Pastoral Care . Oct 20, 2021 . 23 Mins Read . PC - Admin .
Abstract
The word mentor or mentoring or mentorship is said to be the process of supporting and advising someone with less experience in order to help them develop either within the work /or school environment . In most cases, it is relational between the mentor and the mentee. To achieve the 17 goals of Sustainable Development, there is no single one that will not require the services of mentors. But unfortunately the word mentor was never mentioned directly. It may be true that some of the aspects of mentoring were mentioned like teaching for instance, it should be realised that like leaders like followers. Correct concept of mentoring by mentors is sine qua non to sustainable development in any nation. In the same vein, the mentees too must be ready to surrender themselves totally to be mentored. To achieve the purpose for which this paper set for itself, historical and phenomenological approaches were adopted. It is our belief that the church leaders should be the vanguard and apostle of this message of mentoring for sustainable development so that all will know their duties in moving the country forward and then achieve the goals of sustainable development.
Introduction
Looking at the number of churches we have in Nigeria as well as Pastors, I believe you will all agree with me that this conference is a necessity and the theme is both contemporary and at the same time contextual. It should be made clear from the beginning of this lecture that the lecture may not be a business as usual but a lecture that will challenge and expose the pastorate. Of a truth I never expected this kind of lecture in any University but in the Seminaries. No doubt, Lead City is taking the Lead in taking the right step in the right direction so that the Church will take its prime of place in sustainable development in Nigeria. No doubt, the place of mentors can hardly be overemphasized in the development of any nation. It is a known fact to all our leaders either in the church or even in the political terrain. But the fact remains that even the so called leaders who are expected to mentor still need to be mentored. The philosophy of most leaders (church inclusive) is that if you cannot beat them you join them; forgetting that some people are watching and are taking them as role models. If you are doing it rightly or wrongly you will surely have followership who will take whatever you do as a representation and standard. The question this paper intends to answer is: “shall we continue in sin” and expect sustainable development to happen miraculously?
Conceptual Clarification
For avoidance of doubt, it is always important to clarify some concepts which may be sometime misunderstood. In view of this, we shall examine some key concepts in the paper. The word mentoring is from the word “mentor” which English Dictionary defines as, adviser, guide, counsellor, tutor, teacher or guru. Without clarification, mentoring could be taken to mean any of these but of a truth, mentoring is more than any of the above. For instance, more often, mentoring is always confused with counselling. But it should be noted that mentoring accentuates the professional and personal development of the individual but counseling explores underlying dynamics of individuals as well as their relationships. Mentoring addresses task and performance unlike counseling. In most cases, mentoring is an informal relationship while counseling is more formal. Mentoring is intended to be a long-term relationship while counseling is intended to be a short-term relationship[1].
Mentoring: A mentor is someone who wishes to pass on to other persons what he has learnt over years of experience for their benefits. In most cases, the idea behind mentoring is a semi-charitable one. That is, mentoring relationships tend to be voluntary on both sides though some organisations run formal mentoring programmes that match mentors with learners. However, less formal mentoring relationships are so common and more effective especially in Africa. It is more than teaching or coaching. It is more than advising or guiding. It is more than counselling. It may be true that they are all inter-connected, but mentoring is distinct and encompasses all. Whereas teaching focuses on here and now problem, mentoring focuses on the future and of a broader skill because it is meant for personal development or career development. There is a general consensus that a mentor helps someone to learn and develop faster than they would otherwise do[2].
British mentoring programmes tend to have four key elements: improving performance, career development, counselling and sharing knowledge. In other countries, especially the US, there is also an element of the mentor acting as a sponsor for the learner, but this is not usually seen in the UK. No doubt, the task before a mentor is very great. That is why Clutterbuck[3] coined an acronym for what mentors do. These include:
Managing relationship
Encouraging the mentee
Nurturing the mentee
Teaching the mentee
Offering mutual respect and
Responding to the mentee’s needs from time to time.
A mentor can take on several different roles in the course of a mentoring relationship, depending on the requirements of the learner. These include:
- Supporting the mentoring process and the content of learning.
- Helping the learner to clarify their goals, or their learning style.
- Helping the learner to reflect on their experience and draw out learning.
- Providing the learner with theoretical models to support their learning.
- Adopting a coaching approach. This means a belief that the learner holds the key to their own problems, and a willingness to help them explore the issue including supporting, thinking and experimenting with new ways of working – thinking out of the box.
- Helping the learner to develop their understanding quickly, or to support their ongoing career development.
