Len Sweet
Just over two years ago, he walked in the room, at the Paramount Hotel in downtown Portland, OR. I can remember what he was wearing and I thought, “this guy looks more like a 1960′s hippie than a professor”. He went around the room meeting us, embracing those he already knew, and quietly making us feel important.
I have to say that I was nervous. Len Sweet’s thoughts can be hazardous to your sleep, and I knew I was getting myself into something that would probably change my life forever. In his introduction, he actually told us that would happen (and it has). What I didn’t realize, until our cohort’s last time together with him, was what a wonderful model he gave regarding mentoring. So in this post, I want to use Len as a case study to talk about mentoring, and I want you to see three things:
Effective Mentors give of their Time and Resources
Our first hour together, Len told us that one of his favorite restaurants was in Portland. He told us that if we would give him $20 of our per diem for food, the next evening he would take us to this restaurant. So the next night, 25 or so of us walked down the street to Morton’s Steakhouse, where a special menu was waiting for us. I personally consumed about $100+ of food, not including the tea and milk (needed for my chocolate desert of course).
At our last cohort meeting in May, he had copies of his books that he gave away. He also gave each of us shot glasses made of uranium glass.
A few weeks ago, my wife came in my office and told me, “Since Len is at Drew in New Jersey, why don’t we see if we could meet him for dinner?” I told her to email him, and he responded quickly and gave us some dates that he would be available. So two weeks ago we drove 2.5 hours from Delaware to meet him for dinner. He took us to an incredible restaurant, where he picked up the check and made sure we had a wonderful experience.
My wife was amazed that someone of Len’s stature would spend time with the pastor of a small church and his wife. But for two years I have seen Len do this, and I knew he would do this. It is his heart.
Mentors are people who give of their time, resources and experiences. They are not stingy, nor do they expect others to take care of them. There are occasions where the mentor is to be honored, but they often struggle with that role. What gets a mentor jazzed is to be able to share their life, all of their life, with others and see the light come on as those whom they have invested their life in finally understand what the mentor has been sharing.
Effective Mentors Open Doors and Expand Horizons
In 2007, I was at the Crystal Cathedral at a conference where Len was scheduled to speak, along with Bob Roberts. I was able to have breakfast with Len the first morning, and mentioned that Bob Roberts was the Baptist I wanted to be. So later that morning, Len taps me on the shoulder and says, “David, this is Bob Roberts.” He introduced us and I am glad to call Bob a friend. He spent time with me that day, gave me his contact info and we talked shop. Bob even mentioned me in one of his books.
It was not only Bob, but Alan Hirsch. And Joe Myers. And on and on. In two years he opened doors for me and others in my cohort to meet new people, be exposed to new opportunities and recommended us to positions and people.
Mentors do that. They introduce others to people in their network. I recall how I realized I was modeling this behavior personally. I had a professor from one the six SBC seminaries up to do a parenting conference. I mentioned how in one of our small groups, we were reading a book by Dan Kimball and that Dan was going to do a Skype videocast with us to talk about his book. I also mentioned that I many in our church had read Bob Robert’s book Glocalization and that I got Bob to spend 2 hours on a conference call with us talking about the work and what he and his church was doing. This professor told me that he really appreciated how I was using my network to open doors for others and to expand the horizons of their faith and understanding. I now look and see that was a modeling of behavior I had seen out of my mentors – all of them – in my life.
Mentors also help us see beyond our own experiences. They push us and expand our thinking. And they help us make sense of our thoughts.
Effective Mentors Serve
Our last cohort meeting was at Len’s home on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state. I watched at mealtime how he would always wait until everyone else was served and had all they needed before he ate. He would pick up dirty plates and take out the trash. And his kids also demonstrated that behavior.
It wasn’t just on one occasion. I saw it on multiple occasions that I was with him.
He noted to us that he still preached at the camp meetings. He loved doing it and it was also a reminder to him not to be too big for his britches as we would say in the south. It helped him keep in touch with his roots and his passion for people.
He told my wife in an email after our dinner the other night that any way he could be a Barnabas to us, he would be happy to do so.
You see this humility and service in great mentors, notably Jesus.
This is not a post to exalt Len; in fact, he would probably not want me to post this. But for me, Len has demonstrated some effective traits of mentoring. We all need to be re-investing our lives and experiences in others. Maybe this will give you principles to apply as well.
I have to believe that these same principles are evident in Jesus’ life. They were certainly operating in Paul’s life.
Who are some of your mentors and how have they demonstrated effective mentoring to you? Something you could do to honor them would be to let them know just how important they have been in your life. Another thing would be to model mentoring by passing what you have learned from your mentors to others.
Now, a final note to Len…Thanks Len. Not only for two years of blowing our minds but for opening doors, giving your time and resources, and modeling service. The folks in LEC MOD 5 at GFU and there families will never be the same, which is what you told us would happen in the begining!
A couple of years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to a young graphic designer named Sam Raynor. She had developed a book cover for his book and it was absolutely fantastic. Another friend was developing a book, and I recommended him to Sam. I have recommended her for several projects in fact, and have used her to develop logos and my own book cover(s).
I asked Sam if she might come up with an interpretation of the term “Pneumanaut” which had so impacted me over my doctoral work. It was a term Len described for us during our initial week with him. She came up with a painting, which I scanned in to make sure I had a copy for myself.
