One of the
many things I really appreciated about Pastor Jason Greene is that he
encouraged our staff leadership to value mentoring. Pastor Jason believed as
leaders we should always have someone older than us who was speaking wisdom and
truth into our lives, and someone younger than us that we were speaking wisdom
and truth into their lives. In other words, we are the learner and the teacher
at the same time, as we never stop learning and we never stop sharing what we
have learned. Thus, faith, hope and love
carry on through many generations.
Hello
podcast friends! This is Angie and today we are looking at an overview of the
book of Colossians. I think this book is
a great reminder of that mentoring philosophy shared by Pastor Jason, as we see
Paul speaking truth into the Colossae church. The purpose of a mentor is to
take all the experiences and wisdom that they have accumulated throughout their
life, and then purposefully transfer it to the mentee for their benefit. A
mentor provides leadership, guidance, and instruction. We see Paul doing just
that in this letter, as he lays out his journey and lessons learned.
Paul he
had never been to the city of Colossae. The Church there was started by his
co-laborer, Epaphras. At some point, he visited Paul in prison and gave an
update about how things were going. The report about heresy distressed Paul. Scholars
believe Paul penned Colossians in a Roman prison cell around 60-61 AD. His purpose
was to refute the heresy, sharing his wisdom and experience with the Colossae
church, as their mentor and friend.
What was
the heresy that distressed Paul? One
commentary noted, “The church at Colossae was under attack from false teachers
who were denigrating the deity of Jesus; they were teaching that He was not
actually God. Though Paul had never been to the church itself, he addressed
these issues head-on. Paul wrote to them that he might bring his wisdom to bear
on this difficult and trying situation. It was critical to him that this church
know God in His greatness and glory, rather than in the deficient view given
them by the false teachers.”
Interestingly,
the book of Colossians, written nearly 2,000 years ago, is just as relevant
today, with its warnings against following false philosophies and teachings.
Christians today are bombarded at every turn with false teachings: from
cultural relativism, universalism, Gnosticism, Christian nationalism, the
prosperity gospel and more. Interest in the spiritual realm through mystics, psychics
and others is at an all-time high.
Paul’s
message was simple but impactful: Jesus
is enough. Jesus is pre-eminent over all of creation, above all earthly
philosophies, false teachings, and idols. Jesus is enough.
Kelly King from Lifeway noted these five mentor qualities
in Paul that lead him to be an excellent leader, qualities that show up in this
letter to the Colossians:
1-
Paul gave
instruction on life and spiritual matters. You and I can
trust Paul’s letters and wisdom even more because they aren’t his opinions—they
are the Spirit-breathed words of God. Paul breathed truth into the church at
Colossae.
2-
Paul mentored
from the overflow of his own walk with the Lord. Mentors
speak from the overflow of how God is molding them into His image. Paul never
wavers from this truth.
3-
Paul admonished
believers caught in conflict, yet he sought peace in relationships. Paul understood believers may have personal
disagreements, but the outcome should move toward reconciliation and
restoration.
4-
Paul cared for the personal welfare of those he mentored. Over and over again in his letters, Paul mentions those who
contended for the gospel with him. The salutations and greetings found in his
letters are a reminder that Paul didn’t play only the role of teacher, but he
cared for those he mentored as a shepherd and friend.
5-
Paul understood
the principle of replication and multiplication. Christ called his disciples to make disciples who make
disciples. There is a calling to replicate ourselves in the lives of others,
which results in a multiplication effort of spreading the gospel to the
nations. But that Gospel means nothing if it’s not taught in truth.
This is
why mentoring matters. We need each other. We need people who aren’t afraid to
point out who we are in Christ, and point us back to the truth of the Gospel.
Do you have a mentor speaking into your life?
Is there someone in your life that you allow to realign you towards
truth and wisdom? Someone who can say,
“I think you’re wrong here,” and you humbly submit to their wisdom with a
willingness to examine and seek how the Lord might be speaking to you through
them? Jesus is enough and we need others to point us back to that reality.
Let’s
pray: Jesus, you are enough. May we seek mentors and be mentors, so that the
truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is spread to the ends of the earth. Amen.
