Mentorship

The word mentor refers to the "person who advises, teaches, or guides." The figure of the mentor has its origins in Greek mythology in the work of the "Odyssey", written by Homer, many centuries ago. Ulysses, the great hero, entrusted the custody of his infant son, Telemachus, to his best friend, Mentor, before leaving for the Trojan War. Mentor was responsible for teaching Telemachus "not only the teachings contained in books, but also practical [applications]." Mentor's task was to provide him with education, not only of the mind, but also of the soul and spirit. He was to provide an education in wisdom and not only in information, preparing the son to assume the role of his father in command of the family lands if the father did not return from the war.

            In the academic context, mentoring has been known for a long time. In it, a teacher, often in the university, adopts a student as their favorite, investing in the student and helping them advance in a unique way. There is usually a special affinity between the two and the teacher sees a special potential in that student. In the English-speaking world, the use of the term has been extended to all areas: business, arts, the church and so on.

            Today, the mentoring process works like this: the mentor prepares a professional early in life for the challenges of corporate life, or a mentor teacher prepares a student with whom he or she has a special affinity to excel in their area of expertise. Some companies have an effective mentoring program, where senior officials become a kind of godfather to younger employees.

            In the Christian context, we define a mentor as someone who believes in someone else, seeing possibilities beyond what that person perceives, supporting and nurturing them, challenging and leveraging them to their full potential within God's purposes. In the pastoring pastors program, the idea of mentoring is that experienced pastors will invest in the lives of less experienced pastors.