Mentors are important. Be one.

Image Source: Victor Nuno, Creative Commons

How important are mentors?

I’ve experienced a few true mentors through my life, the first being my dad and mom. Dad seems to still influence me today, over 35 years after his death.

Then there was my high school physics teacher. He always seemed to demand more from me and I didn’t fully understand until years later what a great gift that had been. I returned to see him after I had graduated from college and he had retired just to thank him for mentoring me. We had a great conversation.

My list would also have to include Bill Bottum. The opening chapter of my book Trust Me, tells the story of Bill and how he set the foundation for my belief system about work and how that has become the basis for my consulting career.

But, there has been one other couple who have truly been life-long mentors to me and also my wife. Keith and Gladys (affectionately known as Rusty) Hunt. From them has come discipleship, training, encouragement, correction, love, care, hospitality, rescue and the list goes on and on.

From this list you might assume that Keith and Rusty have been in our lives nearly every day along the way. They moved into a home down the road from me when I was a teenager. Even though they had careers that included a great deal of travel they always seemed to have the time to invite the local teenagers into their home for stimulating conversations and thought provoking Bible study. Later, after they had moved I ended up at university in the same town their relocation had taken them. Once again they were influencing my life in many positive ways. Later in life when my family needed to move across country, they were there with an extra room for me to bunk in and the advice and encouragement for a new stage of my life. Through their moves and ours, there were always changes. Sometimes there were great geographical distances between us, sometimes we lived in the same town. But they were always close and there was always the discipleship, training, encouraging…. well, you get the picture.

Just the other day one of those high school teenage friends tracked us down to ask if we had Keith and Rusty’s number. He was just thinking about them and wanted to call or visit. Their mentor-ship touched many.

We lost Rusty recently. After a long battle with her heart she went to be with the Lord. The loss is deep. And even though I know her influence will continue through her memories and her books this world won’t quite be the same without Rusty.

Who are you mentoring? When I’ve thought about those who have mentored me, I often feel selfish that I fully accept, appreciate and enjoy the fact that they have cared enough for me to provide the role of a mentor and yet wonder if I have given anything near that effort to others.

Who are you mentoring? Beyond that child and grandchild or even that employee where we are placed in natural mentoring roles, who are you mentoring? Keith and Rusty have never been our parents or our boss (well, I did mow their lawn during those teenage years) but they have definitely been our mentors.

Maybe it’s that teenager down the street. Maybe it’s that mail room clerk. Maybe it’s the young couple at church. Maybe…. Don’t let the list always be a list of “maybes”. Think about whom you could be mentoring and come along side that person.

And yet that leaves us with the bigger question of “Do I feel worthy to mentor another?” Good question and one that we should ponder and work through. However, I’ll suggest that if you’re just willing to truly listen to another person, you’re on your way to being a good mentor.

Mentors are important. Be one.