Reflection Questions from Mentor for Life: Finding Purpose Through Intentional Discipleship

As I read the book Mentor for Life: Finding Purpose Through Intentional Discipleship by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, I answered the reflection questions found at the end of each chapter in a notebook and decided to only share one from each chapter, as I found some questions were personal and had long answers.

The question I chose for chapter one was, “What is your initial response to the claim that as a Christian, God has called you to mentor others?” My response: I am one of those who live by the rule, “If the Bible says to do it, we should do it; and if the Bible says do not do it, we should not do it.” Throughout the Bible, God has given us scriptures that elude us and lead us to believe that we are to mentor others, including the verse Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend.” This verse tells us that we are to teach or mentor those around us to sharpen their knowledge of God. Additionally, Romans 10:14 tells us “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” which to me alludes to the need to go and mentor those around us to teach them about the Lord.

The question I chose for chapter two was, “How can the concept of mentoring help you connect your prior understanding of evangelism and the current call to make disciples?” My response: mentoring plays a crucial role in connecting understanding of evangelism and the call to make disciples. It provides a practical and personalized guide for applying the knowledge of evangelism to the process of discipleship. A mentor once told me that “evangelism is the act of sharing the gospel with non-believers, where discipleship is the act of sending out believers to share the Gospel. You must be a disciple before you can evangelize.” This is a question I ask new mentors that come into my life to see what different people think of the two. A good mentor can help guide you through the differences between the two.

The question I chose for chapter three was, “In your current life and ministry context, how are you now making disciples of Jesus Christ?” My response: In my current life and ministry context of leading the YDOC Bible study, I am praying that I am making disciples out of the girls. YDOC, or Young Daughters Of Christ, is a group that the Lord led me to start in 2020 for girls of all ages to encourage and lift each other up while learning about Jesus. We met once a week on Zoom for a virtual Bible study and encouraged each other daily, and helped walk them through the questions that they had regarding the scripture. Through the weekly Bible study, I pray that God will grant them the knowledge and confidence to take what they have learned out into the world and accomplish God’s command in Matthew 28:19 of “Make disciples of all nations.” 

The question I chose for chapter four was, “How does the reality of spiritual warfare give perspective concerning the daily challenges and struggles you face as a Christian?” My response: Our youth pastor at church recently talked about this topic of spiritual warfare and the daily challenges and struggles we face. The youth pastor defined spiritual warfare as “the struggle between the forces of good and evil.” This reminds us that the issues we face are spiritual and not physical, and the challenges we face are from Satan. However, the challenges we face are placed in our lives by God to guide us closer to Him. 

The question I chose for chapter five was, “How do you intentionally pursue God’s presence (intimate relationship or spending time with the Lord)?” My response: One that I intentionally pursue God’s presence and strive to create an intimate relationship with Him is through spending time with Him on a date once a week. I have a book that helps you prioritize spending time with the Lord in a small and quiet but personal way. It sets up different “dates” with God by taking you to unusual places to do Bible study away from the normality of doing a study in your room or at church and takes you away from distractions. Just like you would go on a date with someone you love or care for, you give all your attention to God on these dates and allow Him to talk to you as you spend time with Him.

The question I chose for chapter six was, “What comes to mind when you think about God?” My response: If I am being honest, when I think about God so many things run through my head that it is hard to pin down one specific thought. There are so many magnificent and awe-inspiring attributes that come to my mind when I think about God. The main attribute that He is bringing to the front of my mind right now is His mercy. His compassion and forgiveness that he bestows upon me every day inspires me to do the same for others.

The question I chose for chapter seven was, “Is reading the Bible part of your daily routine? Now that you understand the benefits of Bible engagement, how can you practically make this discipline a priority in your life?” My response: Reading the Bible is a major part of my daily routine, and my day is incomplete if I have not stopped to open God’s word. For me, the way I keep this discipline a priority in my life is to keep a Bible in my bag everywhere I go and read it periodically throughout the day when I get a chance. Also, I have two widgets on my home screen on my phone that help remind me to read the Word every day. One widget is the verse of the day, and the other is a daily Bible reading and devotional to help keep me accountable.

The question I chose for chapter eight was, “In what ways might God be inviting you to experience more of His grace and mercy?” My response: Throughout the past year, I have seen God opening doors for me to step into new opportunities of ministry within and outside of my church. Within these opportunities, I have felt God’s hand of mercy and grace extend upon me as I have let go of things that I have held onto or have used as excuses to not do the works He was asking of me.

The question I chose for chapter nine was, “What kingdom work has God specifically called you to? Can you articulate the nature of that work? Write it down.” My response: Recently, God has brought the idea forward to a friend and I to start a YouTube page to mentor other girls and share godly advice to them. As of now, I am unable to accurately articulate the nature of this work as I am not sure where he will lead us with this. What I do know is that this book has given us new topics to discuss and research. 

