Endorsements
What
a wonderful concept Ministry Mentors is, and what an honor to be part of
this [event]. You provide life-giving relationships.
The Rev. Dr. John Buchanan
Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL
Editor/Publisher of the Christian Century
From an address given at the Ministry Mentors’ seminar, Strengthening
Pastoral Ministry,
October 25, 2007, The Glen Club, Glenview, IL
•
I love your mission of mentoring. There is nothing more important to me these days than mentoring.
Jim Wallis
Founder and CEO, Sojourners
Author, God’s Politics and
The Great Awakening
From an address given at the Ministry Mentors’ seminar, Strengthening Prophetic Ministry
October 25, 2006, The Glen Club, Glenview, IL
•
I heartily recommend Ministry Mentors as a highly innovative resource of mentoring/coaching for clergy. Having a mentor in pastoral ministry is one of the best prescriptions for healthy growth in competence and protection from its vulnerabilities. Becoming a ‘loner’ in pastoral ministry is not only lonely, it can be perilous.
G. Lloyd Rediger
author of The Toxic Congregation: How to Heal
the Soul of Your Congregation
•
I am so grateful for my
Ministry Mentor! It has made all the difference for me personally and my parish
especially during recent times of crises when I needed a calm voice of assurance
and direction to filter through various options in handling our difficulties. He
also has been of great help to my associate in helping both of us to ‘joyfully’
work together as a team even though we have different personalities and gifts in
ministry.
--A Lutheran Pastor,
Suburb of Chicago, Illinois
•
Surrounded by people, yet lonely; preaching and teaching connection, yet feeling disconnected; an advocate for centering practices yet living a fragmented life; professional ministry challenges the full spectrum of our humanity. Ministry Mentors provides companionship and counsel for those sharing the daunting yet exhilarating life of vocational ministry. It is the friendship that keeps one grounded and fresh, learning from both failure and success. Who better to mentor, but another who has walked the terrain?
--An Evangelical Covenant Mentor, Chicago, Illinois
•
Why did I spend so many years in this work without a mentor?
--A Lutheran Pastor, Suburb of Chicago, Illinois
•
What an honor and joy it is to watch a Pastor undergo a process of reflection, gain competence and experience satisfaction in his or her ministry.
--A Presbyterian Mentor, Suburb of Chicago, Illinois
•
My relationship with my mentor has been invaluable. We have been focusing on the issue of hospitality and welcome in the life and ministry of the church. My mentor embodies hospitality and welcome in our relationship which has been an empowering model for leadership to observe and experience. She has a wonderful ability to affirm my strengths while asking me the incisive questions that will get to the heart of the matter. Many people offer templates with the assumption they fit in all contexts. My mentor has a wonderful ability to engage me theologically in a way that helps me know ‘why’ I am doing what I am doing. At the same time, she is a wealth of cutting edge, contemporary ideas as to how the church today can be a more hospitable presence in an inhospitable world.
--A Presbyterian Pastor, Chicago, Illinois
•
I feel extremely blessed to have had a mentor during my year as a pastoral intern. My mentor brought to our time together both spiritual maturity and practical, ‘real-world’ experience that a 23 year old young man found interminably useful. My Mentor's understanding of the administrative needs in organizational ministry, the dynamics of creative problem-solving, the blessedness of actively attending to the complex, wonderful stories of God's children and her deeply-rooted care for the mission of Christ promise much for those future pastors and Christians lucky to claim her as ‘Mentor.’ I hope to maintain my relationship with my Mentor during my final year in seminary, knowing that we have, as yet, only scratched the surface of potential for reward and growth in this mentoring process. That, if anything else, speaks to me of how grateful I have been for her in my life.
--A Non-Denominational Pastor, Chicago, Illinois
•
After almost 35
years in ministry, most as a senior pastor, I did not believe that I could be
in need of a mentor. However, as I was facing some major transition
issues, I began to have conversations with a representative of Ministry
Mentors. It soon became clear to me that I had found an invaluable
treasure, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of steady support and wise counsel for what turned out to
be tumultuous days ahead. Ministry
Mentors provided confidential support and counsel, which were not possible to
obtain elsewhere.
