Introduction
One could devote an entire lifetime of study to the subject of leadership and barely make a dent in reading all that has been written. Yet, it does not take an entire library to realize the wide spectrum of leadership viewpoints that seem contradicting and, in many instances, incompatible with one another. This tension becomes even more pronounced for a leader of faith when popular secular leadership philosophies stand at odds with the teachings of Scripture, especially within the topic of mentorship. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that ministry leaders turn to the source text of their faith, the Bible, to provide a baseline of how they ought to lead the church and mentor God’s people. When examined in this manner, the pages of Scripture reveal that mentorship is far more integral to a biblically grounded leadership philosophy than one may initially consider, and biblical models of mentorship provide today’s Christian leaders with practical points of application.
Mentorship as a Relational Aspect of Leadership
The notion of mentorship is a relatively modern concept in the grand scheme of leadership studies; however, the practices associated with the contemporary term are quite historical. Experts credit the ancient author Homer (800 BCE) as the original source of the word mentor as it is known today (Bradley, 2009). In his legend, The Odyssey, Homer depicts the character Mentor as a counselor and wise friend assigned to teach and protect Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. As history progressed, the term mentor evolved into a commonly used noun and became a descriptor of one who is wise and has personal influence (Belsterling, 2006). Even today, the term continues to evolve and take on more detailed meaning. Some experts highlight those tenets of mentorship that involve encouragement, motivation, nurturement, teaching, and mutual respect. Others focus on aspects such as guiding, counseling, and developing proteges to provide experience, knowledge, achievements, and position. Still, another attribute common in Western culture (where the term is most relatable) is that of coaching wherein mentors exhibit actions of observing, instructing, and inspiring as well as taking initiative in a protege’s development and being proactive in intervention when necessary (Toler, 2012; Stanley, 2003). The term mentor seems simple in definition at first thought, but it carries a much richer and deeper meaning in practice.
Regardless of the specific attributes one tends to most identify, each arrive at a unified baseline of mentorship: a more experienced person who advises and supports a less experienced person for the purpose of leaving a legacy of leadership, honing the talents of proteges, and setting the stage for emerging leaders (Atterson, 2021). Such outcomes wholly depend on the relational aspects of leadership, and for the church, these outcomes are integral to its historical development. Though biblical writers did not use the actual word mentor, those characteristics are clearly seen throughout the pages of Scripture. In fact, mentorship is so central to the development of a proper biblical theology of leadership that it led one scholar to identify it as the indispensable mark of true Christian leadership (Thomas, 2018). However, to agree with such a confident and assured conclusion first requires a thorough examination of what Scripture has to say, and both the Old and New Testaments provide ample support for the argument that relational leadership through mentorship is a primary manifestation of biblical leadership.
Mentorship in the Old Testament
Though often neglected in leadership studies, the Old Testament provides significant insight, especially regarding the relational aspect of mentorship. As one looks to the biblical narrative through the lens of mentorship, the Wisdom Writings of the Old Testament most readily surface as a means of advisement to pursue wise counsel from an experienced senior (notably Proverbs 1:5; 12:15; 15:22; 19:20). In fact, even though Scripture identifies Solomon as one with wisdom greater than all the people of the East and Egypt (1 Kings 4:30), he still recognized the importance of mentorship and had more to say about the importance of wise counsel than all other biblical writers combined.
However, mentorship in the Old Testament is not just advised; it is expected. Multiple accounts declare that one generation should teach and train the next (Deut. 4:9; 6:6–9; Ps. 71:18, 78:4; 79:13; 145:4–7; Joel 1:2–3), which is a foundational trait of a mentor. As far as Old Testament leaders who exhibited mentorship, the limits of this writing prevent an expansive study of the numerous examples that exist such as Nathan counseling David, David developing Solomon, Daniel advising Nebuchadnezzar, Mordecai guiding Esther, Esther influencing Artaxerxes, and so on. Even so, specifically examining the relationships of Jethro and Moses, Eli and Samuel, and Elijah and Elisha provide ample justification to highlight the notion of Old Testament mentorship.