- Role modeling - this role, interestingly, is the one that requires least effort from the mentor, because it is usually about how they behave naturally. The learner may have been attracted to them as a mentor because of the way that they handle certain situations. The learner will therefore learn from watching how the mentor behaves, both in the mentoring relationship and beyond.
- Playing the role of critical friend is one of the most important, though most difficult, mentoring roles to successfully undertake. It requires the mentor to listen, encourage, draw out, reflect back and challenge assumptions, and, if necessary, provide critical feedback on ideas or plans under discussion.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a by-product of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations which was signed in September 2000. The target for the achievement of the goals then was 2015. It comprises of eight goals and all 191 members (Nigeria inclusive) of the UN were expected to work towards its realization. But unfortunately, the MDGs fail to achieve its goals at the set date of 2015. It failed because many things were not taken into consideration when the declaration was signed in year 2000[4]. The eight goals comprise of:
- Eradication of poverty and hunger
- Universal primary education
- Promoting gender equality and empowerment of women
- Reducing child mortality
- Improving maternal health
- Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- Ensuring environmental sustainability and
- Developing global partnership for development.
The failure of the MDGs were attributed to lack of progress, unmet commitments, inadequate resources, lack of focus and accountability and insufficient interest in sustainable development[5]
When it became evident that the MDGs could not achieve its purpose as expected, in September, 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. These now include: 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs. These now seem to carry everyone along the development initiative; and emphasize a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all. The year 2016 marks the first year of the implementation of the SDGs. At this critical point, the implementation of the SDGs throughout its 15-year lifespan has the following objectives:
- To raise awareness of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs
- To promote an active dialogue among stakeholders on the SDGs and
- To establish an ongoing live web resource on each SDG and disability.
The Church and Mentoring for Development
The Church as well as the Pastors/Church Leaders are not expected to drag their feet on this issue of sustainable development as they should be the vanguard of development. The best way to do this should be through the use of all the components of mentoring for development. These include teachings, homiletics, counselling, modelling etc. But unfortunately the church is not living up to expectation in this regard. The causes of this are not farfetched. For church leaders to mentor for sustainable development, they too should have been mentored properly. The question then arises: who mentored the expected mentors? This takes us to the roles of Theological Education. According to Schultz as quoted by Otokola (2017)[6] theogical education is a lifelong, Bible-based, Christ-centred process of leading students to Christ and equipping them to serve Christ. This definition identified the five pillars of theological education viz: Bible-based, Christ-centred, Holy Spirit-controlled, student-related, and socially oriented. No doubt, every aspect of education must be integrated into God’s truth. The scope of God’s truth is universal. God’s truth is not dependent upon what education does. The integration of education should merge into living union with God’s truth. A fusion of all aspects of education must take place. The home, church, and school must establish their precepts upon the Bible. Their premise must be that all truth is God’s truth; their communication must speak the truth in love, seasoned with grace; and their conduct must speak louder than words realizing the powerful influence of godly behaviour. The result cannot but be students of integrity and honesty balanced by God’s Word, and fit for the Master’s use[7]. The question now is: how many Bible Colleges and Seminaries are still being faithful to the above. It is one thing to know the truth, it is another thing to live by the truth.
In a recent research carried out by Dairo[8] on Teaching and mentoring in some selected Bible Colleges and Seminaries in the South West Nigeria, some findings are amazing. Most of the teachers who are also Pastors claimed to be teaching and mentoring at the same time. But from the questionnaire distributed to the students, most of them attested to the fact that their lecturers are good in their respective fields but in the area of mentoring hardly could we find 5% of the lecturers doing it. In fact, more than 60% of the students claimed that some of the lecturers are worse than infidels in this area. It is disheartening to note that even some of the expected leaders in the Bible Colleges/Seminaries are not exempted from this as they are not accessible at all to the students and the students could hardly learn anything worthwhile from them apart from the courses they are teaching. Are the Nigerian Pastors not on trial in the area of mentoring for development?
Of a truth, the whole nation is already in a confused state and it is only proper mentoring that can do the magic of restoring the citizenry back to the part of rectitude. But when those who are expected to be in the lead in this quest are found wanton, then the case becomes hopeless.
It is high time believers integrated the truth of the word of God in every discipline and live the life. In place of mentoring, what do we find the Pastors doing? Not that all these are necessarily bad in moderation, but they have become modern-day idolatry as they now become too important to the Pastors.
- Excessive attention to material things such as houses, cars, clothes, jewelry, physical appearance, entertainment, etc.
