I think that of all the questions I get asked, the most are all about mentoring, “What really is mentoring? What do you mean by mentoring? Can you help me understand what mentoring is all about? How can I explain mentoring to others? Is there a difference between mentoring and coaching?”

It seems to me that we understand the Biblical principles of discipleship but are less comfortable with the concepts of mentoring. I have found as many explanations for mentoring as there are books written on the subject. Now add to that all the books, magazine articles, websites, and networks that you've told me about! I have tried to look at each resource that comes my way.

As always, I find some more helpful than others. Some I wouldn't necessarily recommend, but through all my reading and researching, I continue to learn. I will pass on some of these resources to you and trust that you will find them helpful as you and your team grow in this area of ministry.

However, I also have a question lurking at the back of my mind that I ask myself as I look at my ever-growing library of books on mentoring: "Liz, are you putting all this information into practice? Do you really need more information? Liz, just get on with it!"

Every one of us has something to pass on to others, so let's commit to intentionally making that happen. Let’s use what we already know, while at the same time we take every opportunity to be better equipped to mentor well.

And finally, one more challenging question to consider: Are you more willing to be a mentor - to mentor others - than to be mentored yourself? Just recently a missionary shared with me that while he finds people willing to mentor others, they are less willing to be mentored themselves.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Why might this be so? Have you intentionally asked someone to mentor you? Why might you do that? I look forward to hearing from you!