Customer Reviews

Mentor Like Jesus

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Campbell has written a book that calls us to a great and important challenge. Like his first book, About My Father's Business, Mentor Like Jesus is an immensely practical book born out of Campbell's personal experience and his very real joy in mentoring.
Right now there are hundreds of people in mentoring groups, learning from those who are ahead of them in life and in faith. Mentoring taps into a deep need within both the mentor and the mentee. I see men, women and high school kids all being challenged and challenging each other. Lives are changing and a movement is being born.
This book is addressed to those who are considering being a mentor and seems designed to reduce our fears, to give us a track to run on and to set a joy before us that will sustain the effort that is needed.
Campbell understands that we learn as much from the failures of our mentors as we do from their proud successes. Campbell grasps the importance of the group to spiritual formation.
For too long Christians have seen more knowledge as the solution. The bible says that wisdom is the key and we acquire wisdom from those who have learned themselves through life's experiences and the faithful, internal witness of the Holy Spirit. We acquire wisdom from those will engage with us, life on life and challenge our thinking and our behavior.
Simple, straightforward and easy to read, Campbell has written an important book to inspire a generation of men and women to invest wisely in the lives of those who follow after them.

Finished Mentor Like Jesus few weeks ago, haven't blogged because lots been going on what with moving, getting settled etc. However, this book deserves to be read, recommended, advertised, whatever! It is a great book and offers such an innovative idea on mentoring.

Mentoring has been something I've felt passionately about for sometime as I've seen young people struggle with life, God, church, etc and had no one to turn to, no one to come along side them and say, "here, let me help you."

The Bible tells us to teach the younger, that the older are to be an example, but often what we have seen is criticism, disapproval and even condemnation if they do it different than what is expected.

Just think how much of a difference we could actually make if we took the time to love, support and help a younger person, to lift them up in prayer to share a thought or even a book with them. I know we all value our time but what better investment than in a young life, to see them grow in God, save their marriage, parent their children, and even go on to mentor others.

"Young people need to be connected with authentic, committed Christians who live their faith...not just talk it." pg 87

Regi Campbell offers a new concept to mentoring and he's proven it works by mentoring 8 young men a year, every year since 2000. He takes the idea from Jesus and the disciples and that a group setting offers some accountability as well as them being able to see that their problem is not always unique to them.

"I believe the group context is the 'secret sauce' of mentoring on an intentional basis. It can set the individual relationships in motion and even speed up the process of developing trust." pg 41

Anyone who is serious about mentoring really should read this book even if you don't decide to do it in a group setting like Regi you can glean much from it.

Regi Campbell's 'Mentor Like Jesus' was one of the most anticipated books on my reading list. It moved into first position this week after I read Michael Hyatt's endorsement and signed up with Next Generation Mentoring to mentor a group of men in 2010. I was not disappointed. Regi clearly describes his journey of mentoring and how he has used the model of Jesus to shape his own mentoring ministry. Two important keys to that model include intentionality and commitment. Campbell is big on process - potential mentorees are invited to apply and if chosen are required to commit to attending ten monthly sessions, complete assignments, and show up on time. That's a far cry from the way we do most things in the church - publishing blanket announcements,praying someone will respond, and taking whomever shows up. Campbell argues that Jesus did it differently when he handpicked his disciples.

I especially appreciate Campbell's inclusion of scripture memorization. Too often we can focus on dispensing wisdom from our own point of view and just respond to situations as they arise. By using these foundational verses we communicate the importance of God's Word in developing character and leadership.

Mentoring is a great role for second chair leaders. We have more flexible schedules and have more contact with next generation leaders than do most sr pastors. We are often freer to move among various groups of people without being held to a narrowly defined ministry group like youth pastors, worship leaders, children's pastors, etc. That broad list of contacts places second chair leaders in an ideal position to mentor others. It has been a highlight of my ministry over the years.

"Mentor Like Jesus" provides a great introduction for Next Generation Mentoring - a ministry that equips leaders to mentor. They have developed a complete system to help you mentor successfully. You can see the details at [...]. If you've considered being a mentor I encourage you to get your hands on a copy of Regi Campbell's book and hook-up with Next Generation Mentoring. Mentor Like Jesus is available at Amazon.

