January is National Mentoring Month!

This month is National Mentoring Month.  “Mentor” is a word and idea that drastically intersected and changed my life in 2013.  I actually began interning for an organization called The Mentoring Project (TMP) in November of 2012.  TMP recruits and trains men and women to step into the lives of at-risk and fatherless youth to relationally mentor and provide a positive Christian influence.  It’s an organization founded by my favorite author, Donald Miller, in the late 2000s.  I’ve followed his work, including TMP’s whereabouts and progress over the years.  I found out, through a tweet, they were opening an office in Oklahoma City in the fall of 2012, and I quickly responded with interest in helping out in any way possible.  I volunteered at one of their first community outreach events, and shortly after meeting the staff earned an internship position.  And the story continues to twist and turn into a more meaningful and interesting epic.

TMProject staff and friends at Donald Miller’s Storyline Conference in Nashville, TN.

After a year of working with The Mentoring Project, I’m now officially a paid staff member, and I really love the work I get to do for this organization that is saving lives.  You can find out more about TMP at our website (www.thementoringproject.org) or via social media.  Follow us on Twitter (@tmproject) or become a fan on facebook (www.facebook.com/tmproject).  Check out this fun video below to get a bit of an idea of what we’re about, and marvel at the animated elephants.

I’ve also been blessed to become an official mentor in the last few months.  My journey into becoming a mentor has been a bit of a wild ride.  In the Spring of 2011 I tried signing up with Big Brothers Big Sisters, but was asked to try back at a later date.  I had just recently returned to OKC from two and a half years of bouncing around the country working different seasonal jobs, and my instability of location was something that deterred BBBS, understandably.  After that I started to believe I wouldn’t be able to mentor through a local matching organization for some time, so I volunteered for an entire school year in Lifechurch’s ministry called Switch.  Switch is like no youth ministry you’ve probably ever seen.  The youth groups at different campuses can hit 300+ students on any given night.  It’s a crazy gathering with a lot of fun and a lot of Jesus in a really unique, technologic way, and I had a great time leading a group of sixth grade boys each week.

By the time the next school year rolled around I had enrolled in classes myself.  I started taking graduate level courses in a Secondary Education program, but that only lasted a couple semesters.  In the middle of my first semester I started interning with TMP, and I was juggling 40 hours of work at my primary job along with classes and TMP.  Something had to give.  So after the Spring semester of classes finished I decided I was through with school.

The following summer I met a new friend through work who is a single mom with a young seven year old boy, and after knowing her for a few weeks she asked if I would be interested in mentoring her son.  It was a great opportunity, and something I had been praying for.

I hang out with my mentee at least once a week, and it’s usually a highlight of my week.  It’s challenging on several levels.  Getting him to buckle his seatbelt before we take off is usually a battle.  But mentoring is also a lot easier than I thought it would be.  We really just hang out together doing very basic activities.  I’ve lost count how many times we’ve gone to the park, and how content he is to call me the “monster” and taunt me to chase him around the playground and tag him.  And for some reason he is always “on times” when I do indeed tag him, so it doesn’t count.

Snow Tubing

From working with The Mentoring Project I get to hear and read all the stats and stories about why mentoring is beneficial to kids.  But I’ve got to experience first hand some of the benefits to the mentor.  Mentoring is good for me.  It gives me something beneficial and relational to be a part of.  It’s making me a better teacher, and it’s improving my patience.  It’s a practice in commitment and care, and I’m so grateful for this new chapter in my life.

There are a number of ways you can become a mentor or get involved.  There are likely several matching organizations in your community with lists of kids waiting for someone to be a consistent part of their life.  Maybe you already have a young person in your circle who could use some attention and care.  Either way, I hope you will seriously consider giving up a bit of time to invest in today’s youth.  Not only is there the potential to positively affect another, but you can be changed in the process as well.  If you have any questions about mentoring, I would love to try and answer them or share more of my story with you.

Maybe you’re already mentoring, in which case, you’re awesome.  Please tell me about your experience!

Let Heaven Come

I made a trip to Texas this weekend to escape routine.  On Christmas day I visited a local movie theater to watch Ben Stiller’s version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is a film all about stepping out of your comfort zone and embracing challenge and adventure.  As the credits rolled and the crowd filed out of the theater I knew I needed to go jump off a mountain or something soon.  I don’t live near any tall mountains though, so I settled on a brief road trip featuring spectacular sunsets and quality time with new and old friends.

Oklahoma (I-35 South)

Before coming home, my road trip buddy wanted to check out a service at the LifeChurch campus in Ft. Worth.  He attends one of the campuses in OKC, and figured this would be a good opportunity to see how LC operates in another state, since we were in the area.  I no longer attend LifeChurch, but I’m still friends with a lot of attendees and still a big fan of their mission to create fully devoted followers of Christ, so I was excited to stop in as well.

During the worship set the praise band played a song I’d never heard before (above – by a different group).  It’s a beautiful song highlighting the Lord’s Prayer and I really got lost in it.  At one point the lyric “Let heaven come” is repeated over and over.  This is an idea that has repeatedly come to my attention recently, and my eyes got a little misty as I thought about God’s goodness and His willingness to share some of heaven with us while we’re captive on Earth, awaiting heaven’s final and complete arrival for those who follow Jesus.

Later that evening on the drive back to OKC I had a short conversation about a recent documentary I watched called “Blackfish”, which details much of the alleged mistreatment of Killer Whales in captivity.  It’s a fascinating film, but much of that discussion is for a different conversation.  I started to think again about humanity’s captivity, and all the ups and downs experienced in a person’s life.  And then I remembered one of my favorite scenes from The Shawshank Redemption–the rooftop scene.

I love it when Morgan Freeman’s character, ‘Red’, begins to narrate toward the end of the clip.

“We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men…we were the lords of all creation”.

Red then speculates why Tim Robbins’ character, Andy Dufresne, went to the lengths he did.  Why did he speak up?  Why did he potentially risk his life?

Red runs through a number of scenarios in reference to Andy’s actions, but in the end he decides, “I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while”.

Whether Andy knew what he was doing or not, he created a small piece of paradise.  Heaven came down.  If only for a short while.

So here’s to inviting heaven to come here on Earth, and embracing it’s full taste when we are privileged enough to experience it.

Cheers.