Mentor Like Jesus: Exploring How He Made DisciplesSample

Jesus as a Mentor

We have visualized Jesus as a CEO, Jesus as an environmentalist, and even thought about what Jesus’ politics might have been. But in reality . . . in history . . . what Jesus did that’s inarguable is mentor. He mentored twelve guys for three years. It’s well documented . . . by four different authors, two of which were eyewitnesses and products of His mentoring process.

If there’s anything we should be able to learn from Jesus and replicate in our own lives, it’s mentoring. We have a documented model with proven results. His mentees became wholly committed to His mission, worked together as an effective team, and through their efforts, arguably one-third of the world’s population believes in what they taught. From eleven people to two billion people . . . Jesus was a pretty good mentor.

And His final instruction to us before He returned to His place in heaven with the Father was what? “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). He’s telling us, “Go and do what I did. Go and find some people who are a little farther behind you on the path, and help them take their next steps, just as I did with my disciples!” His call is universal. It transcends gender. It certainly transcends vocations since none of Jesus’ mentees were church people (nor was He).

Over the next 12 days, this reading plan will be looking at how Jesus did what He did and achieved the success that He did. We’ll look at the practices Jesus used to mentor His disciples. Is there a better place to look for best practices than to Jesus? And those practices are there . . . visible . . . right there in the Scriptures . . . for all to see and apply.

Challenge: Do you want a mentor? Would you be willing to mentor? Before you launch out, spend the next 12 days learning how Jesus went about mentoring.