May 16, 2022
by Greg Henson, CEO, Kairos University
Over the past several weeks, we have looked at various topics from the perspective of walking alongside others as mentors in the Kairos community. Many people have already mentioned how helpful those resources have been. While it is nice to hear they have been helpful, we are also aware that there is an array of other resources available for people interested in mentoring.
Below is a list containing some resources that the team at Kairos has found helpful over the years. We provide this list not as an “exhaustive list of mentoring resources” but rather as an informal expression of a few things that members of our team have found useful as they stepped into the role of mentoring. When possible, we have included a short description of the resource.
Let’s dive in!
Calling in Context (Moros, Susan L.) – This is a good book for mentors who are looking for material about understanding vocation.
Deep Mentoring (Reese, Randy D. and Loane, Robert) – This book is designed to help you know how to better come alongside others as a guide and a friend and to invest in their spiritual formation and leadership. If you want a long-term impact on the lives of future leaders, how you guide must be just as important as the content you impart.
A Mentoring Guide: Christ. Conversation. Companionship. (VantagePoint3 Team) – This guide is designed to help you trust Jesus and yourself more. It helps you navigate a mentoring role with greater confidence and discernment. If you do not think you have what it takes to mentor others well, this is a good book for you.
Building a Discipling Culture: How to Release a Missional Movement by Discipling People like Jesus Did (Breen, Mike) – With his use of “life shapes,” Breen creates a natural platform for reframing discipleship around a missional lifestyle. These life shapes can be used in one-on-one mentoring as well as in groups.
Life Together: A Discussion of Christian Fellowship (Bonhoeffer, Dietrich) – This classic book is foundational for exploring the deeper levels of trust and accountability that are required for exceptional mentoring relationships.
The Power of the Other – (Cloud, Henry) – An exceptional treatise on how those who speak into our lives can shape our character into what it was meant to be, whom we are called to be. Dr. Cloud penetrates into the heart of relational significance, appropriately teaching the reader how to discern the right “others” to allow entrée into our self-definition. Great resource for mentors and mentees.
The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith (Hagberg, Janet O. and Robert A. Guelich) – This is a great book for mentoring because it helps the mentor appreciate the spiritual formation processes that are so much a part of the mentee’s/student’s personal and professional development.
Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor, and Chaos (Keel, Tim) – Keel’s book is more of a theological framework for the mentor’s own perspective-building. He offers solid teaching on how we are “environmentalists” – equipping every context with the values we want to multiply. He also engages the reader on how we, as leaders, need to respond more fluidly to the demands of a post-modern world and church.
Leading Cross-Culturally: Covenant Relationships for Effective Christian Leadership (Lingenfelter, Sherwood G.) – This book provides a solid theological reference point for mentoring within an increasingly diverse culture, both individually and within groups.
Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit (Nouwen, Henri, Michael J. Christiansen, and Rebecca J. Laird) – Spiritual Formation is a powerful book in that it teaches the reader how to listen; for God’s voice, to God’s voice, to your voice, and to the voice of the other.
Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time (Ogden, Greg) – Ogden’s book offers a solid theological and practical framework for mentoring and discipleship. Entire systems can be shifted by discipling just one person.
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (Peterson, Eugene) – This can be a good book for encouraging the mentor and mentee to not stress immediate and “quick fixes” but rather an enduring walk of faith.
Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God (Willard, Dallas) – Willard’s “Hearing God” is a helpful place to start in a mentoring relationship. It provides a solid theological foundation and it invites a practical application perspective for both mentor and mentee.
The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact (Heath, C. and Heath, D.) – Chip and Dan Heath explore why certain brief experiences can jolt, elevate, and change us – and how we can learn to create such extraordinary moments in our own lives and work.
Crucial Conversations (Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., and Switzler, A.) – Crucial Conversations provides powerful skills to ensure every conversation, especially difficult ones, leads to the results you want.
Thanks for the Feedback (Stone, D. and Heen, S.) – Thanks for the Feedback focuses primarily on how to become better at receiving feedback.