Relationships are the currency of our ministry. We all do them, if we are in the ministry. Yet, I think there are some necessary ones that are often neglected.....and they are a must.
MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS
We need to always be investing deeply in the lives of a few. Paul is my guy in the New Testament (other than Jesus) and to me one of the most significant things about Paul is that he always was investing in some guys that he would leave in charge when it was time for him to go somewhere else to preach. Timothy is the prime example. The book of Titus emphasizes mentoring. We can't spend all of our time with a few. But, we must seek out and intentionally invest in some who have great potential. This will benefit our ministry as these type students grow in their abilities. It also benefits their life and their Christian service in the years to come. As we have been in College a ministry for a while, I believe we must be willing to give time and encouragement to younger College Ministers....or those in difficult (sometimes new) situations. I would not have survived, if some had not done that for me.
PEER RELATIONSHIPS
No body gets a College Minister like another College Minister. I just think it is that unique and different from other ministry vocations. All of us need people we can bounce things off of, vent with, and just run new ideas by. There may not be anyone like that at your location. But, thanks to cell phones, that is not necessary. As I have previously shared, I have one College Ministry friend to say we talk regularly is an understatement. There are days when one of us has a hot issue, we talk two or three times. I even would say our being in different states is a plus in that we are exposed to different ideas and thoughts that enrich both of us.
I want to add a second category to Peer Relationships. We need friends apart from College Ministry. Our schedules are so different from many people that we can become isolated. My wife once confronted me with the statement, "You don't know how to talk to anyone your own age". I must confess I still struggle with that some. But, at that point, I began to do some things to connect me with peers outside the College Ministry world. That was good for me. It helped balance me a bit more and was good for my mental health.
YOUR MENTOR(S)RELATIONSHIP
Unless you know it all....you still need to be learning, thinking and being challenged. Is there someone in your life that does that? The older and more experienced in ministry we get, the harder that is. It may have to be from books, podcasts, Blogs, whatever. One of the dangers of being "an old pro" is we are still saying and doing the same things we did ten years ago with no freshness. This has to be an on-going effort on our part. But, we are better for it.
Which one of these three is a need for you to be more intentional about practicing?
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