Regi Campbell's book Mentor Like Jesus is not only a book about mentoring, but also a book about discipleship. Campbell lays out a detailed blueprint of the mentoring program that he has developed over eight years of mentoring. The book is a quick and easy read, but full of profound insights and great tools.

Some of my takeaways from the book include:

* Spending more time with less people brings a greater impact.

* Jesus handpicked his disciples, and it makes sense for us to handpick the people we mentor.

* True mentoring has both a start and an end point, after which the person being mentored should become a mentor themselves.

* I was convicted once again about the importance of memorizing scripture.

* The chapter on prayer alone would make this book a worthwhile purchase.

I have been planning on developing a mentoring group for the past several months. This book has been a great guide in helping me to clarify exactly what form my mentoring group will take.

Finished Mentor Like Jesus few weeks ago, haven't blogged because lots been going on what with moving, getting settled etc. However, this book deserves to be read, recommended, advertised, whatever! It is a great book and offers such an innovative idea on mentoring.

Mentoring has been something I've felt passionately about for sometime as I've seen young people struggle with life, God, church, etc and had no one to turn to, no one to come along side them and say, "here, let me help you."

The Bible tells us to teach the younger, that the older are to be an example, but often what we have seen is criticism, disapproval and even condemnation if they do it different than what is expected.

Just think how much of a difference we could actually make if we took the time to love, support and help a younger person, to lift them up in prayer to share a thought or even a book with them. I know we all value our time but what better investment than in a young life, to see them grow in God, save their marriage, parent their children, and even go on to mentor others.

"Young people need to be connected with authentic, committed Christians who live their faith...not just talk it." pg 87

Regi Campbell offers a new concept to mentoring and he's proven it works by mentoring 8 young men a year, every year since 2000. He takes the idea from Jesus and the disciples and that a group setting offers some accountability as well as them being able to see that their problem is not always unique to them.

"I believe the group context is the 'secret sauce' of mentoring on an intentional basis. It can set the individual relationships in motion and even speed up the process of developing trust." pg 41

Anyone who is serious about mentoring really should read this book even if you don't decide to do it in a group setting like Regi you can glean much from it.

In "Mentor Like Jesus" Regi Campbell takes an approach quite different from either traditional models or more contemporary models of mentoring relationships. Campbell advocates a framework which mirrors what he saw Jesus doing (what he also calls 'next generation mentoring'). This mentoring approach is highly purposeful, self-less, done in the context of a handpicked group, for a defined period of time, incorporating Scripture and prayer, in which the leader models his faith in a transparent way, and teaching occurs along the way. There must be mutual commitment, and there is an expectation of multiplication, a willingness for participants to pay it forward. All of this mirrors the approach Jesus took with his disciples. He handpicked a small group of a dozen men, invested heavily in them, set the agenda, and expected a very high level of commitment. Jesus' approach was highly relational, including a lot of discussion and application of Scripture, and He modeled as much as he taught. Multiplication was clearly an important goal for His disciples as well.

The key differences between next generation mentoring and traditional mentoring approaches are the use of a group and the fact that the agenda is set by the mentor rather than the needs of the mentoree. The fixed time duration and expectation of multiplication are also distinct features. The main reason for this approach is given up front in the book. The Mentor Like Jesus approach has a definite purpose - it's all about the Father and kingdom building. "Jesus was on mission, and mentoring was the key strategy to fulfill His mission." There are many definitions for mentoring, but traditionally mentoring would be described as an experienced person getting together with a less experienced person for the purpose of helping that person to succeed in reaching their goals. As a result, next generation mentoring can be viewed as a specific subset of mentoring with a distinct discipling element.

Those with a goal of making a significant impact in the lives of others by challenging them to grow as disciples would do well to consider this application of mentoring in the context in a committed reproducing group. Others looking for how to spiritually mentor someone one-on-one in order to help them reach their goals would find other books like Authentic Spiritual Mentoring or Spiritual Mentoring more suitable.

This is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to understand mentoring. Regi clearly outlines, as well as, validates what works and what doesn't. A must read for anyone who wants to make a significant difference in other's lives.

I would highly recommend that everyone reads this book and then finds their way to live it out. It is very encouraging and challenging.

I would especially recommend that every church leader spend some time reading this book.

The book is very inspiring in explaining how I can lift someone up by teaching them lessons for life.