I recently took part in seminar dealing with the value of adult learning theory for Christian mentoring. These were my opening remarks about how we see Jesus in the gospels anticipating the conclusions of contemporary adult learning theorists.

I wonder, have you had the experience where something that you’ve sort of vaguely known about suddenly crystallises for you in a powerful way? The penny drops, and you really get it. You might find yourself saying, ‘How did I not know this?’ Or, for years and years you’ve always seen something one way then, boom, something happens and you say to yourself, ‘How could I have been so dense?’

It’s these sorts of experiences that adult learning theory investigates. It could be that something that was previously a theoretical topic suddenly becomes practical. Or something that was practical enough but not particularly relevant to you, moves to the centre of your concerns. Or you go through an unsettling experience that disrupts your established point of view and has you asking new questions. Adult learning theory is all about this sort of thing.

I was first exposed to adult learning theory through reading Malcolm Knowles. His principles immediately appealed to me as insightful, wise and effective. Knowles observed that adults bring life experiences to learning, they are goal oriented, relevancy oriented and practical.

Knowles’ principles seemed self-evidently true and also strangely familiar. Where had I come across these ideas before? Then it struck me: the way Jesus worked with his disciples was just like this. He anticipated the modern articulation of adult learning theory by about two thousand years!

Self-Directed Learning and Readiness

Jesus consistently used parables, questions, and real-life situations to stimulate reflection and self-directed learning rather than simply delivering information. For example, in Luke 10, when a lawyer asked Him about eternal life, Jesus responded with the Parable of the Good Samaritan, encouraging the lawyer to reflect on and discover the meaning of “neighbour” for himself. That approach aligns perfectly with Knowles’ principle that adults need to feel responsible for their learning and prefer taking ownership of their learning journey.

Jesus also provided frameworks that were immediately applicable to what his disciples were interested in, addressing their readiness to learn. In Luke 11, Jesus has just finished his personal prayer time, presumably overheard by his disciples, and one of them says, “Lord, teach us to pray.” He then provided a practical model they could use in their daily spiritual practice. And I’ve used it myself! This mirrors Knowles’ principle that adults are ready to learn when training solves an immediate sense of need and that they want their learning to be problem-focused.

Experience as a Learning Resource

Jesus drew extensively on the everyday experiences of His listeners, using metaphors and analogies from agriculture, fishing, and daily life—experiences they already possessed. In Matthew 13, he used the Parable of the Sower to illustrate how different people receive the word of God, connecting new spiritual truth to familiar farming practices. This anticipates Knowles’ principle that adults bring a wealth of experience that serves as a valuable resource for learning and that educators should build on that experience.

Or, think about Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. He engaged with her personal and social context. Addressing her personal experience and specific circumstances moved her from being closed to being open, and led to her transformation. When Knowles identifies that adults are engaged by learning that addresses real-life issues and problems, he’s just catching up to Jesus.

Experiential and Discovery Learning

Jesus’ teaching method exemplified what modern educators call experiential education and discovery learning. His teaching followed four phases: 

• inspiring learners by identifying teachable moments, 
• guiding inquiry with intriguing questions, 
• allowing learners to explore possibilities through story, and 
• encouraging application. 

This was in stark contrast to common contemporary Rabbinical practices of his time, which was a more passive learning paradigm of exact recitation and memorization.

Jesus knew that learning was not simply memorizing facts but involved organizing new information into existing frameworks and applying it to life. In Luke 10 he sent his disciples out two by two to heal, serve, and proclaim the gospel. He was encouraging them to learn through actual practice, then brought them back to reflect on what God did through them. This action-reflection cycle that Jesus practiced is central to experiential learning theory which unpacks why this works with adults and how we can maximize its potential.

Active Engagement and Apprenticeship

Jesus did not allow His disciples to remain passive observers but challenged them to actively participate in learning episodes as preparation for their future ministries. In Mark 6 when the disciples suggested sending the hungry crowd away, Jesus responded, “You feed them.” That invited them to engage with the problem. This aligns with the modern educational principle that “the one doing the work is the one doing the learning”.

Jesus’ approach was fundamentally apprenticeship-based. The progression Jesus used—showing, explaining, involving and assigning—is the classic apprenticeship model that moves learners from dependence to self-directed competence. 

Relational and Transformational Learning

Jesus’ method was intentional, relational, and formational. He was personally engaged, expressed genuine love, and formed His disciples by mentoring, challenging, and modelling so they could become more like Him. This relational, transformational approach anticipates transformative learning theory such as can be found in Larry Daloz’s mentoring framework.

Adult learning theory emphasises the personal interaction between teacher and student or mentor and mentoree which goes beyond what you can get out of a book or a podcast. Jesus was well ahead of the curve on this. He didn’t merely inform his followers by sharing knowledge; he transformed them by sharing his life and having them join in what he was doing. Jesus showed how life-on-life, heart-to-heart connection can produce dramatic transformation.

