While some churches are growing, statisitcs like those in my last post suggest that the Christian church in the west is in decline.
Does that mean that people in the western world are less interested in spirituality? I don’t believe so. I think the interest is still there but often the hunger in the human heart isn’t filled by what the church is offering.
The church may not have the answer but I know that Jesus does. So how do we strip away the sterotypes and communicate what Jesus is really about and what faith in him means if people are walking away from church?
My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.
Ross has just returned from the latest Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization in Budapest where 360 Christian leaders from around the world met together to discuss how to reach out to the world. One of the things that has impressed Ross is the focus on mentoring. Those in leadership at Lausanne are constantly in a process of training the next group of leaders and handing the over the reigns to the next generation.
Ross believes that mentoring isn’t just about leadership. He says it gives us oppportunity to share our faith in deeper ways than we ever could from the pulpit on a Sunday morning. He believes that it fosters a deeper kind of discipleship, essential for reaching a post-Christian world.
During our discussion, Ross talked about four basic mentoring principals that are part of a book by Franklin Graham. He pointed out that all of us need to be looking for opportunity to mentor others as well as seeking others to mentor us in various areas of life.
Can I encourage you to listen to our discussion? Just click here to listen or right click here and choose to save the mp3 so that you can listen later.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Lausanne – Mentoring – Radio
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Thank you for your thoughts on mentoring. You are very true in the points you make. One additional thought I have been investigating in the scripture in the interaction between those in the early church. Community played a vital role in the growth of the early body because it lent itself as a support network through prayer and verbal encouragement. Since we have the written word today we have a tendency to be spoiled by it as well as look at it as recorded history as opposed to a collection of living experiences in the writer’s personal walk with The Lord. I believe the mentoring you refer to is very similar to that. I believe as we come together as a “christian community” we are able to share “current events” in our walk with Him allowing all who hear to be encouraged. Trust goes a long way.
Great thoughts – we just completed a class at our church on what it truly means to be a disciple, and I think “mentoring” is just the new term for discipling. Sure, some churches get people in the door and have them walk to the front or sign a commitment card, but then what? It is only through one on one interaction – and the holy sprit, of course! – that people are really challenged and can begin to become all that God desires. It’s tough in our society, as people are so incredibly busy, but how much more important is it to build the kingdom as opposed to all the other things that vie for our time?
Wonderful topic. Mentoring younger people is so critical. I’ve noticed increasing opportunities to do just that (with women) through my blog. I assume you’ve run into the same thing.
Church attendance may be declining in Australia’s denominational churches, but I hear Hillsong Church is attracting thousands. Your thoughts?