Why to Seek Mentorship

Want to know what I've been all about in this season? What I'm most excited sharing about and challenging others in? Mentorship. Yep, mentorship.

What is it? How do we seek it out? What kind of benefit does it bring to our lives? These are the questions that'll be answered in today's conversation!

Transcript

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of The sowhat podcast. My name is Anna McGuire. And I'm so excited to have a conversation with you today about sowing intentionally into our lives so that we can reap abundantly in the days, weeks, months, and even years to come. The conversation that I have been circling back to time and time again, over the last six months has been this conversation of mentorship. I know that I'm stating the obvious here, but just to make it extra explicit. I don't know everything. I haven't experienced everything under the sun. I am not all knowing. And I'm definitely not all wise, I think I know some things. And I think I've got some wisdom, but I have got a lot of room to grow. And what I'm seeing in my own life is that there is this temptation that when I don't know something, that I will do one of two things, I will Google it, or I will just try to figure it out on my own. And the problem with those two things. Number one, Google isn't spiritual. And I do believe everything about our lives has some sort of spiritual element to it. And Google isn't a person, Google is a machine, it's an inanimate object, it doesn't have a soul, a spirit, a mind a heart of its own. So that's the problem with going to Google first. It doesn't know me, it doesn't know my background, it can't speak directly to me, it might teach me how to hard boiled eggs, but it's not going to help me navigate the most challenging seasons of my life, or maybe some area of my life where I'm wanting to grow. So that's the issue with Google, when I don't know something if that's where I go. The other problem, if I only go to me, like I've already said, my experience, my knowledge, my wisdom, on a particular subject or issue, conflict, growth point is very limited. I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do. And this is where I see mentorship has been so valuable in my personal life, that in moments where I don't know what to do, or how to respond, or how to seek growth in a particular area of my life, having a third party voice, somebody who knows me, and wants the best for me, is incredibly helpful. When I think about building a life of purpose, a life that is true and authentic, a life that honors God that is steadfast in faith, and that has a faith that stands the test of time and hell itself. There are a few things that come to my mind that are absolutely necessary. Number one, is a daily of biding time with Jesus through reading scripture and prayer. And then another thing would it be is gathering with other believers, other like minded people who are centered on the Gospel who believe that Jesus is King and that he is coming back again, and that he is the hope for the world. That's the second big thing. So yes, abiding in Jesus daily gathering with other believers. And then there's this third element that I believe so desperately needs to be practiced more intentionally, in our faith community, and really, even if you're not a person of faith, can be practiced to benefit your life. And that is this idea of godly mentorship. Mentoring is a dynamic and intentional relationship of trust, in which one person which is the mentor empowers the other person the mentee, by sharing their God given experience, wisdom, insight, and resources. So I've been following Jesus for just over two decades, and I have experienced and seen firsthand the power and the gift of having a mentor and I have seen how mentorship has helped to sustain my faith in some of the most difficult seasons of my life. My first mentor that I can think of, I don't know if it was like ever explicit that she was my mentor. Her name is Angela Marani. She was my middle school small group leader.
She was the one who taught me about having really an intimate relationship with Jesus. She showed me so much about what a tender prayer time looks like. And then in high school, I had my youth pastor John Brown, and Sherry gunness and Lisa Fenimore investing in me when I was really being challenged with being pulled what I should do with my future. You know, at one time I was afraid of public speaking. These were the people who spoke life into me and helped refine the gifts In my life, and as my family walked through challenging situations when I was in high school, these were the people that were there who loved on me, who pointed me to the true north, which is Jesus. These were the people that spoke life into me. I honestly believe that if it wasn't for Lisa Fenimore Sherry gunness and John Brown, when I was in high school, I don't know if I'd be serving Jesus today. Real talk, real talk with that. And then in college, Laurie warning was an incredible mentor to me. She is a fierce woman of God. And in those early phases of Bible college, figuring out what I was supposed to do, she was there. When I was in those early phases of dating Andrew, she was there she spoke life into me, Dr. Debbie Johnson, she was my counseling professor, one of my supervisors, she was there she spoke life into me. She took me under her wing, Dr. Mike Jaffe, he was an incredible mentor to me when it came to Prejean and helping me navigate gifts and dreams and passions of mine. And then at the tail end of college, God brought me the one and only Christina Vincent, you've heard her on the podcast before she is incredible. And she's still at is a mentor in my life. And so mentorship has been a huge part of my story. But then I got into like my adult years, like, mid 20s, and mentorship became something that I didn't prioritize as much or something that I sought out as much. And can I tell you, by the time I hit about 27, I could feel it. I could feel what it was like not to have somebody that I was intentionally seeking out, to invest in to me. This is me being real, honest and vulnerable. Okay. I had hit a