Intrinsic Motivation and Need to Know

Jesus addressed the adult learning principle that learners need to know why they need to learn something. He connected learning to His disciples’ emerging identities and calling. So, he said to Peter, “From now on you will be catching people.” He said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” This affirmation of noble identity and vision-casting created intrinsic motivation by helping disciples see the purpose and relevance of their learning.

Adult learning theory addresses potential barriers to learning, which Jesus also anticipates. For example, in Luke 24, when Jesus wants his disciples to grasp the reality of the resurrection and the mission he was giving them, he first addressed their emotional and relational needs, allayed their fears, and gave them firsthand experience with his resurrection body. Then the cognitive opening occurred. Jesus demonstrated his understanding that adult readiness to learn involves emotional and relational preparation, not just intellectual capacity.

Jesus’ teaching methods thus embodied principles that adult learning theorists would later formalize such as: 

• self-direction
• experience as resource
• readiness and relevance
• problem-centred orientation
• active engagement
• experiential learning
• relational apprenticeship
• intrinsic motivation

Christian mentors who dig into adult learning theory for the sake of their ministry are not bolting on some new-fangled secular methodology. They are harnessing the fruit of careful investigation into practices that our master Jesus employed so effectively, so that they can reflect his ministry in their own.

In mentoring conversations, we often look for a Biblical narrative that has resonance with current circumstances. When a person is sensing a call out of where they have been, we will often land on the early chapters of Exodus to gain wisdom for the transition.

Challenge the powers

To secure the release of God’s people, Moses first step was to face Pharaoh, a most powerful adversary, by whose authority they were held captive. The Egyptian monarchy was an authority/power structure that could claim to have made Moses what he was. Moses’ courage in challenging this power was based on his knowledge that God was with him. He did not back down or water down his demand for freedom. He didn’t agree for Israel to leave hostages behind or depart without what was rightfully theirs.

God wants you free to worship and serve him without compromise, but not everyone does. Vested interests will block you. What power or authority structure do you need to challenge to get free? 

Eph 6:12 ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’.

Be persistent

One of the most extraordinary features of this narrative is that it took ten signs to break through Pharaoh’s resistance. Ten! Blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and firstborn. Why was Pharaoh so stubborn? The text says both that he hardened his own heart and that God hardened it – an example of the classic paradox between free will and God’s sovereignty. 

In the New Testament we are instructed to pray and not give up (Luke 18:1). We are assured that we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). We are urged to not give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25). For those who are being called to transition, the Exodus narrative prompts the question, “What do you need to keep repeating to get free?”

Heb 10:35,36 ‘So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised’.  

Be prepared to sacrifice

The tenth sign, the one that finally overcomes Pharaoh’s intransigence, introduces an arresting symbol: the Passover lamb. In every family, the Israelites sacrificed a lamb and daubed its blood on the top and sides of their doorframes. When the Lord moved through the land to strike down the firstborn of households, he passed over those homes marked with the blood of the sacrifice.

Every transition – welcome or unwelcome – begins with an ending. Freedom has a price. Inevitably, something must be surrendered and die in order to move on. It may be comfort, safety, an ambition, or a cherished sin. If you are being called out, yet held back, what might you need to give up to get free? And perhaps a prior question must be faced: Do you want to be free?

Phil 3:7,8,13,14 ‘But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus’.

Trust God in crisis

Transitions are rarely, if ever, simple, one-step processes. Having broken through initial resistance, it is naïve to think the struggle is over. After early progress is made it’s very common to hit further blockages. In spite of the frequency with which this occurs, it can still generate a crisis of doubt and loss of confidence. The incident at the Red Sea is a symbol of those moments of crisis in any transition when you seem to be blocked and stuck exactly where you don’t want to be. It feels like you can’t go back, but you can’t go forward either. You’ve run out of options, and feel abandoned, vulnerable and threatened.

The Exodus narrative places God in the centre of the crisis at the Red Sea. It happened because God deliberately engineered an impossible situation. The Israelites were told to backtrack in the direction they had just travelled to put them with the Red Sea on one side, an insuperable barrier of mountains on the other side and behind and the desert wilderness with the advancing Egyptians in front. They were boxed in with no escape! It was like running for your life from a gang and realizing you have just turned down a dead-end street.

The people start verbally attacking Moses: “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” (We wryly note the dark humour here!) “What have you done to us…didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’?” (Exodus 14:11-12)

Failure of nerve at the point of crisis will lead back to captivity. Not death necessarily, just containment, and the attempt at transition will be defeated. Moses takes it to God, who responds, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” (Exodus 14:15)

That must have been initially puzzling for Moses. What? How!? There is no way forward! And then there was.

