Good Counsel

Yesterday, I finished a 9 month mentoring session for two friends of mine.  They are the wives of Mountain Lake Church’s church planting residents.  Each year, our church plants more churches, and each year I invest into the ladies leading the charge with their husbands.  This year was no different, and my friends and I helped keep the Starbuck’s economy afloat at our monthly meetings. 

Each month, we talked about various aspects of ministry life and ways we could improve or stretch ourselves.  We shared our hearts and prayed for one another.  And, we shared creative ideas for our families, our churches, our ministries, and our leadership influence.

These friends of mine have their hands full as they plant new churches, and hopefully they are better able to address the issues they’ll face in the years to come because of our time together.  Maybe they’ll avoid the pitfalls of blurring the lines between marriage and ministry.  Maybe they’ll leverage their influence a little better.  Maybe they’ve learned the importance of carving out time to sharpen their skills and deepen their faith.  Did you know that God has something to say about mentoring?  Check it out:

Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice.” Proverbs 20:18

What about you?  Do you seek good counsel?  Do you seek wise advice?  Let me encourage you to carve out one hour a month to sit down with a trusted, Godly friend and spend some time making each other better.  Ask about one another’s spiritual growth.  Challenge each other to improve the chaotic parts of your lives.  Pray for one another.  Be intentional.  Make it a standing appointment or it simply won’t happen. 

Life was intended to be your time to get to know God and His ways.  Don’t substitute that for chores and a honey-do list.  Spend some time helping yourself – and others – live out that purpose!