Jethro-Moses
The relationship between Jethro and Moses as portrayed in Exodus 18 serves as one of the first detailed examples of biblical mentorship in Scripture. In the opening verses of the account, one notices that Jethro and Moses share a close relationship as evidenced in their sharing of experiences, their trust and vulnerability in each other, and in their concern for one another’s welfare. This closeness, trust, love, vulnerability, and humility serve as the bedrock for Jethro’s mentoring relationship and enable Moses to later be receptive to Jethro’s instruction. Beginning in verse 13, the biblical account shifts the narrative towards an opportunity for Jethro to speak into the life of Moses as he observes him in action. Before he can mentor Moses, however, he must be sure he has rightly assessed the situation. Through this observation, Jethro identified a flaw in Moses’ leadership as he witnessed him shouldering the load of leadership alone and struggling under its weight (Ex. 18:15–18). Jethro then shares his wisdom and cautions him: not only are Moses’s ways burdensome on himself, but they are burdensome on the people as well. Moses’s methods hindered the effectiveness of God’s people, and to remedy this defect, Jethro advises and instructs Moses on an alternative method through delegation that will grow Moses’s leadership and rescue him from his overcommitment to his work (Ex 18:19–23). As Thompson and Murchison (2018) note, “Jethro is a model mentor who identifies the crisis, suggests a solution, and permits greater effectiveness by Moses with less personal cost.” This model of mentorship in Moses’s life not only aided him in the moment, but it also provided the model by which he would mentor Joshua in the coming years to assume leadership over Israel (Ex. 17:8–16; 24:1–18; 27:12–23).
Eli-Samuel
Like its use in developing Israel’s leaders, mentorship as a relational aspect of leadership is also demonstrated in the raising of Old Testament priests, the spiritual leaders of the nation. Such an account unfolds in 1 Samuel 3 with Eli’s mentorship of Samuel. The opening statement in verse 1 is concise yet insightful: “Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli” (ESV). Eli was proximate to Samuel, and Samuel spent many years observing, learning, and practicing priestly service under the guidance of Eli. The conversation between the two in the following verses hints that these formative years produced a close, father-to-son type relationship between the two. As the narrative continues, one witnesses Eli’s specific investment into Samuel at work. Upon hearing from the Lord and unsure what to do, Eli, through his wisdom and experience, instructs Samuel on how to proceed (1 Sam. 3:4–10). The Lord then unveils His purpose for Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:11–14: Samuel will replace Eli as priest over Israel. When the following morning arrives, Eli’s character as a mentor truly shines in his humble and accepting response to the news that he will be replaced by someone not of his lineage (1 Sam 3:18). Eli’s response was both devout and submissive, and he modeled to Samuel what it meant to resign oneself to divine sovereignty. This model of relational leadership would serve Samuel in the coming years as he mentored both Saul (1 Sam 9–15) and David (1 Sam 16–24) and as he too resigned himself to the Lord’s sovereignty in unwelcoming news (1 Sam 15).
Elijah-Elisha
One final Old Testament example of the use of mentorship to prepare Israel’s leaders comes from the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Readers are first introduced to the pair in 1 Kings 19:19–21, as Elijah calls Elisha into prophetic ministry in heed of God’s command. This opening account reveals two important details that form the basis of mentorship in the years to come: (1) Elijah’s willingness to allow Elisha to fulfill his personal desires before leaving builds a platform for relationship and trust, and (2) Elisha reveals his total commitment as a protégé in his willingness to let go of everything to follow the call. After many years of Elisha observing, learning, and practicing prophetic ministry under Elijah’s tutelage, the mentorship relationship reaches its apex in 2 Kings 2, wherein Elisha fully takes on the mantle of ministry. In these verses, the narrative illustrates Elisha’s total commitment as a protege as evidenced in his unwillingness to leave Elijah’s side even though 50 others remained at a distance (2 Kings 2:6–8) as well as his desire for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (2 Kings 2:9). As he takes up Elijah’s cloak and receives Elijah’s spirit (2 Kings 2:13–15), the effect of the mentoring relationship becomes clear as Elisha is fully prepared for what the Lord will do through him. Moore (2007) notes, “the success, indeed, the succession of this mentoring relationship is shown to turn not so much on the doing of mentoring but rather on simply being a mentor and being with a mentor.” In other words, Elijah and Elisha’s relationship reveals that mentorship is not magical, but rather the relationship born out of the mentoring produces the impact and results. Elijah mentored Elisha through his presence, his courage, and his performance. Such a model of mentorship served Elisha well in his prophetic ministry as he counseled and advised the Kings over Israel through tumultuous times in the remaining chapters.
