ACMN Blog

All of us need someone to walk alongside us. We need to be loved and to love. We need to understand and to be understood. Whether old or young, women or men, from Asia, Africa, Europe, US, Australia or NZ, wealthy or without earthly riches, follower of Jesus, Buddha, Islam or atheist, liberal, Pentecostal, progressive, conservative or evangelical, pastor, large, medium or small church, denominational leader or business leader, we all need mentors. I’ve seen this for over 20 years. I’ve had the privilege to walk alongside people with all these backgrounds. And I’ve seen 6 keys that are able to unlock and guide people’s journeys. When using these 6 keys to specific areas, mentoring people is transformative.

Continue reading “Keys for mentoring 🔑🔑🔑”

By Rick Lewis

One thing we are never short of in today’s world is information. Yet although many of us suffer from information overload our appetite for more and more content seems insatiable. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of consuming endless information without it doing us any good.

Mentoring can contribute something tremendously valuable here. Conversations with a mentor are an opportunity to do a mental stocktake and ask questions like

• • What information, theories and ideas have we got in our heads?
  • What’s it worth?
  • What are we going to do with it?

Continue reading “Applying Theory”

Following are 10 components of resilience with development strategies for times of adversity like COVID-19.    

What we are experiencing with COVID-19 and its implications for community life is not just higher stress, it is unusual adversity.  This requires more than simply up-scaling normal self-care practices.  Self-care is critical and remains needed, however in times of adversity a different capacity we refer to as resilience is required for the length of time the adversity impacts us.  

Continue reading “10 components of resilience in ministry as we face COVID19”

COVID-19 is creating significant adversity in ministry and leadership.  As I talk with pastors, there are 10 ways in which this impact is being felt.   

Pastoral load is significantly increasing because of the pandemic
Many church members are anxious and stressed.  They are isolated, fearful and some may be ill and even dying.  At times like this people usually turn to the church for solace and at present the lack of physical church support is very challenging for them and for us who minister.  In the last few weeks, I have heard of ministers making around 20 calls a day to members of their churches. 

Continue reading “10 ways COVID 19 is significantly impacting Christian leaders and pastoral ministry”

By Rick Lewis

Leadership in any field of endeavour brings pressure. However, leadership in the context of Christian organisations – and in being a leader for Christ in a secular organisational context – carries with it a peculiar set of stressors especially in respect of demands, limitations, rewards, trauma, relationships and idealisation. Mentors need a detailed understanding of these aspects of context in order to help Christian leaders build effective and relevant strategies for resilience and sustainability. I have posted elsewhere about those strategies; this post is about understanding context.

Continue reading “Pressures Faced by Christian Leaders”

By Bruce Warwick

Endorsement of a ministering person in Churches of Christ in Queensland requires the completion of a 2 year Personal and Professional Formation Plan which involves a commitment to 3 goals and for these to be reflected in specific plans in 8 different areas.  Through the year each ministering person meets several times with a companion who helps them to revisit their stated goals and reflect on how they are going with their commitments in each of the 8 areas. 

Companions are encouraged to use questions that will help the conversation to go to a deeper level and invite a visiting of any resistances, struggles, arising issues in each area as well as any new empowerments and freedoms.  

Continue reading “Reflective Questions to Dig Deeper”

By Janet Woodlock

A six-year-old boy called Nathan asks his father why his mum is crying.

“Because you boys have been naughty” the father responds, referring to the boy and his younger brother.

Nathan immediately feels terrible that his behaviour has caused his mother such distress. Somehow the message goes deep into his soul that he is responsible for the feelings of others. He must NEVER behave in a way that will upset others like that!

Continue reading “Toward Emotional Freedom”

By Monica O’Neil

When you sing you begin with Do Ray Mi. When you mentor, you can begin with these nine things.

One question I am asked often is “How do I begin mentoring?” Here are a few hints for you, so that you can begin well. Feel free to follow them or ignore them as you need. As you get going you can find further ideas on this website or through the ACMN Facebook page found at https://www.facebook.com/AusCMN/

Continue reading “When you sing you begin with Do Ray Mi”

By Rick Lewis

Why ask questions about emotions?

Emotions in themselves are not susceptible to moral evaluation; they simply are what they are, neither wrong nor right. Yet it’s important to track emotions in Christian mentoring. There are several reasons for this.

Continue reading “Asking Questions to Discern Emotional Health”

It has been great to catch up with folk at the Mentoring Seminars we have been running this week in Sydney and Adelaide.

Rick and Sally were hosting the Sydney Event and Tim was in Adelaide.  We all appreciated Keith Farmer’s reflections on emotional health and mentoring.  Steve Smith complemented the input in Sydney and Tony Ling contributed in Adelaide, both from their own research.

If you attended the seminar and are looking for some reproducible copies of the handouts for use in mentoring please follow the links below.

Continue reading “Emotionally Healthy Mentoring Seminars 2018”