June 6, 2025
How To Develop Mentor-Protege Relationships
1 Thessalonians 2:8 - so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
1 Corinthians 11:1 - Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.
In our last devotion, we talked about the importance of mentors in our lives.
Everyone who has ever been successful has someone to thank for seeing their potential, for teaching them the right way, for challenging them to dig deeper and on and on.
I asked, simply, “Where would we be without mentors?”
I also said that we all need at least 3 types of relationships: we need a Barnabas (encourager), a Paul (mentor) and a Timothy (protege).
Not only do we need to have those relationships, we need to be that to others. In other words we need to be an encourager, to be a mentor and to even be a protege.
There’s a great song by Survivor called Ever Since The World Began and the chorus says this:
And we’re just another piece of the puzzle
Just another part of the plan
How one life touches the other
It’s so hard to understand
So we’ll walk this road together
Try and go as far as we can
And we have waited for this moment in time
Ever since the world began
The last line is a little cheesy, but I believe that the Lord places us in our communities and little circles of influence to make a difference in each other’s lives. Iron sharpens iron. I invest in your life and you invest in mine. We’re here to love on each other, push each other, to be the aroma of Christ, to help each other as we walk this road of life.
Now the problem is that investing in someone else’s life means we have to get messy. We have to invest our almost nonexistent time and energy- because, let’s face it, we all have so little margin in our lives.
As Paul indicated in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, love has to be the driving force to make me want to take the time and energy I don’t really have to invest in someone’s life.
Paul said that we loved you so much that we shared not only the gospel with you, but our very lives. It’s a picture of someone pouring into the life of another soul, and it’s a beautiful thing.
But the real challenge is what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 - Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. Other translations say imitate me as I imitate Christ.
Man, those are some bold words, because that means I have to walk the walk in my faith. Truthfully, that’s what scares us to death from being a mentor to others or investing in other people’s lives. We fear being exposed.
But the truth is someone is following your example whether you realize it or not. We’re all making disciples whether we realize it or not. And I’ve got news: they already know you’re flawed. They’re aware that you’re not perfect.
So here’s the slight adjustment you can make to Paul’s words to take the pressure off: Follow me as I (imperfectly) follow Christ. I’m not trying to add to scripture. I’m just trying to communicate that none of us can follow Christ perfectly, not even Paul. But we do our best to follow Christ’s example just as Paul did.
In my remaining time, I want to give a few practical tips for both people looking to be mentors and protégés.
Mentors:
Pray that God would lay on your heart one person to invest in. (I have a friend who picks one person to mentor for a year at a time, but it doesn’t have to be a specific length of time.)
Look for people who are F.A.T. - Faithful, Available and Teachable. (They may be raw, untrained or whatever, but if they have those three qualities, you can work with them).
Make the first move. (Sometimes these relationships happen organically, but schedule a time over coffee, or pickle ball or golf or some shared interest).
Share your story, your failures, lessons learned, etc.
Encourage the protege along the way. (Let them know that you see potential in them).
Guide them as you see shortcomings but do so lovingly.
Pray that God would bring to mind scripture you can share with them as it applies to areas that need work.
Protégés:
Pray that God would provide you with a mentor.
If you see someone you admire and want to emulate, politely ask for a brief meeting with them. Explain that you’re looking to grow in these areas.
Be F.A.T. - Faithful, Available, Teachable.
Respect your mentor’s time (Remember, they are taking time out of their schedule to invest in you, so be on time and make sure you don’t belabor their time).
Ask about their story (be inquisitive) and share your dreams and goals as well
Ask for direction on areas to improve upon after meeting them over a period of time.
Ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you and teach you through this mentor-protege relationship.