1 Cor 10:13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Why does God let, or even arrange for, these crisis moments happen? He wants to accomplish two things. First, he wants to make known his glory to others. “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” (Exodus 14:4, also v17) Second, he wants to teach you to trust him more. “When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” (Exodus 14:31)

The Exodus narrative has resonance with many kinds of transitions. In mentoring I’m often helping people grapple with internal, character transitions such as: addiction to self-control; apathy to love; bitterness to forgiveness; guilt/fear to confidence; harshness to grace; anxiety to peace; negativity to hope; doubt to faith; resistance to surrender; grasping to generosity; rebellion to repentance; entitlement to service; complaining to joy; human effort to spiritual power.

This Biblical story has so much more to offer and will richly repay slow, careful meditation. Learning from its wisdom, I pray that those of you presently in transition will soon get free and learn to trust God more deeply on the journey into the future toward which he is calling you.

Used with permission from the publisher of Preach magazine. This article of mine was originally published in Preach magazine, Issue 46 (2026).

Euodia and Syntyche were not of the same mind. We don’t know what their particular disagreement was about but Paul was clearly concerned, pleading with them to sort it out, and asking the “true companion” to help them to do so. (Phil 4:2-3) If you hold a leadership role in a local church, or any Christian organisation, you are likely to be in the place of the true companion, with responsibility to hold the flock together. How are we to do that?

It’s interesting to me that Paul doesn’t tell Euodia and Syntyche what opinion they should hold. Indeed, just a few verses previously (Phil 3:15) he wrote, “if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” Paul seems more concerned about the prayerful and relational process of resolving or living with differences of opinion than he is about settling who is right and who is wrong. In Ephesians he urges believers to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace,” and similarly in Romans writes, “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” (Eph 4:3; Rom 14:19) It is a mark of maturity to be able to remain in relationship with people with whom we disagree.

It’s not that right and wrong don’t matter – they most certainly do! And Paul devotes a lot of space in his letters to right doctrine and right ethics; what we term orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Yet alongside that he is deeply concerned about what we might call orthokardia – having a right heart. Having a right heart attitude in working through differences is especially important when it comes to what Paul calls “disputable matters.” (Rom 14:1)

There’s an old saying: In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love. Of course, it’s not so easy to even agree on what is an essential matter, and what is a non-essential or disputable matter. But, for argument’s sake, let us suppose that at least some of the things that members of the flock disagree about are not actually essential matters. In our current cultural context in which anxiety causes people to have little patience for deep, extended reasoning or nuance, and social media tends to drive us towards polarised positions, it’s easy to see how believers fall out with each other too easily over disputable matters, and fail to put in the effort to which Paul calls us.

Paul gives two examples In Romans 14 of ‘disputable matters’: eating meat and observing special days. I stress that these are only examples. I contend that numerous other topics that people disagree about could fit into this category. 

• Eating meat. Vegetarianism was a thing in Paul’s world nearly 2000 years ago, but it was adopted for particular reasons that are not so common today. Back then, it was about where the meat had come from. Some believers would have nothing to do with meat associated with idol worship. If they could not be sure of the provenance of a particular piece of meat, and that was often the case, then they would rather go without meat altogether. Just not worth the risk in their opinion.

• Observing special or sacred days. Paul doesn’t specify what these days were. It might refer to observance of the Jewish sabbath as opposed to the early custom for Christians to meet on Sunday. Perhaps it included keeping Jewish festivals anchored in the old covenant. He might have had in mind the matter of Christians participating in pagan feast days that were traditional family celebrations.

In his counsel, Paul describes some people as “strong” and others as “weak”. We need to be careful about the value we place on these terms. It’s not as simple as “strong is good; weak is bad”. The “strong” emphasise freedom and enjoy whatever is allowed. Today we might call this the “progressive” position. The “weak” emphasise compliance and are more cautious about one thing leading to another. Today we might call them “conservatives”.

Both groups would probably like Paul to set out the rules and settle the argument: who is right and who is wrong? But he doesn’t! Instead he flags two deeper problems.

• Contempt (Rom 14:3). This is a common failing of the “strong”. It’s a condescending attitude, lack of love, pleasing oneself without regard for the impact on others. Imagine someone saying something like, “You poor misguided people, labouring under the weight of imagined obligation. Lighten up! Stop making yourselves and other people miserable.”

• Judgement (Rom 14:10) This is a common failing of the “weak”. It is a condemnatory attitude, criticising and rejecting. Imagine someone saying something like, “You irresponsible people, arrogantly defying right and proper standards. That is not acceptable! Stop being so selfish and insubordinate.”

Paul is asserting that both contempt and judgement towards others are indisputably wrong.

Why? The theological basis for this is stated in Rom 14:4 – because the person you disagree with is answerable to God, not you.

Paul does declare where his personal opinion lands on the meat-eating issue, and he hints where he’s at on the sacred days issue (also in Col 2:16-17). On those issues he’s of the “strong” or progressive opinion. But he doesn’t push his views; if anything, his emphasis in Romans is to take the progressives to task!

