the next, as illustrated in the biblical stories of Moses and Joshua or Paul and Timothy.

Moses and Joshua - Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel:

“I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel,

“Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 34:9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.


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Paul and Timothy - Philippians 2:19-23

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. See also 1 and 2 Timothy.

Other biblical mentoring relationships include: Moses and Caleb; Naomi and Ruth; Samuel and Saul; Samuel and David; Jonathan and David; Jehoiada and Joash; Jesus and the twelve disciples; Barnabas and Paul; Barnabas and John Mark; Priscilla and Aquila in relation to Apollos; and Paul and Titus.

In summary, mentoring in the Christian community is important. Second Timothy 2:2 makes the point well:

“The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

By building into the lives of people in his Christian community, Paul could say,

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).

Who can you point to and say, “You are my letter?” Or whose letter are you?

Take a few minutes and think about these questions. For those who are your letter, perhaps send them a note of encouragement or call them. And for those who would say that you are their letter, send them a note of thanks or call and express your appreciation.

Howard and William Hendricks note,

“The process of mentoring is like a man flying a kite. The kite does the flying, but it needs the man’s help to take


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advantage of the wind.”

There are seasons of life and the winds do change. So if you are the kite, is there someone’s help you need now to enable you to take advantage of the wind? Pray about it and ask for their help.

If you are handed the kite’s string, will you take it? Pray about it. Help the kites in your Christian community catch the wind.

3. Mentoring in the Workplace

The following are memorable words of wisdom from two respected coaches.

According to Tom Landry,

“Leadership is getting someone to do what they don’t want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve.”

John Wooden said,

“Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”

In his book The Power of Mentoring, Martin Sanders compares mentoring to a coach’s leadership:

“The mentor is like the batting coach in major league baseball. He or she becomes a student of the mentoree’s life, asking strategic questions and offering insights to help the mentoree be more effective.”

As president of Global Hospitality Resources, Inc., part of my work is serving as executive editor of GlobalHotelNetwork.com (GHN), an on-line market intelligence resource for executives in the global travel and tourism industry. One of our columns is the GHN Executive Profile, which features insights by prominent CEOs and presidents in the global hospitality industry. Three questions we usually ask are: What business principles guide you? What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Who mentored you?

As it relates to mentoring, the answers from business executives usually fall into three categories: a family relationship, a business


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relationship, and/or a teacher. Consider these thoughtful reflections from selected global hospitality leaders.

Christopher J. Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton Worldwide, USA

“I have been fortunate to have been given a lot of advice in my life. One piece of advice, taken from our founder Conrad Hilton, is to ‘always keep the shower curtain inside the bathtub when you take a shower, otherwise, the entire bathroom floor gets wet.’ But in all seriousness, the best piece of advice I have ever received is from my father, who I consider to be my greatest mentor.

He said, ‘Work hard, be honest, be respectful of everyone you deal with, and always have a lot of humility. Whether it’s in your personal life or professional life, always conduct yourself with a great deal of humility.’ ”

Lindsey Ueberroth, President, Preferred Hotel Group, USA

“Be fair, be flexible, and always ask ‘how can I do this better?’. Never be afraid to ask questions, and you can always reserve the right to change your mind. I have had several great mentors in my life that have helped in different areas, but my best mentors have always been my family—my father John and my mother Gail, who have both been in the travel industry their entire lives.”

Sonia Cheng, CEO, New World Hospitality, Hong Kong

“My inspiration is my father, who opened one of the first five-star hotels in China and was one of the guiding forces behind the growth of the Asia hospitality industry. He always told me to put people first—choose your team wisely and support them in order to build a strong culture and therefore a strong brand. He lived “Relationship Hospitality”—although he may not have called it that!—and continues to do so today in all his personal and professional endeavours.”

Monty J. Bennett, Chief Executive Officer, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., USA

“My father, who began in the hotel industry in the 1960s, mentored me. I saw how deals were done up close, watched


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developments succeed and fail as he passed lessons to me. As a result of these many lessons learned over time, our company has five guiding principles. That is, to be: engaging, profitable, ethical, tenacious and innovative. We believe following these principles has served us well over the years. And to continue to emphasize them, we have an all-associate meeting once a quarter to honor those associates in our firm that exhibit these principles.”

