MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by Bootstrap »

Bootstrap wrote:
silentreader wrote:I don't know if any one else is interested, but I would like to continue this as time allows, even if it is only for my benefit.
5. I WILL DEVELOP LEADERS
One of Jesus’ top priorities was to develop leaders. He did not mass-produce leaders but intentionally focused on a small number of them. I affirm that developing leaders as Jesus did calls me to build close, personal relationships with promising men and women, and to invest time in mentoring them. I affirm that the heart cry from many younger leaders around the world is for a spiritual mentor. I also acknowledge my calling to equip saints for ministry and to release them to serve as the Holy Spirit directs. I am aware that many leaders ignore this priority. I ask for grace and insight to intentionally equip saints and strengthen the hearts and lives of younger leaders.
(Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 6:12-16; John 17:6-19; Acts 11:22-26; Acts 15:39-16:5; Eph. 4:11- 16; Phil. 2:19-30; 2 Timothy)
Clicking on the above link displays all of these texts. I find that a convenient way to get an overview. You can easily see the entire chapter or choose a different translation for a given text, too.
I agree with this, but I also think it's part of investing in people, helping all people grow and mature, showing love to all, but focusing on a smaller group and spending a lot of time and energy on them. After all, we all have gifts in the Body of Christ, we need to nurture all the members, and I see that as the bigger picture in Scripture.

Training leaders is extremely important - and very strategic - but I have been in some churches where people get lost if they are not seen as "leadership material". We all need spiritual mentors, whether or not our gifts are in leadership.
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by MaxPC »

silentreader wrote: Christian men and Christian women mostly have different roles, responsibilities, and strengths in the work of the church and in the Christian home and family. Notice that in the Titus passage quoted above, men and women are explicitly addressed separately concerning their gender specific responsibilities. In other cases where there is no need for gender specificity they are both addressed as mankind or humankind.
Before the inclusive language trend, "men" or "man" were also used as a collective nouns to refer to the both genders. Latin derived languages tend to default to the male noun as a collective; Germanic languages tend to use the prefix "ge-" to signify a collective.

That said, as long as the truth of Christ is preached and is understood by the listener, then the listener can make a decision to follow Him. :D
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by silentreader »

silentreader wrote:
5. I WILL DEVELOP LEADERS
One of Jesus’ top priorities was to develop leaders. He did not mass-produce leaders but intentionally focused on a small number of them. I affirm that developing leaders as Jesus did calls me to build close, personal relationships with promising men and women, and to invest time in mentoring them. I affirm that the heart cry from many younger leaders around the world is for a spiritual mentor. I also acknowledge my calling to equip saints for ministry and to release them to serve as the Holy Spirit directs. I am aware that many leaders ignore this priority. I ask for grace and insight to intentionally equip saints and strengthen the hearts and lives of younger leaders.
(Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 6:12-16; John 17:6-19; Acts 11:22-26; Acts 15:39-16:5; Eph. 4:11- 16; Phil. 2:19-30; 2 Timothy)
lester, I was impressed today for some reason to do this sooner rather than later, hopefully I'm not rushing it.
I want to look at the Ephesians reference but in a broader context than above.

Ephesians 4:7-16 (ESV)
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Verse 8, even though not a direct quote from either the Hebrew or Greek OT, is an allusion to Psalm 68:18.
There are various 'understandings' of what this verse means, but in my studies and comparisons, the following is my preferred understanding.
In those times, when a king, King David as an example, fought and had victory over the enemy, he would 'recapture' of his own people who had previously been taken captive by the enemy, and bring them up to and present them in his city, Jerusalem. They would then be given of the spoils of war, (gifts) that had perhaps also been recaptured from the enemy.
Paul then uses this to form an analogy on a spiritual level. In my mind Paul is telling us that when King Jesus won the victory over the enemy, the result was that He recaptured many who had been captives of the enemy, and when He ascended and presented them to the Father, He gave them gifts from/through the Holy Spirit.
I don't think Paul's parenthetical 'descended' statement is useful for this particular study.