The literary significance of this account in 2 Kings 2 cannot be overlooked as it pertains to the primacy of the mentoring relationship and its importance in ancient Israel. This story not only forms the midpoint of the Elijah and Elisha materials, but also the midpoint of the entire Kings corpus. Such placement alludes that “prophetic mentoring is thus not merely a peripheral motif but a central concern of the books of Kings and the Elijah-Elisha materials in particular” (Moore, 2007). Centered at the midpoint of a long account of both royal successes and failures, 2 Kings 2 presents a “divinely graced instance of prophetic succession that offers the best model and hope for all Israel finally to succeed,” and it illustrates that the success of the nation hinges on the ultimate success of succession, “which is all about transmitting the sacred inheritance to the next generation” (Moore, 2007). From Israel’s first leaders to its kings, priests, and prophets that follow, mentorship was central to the legacy of leadership in the Old Testament.
Mentorship in the New Testament
To round out a holistic view of Scripture in the development of a biblical theology of leadership, one must not only look to the Old Testament as a source but also to the New. As one explores the Gospels and the writings of the Apostles, they find that mentorship did not disappear in the 400-year gap between the Testaments, but rather mentorship extends into the development of the early church as well. If anything, the art of mentorship had been honed to a science during this period of silence. By the time of the Gospel writings, the rabbi (teacher) and disciple (student) relationship dynamics were firmly entrenched in the culture. This relationship extended beyond mere learning and incorporated a sense of reproducing the teaching and life of the rabbis. Atterson (2021) notes that in this regard, “rabbis acted as mentors teaching the Jewish Scriptures and instructing disciples in the way to walk more akin to a father/son relationship.” The disciples devoted themselves fully to becoming the rabbi by obeying the rabbi’s teaching and by living like him in every manner. Jesus Himself embraced this method of mentorship, and the people conferred Jesus with the title “Rabbi” (Matt. 26:25; Mark 9:5; 10:51; 11:21; John 1:49; 3:2; 4:31; 6:25). In choosing His twelve disciples and demonstrating what mentorship in action looks like, Jesus set the stage for leadership development that the disciples, who became apostles, would model.
Jesus-Disciples
In less than four years, Jesus’ message and leadership impacted thousands, and within five generations the impact reached into the millions. The mechanism through which Jesus cultivated the leaders who would carry this legacy is mentorship. He called His proteges to become “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:18–22), and the Gospels portray Jesus as one who poured everything into them to achieve this end. The disciples lived alongside Christ, learned from him in everything, and practiced His ministry. Jesus’ sermons, His illustrations, and His example all formed them. MacArthur (2002) refers to this period of learning and observing as something of an internship or apprenticeship where Jesus stuck close to the disciples through their formation. He notes, “[Jesus] was like a mother eagle, watching the eagles as they began to fly. They were always checking back with him, reporting on how things were going” (MacArthur, 2002). As the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus could have demanded servants to achieve His end, yet He desired learners before He desired servants. Jesus understood the power of relationship through mentorship and that such a mechanism would produce heart transformation that would yield immeasurable impact beyond the mere obedience of a servant. As a teacher who desired to prepare His proteges for true leadership, He did not always give his disciples the easy answer, but rather he made them think, he made them experience, and through this he made them grow.
However, the transition from laymen to seasoned apostles was not always easy, nor was it certain they would eventually catch on (Mark 4:13; 7:18; 8:17, 21), and Jesus knew that some of what he imparted might not be fully grasped until after He had departed (John 13:7).
Despite these struggles and barriers, He never stopped teaching the disciples with patience and understanding, and he never wavered from his relational leadership to them. Jesus’ mentorship to the disciples was just as much, if not more, about character development and transformation than it was just skills development and training (MacArthur, 1994). As their rabbi, Jesus mentored the disciples with a formation that equipped them to face not just the known but also the unknown, a preparation only achieved through the transformation He desired. Though often discussed separately, leadership development, mentorship, and discipleship are not mutually exclusive, and as Geiger and Peck (2016) note, “it is detrimental to view leadership development as distinct from discipleship.” In Jesus’ application, His mentorship and discipleship were one-in-the-same, and He used this relationship to develop the leaders who would form and grow the early church and beyond.
