Reflections on Being Molded in the Faith
February 23, 2014 | Patrick Preheim, Walter Wall, Debbis Heinrichs

These are days of wonder for those who love sports.  Its the Scotties, Brier, World Jr's, X-games, and all manner of international championship all rolled into a couple of weeks.  I have been feeding at a buffet adorned with more sports than a person can or should consume, and gluttony gets the gold.  How on earth do these athletes become so good?  I would submit that coaching, mentorship we might call it, makes a great athlete world class.  Paul’s Pastoral Epistles, and the way he conducted his ministry, was a type of coaching for early Christianity.

To this point in our pilgrimage through Paul’s letters we have left relatively unexplored the connection of Paul to people.  He was a mentor to individuals and congregations.  Paul’s coaching tactics were pretty straight forward.  Simply put, Paul cared about people enough to work alongside them (Titus and Timothy work with Paul in Acts), model for them the faith, write letters, and implore the older members to mentor the younger (Titus 2).    Paul’s ministry moulded the faith of new Christians and church leaders so that there might be a future witness to God’s salvation in Christ.  Relationships, mutual support and applying faith on the fly—this is how Paul mentored others.  Such moulding of the faith is still needed today.  How does it happen for us?

Sheila got us off to a good start with this topic last week when she keyed off Paul’s mention of Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois who passed on their faith to Timothy.  Sheila talked about the importance of 2nd Timothy to her father, his impact on her faith, and that she had inherited her love of 2nd Timothy from him.  At our best we learn about faith and its practice from those in our families and faith communities.  At our best we pass on habits and tools and advice for those who will succeed us.  Today we will hear two more reflections on the way faith has been moulded in addition to a few thoughts I have assembled.

Walter Wall

Walter's portion of the sermon is in the form of hand-written notes, which are available as a PDF

I know there are those who would echo Walter’s experience.  New to a town, new to a job, new to a faith community—all of us who have gone through such a transition know that those who open their homes and lives are messengers of God.  They are angels.  But let us be clear that such angelic activity is not for everyone at every stage of life.  It takes a willingness to spend hours working at a relationship, and not everyone has extra time.  It takes emotional capital to extend friendship circles, and some of us are just keeping our heads afloat the way things are.  It takes wisdom on the part of both mentor and mentee to know the boundaries which will keep the relationship healthy.  In fact, not everyone is cut out to be a mentor and not everyone is cut out to be mentored.   In more formal mentorship settings several foundational questions need to be affirmed if the mentorship relationship stands a chance of bearing good fruit. (taken from Janelle Unrau’s 2013 MEDA convention seminar Mentor, Mentee or Meant-to-be? What's it All About?)

• Are both the mentor and mentee willing to teach and be taught?
• Are mentor and mentee willing to move through the shame and fear vulnerability creates so that support can be offered and important lessons can be learned?
• Are both parties willing to step aside when necessary?

These are intriguing questions as we consider the moulding of faith be it in the workplace, congregation or community.  I will continue my reflections, but it is again time for a personal reflection.

Debbie Heinrichs

Mentorship is all around us and we are constantly learning from important people who step in and out of our lives.  Many times, our mentors are likely unaware of the impact they have had!

My Aunt Martha Nickel was one of those first important mentors in my teenage years and beyond.  She always seemed to have had the time to sit at her kitchen table and actively listen. No problem or question seemed too trivial to deal with.  What I appreciated was her sensitivity to the needs of others and the way that she always treated others with dignity. She created a welcoming, non-judgemental space for me to explore issues including those of faith and justice.

As many of you know, Aunt Martha was the director of the Self-Help Craft store, the precursor for Ten Thousand Villages.  I have clear memories of walking into the corrugated metal building where she was the sole staff member and marveling at all of the wonderful items on display that came from so many areas from around the world.  Aunt Martha was always so excited to tell the M.C.C. story whenever she could, and she tirelessly packed up the crafts and set them up so many times as she traveled to churches, mission conferences, and to schools to teach about various cultures and our responsibility in helping others.  She made me realize that having a real passion for your work is a key to feeling that you are in the right place to be used by God.

Aunt Martha demonstrated courage in so many ways and I admired her for that.  She was willing to stand up for her faith and took risks to do that even at a time when women were not always encouraged to take on public speaking roles in the church.

When she traveled to India to attend a women’s conference, she had the privilege of meeting Mother Teresa face to face in one of the homes for the destitute and dying. This impacted her in a profound way and encouraged her on her own journey.

Other mentors for me have been people like Jake Ens who would take the time to talk with young people and would call us by name following a Sunday morning service in church.  He cared about teenagers and this translated to actions that validated their existence and importance for him.  In his quiet and unassuming way, I have observed Jake supporting others through playing his guitar to engage a group of teenagers in a choir during the seventies and leading countless Sunday School worship times.

Professionally, as a Superintendent of Schools, Jake led workshops on positive staff development that engaged others and built relationships.  Thank you, Jake for your involvement in the lives of others!

My number one mentor was undoubtedly my dad. Service to others came very naturally to him and he felt it was important to volunteer his time by giving back to the community he cared about. This included serving Meals on Wheels, turkey dinners to kids in community schools, as well as being willing to take on Chairperson responsibilities for various Boards. 