The gifts/giftedness that He gave was used by some as apostles, some as prophets, and so on... to equip the saints for the work and ministry of building up and edifying the Body of Christ. In several ways he states that the goal was to bring spiritual growth and mature discernment to those who are in the Body, so that the Body is strengthened, works properly together, and is unified in love.
What do I learn from all this?

1) I was a captive of the enemy, I was recaptured by King Jesus.
2) When He ascended and presented me to the Father, He then gave me a Holy Spirit gift.
3) This gift was in no way intended for my personal advancement, but was to be used for, among other things,
the mentoring of fellow believers so that we can grow into a coherent, effective Body.
4) He gave me enabling grace so that the full measure of Christ's gift can be used for the benefit of the Body.
(This from v7.)

May I in humility look to Him for direction as to how I can use His gift for the eternal good of others.
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by lesterb »

A lot of good thoughts in this thread. To bad nobody kept a copy of the original part of it.
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by MaxPC »

silentreader wrote: I want to look at the Ephesians reference but in a broader context than above.

Ephesians 4:7-16 (ESV)
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Verse 8, even though not a direct quote from either the Hebrew or Greek OT, is an allusion to Psalm 68:18.
There are various 'understandings' of what this verse means, but in my studies and comparisons, the following is my preferred understanding.
In those times, when a king, King David as an example, fought and had victory over the enemy, he would 'recapture' of his own people who had previously been taken captive by the enemy, and bring them up to and present them in his city, Jerusalem. They would then be given of the spoils of war, (gifts) that had perhaps also been recaptured from the enemy.
Paul then uses this to form an analogy on a spiritual level. In my mind Paul is telling us that when King Jesus won the victory over the enemy, the result was that He recaptured many who had been captives of the enemy, and when He ascended and presented them to the Father, He gave them gifts from/through the Holy Spirit.
I don't think Paul's parenthetical 'descended' statement is useful for this particular study.

The gifts/giftedness that He gave was used by some as apostles, some as prophets, and so on... to equip the saints for the work and ministry of building up and edifying the Body of Christ. In several ways he states that the goal was to bring spiritual growth and mature discernment to those who are in the Body, so that the Body is strengthened, works properly together, and is unified in love.
What do I learn from all this?

1) I was a captive of the enemy, I was recaptured by King Jesus.
2) When He ascended and presented me to the Father, He then gave me a Holy Spirit gift.
3) This gift was in no way intended for my personal advancement, but was to be used for, among other things,
the mentoring of fellow believers so that we can grow into a coherent, effective Body.
4) He gave me enabling grace so that the full measure of Christ's gift can be used for the benefit of the Body.
(This from v7.)

May I in humility look to Him for direction as to how I can use His gift for the eternal good of others.
I am edified by your thoughts on this: it brings to a personal level the how and why of our life in Christ. We have a mission, a task that is tailor-made for the graces and gifts we receive.
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Max (Plain Catholic)
Mt 24:35
Proverbs 18:2 A fool does not delight in understanding but only in revealing his own mind.
1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by silentreader »