Barnabas-Paul
Just as with the disciples, mentorship was central to the leadership development of one of the church’s most prominent missionaries: Paul. While Paul is a well-known figure, many are less familiar with Barnabas, who bears primary responsibility for Paul’s prominence. Readers are introduced to Barnabas in Acts 4:36–37, and here the text gives a clue to the character and nature of Barnabas’ leadership. His name as translated means “Son of Encouragement” (MacArthur, 1994), and this fitting trait would be the hallmark of his mentorship. As a persecutor of the church for many years, many doubted the sincerity of Paul’s conversion and thus rejected his inclusion into the Jerusalem congregation. However, Barnabas saw in Paul something that the others did not, and he advocated for Paul and presented the former persecutor before the apostles as a true believer (Acts 9:26–27). In response, and for the health of the church, the apostles sent Paul away to Tarsus (Acts 9:30). This initial advocacy and invitation established the mentorship relationship between the two that would produce a mighty evangelist and missionary in Paul no one thought possible. The book of Acts portrays that Barnabas was Paul’s companion during his early years of ministry, offering him wise counsel, advisement, and guidance. Barnabas embraced the opportunity in Antioch to mentor Paul and to reach the people of Antioch for a year. After serving alongside him as a co-pastor in Antioch (Acts 13:1), Barnabas accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:2ff) before finally parting ways and releasing Paul into ministry without his aide (Acts 15:36–41). Barnabas mentored Paul through his most formative ministry years.
Suffice it to say that without Barnabas’s willingness to come alongside Paul as his mentor, Paul’s story may very well have ended after Acts 9 and his impact on the church left unrealized. In reflecting on the cruciality of Barnabas’s role in Paul’s life, Atterson (2021) describes Paul as “a man stuck in Tarsus between Jewish nonbelievers and Jewish Christians with only Barnabas as a solution.” Barnabas, knowing how to build bridges and bring people together, not only vouched for the credibility of Paul that enabled his inclusion into the fold but also invested himself wholly into his development. His investment as a mentor left lasting, eternal ripples into the present day, and he possessed the “unique ability to see beyond the present circumstances and disciple unlikely candidates into great, contextual leaders like his divine mentor, Jesus” (Atterson, 2021, p. 263). Paul himself would later reinvest Barnabas’s mentorship into the development of early church pastors like Titus and Timothy, leading to a revolution that would alter history to this day. The Lord’s divine plan for the church was mobilized because one man, Barnabas, chose to stand in the gap and be the leader-mentor Paul needed.
Leadership Application
From the establishment of Israel’s leaders in the Old Testament to the exploding growth of the early church in the New Testament, the relational mechanism of mentorship is central to the legacy of biblical leaders and furthering God’s plan through His people. The sampling of biblical leaders previously analyzed demonstrates the importance of relationship in the leader-follower dynamic and reinforces the notion that such relationships are vital in effective mentoring. Each account also affirms the hallmarks of mentorship, including the primary characteristics of trust, vulnerability, encouragement, advisement, counsel, teaching, nurturement, motivation, and the like. Beyond the thematic recurrence of these traits, these examples also offer practical observations regarding biblical leadership-mentorship for the ministry leader today.
First, it is interesting to note that mentees within Scripture were chosen by leaders who saw potential in them; they did not necessarily seek out mentorship for themselves. Jethro offered Moses his unsolicited advice (Ex. 18:14); Elijah cast his cloak over Elisha without his prompting (1 Kings 19:19); Jesus called the first disciples away from their routine lives (Matt. 4:19), and so on. Time and again the Bible portrays the mentorship relationship as being initiated by the leader and not vice versa. It is the leader’s duty to identify giftedness and develop spiritual leaders for the kingdom (Patterson, 2017). This approach is vastly different from today’s popular thought that the mentee should drive the connection and seek out a mentor, and it certainly runs counter to the notion that such a relationship should only be furthered based on compatibility. Even so, Scripture indicates that the onus for building a legacy of leadership that will advance His kingdom rests on the shoulders of ministry leaders who will invite others into a mentoring relationship. Like Barnabas to Paul, leaders must recognize the potential in proteges, and through God’s direction, raise up the next generation who will shepherd God’s flock. As Briner and Pritchard (2007) note, “no other invitations have the power and appeal of this one-on-one method” (p. 12).