Clement K. M. Kwok, Chief Executive Officer, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, Hong Kong

“The style in which I run HSH is based on the principles of teamwork and transparency. I cannot say that I had a particular mentor through the developmental years of my career, but I will always remember how impressed I was, as a young audit assistant working in a London accountant firm, with the level of care and attention to detail that was paid by a senior manager who came to review our audit work. I truly believe that to be a good manager, one has to take an interest in and have a good understanding of the details so as to be able to sense potential problems and submerge down to the requisite level of detail in order to tackle the problems.”

Horst Schulze, Chairman and CEO, The West Paces Hotel Group, USA

“Create excellence for all concerned owners, company, guest, employees, and community. Be driven by objective and values. Keep focused. Don’t make excuses. So many have influenced me from my first maitre d’ when I was 14 . . . to some great waiters, dishwashers, maids, general managers and CEOs. All had some things in common. They concentrated in doing their job with excellence and made no excuses.”

Leland C. Pillsbury, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Thayer Lodging Group, USA

“Bill Marriott is the greatest hotelman in the world. I had the extraordinary opportunity to work for Marriott my first 20 years out of school, when the company was growing faster than I was. The last several years there, I worked for Fred Malek, who has been my partner the last 20 years. My


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advice to young people today: look for a company that is growing quickly, values new ideas, and find a boss who will make a commitment to coach and teach you.”

Ted Teng, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd., USA

“My business principle is to run a sustainable business with a sense of purpose while doing it extraordinarily well. I’ve had many mentors, but my first mentor was my seventh grade woodshop teacher, Mr. Sams. I learned some of the most important things in woodwork and life from him: 1) Measure twice, cut once. 2) Small variances in angles lead to big gaps in a distance. 3) Scratches show up after you put on the finishes. 4) The greater the contact surface, the better the bonding.”

Raúl González, CEO EMEA, Barcelo Grupo, Spain

I worked for 12 years in a consultancy company, having Leopoldo Abadia, Strategy Professor at the IESE business school, as president. One of his best pieces of advice was, that “work capability is unlimited.” One other was: “the starting point for solving problems should sometimes be a blank paper,” so you can ask yourself how would you solve this in case you had no history, no conditions, or limitations. This sometimes gives you very good approaches that you can then adjust to your reality. The former presidents, D. Gabriel and D. Sebastián Barceló, are also an inspiration of entrepreneurship not only for me but for all the employees of the company, and I would dare to say also for the whole industry. Their sons, and current co-presidents of the Group are also an example of hard work and well done business.”

Your mentors may fall into one or perhaps all of these three categories. So if we were interviewing you, how would you answer these three questions: What business principles guide you? What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Who mentored you?

One of the most passionate men on mentoring that I know is Harold Taber, Director, MBA Mentor Program, Crowell School of Business, Biola University. Prior to his work at Biola, Taber served as Group President of LACoke and President/CEO of the Hansen Beverage Company.

Transcript - ML218 Faith at Work

© 2019 Our Daily Bread University. All rights reserved.

Christ-Centered Learning — Anytime, Anywhere

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Commenting on mentoring in the workplace, Taber says,

“Mentors establish a mentoring relationship and friendship with their mentees, and the power of friendship and mentoring is key for doing business God’s way. In my career I was repeatedly being tugged between my role as a Christian and businessperson and was separating the sacred from the secular. As I tried to be more Christlike and less self-centered, standing in the gap for my beliefs in a large public company was a difficult challenge in the secular world. My Christian business mentors were a critical resource for me to be able to do that.”

How about you? Do you have Christian mentors in the workplace you can turn to?

Recognizing the important need for Christian businesspeople to be encouraged and equipped to serve Christ in the workplace, a number of organizations have been established for this purpose. They offer a national or global platform to connect Christian businesspeople and encourage them through peer-to-peer mentoring and/or education. If you are not familiar with any of these groups, check out their websites (organizational descriptions are taken from their websites). In the Appendix, further information is provided, with respect to social media tools available on their websites.

faith at work ml218 lesson 03 of 05 · up in the training and instruction of the lord.” (see also...

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