- . Pursuit of wealth, power, fame, pleasure or status
- Excessive devotion to self, job, hobbies, country, ideologies, heroes, leaders, even family.
You will all agree with me that there is an erosion of what pastoral ministry generally is in Nigeria. It is therefore incumbent on Pastors, teachers in theological institutions to intensify faithfulness and live the life. Of a truth, we preach more sermons with our lives than with the Bible. The essence of Seminary Training is to teach people to teach by examples and lead by examples[9]. What is being said in essence is that the mentors need to be mentored. In view of this, there should as a matter of urgency be periodic lectures and seminars on mentorship for both staff and students in our theological institutions, workshops, etc. The fact we need to know and which we know and are living with is that in this part of the world, those who are waiting to steal are more than those who are stealing. It is only proper re-orientation and proper mentoring that can change this ideology. Like mentors like mentees. As long as the leadership in any field of endeavour continues to live lives of deceit sustainable development will continue to be a hard nut to crack.
The problem of Psychopathy and Sociopathy in the Church
To perfectly describe the problem of mentoring especially as it affects most church leaders, the use of some psychological terminologies which we use most often in Clinical Theology will not be out of place. Research reveals that most of the highly respected church leaders are psychopaths[10]. Psychopathy and sociopathy are different cultural labels applied to the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. Psychopaths tends to be more manipulative, can be seen by others as more charming, lead a semblance of a normal life, and minimize risk in a criminal activities. Sociopaths tend to be more erratic, rage-prone, and unable to lead as much of a normal life. When sociopaths engage in criminal activity, they tend to do so in reckless manner without regard to consequences[11]. It is quite unfortunate that what psychologist diagnosed as an anti-social personality disorder is now traceable to many pastors/leaders in the church who are expected to be mentors for the upcoming students. We have in Proverbs 22:6, “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. Where are the leaders that will teach the children not only through academics but by examples?
Looking at the characteristics of psychopaths and sociopaths, one cannot but conclude on the problem of mentoring in Nigerian church today. Cleckley listed the numerous psychopathic traits which include: superficial charm, lack of remorse, and an impersonal sex life (Ogloff, 2006). However, the next significant breakthrough came from Robert Hare, a Canadian psychopathy checklist (PCL-R)[12]. The PCL-R is used to diagnose the behaviour and neurology of psychopathic individuals.
Psychopath: A psychopath is believed to be a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviour. Researchers generally believe that psychopaths tend to be born-it is likely to be a genetic predisposition but that is not to say that psychopaths may not be suffering from childhood trauma. Psychopaths might be related to physiological brain differences. Research has shown that psychopaths have underdeveloped components of the brain commonly thought to be responsible for emotion regulation and impulse control. Psychopaths, in general, have a hard time forming real emotional attachments with others. Instead, they form artificial, shallow relationships designed to be manipulated in a way that most benefits the psychopath. Psychopaths rarely feel guilt regarding any of their behaviours, no matter how much they hurt others.
But psychopaths can often be seen by others as being charming and trustworthy, holding steady, normal jobs, having families and seemingly-loving relationships with a partner. When a psychopath engages in criminal behaviour, they tend to do so in a way that minimizes risk to themselves. They will carefully plan criminal activity to ensure they do not get caught, having contingency plans in place for every possibility[13]. For a psychopath, the individual have no empathy or sense of morality among a number of other traits. In other words, psychopaths are deceitful, pretenders, dishonest, fraudulent and cunning.
Sociopath: Sociopathy, on the other hand, is indicative of having a sense of morality and a well-developed conscience, but the sense of right and wrong is not that of the parent culture. As this difference is reflected in the brain, the distinction again shows its use. A sociopath is actually a person with antisocial personality disorder. Sociopaths, in general, tend to be more impulsive and erratic in their behaviour than their psychopath counterparts. While also having difficulties in forming attachments to others, some sociopaths may be able to form an attachment to a like-minded group or person. Unlike psychopaths, most sociopaths do not hold down long-term jobs or present much of a normal family life to the outside world.
If we compare psychopath and sociopath, we will discover that Psychopathy can be thought of as a more severe form of sociopathy with more symptoms. Therefore, all psychopaths are sociopaths but sociopaths are not necessarily psychopaths.