One of the pieces of advice that I received from Dad during my growing up years was to ‘change your corner of the world.’   This he did without seeking any recognition but with a humble heart and a generous spirit.

I can remember returning home after a particularly unsettling but inspiring Educational Foundations university class during my first year at the University of Saskatchewan.  We had viewed a film about the famine in Africa.  I was all fired up about booking a plane ticket to help with the devastating effects of starvation.  Dad patiently listened to my rant about how we need to do something about this situation and agreed with me. Then he suggested that I start with small acts right here in Saskatoon to help out every day.   I can still remember exactly where I was standing in our basement when I experienced a defining moment and  realized that I needed to take some personal responsibility and make the needs of others a focus in my own immediate part of the planet.  I have often referred back to that moment in time and have used it as a motivation to move forward by just doing one thing to support someone I encounter in my day. When I think about his granddaughter volunteering in what is now our global village of Nairobi to look after babies in an orphanage, I know that he would be so very proud of her choices to reach out to others.  This was a dream that has come full circle and remained in her mother’s heart.

Dad’s optimism and enthusiasm for life was so evident in the way he chose to live.  He always had a positive outlook and was quick to give compliments to others but dismissed any attention that focused on him.  He had a very significant influence on my life and was a wonderful encourager!  He gave me the treasured gift of love in action!

My Dad had one line that he always included when he asked the blessing for the meal and that was, “Thank you God, that we love each other.”  He decidedly embraced each joyful moment as it was presented to him and he modeled how to be grateful.  There are so many lessons that I have learned from him!

In the introduction to first and second Timothy and Titus, Eugene Peterson, in The Message, says that the best leadership in spiritual communities formed in the name of Jesus, the Messiah, is inconspicuous, not calling attention to itself but not sacrificing anything in the way of conviction and firmness either. In his letters to Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete, we see Paul encouraging and guiding the development of just such leadership. Paul says. “Stay at your post.” Teach with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.

This year, I have been offered a new job of co-ordinating eleven Literacy tutors for Saskatoon Public Schools.  As I work with these tutors and with the students,  there are many opportunities to connect with others on a personal and professional basis and walk with them through challenges that they encounter.  Mindful mentoring has taken on a new meaning for me and I hope that I am sharing encouragement, patient listening, and kindness through my responses and daily interactions. The support and new reading strategies that we give to a child who is sitting beside us and the safe place that we provide for them to make mistakes and falter, as well as to celebrate their success is a privilege and a gift!

Those we choose as mentors, whether we do this consciously or unconsciously, are ultimately people who take the risk to stand up for what they believe.  Their faith speaks volumes in their actions!  They model strong values to others and we seek to be like them in our own unique way.  Our connections and relationships in life strengthen our own walk with Jesus.

Patrick Preheim

Remembering those who have shaped our faith is important and sharing about those experiences equally import.  When we remember those who have shaped us we are filled with gratitude.  When we share about them we give guidance and inspiration to the community in the ways we continue moulding faith and faith communities.

There are different types of mentoring relationships.  Walter shared how it happened for him in a new town.  Debbie shared how it happened for her in the family.  Nutana Park has a mentorship program for its youth.  Professionals often choose to take on a mentor from their field.   Support groups sometimes form in which group mentorship happens around particular struggles or losses.  These examples of mentoring relationships all reflect God’s ministry in the context of person to person connection. 

If our understanding of mentorship in the faith is tied solely to community relationships, however, we will eventually run into problems.  Faith communities have their limits.  People of faith will miss opportunities.  Parents and other family members will disappoint us.  Pastors will fall below the “good shepherd” standard.  The various horizontal church mentorship models we have are grounded upon God’s deeper vertical mentorship within us.   Paul Tillich referred to God as the Ground of Being, and without roots in this Ground horizontal efforts at faith development will have limited success.  So I wrap up this sermon time with several important questions:

• Have we asked Jesus to mentor us, to shape us, to guide us?  Without an invitation God has limited capacity to take us from good to great to world class.
• Have we been honest with our coach about our weak spots?  It is important for us to share with God about those blown out knees, past crashes, and mental scars that limit us.  Things go much better when we know that the Great Physician knows our aches and pains.
• Do we regularly spend time listening to the Holy Spirit, the divine mentor?  Most coaches would resign if they were hired and then promptly ignored.  Fortunately, God is more gracious than most of our earthly mentors.  How do we listen to the Spirit’s promptings?
• Do we strive to live the teaching?  In Titus Paul encouraged us "to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all".  Jesus, Paul and the Spirit prepare us for action.  Like most Olympic athletes we will not be perfect, but we are called to go down that hill doing our best.
• Once the fray is over are we reflecting on the events of day?  Are we reviewing the game film?  We do so with our coach and mentor so that we can celebrate the successes and address the mistakes?

The importance of faith formation can not be underestimated.  In Titus Paul makes clear that it is the integrity and good deeds of the believers which will draw the world into relationship with Jesus.  Paul’s Pastoral Epistles emphasize both a community dimension to the moulding of faith and the personal relationship with Christ, Spirit and God.  May we tend these horizontal and vertical dimensions of spiritual mentorship so that the Holy Nation of the church is well represented in the competition happening out there every day.   And may the wisdom, strength and peace of God bless our endeavors.    Amen.