point at 27 years old, because like Andrew and I were leading a pretty large youth ministry. I was in grad school, I was getting my Master's in Counseling. I was like, Yeah, we know stuff. Like, I wasn't taking the time to hear from people that were further along than me. Sure. I read books. Yeah, I listen to podcasts. Yeah, I'd rub shoulders with people who are like mentors, and Christina Vincent was there all along. But I wasn't really valuing people who were further along in the journey than me. I wasn't really valuing mentorship in my life, like I once had. So here comes 27 year old Anna, we were in the midst of walking through a very challenging season in our personal lives and in our ministry. And I didn't really have a whole lot of people I could fall back into, to give me wise and Godly counsel, because I hadn't done the pre work of seeking out mentorship. Like that's nobody else's responsibility, except for my own. Like, I'm getting a little fired up here. Because I, this means so much to me right now. And I guess I'm, I'm kind of grieving or I've grieved, I think I'm, I'm a little past it, that then I had those years where I wasn't seeking out mentorship. And here's the deal. It is nobody's responsibility to like find mentorship for me, I have the responsibility of seeking it out myself. Now there can be people who position themselves in my life to invest in me and love on me. But then I have to reciprocate that I have to seek them out. As well. I have to go that extra mile and ask them to pour into me. So here I am two years ago in a really challenging spot. I'm meeting some people to speak some life into me. And I begin to intentionally seek out mentorship. People who can speak into my life, people who can hold me accountable people who can hold me capable and people who can challenge me to go to the next level in every area of my life. A story that I love is this four minute mile story and talks about how scientists and doctors said back in the day like the 1940s 1950s that it was impossible to run a four minute mile.
Well then in 1954, Roger Bannister, he broke the four minute mile. Like he actually did it, which was like incredible. Like doctors said you would die if you did it, and he did it. And what's so cool is within a year of him breaking the four minute mile 24 other people also broke the four minute mile something that they said was impossible. Within a year of him doing it 24 others did it as well. He showed people what was possible for other runners and made them believe their dream of breaking the four minutes was possible. And what I'm finding in my own life is that like for those runners, it's powerful to have individuals in our lives who have taken on the course that's before us. People who know what kind of grit, grace and humility is required to run the race of life. Well mentorship, we see the power of mentorship throughout all of Paul's letters in the New Testament. Paul mentored Timothy, Paul mentored Aquila and Priscilla. You also see mentorship in the Old Testament and examples like Eli and Samuel, we see mentorship, modeled in Scripture, somebody who is further along in the journey, investing in someone that may be younger, or just not as far along or as much experience in a particular area. Paul, in one of his letters, he talks about Timothy's calling to be a leader that raises up other leaders. And that is no easy task. So instead of Paul being like Timothy, go figure it out. Paul was available to Timothy to invest in him. There's something here that I don't want for us to miss. And that is, Timothy had free will. He could have easily chosen to sidestep Paul's mentorship. He could have been like now Paul, like I got the calling. I've got the plan from God, I got the purpose. I'm good. But I wonder if he would have sidestepped Paul's mentorship. If he would have completed his assignment from the Lord, to be the leader that raised up leaders. Paul, he instructed, strategize with and encouraged Timothy, if Timothy who is a hero of the New Testament benefited from having a mentor, I know I can too. I know that mentorship will help and currently helps to sustain my faith and challenging and painful seasons, as well as an easy ones. Mentorship also helps me to grow. mentors help see blind spots in my life, where I may be missing the mark. Mentors show me potentially a different path forward than what I had planned. Mentors helped me with conflict, when I don't know how to respond to a situation or a person, they give me insight and wisdom. So I'll just say that pretty plainly if you want to have a faith journey, if you want to have a life, or race that stands the test of troubles and time, and that really does make an impact. You need mentorship, mentorship, I am finding isn't an option. It's a need. It's a need. And so my challenge to you for sewing intentionally, is to seek out a mentor and saying, Okay, are you getting fired up? How do I find and seek out a mentor? Well, I would ask you this question. And John Brown gave me a lot of these questions, because he was the one who really encouraged me many years ago to never let mentorship be lost in my life. And these are questions he gave me when it came to finding a really good mentor. And that was, who is someone in your world, or closely connected to your world that you admire? What are specific qualities about that person you want replicated in your life and get specific. So a mentor that I recently invited into my life she is a lead pastor. She is incredible. She is calm, clear minded, bold, so personable, relevant, hungry to learn, and really consistent. And I see those things in her life. And I want those things replicated in my life, who is somebody in your life? Somebody closely connected to your world that you admire? And then what specific qualities about that person? Do you want replicated in your life? Then, here's the next thing is you have to ask for people to mentor you. This is one thing that I have learned, like painfully, like, honestly, it was like, Man, if I would have just done this sooner, I would have benefited earlier sooner. You got to ask. Go to that person that you admire.