5. I WILL DEVELOP LEADERS
One of Jesus’ top priorities was to develop leaders. He did not mass-produce leaders but intentionally focused on a small number of them. I affirm that developing leaders as Jesus did calls me to build close, personal relationships with promising men and women, and to invest time in mentoring them. I affirm that the heart cry from many younger leaders around the world is for a spiritual mentor. I also acknowledge my calling to equip saints for ministry and to release them to serve as the Holy Spirit directs. I am aware that many leaders ignore this priority. I ask for grace and insight to intentionally equip saints and strengthen the hearts and lives of younger leaders.
(Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 6:12-16; John 17:6-19; Acts 11:22-26; Acts 15:39-16:5; Eph. 4:11- 16; Phil. 2:19-30; 2 Timothy)
We have looked at some things that relate to 'I will develop/mentor/invest in those who are potential leaders', the Pastoral Epistles, 2 Timothy in this example, perhaps focus a little more on 'I will develop/ mentor those who are already leaders', although the Pastoral Epistles can be applied at different levels.
2 Timothy 1English Standard Version (ESV)
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.
The initial interesting thing for me, is that Paul, in his opening address in 1&2 Timothy and in Titus, says, "grace, mercy, and peace, from..." whereas in all the other epistles he begins, "grace to you and peace from..."
Does this have theological significance? I'm not sure. Perhaps Paul's perspective had changed slightly with time, perhaps he was more aware of everyone's need for mercy.
The Pastoral Epistles were addressed to individuals, the other epistles except for Philemon, were addressed to a group, I don't know if that made a difference.
Maybe it was a case of him feeling that pastors needed an extra dose of mercy from God perhaps because of their extra responsibility and accountability as undershepherds of the flock. I believe it was Charles Spurgeon who said that was the case.
Are we always willing to extend mercy to our pastors? Perhaps it is an area in which we could grow?

We see also mention made of the influence of Godly women in Timothy's life, his mother's and grandmother's faith being instrumental in his development.
We feel perhaps a sense that Timothy's responsibilities and the reality of Paul's circumstances were weighing Timothy down, and that he especially needed encouragement at this time.
I think Paul not only loved him like a son, but also seemed to feel responsible for Timothy, recognizing that he himself would probably not be around much longer to give encouragement.
When Paul wrote 2 Timothy his situation had probably changed radically from when he wrote the previous prison epistles such as Ephesians. He was no longer under close house arrest but was probably now in the Mamertine dungeon from which the chances of release were slim.
What is bright and shining here is that Paul did not spend a lot of time dwelling on his own situation, but was more concerned about the spiritual well being of Timothy.
Another application for me. Even in dire straits a true Christian can and should be an encouragement and source of strength for other Christians. Even from a dead-end prison cell, I need to be useful in mentoring others.

I'll try to develop this in more detail as time allows.
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by temporal1 »

silentreader wrote:
5. I WILL DEVELOP LEADERS
One of Jesus’ top priorities was to develop leaders. He did not mass-produce leaders but intentionally focused on a small number of them. I affirm that developing leaders as Jesus did calls me to build close, personal relationships with promising men and women, and to invest time in mentoring them. I affirm that the heart cry from many younger leaders around the world is for a spiritual mentor. I also acknowledge my calling to equip saints for ministry and to release them to serve as the Holy Spirit directs. I am aware that many leaders ignore this priority. I ask for grace and insight to intentionally equip saints and strengthen the hearts and lives of younger leaders.
(Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 6:12-16; John 17:6-19; Acts 11:22-26; Acts 15:39-16:5; Eph. 4:11- 16; Phil. 2:19-30; 2 Timothy)
We have looked at some things that relate to 'I will develop/mentor/invest in those who are potential leaders', the Pastoral Epistles, 2 Timothy in this example, perhaps focus a little more on 'I will develop/ mentor those who are already leaders', although the Pastoral Epistles can be applied at different levels.
2 Timothy 1English Standard Version (ESV)
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.
The initial interesting thing for me, is that Paul, in his opening address in 1&2 Timothy and in Titus, says, "grace, mercy, and peace, from..." whereas in all the other epistles he begins, "grace to you and peace from..."
Does this have theological significance? I'm not sure. Perhaps Paul's perspective had changed slightly with time, perhaps he was more aware of everyone's need for mercy.
The Pastoral Epistles were addressed to individuals, the other epistles except for Philemon, were addressed to a group, I don't know if that made a difference.
Maybe it was a case of him feeling that pastors needed an extra dose of mercy from God perhaps because of their extra responsibility and accountability as undershepherds of the flock. I believe it was Charles Spurgeon who said that was the case.
Are we always willing to extend mercy to our pastors? Perhaps it is an area in which we could grow?