Principles that true companions can draw for today

1. Do your best to help people distinguish the difference between what is essential and what is a non-essential, disputable matter. (Rom 14:1) Bear in mind the lessons of church history: some formerly indisputable matters have come to be regarded as matters of opinion, and some formerly disputable matters have come to be regarded as indisputable. It’s my personal conviction that, in fact, there are not many essential matters. Each of us must work this out before God.
2. Affirm that we are all accountable to God, not each other. (Rom 14:4) It’s fine to have conversations about disputable matters, but not to load our conclusions on others as obligations they must accept.
3. Be careful not to hurt people whose conscience is more sensitive than yours. This would be especially useful as a reminder to progressives. Encourage others to consider voluntarily restricting their behaviour rather than using their freedom as an excuse for being insensitive. (Rom 14:15) In an age where the rights of individuals are considered so important, it’s a radical thing to seek the common good above personal freedom and preference.
4. Have a generous, patient attitude with others who differ with you about non-essentials. This would be especially useful as a reminder to conservatives. Encourage believers to develop the capacity to agree to disagree, to stay in gentle, respectful relationship despite differences, holding acceptance and discernment in creative tension. (Rom 14:12-13) Agreeing to disagree seems to imply that either you don’t really think this issue matters very much, or you’re not sure of your opinion. Although it might feel like a feeble position to take, it’s actually gracious and respectful.
5. As far as they are able, help disagreeing parties to think through non-essential issues to arrive at positions they are convinced of on a Biblical basis (Rom 14:5b, 14a cf Mk 7:18-19). They should then follow those convictions with integrity and not violate their own conscience. (Rom 14:14b, 23)
6. Urge believers to not allow themselves to be manipulated by legalists who pose as people of tender conscience. (Rom 14:16) A disciple might voluntarily show restraint in the presence of legalists for the sake of peace, yet not accept the accusations of guilt they make.

These things are not easy, but it’s where things are difficult that leadership matters most. Let’s heed Paul’s appeal to us: “therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification”. (Rom 14:19)

Used with permission from the publisher of Preach magazine. This article of mine was originally published in Preach magazine, Issue 43 (2025).

Truth and love are vital to all healthy personal relationships. But there’s a sense in which the thrust of truth on the one hand and the thrust of love on the other may prompt us toward different ways of engaging in conversations. These kinds of engagement are not necessarily at odds with each other, but they can be. Without proper curation, love and truth can pull against each other. With thoughtful attention to each dynamic, they can be woven together in a highly constructive complementarity.

Ideally, we would all like to conduct our ministries in ways that express both truth and love, but it’s not always as easy as it sounds. Reflecting on my own experience, I have found that when I’m paying particular attention to communicating truth, I can run the risk of coming across as not terribly loving or gracious. Also, when I am especially trying to convey love and support, I run the risk of going soft on challenging aspects of the truth of the matter.

The English language may be a limiting factor here. We don’t have a convenient word that conveys the dynamics of both truth and love at the same time. We have to resort to using a phrase like ‘tough love’.

David Augsburger, a pastoral theologian from Fuller Seminary in the early 70s, wrote about the importance of both care and confrontation in Christian ministry. He made the case that care brings warm inclusion and confrontation brings firm discernment. He insisted that to neglect either was to undermine the gospel of Jesus. He noted that there isn’t a handy English word that brings together the dynamics of caring (loving) and confronting (telling the truth) into one approach. So he coined the term ‘carefronting’.

The point is that in all forms of ministry that is carried out in Jesus’ name, this can’t be an either/or. It’s got to be a both/and. Care on its own can descend into complicity and a sort of co-dependent enabling. Confrontation on its own can become aggressive and judgemental.

Larry Daloz, the philosophy of education guru of the 80s made the same observation in connection with teaching, but he used the language of ‘support’ and ‘challenge’. He mapped the way in which these dynamics impact students and the results produced:

He observed that where neither support nor challenge is effectively conveyed the result is stagnation. Where there is support but no effective challenge, students feel encouraged to keep repeating what they have been doing to that point. Where students are challenged but not provided with support, they tend to retreat. Daloz observed that the place of greatest learning and growth was where students experienced both support and challenge at the same time.

The contributions of both Augsburger and Daloz are simply 20^th century articulations of first century wisdom that we find in the New Testament. Love and truth are spoken of together in several places in scripture

• 1 Corinthians 13:6 …love rejoices in the truth…
• Ephesians 4:15 …speaking the truth in love…
• 1 John 3:18 …love not with words but with actions and in truth…
• 2 John 1:3 …grace mercy and peace from God…will be with us in truth and love…

More than that, the combination of love and truth, care and confrontation, support and challenge are found in the very character of Jesus. John expresses this using the language of ‘grace and truth’.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth… For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:14,17 NIV

The prophet Isaiah, writing of the Servant of the Lord in anticipation of the coming Messiah, characterises him clearly as one who brings truth-based justice and righteousness, yet with kindness:

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope. Isa 42:3-4 NIV

We see the dynamics of truth and love so wonderfully woven together in numerous encounters Jesus had with individuals as reported in the gospels. He graciously enters into conversation with the woman at the well in John 4. In the midst of his generous offer of living water he also confronts her with the truth of her past and her shameful present. His love for his disciples is obvious, but he is certainly not backward in confronting them with the truth about their lack of faith. Think of how he came back at Peter (Matt 16:22-23) when that disciple inappropriately tried to deflect him from his mission. The way he dealt with the woman caught in adultery in John 8:11 is a classic expression of grace and truth: 

“Neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus sets an example for all of us who would serve others in his name. We are called toward the difficult task of bringing both truth and love to bear in the way we carry out our ministry. One of these dynamics alone really is not enough. Both must be in play if those we serve are to grow in God. In real-life situations we will have to assess what is needed in the moment. As we are seeking to get the balance right, bear in mind two factors for which we must account.

First, we will need to adjust our approach according to the other person’s immediate need. Listen carefully to assess what messages the person has been getting from other sources. Have they been coddled with lots of love but little frank feedback? Have they been hammered with challenging truth delivered without any offer of support? Also, try to pick up what their internal voice is saying? Is their self-talk falling into unbalanced excusing or accusing? Knowing that this person needs both love and truth, you’ll seek to supply what might be lacking.

Second, adjustment needs to be made to account for our own natural tendency. All of us find one side of the truth/love equation easier than the other. Some of us find it’s effortless to come straight out with the truth, while grace-giving is something we have to work hard at. Others of us are naturally grace-givers and it takes conscious effort to remember to exercise truth-telling. Which one are you? 

One final reminder. When we are speaking the truth in love in our capacity as Christian leaders, it’s good to bear in mind that because of the inherent power imbalance that comes with our position, our words may land more heavily than might appear to us to be the case. We don’t need to overdo it. The deep transformation and growth that we long to see in those we serve will actually come from the Holy Spirit, who both leads us into truth (Jn 16:13) and pours out God’s love into our hearts (Rom 5:5).

Used with permission from the publisher of Preach magazine. This article of mine was originally published in Preach magazine, Issue 44 (2025).

I have the privilege to mentor some wonderful Christian leaders. Our conversations grapple with what it means to faithfully respond to and cooperate with the work of God’s Spirit in their soul and circumstances. One of the most engaging and puzzling questions we consider is how to act in ways that are consistent with God’s character when confronted by behaviour of others that we find offensive or negatively provocative. And this becomes even more sharply challenging when those behaviours are exhibited by the same people on a regular basis. 

Are there some individuals in your circle of influence whose behaviour gets under your skin to the point that, when you see them approaching, or a message pops up with their name on it, you inwardly groan and mutter to yourself, “Here we go again”? I’m thinking here of the person who is always complaining, finding fault with entrenched negativity. Or the person who has an inflated idea of their importance and wisdom and makes sweeping assertions about matters they don’t understand. Or the person who seeks to manipulate you through bullying, deception or flattery. No doubt, you can name other examples of behaviour that exasperate you.

You might expect to encounter these behaviours when working with unbelievers in outreach ministries, in the neighbourhood, and in secular workplaces. What is less expected, yet nevertheless real, is that these behaviours may turn up among congregation members and even in leadership teams and governance boards. We do need to be careful not to misinterpret the behaviour of others when we are in an intercultural context. What is offensive and provocative in one culture may not be viewed that way at all in another culture. 

Reflect, Recognise, Regulate

I encourage you to reflect on what winds you up and to become swifter at recognising what is going on within you when your buttons get pushed. Each of us will have different behaviours that we find particularly challenging. If we don’t handle these behaviours well (and sometimes even if we do) things can escalate into conflict. Once you’re into conflict, that’s another whole topic.

To put a Biblical frame around how we respond to challenging behaviours I would call attention to these three passages and encourage you to reflect on them while holding in your mind the real-life situations that you find offensive, provocative, exasperating or unsettling:

• James 3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
• 1 Thess 5:12-15 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
• Matt 5:38-39 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”

Analyse Their Behaviour

If only we could get God’s perspective on such people, seeing them through his eyes. It’s a difficult yet vital pursuit. Right from the start it’s crucial to take time to distinguish between the person and their challenging behaviour, and to think about what might be behind it. So often I have found that my irritation drops away rapidly once I better understand the forces that give rise to behaviour I find irksome. That doesn’t necessarily mean that behaviour is perfectly fine, but it does help me to respond in a more calm and considered manner. 

What if I discover the person is suffering with a mental health condition? Could it be that he has a personality disorder? Perhaps she wrestles with a particular fear or anxiety that prevents her from always being the best version of herself. Maybe he has been hurt recently, betrayed or sinned against in some other way. It could be that she is being strongly influenced by another individual or a crowd to which she belongs and her behaviour does not genuinely represent who she is. No doubt you can think of other causes of challenging behaviour that might modify your response.

