The great day approaches: I am due to lead my first walk for Get Wiltshire Walking next Tuesday.
One essential for being a good walk leader is that you reconnoitre your walk beforehand - not more than a week in advance, and ideally as close as possible to the date.
The walkers will want to know that you have already been round the course and spotted any difficulties that might make the walk hazardous or uncomfortable: lots of mud, slippery ice, fallen branches and so on. The knowledge that you have taken this step builds confidence all round. Walkers know that leaders have trodden the route in advance and are taking them nowhere they would avoid going if doing it on their own.
Of course, hazards can unexpectedly appear. That mound of earth that someone has dumped in the middle of the path wasn’t there the other day. In such cases the leader is looked to to make responsible decisions about alternative routes so as not to put anyone at risk. In most cases this is not necessary. The potential hazards have been viewed and addressed in advance and the risk controlled.
In the armed forces, where danger is unavoidable, good leadership is vital. The most loved and respected officers have generally been those who prove themselves able to do what they expect the troops under them to do.
Admiral Lord Nelson was popular on board ship because he
“... understood the realities of combat, and he understood that when leaders set the example, their subordinates are more likely to rise to the challenge. Nelson’s sailors loved him, because he shared the dangers alongside them”.
Anyone who has been on board HMS Victory and spotted the plaque which marks where Nelson was fatally shot will know this truth. Danger is unavoidable in naval combat, of course, and Nelson was targeted in the most exposed of spots where he expected his men to be.
For precisely this reason, it does high credit to Jesus to say that
“… we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV 1984).
In His thirty or so years on earth, there was no facet of human experience that Jesus did not go through in some way or another.
An old hymn includes this verse which sums it up neatly:
Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that into God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.
Richard Baxter, 1615-1691
Every time a believer is baptised, the same truth is remembered in dramatic fashion as the person goes down into the water and then emerges again.
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new [resurrection] life” (Romans 6:3-4).
The Lord Jesus Christ may not have gone through every detail of our experience. Yet in our bitterest and most forsaken moments He can still remind us with true conviction, “I understand; I’ve been there”.
Last time I shared one venture I have embarked on: leading a local walking group. This time I shall introduce another, which is mentoring at a local school.
The word “mentoring” is now being increasingly heard in certain Christian circles. It can involve someone, possibly older and with more experience of life, meeting with a younger Christian to give support and encouragement on his or her journey.
In the school context, mentoring is rather different. It may involve a child who is not fitting in to school life. Maybe self-esteem is low or social skills are lacking. The need is for the child to grow in a sense of self-worth and readiness to overcome challenges. That way the experience of school life will be more positive and successful.
Mentors do not go in as advocates for Christian faith as such. However, the school is aware that they are trained by a local organisation that links churches to schools, so there is a Christian ethos in the background. If the child happens to raise issues of faith, these can be discussed.
A prime inspiration for Christian mentors is the apostle Paul. Paul mentored a younger man, Timothy. He was preparing him to take on something of his mantle as an overseer of church life.
… I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 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, 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, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 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. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you (2 Timothy 1:6-14 ESV)
Join me in suffering … join me in not being ashamed. This guidance that Paul gives to Timothy is real mentoring. He is not just giving him advice – though there is plenty of that in this letter. He is actually inviting Timothy to imitate him. Paul, nearing the end of his life and ready to suffer the ultimate penalty for his faith, is consciously passing on the baton of leadership to Timothy.
Paul treats the younger man as a true colleague and not a junior that who has to be lectured from a great height. They are fighting together, side by side, contending for the gospel. That is the respectful way in which Paul treats those who are around him. It is important to any mentor that he takes the same attitude.
I was once on the receiving end of a mentoring exercise. It was an experimental process called "accompanied self-appraisal". The mentor was supposed to accompany me in achieving a particular goal for that year of my ministry. Unfortunately it didn't work out. The man became sidetracked into censuring me for various attitudes which I held that he didn't agree with. As a result the whole process became a waste of time and the mentoring relationship came to an end.
Even though mentoring a child is a different matter, I hope I will learn from Paul to be a respectful person, accompanying the youngster on the journey as a supportive encourager. There are many in desperate need of a boost to their self-esteem in this day and age when other students can so easily put them down by a cutting remark. The Lord Jesus typically sought to build up rather than tear down. May I be like my Master, who has always been my best mentor.
