Mentors and Books

He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. - Luke 6:39-40

At this point in the week as we reflect on the process of growth, it might be helpful to take a step back into the theme of living a connected life. Remember the crucial connections: UP towards God, IN towards community, and OUT towards the world? Well, it turns out we need mentors in each of those areas to help us become ‘fully trained.’ We can get overwhelmed by doing too much at one time (like trying to find all seven mentors at once) and the same thing applies to trying to find mentors in each of the three areas of connection. But at the same time, there can be a temptation to sit back and just let one of those areas just languish and not grow and never look for a role model or mentor in that area.

So do some thinking - with where you are at in your life right now, would it be appropriate to seek to find a mentor in one of those three core connections? If so, what kind of mentor would it be? One idea might be to think about some possible reading (authors are great mentors!). Here are some examples:

For a general overview of all three connections and an introduction to this magnificent mentor, try reading Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen.

UP: If you struggle with how to connect with scripture, maybe try Rachel Held Evans’ Inspired.

OUT: Maybe there’s a specific sort of way you want to engage the world, so start researching that. You may end up reading something like the wonderful Missional Mom by Helen Lee or God of the Oppressed by James Cone.

IN: Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly is the perfect first step towards growing in healthy community if God has put it on your heart.