The figure
of a mentor has its origins in Greek mythology, in the epic
poem the “Odyssey” written by Homer thousands
of years ago. Odysseus, the great
hero, entrusts the care of his infant son, Telemachus, to
his best friend, Mentor, before leaving for the battle of
Troy. Mentor is responsible to teach Telemachus not
just the lessons contained in books, but those the world
itself teaches. Mentor’s task is to provide
Telemachus with not only an intellectual education,
but also an education of the soul and spirit, an education
in wisdom and not only in information, preparing him to
take on the role of his father in commanding his lands until
he returns.
Mentoring
has been a well-known term in academic contexts for a long
time. It generally is used to refer to times when,
often at a college level, a professor adopts a student as
his/her favorite, investing in him/her in a special way.
Normally there is great affinity between the two and the
professor sees great potential in the student. In
the English-speaking world the term has been extended to
other areas: business, art, church and so forth.
Today
the process of mentoring
often works like this: the mentor prepares a professional
at the beginning of their career for the challenges of corporate
life, or a mentor-professor prepares a student who he/she
especially likes to excel in their area of specialization. Some businesses include a very effective mentoring program,
where employees higher up the ladder take younger employees
under their wing.
Allow
us to offer the following definition of mentoring in the
Christian context:
A mentor is someone
who believes in another person,
Seeing beyond what they themselves perceive,
Supporting and nurturing them,
Challenging and enabling them,
To fulfill their potential
Within the eternal purposes of God.
Return
to the Pastoring of Pastors main
page, go on to find out about how pastoring of pastors can work or continue this study by looking at:
- Various
models of mentoring
- Various
styles of mentoring
- Various
words that are similar to mentoring, but used in different
contexts.
The word mentor, in its most popular English usage,
is not well known in Latin America. The more well-known
concept behind the word is the mind behind a plan, the thinker
that develops the strategy for the success of an undertaking.
The Portuguese dictionary “Melhoramentos” gets
the closest to the definition used in English when it says
that a mentor is a “person that directs, counsels,
teaches or guides.”
