ACMN Blog

I was driving the car listening to an audio tape, in the days before blogs. The narrator was talking about asking questions in a mentoring context. He spoke about Jesus being full of grace and truth and I was thinking about how I work on that with mentees. How do you see yourself having a balance of grace and truth when asking questions of your mentees? He said, “If you see yourself as 80% grace and 20% truth, or vice versa, and you are praying to God that you might be more 50/50, then you’re an idiot”.

That caught my attention rather abruptly. That was exactly what I was praying! He went on “What you ought to be praying is that you will end up being 100% of each”, because Jesus was full of grace and truth. In the mentoring context, grace carries the meaning of having empathy, listening etc. Truth includes being blunt, frank, – naming up things that need to be named up – or being prepared to ask the difficult question.

Continue reading “Grace and Truth”

Hope for Halfway: Some thoughts for mentors

At my house last week, it was a little crazy. The previously uninitiated had Covid, while I played taxi-driver to my husband who had a newly broken thumb, all while trying to complete some key projects. So, by Friday evening I was entertaining my favourite escapist activity: holiday planning where I’d rather be. A walking holiday of the South Island, Aotearoa New Zealand sounded perfect – mountains, bracing air, and greener than green as far as the eye can see. As I traced my imaginary route, I came upon this, the only available accommodation in one remote spot:

Yes, when my feet are sore and my muscles are aching from an active day traversing wild terrain, yearning for a bath and a hot meal, we arrive at Hope Halfway hut! It looks like a Hobbit’s garden shed, and according to the facilities listed, there is water (from the stream) and a non-flushing toilet, but at least there seems to be a mattress!

As we reach the mid-point of the year and June begins, I wonder what “hope halfway” is looking like for you, and for those you mentor? Reflecting on the landscape of your year this far, has it been rocky ground you’ve covered or a gentle hike so far? How are your muscles holding up to the workout? Maybe you’re making fabulous progress, thriving on the journey’s challenges, or perhaps a mattress in this rustic shed is looking really good right now!

Continue reading “Hope for Halfway”

Christian Mentoring is one person with greater life and/or ministry experience coming alongside another to assist them to grow and flourish in their life and ministry. Some have described it as counselling or coaching.^[1] But it is not. Whilst it may have elements of this, referring for other’s skills in various different areas reflects mature mentoring.
 
One purpose of mentoring is to help mentees tap into the knowledge of those with more experience than themselves and learn faster than they would on their own. It’s also an opportunity to grow their network and connect with leaders rather than only their peers.^[2]

 
5 commonly recognised and helpful C’s of mentoring are:
Competence, Character, Confidence (with humility),
Connection and Compassion.^[3] 

Continue reading “Is Mentoring Enough?”

It’s important to me that Christian mentoring is not just a secular practice that we Christians have picked up and given a spiritual makeover. It’s an enduring element in the Christian tradition, from Biblical times, through church history and down to the present. And yet, Christians don’t own mentoring as a discipline. It’s actually a human thing, practiced in various forms and known by various names in every culture all around the world since, I would venture to say, the beginning of civilisation. Mentoring is a very broad category and Christian mentoring is a distinct subset.

Continue reading “What Makes Christian Mentoring CHRISTIAN?”

At the ACMN, we know that mentoring is a ministry that enables profound transformation. Over the last few years, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has come to that realisation as well. 

You may already be familiar with the work of CAP. CAP is a charity that started in the UK but has been operating in Australia for over 20 years, well known for the CAP Money Course and church based Debt Centres. As CAP is committed to stewarding the generosity of supporters well, the ministry needed to innovate to ensure that the Church could be inspired and equipped to help more people in financial distress and see the transformation of individuals, communities and the Church as a whole. Through extensive research in the financial hardship sector and by questioning what the Church is uniquely able to offer in that space, a model involving Christian Mentoring was identified as the way forward. CAP reached out to the ACMN and consulted with a number of other mentors to develop a new model – Money Mentoring.  

Continue reading “Money Mentoring: a new model for Christians Against Poverty“

At our latest ACMN Zoom networking meeting we looked at a number of ways we can inspire and motivate ourselves and our mentees to reach for the goals we want to achieve. Creating a vision board was one example shared.

 

A vision board is a sacred place that displays what you want in life. When you hang it in a space where you see it daily, your vision board brings your goals and aspirations to life. A vision board is a physical representation of a goal or goals that you’re aiming to achieve.

Continue reading “Vision Boards for Inspiration, Reflection & Action”

We can all use a little encouragement from time to time. But why is it that some attempts at encouragement fall flat while others really hit the spot? Think about the times when you’ve needed a lift and someone has said or done something that has been particularly effective. What is it about those sorts of interactions that set them apart?

I’ve been reflecting on this recently because I’d like to be more effective at encouraging others. I reckon that if I can figure what works for me, I’ve got a head start into understanding how I might become a better encourager. I’ve come up with a couple of lists which I’ll share here as a discussion starter.

Continue reading “Effective Encouragement”

As mentors we are guiding people on journeys of discovery for themselves rather than diagnosticians who prescribe solutions and antidotes. Listening meaningfully enhances this.

Continue reading “Mentoring Meaningfully”

“It was so traumatic!”

The woman was describing to her mentor a situation in which she had ended up in a heated debate with several of her work colleagues.  Although the mentor could see that it had indeed been an upsetting, frustrating, and intense encounter for the client, she did find herself wondering about the use of the word ‘traumatic.’ Was this the mentoree’s actual experience, or just a bit of hyperbole?

The man sat trembling in front of his mentor.  That morning he had visited a member of his congregation in hospital, and had experienced an unexpected and overwhelming sense of  impending disaster. He found himself desperately wanting to get out of there as soon as he possibly could.  He couldn’t quite understand why his physical reaction had been so overwhelming – and why he still felt on high alert. After all, the congregation member was expected to make a full recovery. “I’m just over-reacting… it’s nothing really…”  The mentor wasn’t sure what to think – it certainly did seem like an over-reaction, but looking at the trembling man in front of him, he knew that something serious was going on.

Continue reading “Do No Harm…”