Don't Go It Alone!

By Bethany Palmer

I love talking to people who are heading into their Future-Funded Ministry™ and have good advice. Richard Erickson from Greater Europe Ministry is no different. Richard went through a very challenging time in his life, one that he never saw coming. He got a divorce. It was devastating, challenging, and just plain hard.

He learned so much during that time of his life that he is making it his life mission to counsel others and glean from that experience in a way that will touch lives for years to come.

I asked him what was the one suggestion he had for Christians—especially Christians who were working inside of a ministry?

He said, “Without a shadow of a doubt…get a mentor.”

He continued by laying out for me what kind of mentors to get:

• Get a mentor to help with your Spiritual walk
• Get a mentor to help with your Professional walk

Then he went on to say, “Get to know these mentors, so they can get to know you.”

Oh, that is so true. Being in mentoring relationships in the past myself, I can tell you that I have gotten more out of them when I was very open and honest. The more I held back and made everything look perfect the longer it took to get any advice that would truly help.

Like life, we get out of it what we put in to it. Either mentoring or being mentored is no different.

Richard said he will even have mentors as he enters in to his Future-Funded Ministry life-stage—I will follow that lead.

I want to thank Richard for sharing. I have heard many say that they want to find a mentor and don’t know who or how to go about it.

Two thoughts on that one:

• Find someone you admire and ask. If they say yes, come to the coffee or meal on time and prepared.
• Come with one or two questions that you have that will guide the conversation. Don’t depend on the mentor to come with the agenda.

For those interested in finding a mentor and engaging in a more formal relationship, Christian Leadership Alliance will be launching a mentoring program called the Christian Leadership Mentoring Network (CLMN) at the 2014 National Conference, in Dallas. I’m excited to be part of the pilot program that is taking place over the next several months Look for more information about this new learning experience in the months leading up to the 2014 conference in April.

And now a few final thoughts Richard left me with: do one thing each day that you enjoy, be appreciative of the beauty around you, and be a thankful person.

Here’s to having a great mentor even through your Future-Funded Ministry years.

Seize the day!

I would love to hear about what has or hasn’t worked with mentor relationships you have had. Please enter a comment so we can learn from you!

##

Bethany Palmer is president and co-founder of Envoy Financial, responsible for all sales and service activities. She is also a member of the CLA Advisory Council. This is an excerpt from her blog, Seize the Day! Dream. Save. Serve.

This is the last month to take advantage of our early bird pricing for the 2014 CLA National Conference in Dallas. Don’t miss the over 100 learning experiences and general sessions with leaders such as Francis Chan, Michael Oh, Philip Yancey, Nancy Ortberg, Rich Stearns and so many more!