Someone who has the kind of character or life experiences that you want replicated in your life. And you got to ask them, Hey, would you mentor me? Would you speak into my life? Recently when I've asked people to mentor me, I do give them this option. Whether this is once a quarter, once every other month? Every couple of months, whether it's on phone or zoom and in person, whatever would be the most convenient to you? I would love to have you mentor Me. So that's how I first asked. And the thing is, is when I asked, I fully understand that the person may say no. And that is okay. Honestly, I'd rather have somebody saying no. And stead of saying yes, and then not be able to really like invest in mentor, it feels just like too much on them. That's okay. I've experienced before where people have asked me to mentor them. And I've had to say no, just because of what was happening in my life and that season, and I've just had to communicate to them is, I would love to be in your corner. However, I can't commit to that kind of up close investment in this season. But I want you to know that I love you and that I'm in your corner. And so it's okay, if they say no, I've actually had somebody that I did ask to mentor me within the last year. And she had to say no. And that was okay. It didn't like devastate me, I knew she was busy that she has a full life. And I respect that. So you got to ask and be okay. If the person says no, but if they say, Yes, you want to follow up with this, give this person permission to speak into areas of your life, where you may have blind spots. Now, this is gonna require humility, because it may hurt sometimes, or may be uncomfortable at times. But this is where mentorship really benefits you. You also give them permission to ask you tough questions, questions about your social media questions about your relationships, questions about the motivations of your heart. And here's that commitment I make to the mentor is because they're taking the time to mentor me, I'm making the commitment to be honest with them when they asked me these questions. And then the third thing is, give them permission to involve you in their life in any kind of way. I'm so thankful for Christina, who have I've already mentioned earlier is that she had started a brand new arm of a national ministry. And she invited me to be a part of it, so that I can learn with her so that I could grow from seeing her develop and create a ministry from the ground up. And can I tell you that was so powerful, she knew I needed that kind of development in my life. And she invited me along on the journey. And it has been so good. And now here we are, years later, we we still work together in this ministry, and it has been so fun and so fruitful. In this season. I have several very intentional mentors in my life. And can I tell you, I feel like a new woman I feel more energized, more purpose, more clear minded about where I'm headed, and what my purpose is more than ever before. Truly, I'm not just saying this to fill like space, on a podcast. This is really from the depths of my heart. I'm feeling this way. And I know it's because I'm recognizing, I don't know everything. And I don't have all wisdom. But there are people that God has developed, and that they have been faithful to the Lord, and that they are mighty men and women of God, who are pioneers who are purposed, who are steadfast and keep Jesus number one over everything.
Seriously, huge shift. For me, it has been fresh life for my faith, fresh life. For me, as a mother, as a wife, as a entrepreneur, as a ministry leader, it has been so good for me. And can I tell you, no matter how old you are, or what season of life you're in, can I encourage you not to excuse yourself from practicing this? Find a mentor. They exist. They exist for no matter how old you are. They exist Andrews Grandfather, I was actually talking with him not too long ago, and he was talking about the mentors and his life and his life. And that was so cool to hear him share about the people and the voices that he has trusted even in his later years of his life to invest in him. So don't excuse yourself from this. Look intentionally for someone that you would love to invest in you. What qualities do you want in their life, replicate it in yours? And then ask them, ask them. I am a better woman. I am a better follower of Jesus a better mom a better wife, a better everything as a result of being more intentional in this season, to have mentors, godly men and women who live according to the Word of God, who graciously come alongside of me, helped me see my blind spots. Challenge Do you mean to grow more, and really helped me run my race more intentionally and purposed? Friend I am always in your corner and forever cheering you on. And I truly believe that if you choose to so intentionally into this area, you will reap abundantly, not just in the immediate sen