Bible Business Principal

1st and 2nd Timothy are letters written by the Apostle Paul to a young man whom Paul had mentored, Timothy. The letters are both instructive and encouraging the young protégé in his own leadership journey.

If you are in a position of leadership one of your main responsibilities is to find those who aspire to do more and give them the tools and opportunities to do so. One big mistake that many leaders make is not allowing those who they are mentoring to experience on the job training that makes a few blunders along the way. Training the next generation of leaders is your greatest challenge as a leader.

This begs the question’ “Who are you mentoring? Who will take your place when you are gone?”

I believe the most effective mentoring program is as follows:

1.    Show people what you want them to do.

2.    Help them do it.

3.    Let them do it with you overseeing them.

4.    Let them do it on their own.

5.    Get them to teach someone else how to do it.

This goes along with my favorite passage in the Psalms, Psalms 111:10 “….a good understanding have all they that do his commandments.” You only truly understand what you do or have done.

Over the next week we will look at Paul’s advice to his young student. As we learn from this master-teacher may we all become the leader that God would have us to be!