My experience
caused me to realize how Ministry Mentors can be an important a resource for
other pastors no matter what the pastor’s level of experience. Of special
significance is Ministry Mentors’ ability to be objective and independent from
the institutions that the pastors serve. Ministry
Mentors is supremely worthy of support. It has my personal
overwhelming gratitude and my unreserved recommendation to others.
--A Lutheran Pastor, Suburb of Chicago, Illinois
•
I would have made it on my own but I would not have made the best decisions and it would have affected my health.
--A Lutheran Mentor, Naples, Florida
•
I whole-heartedly commend Ministry Mentors to pastors who possess both exceptional pastoral skills and a desire to encourage their colleagues through mentoring and coaching.
As mentor, I am able to experience the joy of assisting another pastor, listening carefully to personal and professional challenges and exploring possibilities for his or her particular context and ministry needs. In addition, as a mentor I am supported in my own parish ministry by a Ministry Mentors leader. This “safe place” to think out loud provides both practical insight for my own growth as well as a better understanding of my role with the pastors that I serve.
Just as Abraham and Sarah were blessed to be a blessing to others
(Genesis 12), Ministry Mentors offers a two-way street of pastoral support, blessing both the pastor and the mentor. Please join us!-- A Presbyterian Pastor and Mentor, Suburb of Chicago, Illinois
•
I am writing to offer my enthusiastic support of Ministry Mentors, and to witness to the positive role Ministry Mentors has played in my pastorate. I came to my current church straight from seminary in 2001. I was hired as associate pastor with the belief that in 2-3 years, when the senior pastor retired, I would succeed him in that role. Those years were a time of enormous transition for me as I adjusted to full-time ministry and this new calling, and Ministry Mentors played a crucial role for me in my development.
During that time I was involved in a Lilly Foundation-funded Transition-to-Ministry program called the Bethany Fellowships, a group that met twice a year to help newly ordained ministers make the transition from seminary to church. Ministry Mentors wonderfully complemented that program with frequent, one-on-one, face-to-face meetings that supported and affirmed me as I settled into my new position. My mentor was instrumental in helping me explore issues related to my calling and my ministry, as well as assisting the senior pastor and me in our relationship building and team ministry. My mentor is always accessible, open to my many questions, and offers support that is both personally meaningful and practically applicable.
After a smooth and successful transition, I am now the senior pastor at this church. One of the main reasons the past three years have been rewarding and joyful for me is the positive influence of Ministry Mentors. I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with them, and believe they are one of most valuable organizations serving churches and pastors today.
--A Disciples of Christ Pastor, Northern Illinois
•
God has blessed me with very significant, encouraging mentors throughout my twenty-five years' experience as a pastor. In recent years, Ministry Mentors provided significant support as I was going through a period of discernment. Whether it was a formal or informal relationship, mentors assisted my development by being faithful role models, affirming teachers, and spiritual guides. I praise God for their vital assistance and inspiring guidance.
As one so shaped by the impact of others', I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as a mentor to pastors. I appreciate Ministry Mentors’ denominational diversity as well as the opportunities to gather with fellow mentors for mutual growth in service.
-- A United Methodist Pastor and Mentor, Suburb of Chicago, Illinois
•
I’m delighted to have a chance to tell some stories about my mentor. She and I are so very different in so many ways. And yet her experience, her insight and her sensitivity have enriched me greatly. My mentor and I first connected when the congregation was buried in conflict over worship direction and style. Our Cantor and the chair of our Worship Committee were at odds with most of the congregation about the underlying purpose of our worship life. Coming out of business, I certainly knew conflict, but churches are far more family than business. I agonized over expectations and standards for employees who were also church members. In this ambiguity, my mentor was clear, positive and very encouraging. A huge transition went as smoothly as it could have gone. I am so grateful for my mentor’s sense of humor, and long suffering! Thank you Ministry Mentors for making this possible!
--A Lutheran Pastor, Chicago, Illinois
•
I am benefiting tremendously from my mentor’s helpful guidance. His mentoring is always a blessing.
--An Episcopal Priest, Charlottesville, Virginia