In similar fashion, the second observation reveals a biblical theme that stands in contrast to contemporary practice: mentees were chosen to be a part of God’s work and not to pursue their own interests, goals, and desires. Samuel was mentored to serve God’s people (1 Sam 3:1); Elisha was pulled away from farming to prophesy (1 Kings 19:19); and Barnabas paved the road for Paul’s missionary work (Acts 9:26, 27). Contemporary mentorship models sometimes suggest that mentors should help mentees realize their own goals, pursuits, and end states, or at the very least help them thrive within their current context. However, biblical mentorship centers on focusing proteges on God’s divine purpose and His plans, even if that means a radical denial of one’s own desires. This is why Jesus spent an entire night praying, the only time the Bible accounts for Him doing so, before choosing who God would have him select to join in His ministry (Geiger & Peck, 2016).
Biblical mentorship takes a long-range view of accomplishing God’s work and recognizes that the work will need to continue even after one’s departure (John 7:33; 12:35; 13:1). It assumes a relational process in pursuit of and centered on a common purpose, God’s purpose. It is a process which “is devoid of coercive structures that require accomplishment. Rather, the community of leader and followers is driven intrinsically by values that support both mission and process” (Patterson, 2017, p. 82). Biblical mentorship is about investment into people who will invest themselves into God’s plan. This is why faithful biblical leaders never felt threatened by a protege’s successes or their succession of leadership, because everything ultimately focused on God’s success.
This recognition leads to a third observation that biblical mentors were followers first, ultimately of God but also of other mentors. One will not find an account of a successful mentor in the pages of Scripture whose heart and followership did not put God first. They pursued the Lord’s direction, heeded His voice, and followed His call in every advisement, counsel, or training they gave to their proteges. In the first-century church, each ordained mentor saw themselves first as a follower of Christ, helping proteges experience Christ through their lives as living epistles (2 Cor. 3:1–3). Biblical mentors recognize that wisdom comes from God speaking and working through the mentor (Thompson, 2017). Not only were biblical leaders followers of God, but they themselves were followers of other mentors as well. Joshua was mentored by Moses (Ex. 17:8–16), David was mentored by Samuel (1 Sam. 19:18–19), and Timothy was mentored by Paul (Acts 16:3–4). Indeed, Thompson and Murchison (2018) note that “in the Jewish tradition and as witnessed throughout Scripture, there are no mentors who were not first disciples themselves.” Biblical mentorship hinges on leaders who are both submitted to God and open to development from others.
Fourth, each mentoring relationship within Scripture follows a similar process of initiation, teaching, developing, releasing, and succeeding mentoring. That is, a biblical leader first initiates the mentorship relationship with a protege, then teaches them through wise counsel or advisement, then develops them through feedback as they put into practice what has been taught, then releases them for ministry leadership on their own, which finally results in the protege becoming a mentor to others. This observation is similar to Rivera’s (2007) analysis of Barnabas’s relationship with Paul in which he noted the mentorship progressed through five stages: sponsorship, initiation, cultivation, separation, and redefinition. Interestingly, the biblical process of mentorship as demonstrated is also strikingly similar to a learner’s progression through Bloom’s Taxonomy, a widely used model within education. Regardless of the model chosen to depict mentorship in the Bible, Scripture makes clear that mentorship was a deliberate process that purposefully developed the protege from a novice towards one fully equipped to complete God’s work and further the biblical legacy of leadership.
Lastly, a common thread amongst biblical examples of leader-mentors is that the goal of development is not just skills development but transformation. The catalyst to this transformation is the trust and respect built through the leader’s relationship with the mentee, that is the leader’s influence through personal power as opposed to positional authority. Research shows that this relational leadership continually lends to higher-performing teams, trust, commitment, responsibility, and long-term viability within an organization (Cincala, 2016). It then stands to reason biblical leaders used mentorship as the mechanism for transformation to ensure the long-term viability of the changes being enacted and to produce a succeeding leader of character who could continue God’s work. To this end, Hall (2017) suggests that a young minister’s success is determined not so much by what they do, but who they are as a person. Biblical leaders were not as interested in behavior modification as much as they were in character development, a development that can only be brought about through transformation mobilized through relational mentorship.
