ACMN Blog

From time to time in mentoring and supervision, a past deep injury of the soul or spirit surfaces in a session with a client. It arises while reflecting on present ministry, often surprisingly.

Do I refer the client or do I open it up for us to deal with together? I have learnt about boundaries. Yes, I refer as needed, but address issues within my gifts and competencies, occasionally recommending a season of lament to encourage honesty and frankness with God in a respectful and interactive manner. It includes strong prayer, expressing to God about failures and disappointments that are carried and may not have been expressed or vocalised before. Continue reading “An Occasion to Lament!”

In the last few decades, as mentors, we have heard a lot about working with strengths and strengths-based growth and development.  Our ACMN online training seminar this year is going to explore this approach in some depth.  We will reflect together on how key elements of this perspective might inform Christian mentoring. Continue reading “Strengths Based Mentoring”

Four reasons it’s well worth investing in becoming an effective mentor

It’s well over 20 years ago now, that my brother, sister, mother and wife along with me were all trained in mentoring (an intentional three year action-reflection training program that is now the MEQ).  While we all used mentoring in different ways over the years and continue to, there is no doubt in my heart and mind that learning to mentor was one of the best things we did not only for others but also for our own development and wellbeing.  Here are four reasons I think it’s well worth investing in becoming an effective mentor. Continue reading “Reasons to Invest in Mentoring”

I began preaching and teaching at a relatively young age, and through the inevitable steep learning curve that comes with such an early start, I quickly discovered the power of metaphor when attempting to communicate complex ideas about life and faith. Metaphors have a wonderful ability to open up windows to truth and then give that truth handles, making it both memorable and portable. You may have noticed that I just did exactly what I’m talking about right there (without really thinking about it, to be honest – it just occurred to me as I write this). “Open up windows to truth” and “give that truth handles” create visual images that reinforce the ideas I’m trying to communicate by associating them with others. This is the essence of what a metaphor is and does.
Continue reading “Metaphor & Meaning in Mentoring”

Both the theory and practice of Christian mentoring are notoriously hard to define with precision. In part, this is because the discipline of mentoring holds several dynamics in tension. Mentoring is a paradoxical space where apparently contradictory things are both true.
Continue reading “The Paradoxical Mentoring Space”

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room. Luke 2:7

“and they shall name him Immanuel”, which means, “God is with us.” Matt 1:27

Is your Christmas tree up yet? Ours will be making its entrance this weekend, and as I write, I’m sitting next to the empty corner I’ve prepared for its arrival. Our family have lived in many places over the years, and while what passes for a Christmas tree has varied, some form of decoration that captures the anticipation of gathering to celebrate continues to be a meaningful rhythm for us. There’s just something about getting ready.

Perhaps you’re part of a church community where candles, readings, art or music are part of your tradition of advent reflection and preparation? The liturgical year can offer us a wonderful sense of being on a journey together with Jesus-followers all over the world as we’re reminded of the birth of Immanuel, God with us … We seek to make room in our hearts and our gatherings for the presence of Christ, as God extends to us divine hospitality in coming to dwell among us.

Continue reading “Making Room”

My mentoree is wrong. What do I do now?

Perhaps the thought in your mind is not quite so harsh as, “My mentoree is wrong”. But you will most likely have had the experience of being concerned about the wisdom of a position they hold or something they have done, or intend to do. As you start to explore the matter you realise you significantly disagree with your mentoree. In that moment, the usual safe, collaborative environment you have worked hard to develop can drain away and you’re confronted with a conflict.

What are you going to do? Here are ten suggestions: Continue reading “My Mentoree is Wrong…”

Why go it alone? Why not allow others to strengthen your life by coming alongside you? Fear of exposure? Fear of failure? Those who are available to mentor you often know what it’s like to fail and what it’s like to have life fall apart.

The value of mentoring is incalculable. It’s immense. Having someone coming alongside you makes such a difference. Continue reading “The Importance of Mentoring”

We all love a good takeaway! Australians love takeaway and many of us do it every week but in this blog I’m not talking about the 2 billion food industry but the takeaway we get from a training day or a meeting.

So what is a takeaway?

Definitions include:
♦ a conclusion to be made based on presented facts or information
♦ a main point or key message to be learned or understood from something experienced or observed

At the conclusion of the ACMN’s training day (Distinctively Different – Christian mentoring in a Fragmented World) earlier this month participants were asked to name their 3 takeaways from the day and this word cloud was the result. The bigger the font size the more times it was mentioned.

Continue reading “Takeaways”