Psychopath traits include[14]:
- Lack of guilt/remorse
- Lack of empathy
- Lack of deep emotional attachments
- Narcissism
- Superficial charm
- Dishonesty
- Manipulativeness
- Reckless risk-taking
From above, we can see that “the psychopath is callous, yet charming. They will come and manipulate others with charisma and intimidation and can effectively mimic feelings to present as “normal” to society. The psychopath is organized in their criminal thinking and behaviour, and can maintain good emotional and physical control, displaying little to no emotional or autonomic arousal, even under situations that most would find threatening or horrifying. The psychopath is keenly aware that what they do is wrong, but does not care. “Conversely, the sociopath is less organized in his or her demeanour; they might be nervous, easily agitated, and quick to display anger. A sociopath is more likely to spontaneously act out in inappropriate ways without thinking through the consequences.
We have been able to examine two anti-social disorders which are actually plaguing mentoring and development. It is not every human-being who is human. Many are suffering from one psychological disorder or the order. To therefore talk about mentoring for sustainable development when in reality, most of the expected mentors are psychopaths, the dreams are already nipped from the bud. This constitute a serious challenge for the 21st century church. To separate the chaff from the grain is now very difficult because psychopaths have taken over and in view of their characteristic manners of deceit and manipulation they can hardly be detected easily. Are the pastors and the church not then on trial? Who will therefore bell the cat?
The Bible and Mentoring for Development
Mentoring is a biblical idea, though the word "mentor" itself is never used in Scripture; the principles applied when using that terminology are found throughout the biblical text. We see numerous examples of mentoring relationships taking place throughout the Bible and this should be our model. In some cases, individuals were involved in multiple mentoring relationships. Sometimes mentoring happened on a one-to-one basis, and in other cases, mentoring took place in a group setting. However, the group was always small enough to listen to, and interact with, each individual. Jesus mentored 12, sometimes three and, on rare occasions, one[15].
- Jethro mentored Moses. Moses mentored Joshua and the elders of Israel. And Joshua mentored the other remaining leaders of his army.
- Eli mentored Samuel. Samuel mentored Saul and David. Ahithophel and Nathan the prophet also mentored David. David became Israel's greatest king. David mentored his army commanders and government officials to establish the united nation of Israel. David also mentored Solomon. Solomon mentored the Queen of Sheba, who returned to her people with his wisdom in the form of Proverbs that applied God's laws.
- Elijah mentored Elisha. Elisha mentored king Jehoash and others.
- Daniel mentored Nebuchadnezzar, who humbled himself before God.
- Mordecai mentored Esther. Esther mentored King Artaxerxes, which led to the liberation of God's people.
- Priscilla and Aquila mentored Apollos, and this resulted in a much-improved ministry for Apollos.
- And finally, Jesus mentored the twelve apostles who established the Christian church. The apostles mentored hundreds of other leaders, including Paul. Paul mentored Titus, Timothy, and many others. Timothy mentored "faithful men" such as Epaphras. Epaphras and the other faithful men mentored others also, which led to a chain reaction that resulted in dozens of new churches in Asia. Ultimately, this specific mentoring chain is the beginning of our churches today.
The above references are not necessarily meant to show that young adults desire relationships of this nature; emerging generations recognize almost naturally that they have a lot to learn, and the Bible affirms a relationship model that can be used to meet that need. Moreover, because they live with such an experiential interest in life, that learning process is most effective walking side-by-side with someone, rather than just sitting in a classroom.
Conclusion
From the foregoing discussions, it is evident that some people have a need to be mentored, others need to mentor. A mentor is someone whose hindsight can become your foresight that is why there is need to be mentored. You were never meant to live the Christian life alone by yourself; it will be incredibly difficult to grow spiritually. You need to be a mentor because you are meant to pass on that which the Lord has given you. No greater thrill than to connect with another person and invest in them, to risk and to give[16].
It can therefore be concluded that the attainment of the millennium development goals with respect to sustainable development in Nigeria, can be made possible with proper policy directives in the area of mentoring. The success of each of the 17 goals of Sustainable Development should be connected with proper mentoring for best output. No doubt, the African Proverb, “it takes a village to train a child” is a truism when we talk of mentoring for sustainable development. Nigeria needs mentors in all her facets of live. But even in a situation where there are mentors, where are the mentees? Unfortunately, most of those expected to be mentors are psychopaths. Even the mentees are occupied with “get rich quick” syndrome which is now the order of the day. Are we therefore saying that all the Pastors/Leaders in the church are psychopaths and cannot be good mentors? Nonetheless, the fact is just that, the percentage of those who are committed to mentoring is too minimal; considering the population of those who need to be mentored. Even many of those who claim to be mentors need to be mentored. But if the church and the theological institutions can follow the bible way of mentoring, the problem facing us as a nation in sustainable development will be drastically reduced.