The question I chose for chapter ten was, “How sensitive are you to the felt needs of others? Do people consider you a compassionate person? How do you know?” My response: I believe I am extremely sensitive to the needs of others, and I find myself drawn to those who are hurting or in need without even knowing them. Someone once told me that I had the gift of empathy and could pick up on the emotions of others around me, even before they knew what they were feeling. They told me that my compassion gave me the ability to make deep and meaningful connections and relationships with others and had the gift to help others on personal and spiritual levels. I strive to live my everyday life with an open heart for those around me and strive to help wherever I can. When I asked my friends if they thought I was a compassionate person or not, I received multiple responses saying yes. One person even told me that my compassion is what drew them to me.

The question I chose for chapter eleven was, “What does it practically look like for you to live an others-focused life?” My response: for me living in others-focused life looks like prioritizing the well-being and needs of others above myself. This could include being sensitive to others' needs and concerns over my own, being willing to give up my time and resources without expecting anything in return or extending forgiveness to someone when I do not want to do so. For me, it is a mindset over just actions. It is an unconscious effort that you do in your daily life. 

The question I chose for chapter twelve was, “What prevents you from trusting others?” My response: Personally, I know that the main thing that keeps me from trusting others is past hurt from those who I thought I could trust. After I graduated high school, I became a therapeutic riding instructor and became close friends with those that I worked with in the barn. During the time I worked there, I found myself acting differently around them than I did at home, and my relationship with God began to slip and I was not as strong in my faith as I used to be. Around this time COVID hit and shut everything down, including my job, and during that time I was convicted of my wrongs and decided to fix my relationship with God. Once we were able to open again, I changed the way I acted around my coworkers and started showing what I believed and sharing God with them. They did not like the “new me” and small issues began to arise, and they began to isolate me and do things without me. This led to total isolation from them as well as rumors aimed at me that began to spread. Rumors that could seriously jeopardize my career, but also taint my walk with God, and I made the decision to leave the barn and cut ties with all my coworkers. This instance is just one of the things I have experienced that has kept me from trusting others, but it has also made me stronger, and I use it to help others who are struggling with the same situation.

The question I chose for chapter thirteen was, “How have your upbringing, culture, and life experiences shaped the way you view people who are from a different racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic background?” My response: When I think about my upbringing, I know that I was fortunate to have the luxuries I had no matter how small. Throughout middle and high school, I started volunteering with our church to share the Word to those around us. Multiple times a year, we would go to Atlanta and serve dinner to the homeless population there. As a young girl, I typically stayed in between the tables and talked to people over the food we were serving, but through this I learned that not everyone had a life like mine or even had access to things we take for granted. However, I do not think I ever judged or thought differently of those who were from a different background. As I watched the adults in the group go out to talk with the people and share the gospel with them, I realized we are all children of God and to quote one of my favorite songs by Mandisa, "Tell me, who are we to judge someone by the kind of clothes they're wearing? Or the color of their skin? Are you black? Are you white? Aren't we all the same inside? Father, open our eyes to see! We all bleed the same!"

The answer to the question from chapter fourteen, as well as the one I chose from chapter fifteen perfectly align with each other and with a new opportunity that I have mentioned in a previous answer. The question I chose for chapter fourteen was, “How can you prepare to effectively mentor women who have made life choices different from yours? How is it helpful to embrace the understanding that mentoring will be a mutually beneficial relationship?” and the question I chose for chapter fifteen was, “How will you be intentional about speaking the truth in love, and sharing a positive vision for mentees to understand God’s best for His children?” My response to both is: As I mentioned before, a friend of mine and I have felt led by God to start a YouTube page to discuss topics that Christian girls face today. We plan on only discussing topics that we are familiar with or have experienced ourselves. In-depth preparation and research will go into each video before we even record to ensure that we only speak God’s word and lead/mentor girls with the truth of God’s love. We know the girls that we will be talking to will come from all walks of life and different stages of life than us, but everyone is deserving of God's love and salvation regardless of the life choices they have made. Additionally, I do believe that as we research and discuss different topics, we will begin to grow deeper in our relationship with God as well as unintentionally mentor each other.

The question I chose for chapter sixteen was, “Are you aware of your spiritual gifts? Consider: What are you passionate about? What are you good at?” My response: Thanks to the test our professor gave us in class to discover our spiritual gifts, I was able to determine my top three spiritual gifts and understand them better. My top three spiritual gifts are mercy, faith, and service/help, which are understandable, once I learned what they truly mean. Those whose spiritual gift is mercy tend to be those who help others who are hurting within the body of Christ and bring to light the needs to other members. Those whose spiritual gift is faith are known to trust God to move and accomplish things outside of human abilities. They also try to encourage others to trust God when faced with challenges. Those whose spiritual gift is service/help are known to be the first to recognize the needs around them and jump in to help without complaint or expecting anything in return. Additionally, they tend to do these acts of service behind the scenes where nobody knows.

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