We see also mention made of the influence of Godly women in Timothy's life, his mother's and grandmother's faith being instrumental in his development.
We feel perhaps a sense that Timothy's responsibilities and the reality of Paul's circumstances were weighing Timothy down, and that he especially needed encouragement at this time.
I think Paul not only loved him like a son, but also seemed to feel responsible for Timothy, recognizing that he himself would probably not be around much longer to give encouragement.

When Paul wrote 2 Timothy his situation had probably changed radically from when he wrote the previous prison epistles such as Ephesians.

He was no longer under close house arrest but was probably now in the Mamertine dungeon from which the chances of release were slim.

What is bright and shining here is that Paul did not spend a lot of time dwelling on his own situation, but was more concerned about the spiritual well being of Timothy.

Another application for me.
Even in dire straits a true Christian can and should be an encouragement and source of strength for other Christians. Even from a dead-end prison cell, I need to be useful in mentoring others.


I'll try to develop this in more detail as time allows.
This interests me. No "victim mentality," so prevalent today, while ignoring these important scriptural accounts that demand-nothing to elevate one's spiritual being.

This is not of human design!
Only God could create and offer this, as you say, faith, hope, salvation, in the most dire circumstances.

(don't let me interrupt) ..
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by Bootstrap »

silentreader wrote: When Paul wrote 2 Timothy his situation had probably changed radically from when he wrote the previous prison epistles such as Ephesians. He was no longer under close house arrest but was probably now in the Mamertine dungeon from which the chances of release were slim.
What is bright and shining here is that Paul did not spend a lot of time dwelling on his own situation, but was more concerned about the spiritual well being of Timothy.
Another application for me. Even in dire straits a true Christian can and should be an encouragement and source of strength for other Christians. Even from a dead-end prison cell, I need to be useful in mentoring others.
Excellent thoughts.

I am also reminded of the book of Philemon. When in prison, Paul met a runaway slave who had converted to Christianity and was helping tend to Paul's needs. Visiting and caring for prisoners was even more critical in biblical times, because the prisons weren't terribly concerned whether prisoners lived or died.

So what does Paul do? He sends the slave back to his master to be reconciled, with a letter asking the master to receive him back - not as a slave, but as a brother - and to count any of the slave's trespasses against Paul's account. If you read between the lines, it's a very personal letter, with deep caring for both the master and the slave, and a strong appeal for reconciliation.
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by MaxPC »

Silentreader wrote:
Another application for me.
Even in dire straits a true Christian can and should be an encouragement and source of strength for other Christians. Even from a dead-end prison cell, I need to be useful in mentoring others.
Thank you for this encouraging and powerful concept: all of our lives in any circumstance are to be lived through Him, with Him, and in Him. There are no vacations from discipleship nor would I want one. There's nothing sweeter than following Christ!
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Re: MentorLink Leaders' Covenant

Post by Bootstrap »

silentreader wrote:Christian men and Christian women mostly have different roles, responsibilities, and strengths in the work of the church and in the Christian home and family. Notice that in the Titus passage quoted above, men and women are explicitly addressed separately concerning their gender specific responsibilities. In other cases where there is no need for gender specificity they are both addressed as mankind or humankind.
There are, of course, cases where it's not clear whether the Greek means "men" or "people", and you have to interpret.
MaxPC wrote:Before the inclusive language trend, "men" or "man" were also used as a collective nouns to refer to the both genders. Latin derived languages tend to default to the male noun as a collective; Germanic languages tend to use the prefix "ge-" to signify a collective.
You mean in nouns like Gebirge or Gepäck? I'm trying to think of a collective noun for men and women in German that starts with this prefix, and I'm coming up blank. What collective nouns were you thinking of?
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