References
Church, Summas A.C., (2010). ITimothy1:1-2;12-17 Mentor and Mentee. Available:
Clutterbuck, David (2004).
https://www.skillsyouneed.com
/learn/mentoring-skills.html
5/102020
Dairo, A.O. (2020). Teaching and Mentoring in selected Bible Colleges/Seminaries in the South West Nigeria, A research carried out between August and October, 2020
Dairo, A.O. Biblical views of pastoral ministry and the challenge of pastoral care today in Nigeria. A graduation lecture delivered at the convocation ceremony of Glorious Theological Seminary, Port Harcourt, on Saturday 7 March 2020
Hambrick, Bra (2018). Mentoring vs. Counselling: What’s the Difference? Available:
http://brahambrick.com/
mentoring-vswhats-the-difference/ Downloaded: 15/10/2020
Hare, R.D. (1991). Manual for the Hare Psychopathy Checklist—Revised . Toronto: Multi-Health Systems
Hippocampal Structural Asymmetry in unsuccessful Psychopaths. Biological Psychiatry, 5, 185—191.
https://www.sumasacchurch.com/
sermons/1-Timothy-11-2-12-17-mentor-and-mentee
Ogloff, J.R. (2006). Psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder conundrum. The Australian and
New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 519—528
LifeWay, (2014). Have a mentor: Be a mentor – the biblical model of mentoring.
Available: https://www.lifeway.com/en/
article/biblical-model-of-mentoring
Otokola, Elijah O. (2017). “The Importance of Theological Education to the Changing World”,
Science and Education Development Institute, Nigeria
Raine, A., Ishikawa, S.,Estibalez, A., Lencz, T., Knuth, K., Birhle, S., et al. (2004).
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon (2010). Available:
https://www.un.org/development
/disabilities/envision2030.html
Nov25, 2013
What is Mentoring?
https://www.skillsyouneed.com
/learn/mentoring-skills.html 5/10 2020
[1] Bra Hambrick (2018). Mentoring vs. Counselling: What’s the Difference?
Available:
http://brahambrick.com/
mentoring-vswhats-the-difference/
Downloaded: 15/10/2020
[2] What is Mentoring?
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/
learn/mentoring-skills.html Downloaded:5/10
2020
[3] David Clutterbuck (2004).
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/
learn/mentoring-skills.html Downloaded:5/10 \
2020
[4] UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon (2010).
Available: https://www.un.org/development/
disabilities/envision2030.html
Nov25, 2013
[5] UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon (2010).
Available: https://www.un.org/development/
disabilities/envision2030.html
Nov25, 2013
[6] Glen Schultz, (1999). Called to Teach: An Introduction to the Ministry of Teaching. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1999. Quoted by Elijah O. Otokola (2017). The Importance of Theological Education to the Changing World, Science and Education Development Institute, Nigeria
[7] Elijah O. Otokola (2017). “The Importance of Theological Education to the Changing World”, Science and Education Development Institute, Nigeria
[8] A.O. Dairo, (2020). Teaching and Mentoring in selected Bible Colleges/Seminaries in the South West Nigeria, A research carried out between August and October, 2020.
[9] A.O. Dairo, Biblical views of pastoral ministry and the challenge of pastoral care today in Nigeria
A graduation lecture delivered at the convocation ceremony of Glorious Theological Seminary, Port Harcourt, on Saturday 7 March 2020
[10] A.O. Dairo, (2020). Teaching and Mentoring in selected Bible Colleges/Seminaries in the South West Nigeria, A research carried out between August and October, 2020
[11] J.R. Ogloff, (2006). Psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder conundrum. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 519—528
[12] R.D.Hare-(1991). Manual for the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised - Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.
[13] R.D.Hare, (1991). Manual for the Hare Psychopathy Checklist...
[14]A. Raine, Ishikawa, S.,Estibalez, A., Lencz, T., Knuth, K., Birhle, S., et al. (2004).
Hippocampal Structural Asymmetry in unsuccessful Psychopaths. Biological Psychiatry, 5, 185—191.
[15] LifeWay, (2014). Have a mentor: Be a mentor – the biblical model of mentoring.
Available: https://www.lifeway.com/
en/article/biblical-model-of-mentoring
[16] Summas A.C. Church, (2010). ITimothy1:1-2; 12-17
Mentor and Mentee.
Available:
https://www.sumasacchurch.com/
sermons/
1-Timothy-11-2-12-17-mentor-and-mentee