Five Strategies For a Christian Response

I want to offer you five strategies that nest together to form Christian response to challenging behaviours.

1. Exercise self-control
   • Recognise and manage your anxiety
   • Slow yourself down, don’t react, buy time to respond
   • Reframe from ‘difficult person’ to challenging behaviour’
   • Don’t reciprocate bad behaviour
   • Seek God’s grace, especially patience and self-control
2. Seek to understand
   • Seek to understand yourself; self-awareness is essential. Is my response reasonable?
   • Listen, really listen
   • Don’t downplay their feelings
   • Ask questions to clarify
   • Develop rapport, find common ground
   • Practice empathy, get into their perspective; pay special attention to culture and context
   • Search for the unspoken assumptions and hidden needs
3. Keep healthy boundaries
   • Exercise appropriate assertiveness without aggression; stand up for yourself
   • Know what you can and can’t control
   • Don’t take things personally; refuse to take offense
   • Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated
   • Don’t take responsibility for what is not yours
4. Talk it over
   • Talk to your Heavenly Father; where is he at work in this interaction? Is he using this person’s behaviour to bring you to greater maturity?
   • Discuss with your mentor and supervisor
   • Seek counsel informally from trusted advisors
   • Use reflective practices to practice ‘self-talk’
5. Reveal Jesus’ character in your response
   • Seek to maximise both grace and truth
   • Be flexible and prepared to adapt the way you engage with people depending on their particular situation
   • Engage from a firm moral foundation
   • Show respect, refuse to depersonalise others

What is God bringing to your attention as you read these strategies? What actions would you like to take now? What particular situations would you like to pray about?

Used with permission from the publisher of Preach magazine. This article of mine was originally published in Preach magazine, Issue 42 (2024).

I’ve added a new tab called ‘Interviews with Rick’. Dan Fewchuk has conducted and filmed these interviews, combining his skills as a videographer with his talent for asking great questions. I’m very grateful to Dan for making this project possible and delighted to make them available here for free.

Sometimes it is hard to find an experienced, competent mentor, or there are simply not enough to go around. If you’re in that situation then a group-mentoring model involving a modest number of peers may be attractive. Compared with a one-to-one approach, groups for mentoring among peers have both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages: 

• a greater number of perspectives are available; 
• a greater variety of ideas may be generated; 
• members experience strong accountability due to peer pressure; 
• a sense of commonality such that one does not need to explain everything.

Disadvantages: 

• Less time available for each person to share;
• greater potential for breach of trust; 
• conversations tend toward generic topics that all understand; 
• meeting together requires more complicated scheduling.

Peer mentoring groups require strong values in order to remain healthy: honesty, suspension of judgement, activation of discernment, confidentiality and intentionality. You may wish to consider other values that you would find essential, and whether or not a group would need a facilitator in order to stay true to these values and to stay on track in terms of focus and time. These groups may adopt one or more of several approaches, sticking with one that works best for them, or mixing things up over time:

• Group supervision process, taking it in turn to present a case study arising from their experience of living as a disciple of Jesus. This may take the form of a theological reflection on a critical incident. Other members of the group then ask questions and make observations about how God is active in the life of the person sharing and may help generate options for how the individual can respond and grow.
• Wesleyan approach, considering a standard set of accountability questions at each meeting. As a variation, each meeting may address a limited number of accountability questions drawn from a longer list in order to facilitate deeper exploration of the issues.
• Retreating together, taking an extended time to withdraw from normal life patterns in order to listen to God attentively in community. A retreat setting can serve as a time for sharing life stories. Reese and Loane have a suggested format for such retreats^[1].

Mallison outlines several different applications for mentoring in the life of a church. For one of these he draws on the example of Rod Denton^[2] whose practice, as a pastoral team leader, involved mentoring members of his staff as a group. Compare this with the observations I make in chapters 5 and 7 of my book Mentoring Matters^[3] about the operation of power within mentoring relationships. 

^[1] Reese, Randy and Loane, Robert. Deep Mentoring: Guiding Others on Their Leadership Journey. Downers Grove, IVP, 2012, p. 170-171

^[2] Mallison, John. Mentoring: To Develop Disciples and Leaders. Adelaide: Openbook/Lidcombe: Scripture Union, 1998, p. 156f

^[3] Lewis, Rick. Mentoring Matters: Building Strong Leaders, Avoiding Burnout, Reaching the Finishing Line. Oxford, Monarch, 2009, p. 129-132 and 178-180.

What is your mind’s favourite time zone? When your brain switches off, do you tend to drift back to past days, remembering the good times – or maybe dwelling on past regrets? Is your typical mental state one of living ‘in the moment’, rooted in the things happening right now? Or do your thoughts float toward the future, considering exciting prospects or worrying possibilities? There are advantages and disadvantages in each time zone.

