Sacred Roots Thriving In Ministry - Apprenticed by the Early Church

52 • T he E vangel G athering • S acred R oots T hriving in M inistry : A pprenticed by the E arly C hurch

B. Apprenticeship and three kinds of mentors

Apprenticeship provides a system for training a new generation of practitioners in a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often includes accompanying study (cohort work and reading).

1. Mentor (Ancient). Every generation of the Church has produced gifted leaders, but some leaders have influenced not only their own generation, but every generation that has come after them. Christian leaders have continued to find these wise practitioners to be helpful mentors for soul work and soul care across many generations. 2. Mentor (Contemporary). Sacred Roots Contemporary Mentors are world-class evangelical scholars who have spent years getting to know the Ancient Mentors we meet in the Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics . Each Contemporary Mentor has edited one volume in the Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics series and produced a number of resource videos to help contemporary church leaders apprentice themselves to the ancient mentors of the Church. 3. Mentor (Local). Sacred Roots Local Mentors are the leaders of specific groups of congregational leaders who have gathered in a cohort to learn from an Ancient Mentor like Augustine, Benedict, Basil, and others. Local Mentors know the context and the communities in which the cohort leaders work and they nurture and encourage friendships within the cohort they lead.

C. Apprenticeship practices: How to “read” a spiritual classic

1. Spiritual reading is different from other kinds of reading

a. Different from reading the Bible