Who is Your Mentor?: The Importance of Mentorship in Ministry

On this special bonus episode live from Brentwood Baptist Church, ECN President Mike Glenn sits down with Brentwood Baptist Senior Pastor, Jay Strother, to talk having mentors, being a mentor, and the importance of passing on lessons learned to the next generation of ministry workers.

• Transcript

  Mike Glenn: Well, now I get to introduce you as the senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church. That's a little surreal. I'm still trying to get used to that. Yeah. Uh, but, uh, thanks for being part of today and, uh, and talking about the importance of mentoring. Yeah. Now, the first question I'm asking everybody is, who was your mentor?

  So - 

  Jay Strother: I'm looking at him ... so, 

  Mike Glenn: so- 

  Jay Strother: It's a softball ... who, 

  Mike Glenn: who else has been involved in your life and, and, and that mentor process, and what happened when you realized that this person investing enough? 

  Jay Strother: Yeah. Well, I think Hebrews talks about cloud of witnesses. Right. So God puts these people in your path. You know, I had Mom and Dad, who weren't perfect, but they loved the Lord.

  Mm-hmm. They modeled healthy church involvement. I grew up loving the church. Uh, I had a youth minister who, when I didn't see, you know, the gifting in me, encouraged me, "Hey, lead a Bible study." Right. "Hey, lead... See you at the [00:01:00] pole." Uh, you know, really challenged me to step up. And then, of course, the first few pastors I served under, uh, were bi-vocational pastors.

  So I saw the real commitment to discipline and what it takes to both shepherd the people- Mm-hmm ... but also try to, to lead your family and your calling well. So each step along the way, God put folks who poured something unique into me. Right. A dif- 

  Mike Glenn: different aspect of the ministry you learn from different people.

  Absolutely. Key. Uh, now you are the mentor. Yeah. So what are those handful of things that you're being sure to invest in this next generation? 

  Jay Strother: Yeah. I, I think, uh, obviously, you know, you can't give what you don't have. Mm-hmm. So as you taught me well- Yeah ... you gotta take your soul care days. You've gotta walk with the Lord.

  You can't serve out of an empty well. Right. Uh, I think the, the second piece that we, we try to look for in guys is, you know, the old FAT acronym. Right. Faithful- Yeah ... Available, and Teachable. So I'm looking for young men- [00:02:00] Mm-hmm ... uh, who are all of those, those three things. Uh, you know, competencies we can teach.

  Right. But if the calling is clear and the character is there, faithful, available, teachable, right, then that's somebody that we can develop and pour into. 

  Mike Glenn: Tell me, tell me the one moment where you realized, uh-oh, I'm, I'm the mentor now. People are looking to me to know what's going on. Yeah, I think it was the-

  the 

  Jay Strother: first Monday meeting after you weren't the senior pastor anymore, and you're like, "Oh, I, I've gotta lead this thing." Yeah. Yeah. I used to get to be with the, uh, you know, peanut gallery- Yeah ... making comments and, and those kind of things. But no, I, I think there are those pivotal moments where you realize, oh, oh, I'm that guy now.

  Well, I was joking in the conference, you know. I remember sitting at the quarterly staff meeting. We have these big, large meetings. Right. And I was always one of the guys. Well, I went and sat down at my seat, and nobody came and sat with me- ... 'cause I'm the senior pastor now. You know? You're intimidating, man.

  So you know what that's like. Yeah. Yeah, that lonely thing at the top. Yeah. Um, so there's those moments along the way. But again, I had over 20 years- To not only hear the intentional teaching [00:03:00] that you, you gave to me and the rest of the campus pastors, but also to get to watch how it's done. And I think those are the two things.

  Uh, one of your favorite phrases, "Disciple making is caught as much as it is taught." Right. Yeah. And I would say in mentoring, you've gotta have a couple guys who are so close to you that it's not only taught, teaching is important- Right ... but it's also caught. Yeah. I see that. All right. Thank you, Jay. Yeah.

  It's great to be here, Mike.