• The past. Obviously, it’s not helpful to get stuck in a cycle of regret or anger over things that have happened that you wish were different. No amount of fussing is going to change what has been. But the past also has much to offer us as leaders in mission. It’s where we find facts and evidence for what is true. We find accounts of God’s activity which demonstrate his character. There are stories of faithful people that provide encouragement. Thinking of past blessings stimulates gratitude, which is a great motivator. Reflecting on what God has done builds a firm foundation for faith, anchored in God’s Word, in historical fact and our own experience. We learn from the past or, if we don’t, as the saying goes, we are destined to repeat it.
• The present. Simply living for today can be a shallow approach to life, lacking perspective and the wisdom that comes from other time zones. Selfish and foolish people typically live in this time zone. And yet, it is only by being fully present in the current moment that we can truly and deeply connect with others and with God. The present is the place of agency; we cannot change the past nor can we control the future, but right here and now we can choose to respond faithfully to God’s grace. Now is when I worship and pray, love and serve, give and speak. Now is all I can impact directly. Now is when I appropriate God’s grace, based on the past and for the sake of the future.
• The future. Like me, you’ve probably had the frustrating experience of dealing with daydreamers who rarely reflect and often fail to take responsibility for what needs to be done today, their heads filled with fanciful notions. Possibly worse are the people who assess every idea on a worst-case scenario basis, constantly stuck worrying about imaginary catastrophes about to occur. But for leaders in mission, the future is where the action is! There’s transformational power in considering the future. It stirs hope of God’s intervention and a Spirit-inspired imagination of what might be possible. It strengthens resolve to do difficult things that have future rewards. A grasp of a transcendental future answers many of the big ‘why?’ questions.

I would argue that Christians are, essentially, future-oriented people. Not to the exclusion of the past and the present, but it’s our vision of the future that shapes us. We have grasped hold of the good news of the kingdom of God – that God has a big project going on to restore the whole of creation under his rule. The completion of this fully-funded, 100% guaranteed project comprehensively dominates the future. This is our hope, our inspiration.

Biblical Encouragements and Warnings

Jesus gives us great encouragement to consider the future, for example in Lk 14 with his parables about setting goals for construction and combat. If you’re a leader in Jesus’ mission it’s critical that you pay sufficient attention to future consequences. Jesus himself was a future-oriented person who, because he could see joy in the future, endured the cross for the sake of that future (Heb 12:2). 

Jesus also gives us a warning about future thinking in Mt 6:34. When we consider the future we should avoid doing so with a mindset of worry. Rather we should have a mindset of seeking God’s rule. Further, James warns us in Jas 4:13-17 not to think about the future with naivety or with the kind of presumption that becomes arrogance. Rather, consideration of the future should stimulate our desire to seek God’s will.

Future Discernment and Future Creation

None of us has a crystal ball but we do live in a world where the laws of cause and effect allow for a measure of predictability, provided we think about it. With serious consideration of current realities outside our control, we can discern how things are likely to unfold and take wise action in preparation. In addition, we can consider the likely impact of actions we take today. Careful choices will help to create the kind of future we would prefer.

A future time perspective is essential for ethical behaviour, because it’s is crucial to consider the likely outcomes of our actions. Failure to think about the future leads to the all-too-common question, “What were they thinking!?” If we are to avoid the trap of unintended consequences we must get better at developing our future perspective.

Drawing our attention towards the future moves us from a problem-focus to a solution-focus. There is proven strategic value in clearly identifying a preferred future then moving to prioritisation and goal-setting. But there’s more to it than strategy and performance. Future time perspective produces positive personal formation, helping with motivation, perseverance, delayed gratification, self-restraint, and the capacity to wait and be patient. It strengthens the joy of anticipation, the faith involved in expectation, and the peace that comes through accepting that painful and puzzling matters will one day be resolved. 

Questions for Discerning a Likely Future

• If present patterns continue, what will be the outcomes one year from now?
• How is person X likely to respond if you do as you intend?
• Is there any reason this will work out differently than it has in the past?
• Which of your assumptions about the future are most/least reliable?

Questions for Creating a Preferred Future

• What do you have in your life today that you would like to be part of your future?
• If you were free of distractions, where would you be in 5 years’ time?
• If you had a year to live, with full capacities for the first 11 months, what would you do?
• What hope is God stirring in your heart about your service for him?

It’s fashionable these days to be cynical about New Year resolutions, dismissing them as laughable, empty wishes to lose weight or finally get organised. But the beginning of a year is a great time to be hopeful and plan for personal growth! Mentoring sessions at the beginning of a calendar year usually have a ‘fresh start’ feel to them. It’s like we finish one chapter, start a new one and have a renewed sense of possibility and expectation. 

