Books I Am Reading.....Authentic Spiritual Mentoring

In his book Authentic Spiritual Mentoring, Larry Kreider tells the story of a child who apparently has fallen out of bed during the night. When his parents asks what happened the child replies, "I guess I stayed too close to where I got in."

Unfortunately, that seems to also describe the faith of so many who fill our pews each Sunday morning. Believers, but still not far from the point that they "got in".

With that concern in mind I have been trying to read some books on discipleship. Kreider's book takes a very different approach than the Disciple Making Pastor by Bill Hull that I read earlier this year. While Hull remains skeptical about the efficiency of one on one mentoring, Kreider has built his ministry around those very relationships. (It should be noted that these differences are slightly minimized by the fact that Hull writes specifically to pastors while Kreider addresses a much wider audience. Hull is concerned that mentoring is not the most effective use of a pastor's time. But at the end of the day these are two very different discipleship philosophies.)

For Kreider mentoring is simply the best expression of spiritual parenting. He points to 2 Timothy 2:2 as an example of four generations of believers impacted by proper discipleship. Kreider addresses both the process of finding a mentor and being a mentor. He honestly addresses the challenges and potential pitfalls of mentoring. I particularly enjoyed a chapter entitled "Decision Making Mentoring". This chapter seemed to more about ecclesiology that discipleship, but it was one of the strongest sections I read.

The book provides a wonderful retelling of the Prodigal on pages 97-99. The accountability questions on page 142 while not profound certainly help to ensure that a mentoring relationship covers the ground that matters most.

Personally, I find myself somewhere between Hull and Kreider. I do not feel I should build my ministry primarily on mentoring, but I certainly want to use it more effectively as God leads. I am convinced that mentoring should be part of my pastoral ministry.

The Disciplemaking Pastor

As the year began, I mentioned a few books that I would be trying to work through this year. I have recently completed the first one on my list, The Disciplemaking Pastor by Bill Hull.

I will humbly post a few reflections these books as I finish them. I am a bit tentative to do so as these thoughts will shed more light on my intellectual limitations than anything else. I am embarrassed to share the same internet as Tim Challies, from whom you will find much more beneficial content. But these posts will keep me accountable, so I share them as much for me as for anyone else.

What caught me about Hull's book was his emphasis on leading individuals to full spiritual development instead of being satisfied with sanctuaries filled with middle aged babes in Christ. I want to be part of that process.

In order to accomplish this transformation Hull believes that there must be a complete reimagining of the expectations and roles of churches and ministers, using Ephesians 4 as the northstar for the journey. Pastors must become equippers and members must become ministers. Hull spends the heart of the book describing reorganizations of thought and deed that are needed in the typical church.

The books laser like focus on the ultimate goal of ministry was challenging in the best sense possible. However, I often felt that he focused too much on structure. I felt he too negative in describing typical church leadership as spiritually dead and politically motivated. My fifteen years of experience as a pastor caused me to bristle at these remarks. Yes occasionally, I have come across someone who fit those descriptions, but far more often the lay leaders of my churches have been just as hungry for spiritual growth (in themselves and others) as any of my fellow pastors.

Despite our preoccupations, structure is rarely the leading edge to developing believers to their full spiritual potential. It was when Hull emphasized message and expectations he was at his best and that his book pushed me the most.

On the surface, I liked his discipleship matrix of "come and see", "come and follow", "come and be with me" and "remain in me". But I feared that when he reserves "remain in me" for only the highest layer of discipleship that he has misapplied the core of John 15.

I also wish I had read the first edition instead of this revised edition. In this edition, Hull adds some further reflections which most of the time amounted to preaching the same sermon a second time.