MENTORS

Words of Wisdom

by Pastor Alphonze

MENTORS

Mentors Mentors Mentors. Everybody needs one, especially anybody who is focused and purposed in life, desiring to gain traction in all they set to achieve.

Mentors see the big picture, they know enough to move you forward effectively into your powerful pull of the future. Perhaps one of the greatest regrets we can have in our lives is looking back and realizing we did not have coaches and mentors guiding us. It may seem like a luxury; but in real life, coaches and mentors make all the difference.

There is no Joshua without Moses, no Ruth without Naomi, no Elisha without Elijah, no Timothy without Paul. Think about athletes. There are sports stars who are great on their own. But any expert will tell you that they’ll never make it to the championships—to the greatest levels of their skill—without someone to guide and train them. There’s nobody in our world who’s achieving great things without coaches and mentors. So, why is it that we think we can go forward in the role that the Lord has placed us in without these figures?

Allow me to play with the word MENTOR just for the purpose of bringing a few points home.

The first two letters in the word Mentors forms the word ‘ME’. As a matter of fact, ME implicates that you are the starting point. It begins with ME. I have to know ME and what ME wants. Not just what everyone wants for ME. You have to have a personal discovery of who you are and what you want in life. You are unique by all standards, and your uniqueness is a pointer for your destiny. If you reject your uniqueness you are rejecting your destiny. Discovery and the awareness of who you are and what you want is critical and is the initial factor to be addressed. The best way to discover what a product is and its capabilities is to refer to the manufacturer and his manual – the creator of the product. In this case, God is our manufacturer and the bible is His manual about us. The outcome of not knowing who you are is catastrophic, it ends up going through what feels like a protracted season of endless stress that becomes chronic and just about wears you out emotionally and psychologically. You must know the architect to know the blueprint for your life.

The second word I coined out of the word Mentor is MEN. In this case I mean Human. Mentors are not angels or an ethereal figure far away in the sky. It means they are within reach and live among us. I once met a friend who told me he doesn’t need a pastor because Jesus is his pastor. Jesus himself endorsed Pastors. He gives the pastoral gifts. One day he needed me to agree with him in prayer, he approached a man. Another time he needed somebody to officiate his wedding , he didn’t call Jesus to come and officiate and join them in holy matrimony, he called me.

Hebrews 6:12 says “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Paul once said “imitate me as I imitate Christ”. There are men and women who have been where you want to go. There are books written about what you want to achieve, there are men and women who know where the pitfalls, the bumps, and potholes are on the path you are undertaking. Find them, they have the expertise and know withal, they become the catalysts of how to get there in one piece.

MENTAL is the next word I coin. Mentors have in their specific field a higher mentality. They have been there, seen that, done that. Through trial and error they have figured out what works and what doesn’t, they have acquired knowledge in that specific field and know how to get there. In a nutshell, they are experienced. Jesus said if the blind leads the blind, they will both fall in a ditch. You have to find someone who has a higher knowledge in the specific thing you are trying to achieve.

ENTER is the final word I get from the word Mentor. Mentors will help you enter. Success is not rated just by how you begin but by how you end. Many people start well and never finish strong, many never enter their destiny, many have dreams they never actualize. Mentors will help you get to your destination. They will stretch you, pull you and push you to where you want to go. I am reminded of Jesus hanging on the cross and before he gave up the ghost he cried out with a loud voice IT IS FINISHED. He signed out with a big bang, the word DONE.

In all your getting, get a mentor.