Mentor Like Jesus: Exploring How He Made DisciplesSýnishorn

Truth at the Core

Mentoring is about the transfer of truth . . . God’s truth . . . to the next generation of leaders. And a big part of that is the memorization of Scripture so it can be recalled and acknowledged in moments of need.

Think about Jesus. He quoted Scripture constantly, notably when He was in trouble. Remember when Jesus was in the desert for forty days? He had no food the whole time so you can imagine how hungry he was when the devil came to Him with an offer. “The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread’” (Luke 4:3). Jesus answered the devil’s tempting offer by reminding Himself (and the devil), “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone’” (v. 4).

He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 which says:

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Scripture wasn’t just what Jesus knew . . . it was what Jesus was. In the moment, He was able to recall specific Scriptures that reminded Him of God’s truth and His faithfulness.

But Jesus didn’t teach on every verse He knew, and neither should you. Jesus amplified the verses He knew the Father wanted Him to. Mentoring isn’t the same as a Bible study. So don’t try to make it into one or feel guilty because it isn’t. Teach your mentees Scriptures that God has used to teach you.

One of the best parts of mentoring occurs when you let your mentees see “under the hood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What you are thunders so loudly that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.” And when you transparently let them know “what you are,” how you think, how you became the person you are, truth gets transferred inexplicably. To hold that back would be to cheat them of the best part. Just as Jesus would have cheated us had He not let us see who He really was . . . a compassionate, tender, loving, smart God-man who gave everything up for us.

Challenge: Create a list of the Scripture verses that mean the most to you . . . that most guide your life. Make a note by each one, explaining how it came to be significant to you. Now ask God to put you in a position to share these truths with one or more mentees. God’s word, wrapped in your personal story and application, is amazingly impactful for less mature Jesus-followers.