In contemplation of the above observations, it becomes apparent that mentoring is not only biblically justifiable, but also biblically necessary. Hall (2017) affirms when he writes, “the absence of a mentor for a young pastor is not an oversight but rather an evil that must be remedied” (p. 43). Therefore, today’s Christian leader must work towards implementing a model of mentor-leadership that is grounded in Scripture and draw upon this primary relational aspect of leadership to ensure the development of leaders who will join in God’s mission. The dynamic, relational, partnership process is central to Christian leadership, and it is likewise important that the basis of any such process be the role and work of the Holy Spirit. It is, after all, the Holy Spirit who teaches (John 14:26), who helps (John 16:7), who gives power (Acts 1:8), who guides (John 16:13), and who is the source of wisdom (1 Cor 2:13). The Holy Spirit equips both the mentor and the mentee and forms the basis of the relationship that can have immeasurable impact. Furthermore, as the experienced mentor, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, models his life after the pattern of the Ultimate Mentor (God), they provide a visible model for the mentee to emulate. Though an unnerving prospect for many leaders, this imitation is imperative to the mentorship process, and it is why Paul unashamedly calls the church to imitate him (1 Cor. 11:1), not because of who he is but rather because of the One he imitates. The Christian faith is an imitative faith, and so is the process of mentorship (Reese & Loane, 2012). This dynamic only thrives, however, when the mentor’s identity is rooted in Christ and driven by the power of the Spirit.
Conclusion
This article discussed how the relational aspects of leadership in the context of the Christian faith community, namely mentorship, provide a biblically based foundation for a biblical theology of pastoral leadership. As a contemporary notion that finds historical practice in application, mentorship is a complex term that encompasses numerous characteristics that revolve around the concept of an experienced senior engaging a less experienced protege in a purposeful development process rooted in a trusting relationship. Though one will never encounter the term mentor within the pages of Scripture, the practice of mentorship is clearly seen as a primary mechanism by which biblical leaders raised the next generation of leaders for God’s people. The Old Testament accounts of Jethro and Moses, Eli and Samuel, and Elijah and Elisha demonstrate the cruciality of the mentor-protege relationship in developing Israel’s leaders, kings, prophets, and priests. Mentorship was not confined to just the Old Testament, however, as the examples of both Jesus with His disciples and Barnabas with Paul reveal. From a holistic perspective of the Bible, mentorship shines forth as the primary relational leadership attribute from the start of Scripture to the end, and from within these pages, one can form an argument that mentorship is not only encouraged but commanded.
In examining the various accounts of biblical mentorship, a couple of observations stand out. First, mentees were chosen by leaders who saw greater potential in them; mentees did not initiate the relationship. Second, leaders invited their chosen proteges into a mentoring relationship for the purpose of joining in God’s work; the mentoring relationship was not established for the mere benefit of the mentee alone. Third, examples of faithful biblical leaders show that they were followers first before becoming effective mentors, followers of both God and of other mentors. Fourth, the Bible portrays a consistent process of developing proteges through the stages of initiating, teaching, developing, releasing, and succeeding mentoring. The mentorship process was deliberate and gradually developed the mentee towards the end state of continued succession. Finally, Scripture makes clear that the goal of mentorship goes well beyond mere behavior modification and focuses rather on transformation of the mentee. This dynamic, relational, partnership process of mentorship is central to Christian leadership, and the effectiveness of developing disciples hinges foremost on the leader’s relationship with the Ultimate Mentor and their submission to the Holy Spirit’s direction. Mentorship served God’s leaders well in the unveiling of His divine plan within the pages of Scripture. As His divine plan continues to unfold, Christian leaders today should continue to trust in the relational leadership process of mentorship to grow the leaders God will use to continue writing His history.
John “Mac” McClean, DMin, MDiv, MAEd, is a Chief Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force serving as a Senior Enlisted Leader in the Air Force Chaplain Corps.
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