Mentors have a part to play in helping mentorees effectively engage in this process of looking forward with positive intent. If that’s your role and you have a mentoring session coming up this month, what can you bring to the table? I’m going to assume that you have already listened very carefully to ensure you’ve understood the resolutions your mentoree wants to pursue, and that you’re not making assumptions or injecting your own ideas about what you think they ‘ought’ to be going after. Here are five areas for exploration around proposed resolutions.

1. Check for overreach. Is the mentoree attempting something too challenging, trying to run before they can walk? Ask if there might be an intermediate resolution that could form a great launchpad for tackling the ‘Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal’ a little way down the track. Or are they attempting too many things all at once? It can be good to have two or three resolutions, but having ten is probably going to turn out to be overwhelming. Ask if they can prioritise a long list to settle on the top few.
2. Advocate for balance. What are the proposed resolutions attempting to achieve? Fix a problem? Nurture a strength? Explore a possibility? These are all good categories and a balance between them is ideal. If all of a person’s proposed resolutions are in one category, ask questions that stimulate thought about the other categories.
3. Encourage personhood over performance. Are the resolutions about what the person wants to achieve or the sort of person they wish to become? Overuse of the SMART methodology (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely) for goal-setting will skew things towards performance achievement. Getting something important done has its place but, as a mentor, your higher concern is going to be the personal growth of the person. Use methods that get at ‘who you are’.
4. Clarify a simple plan of attack. Many good intentions fail for lack of a plan. It doesn’t need to be complicated – in fact, it shouldn’t be. This is where ‘how?’ questions come into their own. Explore both positive and negative factors. Any move from ‘here’ to ‘there’ is going to require resources and must consider possible obstacles. What does your mentoree already have going for them? What additional help will they need to secure? What might undermine their intent and what can they do to guard against that? Kurt Lewin’s ‘Force Field Analysis’ is a useful tool here. (See my blog, 4 November 2021.)
5. Build in evaluation points. If it’s worth spending time to clarify and hone a resolution then it’s essential it’s not forgotten. Ask your mentoree if it’s okay for you, as mentor, to check in on how things are going with the things they have resolved to pursue. When would they like you to do that? Multiple check-in points are helpful – perhaps one month, three months, and six months. Evaluation is more accurate if external perspectives are included rather than it just being a matter of the mentoree’s own impressions. Suggest they seek feedback from people close to them. Evaluation points are also an opportunity to fine tune resolutions to take account of things learned since they were formed.

As a Christian mentor, I’m going to approach each of these areas of exploration with God at the centre. I’m going to encourage this process to be prayerful, sensitive to the whispers of the Holy Spirit. I’m going to ask questions that refer back to my mentoree’s sense of their calling as a disciple of Jesus. I’m going to probe for how any proposed resolution might open a pathway for the kingdom of God to be more fully expressed in my mentoree’s life. I’m going to stir up faith and hope in the One who holds our future in His hands.

We can all use a little encouragement from time to time. But why is it that some attempts at encouragement fall flat while others really hit the spot? Think about the times when you’ve needed a lift and someone has said or done something that has been particularly effective. What is it about those sorts of interactions that set them apart?

I’ve been reflecting on this recently because I’d like to be more effective at encouraging others. I reckon that if I can figure what works for me, I’ve got a head start into understanding how I might become a better encourager. I’ve come up with a couple of lists which I’ll share here as a discussion starter. 

My first list is of the elements that I think are crucial, almost essential to any example of effective encouragement. My second list is of things that might not be essential but I observe are very commonly present in occasions when I’ve felt especially encouraged.

Crucial Elements

• Sincerity – comes from pure motives, not flattery or manipulation
• Veracity – recognised to have a basis in truth, not someone making stuff up in order to be nice
• Authority – comes from a respected source, someone who has experience and/or credentials that add weight to the encouragement 
• Relevance – connects with something that is deeply valued; encouragement over things you don’t really care about has little effect
• Receptivity – it has to be received by the person; timing matters here because there are more receptive and less receptive moments

Strengthening Elements

• Specific – not vague or general; giving real-life examples is helpful
• Tangible – when the encouragement is captured in some well-crafted words written down, or symbolised in a carefully chosen gift
• Spiritual – connected back to God through prayer or a passage of scripture or a prophetic word
• Astute – provides fresh insight or perspective or makes a new connection
• Consequential – when the encourager shows that the person being encouraged makes a significant difference by who they are or what they have done 

In my musing about how encouragement works I re-read an old book by Larry Crabb and Dan Allender called Encouragement: The Unexpected Power of Building Others Up. One particularly valuable insight I gained there was about how to target encouragement accurately. They point out that encouragement is needed at a point of discouragement, and discouragement occurs because courage is undermined by some sort of fear. If you can identify the fear that is unsettling a person, you can better direct your encouragement. I’ve found that helpful, when I notice that someone is feeling down, to think more carefully about what is giving rise to those feelings and direct my encouragement to the cause.

What do you think? Are the elements you would add to either of the lists above, or do you have further insights as to how effective encouragement works?