You could make a life-changing difference in the lives of the men around you. But, men often live by what is called the lone-wolf mentality:
“The lone wolf lives by the belief that they have to do life alone … that everyone’s just in it for themselves. This mentality shortens your life span, erodes the quality of your daily life, and negatively impacts your sense of happiness and resiliency.” (The Good Men Project – May 2018)
Although mentoring has become quite popular in the business world in recent years, the idea has been around for much longer. Mentoring is actually a Biblical concept. I don’t have enough space to enumerate all of the examples, but a few significant ones are Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Silas, and the greatest example, Jesus and his disciples.
Mentor relationships for men are imperative yet they aren’t often cultivated.
Men are really good at casual, shallow, relationships. To cultivate a mentor relationship requires intentionality and purpose. This is often the reason men don’t pursue mentoring relationships: they are time-consuming and can be messy.
The key is you cannot mentor someone without investing your life into them. To step into a mentoring relationship is to commit to a journey with the other person, one to which you will adhere even when things get off track or difficult. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:20, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Notice he didn’t qualify the statement with any condition of obedience or success on our part – he is all in, through good and bad.
We can make a difference in the life of another man or youth if we are willing to take the extra step to connect on a deeper level.
If you’d like to find out how you can become a mentor, let us know. We’d be happy to show you how you can be involved in what Men IN Action is doing to build assets in the lives of the men and teens residing at Sheltering Wings and across our community.
Be engaged today,
Mark Putman
A Man IN Action
P.S. – Did you know we’re in the midst of the holiday season at Sheltering Wings? If you haven’t had a chance to participate in Christmas in July, what are you waiting for?
Calling all writers!
Would you like to serve as a guest writer on this monthly Men IN Action blog? If so, email your article idea(s) or post(s) (no more than 300 words) to the Men IN Action team and we will get in touch with you.
Christmastime is here …
… Happiness and cheer! Each gift that is given and dollar that is donated this Christmas in July is a direct investment in stable, secure lives for survivors of domestic abuse.
Mark your calendars!
The Men IN Action breakfast is scheduled for October 1, the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. We’re creating a “plan B” in case we can’t meet in person, so mark your calendars!
