A Dependence on the Communion of Saints

There is a moment in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy when Frodo, despairing and overwhelmed, says to Gandalf, "I wish the ring had never come to me!" Gandalf (a mentor figure straight out of central casting!) says to him in that moment of deep discouragement, "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought."

Another mentoring moment comes from an unexpected source. Frodo meets Galadriel, the queen of the elves, and once again Frodo is feeling defeated. Facing a glimpse of the future, he says to her, "I cannot do this alone." Her word to him is, "You are a Ring-bearer, Frodo. To bear a Ring of Power is to be alone." This is a hard word indeed, but then she says, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."

Both Gandalf and Galadriel are classic mentor figures, but Samwise Gamgee is a very important mentor, too. As Frodo is attempting to pull out on his own to take the ring to Mordor, Samwise doggedly follows him, risking life and limb. "Go back, Sam. I'm going to Mordor alone," urges Frodo. Sam responds, "Of course you are. And I'm coming with you."

Where would Frodo have been without that holy host of guides and mentors, some elder and obviously wise, others unexpected and startling, as well as those nearby who knew him and would not let him go it alone?

Mentors: Don't leave home (or Trinity School for Ministry) without a Fellowship of them!

What is Mentored Ministry?

The term "mentor" is a bit of a buzzword lately – we hear it in business schools and on college campuses. Sales teams, new teachers and medical practitioners all use the term, which can mean anything from cheerleader to political strategist.

For Trinity, mentoring is a form of conscious, intentional discipling in the formation of Christian leaders. It involves seasoned and gifted leaders who are willing to come alongside, to support, to encourage and guide mentorees, training them in the art of becoming the unique leaders God is calling them to be. It is a gift of time and investment in the developing of another for the work of ministry.

Trinity mentors are clergy and lay leaders who have walked down the road in gospel ministry for a while, and who have gained a certain amount of wisdom and experience. Additionally, they are willing and able to be transparent enough to let the student see who they are in the practice of ministry. They are themselves part of a community of learners as they are trained and supervised in their own peer groups. The Trinity mentor is part cheerleader, part friend, part guide and part prayer supporter. In the economy of God, these relationships are mutually encouraging and strengthening – for mentors as well as for students – as each learns from and is inspired by the other.

The primary goal of Mentored Ministry is to assist students in developing patterns of reflective learning and integrating their theology with real ministry and real life. Toward this end, students will use a variety of reflection tools to readdress and prayerfully consider experiences they encounter in their ministry assignments. This can be as simple as a brief journal entry about something they have learned, or as technical as a Verbatim where they reconstruct a pertinent or troubling conversation. These tools will help them look for those places where they have selectively heard or avoided hearing what the other (or God) is saying.

Similarly, a secondary goal is to engage the clergy of this diocese (and beyond) in a process of ongoing learning and reflection which will strengthen their own ministry and collegial relationships over time. In turn, the mentors will model for our students what healthy, reflective and sustainable Christian leadership looks like.

Leaders, priests, and deacons are not simply born…they are fashioned, by the Holy Spirit in the context of the community of faith through victories and joys, as well as through suffering and failure. This formation process is really a very human one of human scale and particularity, but it is also, wonderfully, an ongoing incarnational process. The Holy Spirit continues to work through the given people, circumstances and opportunities of the moment, working in time and space, and through real and still imperfect human beings to bring to completion what God began when he called us to himself in the first place. All of this involves listening to the Holy Spirit in the midst of our real lives and ministry. It can be (and usually is) very humbling!

The goal of the Trinity mentoring program is to encourage and model lifelong learning and growth in Christ through prayer, service, sacrifice and theological reflection so that students can lead, mentor and model the same kind of growth and maturation for their own parishioners. Simply stated, we hope to model a way that avoids isolation and burnout and instead builds trust and fosters intentional learning among mentors and students through a common practice of reflection, prayer support and ongoing growth.

What does Mentored Ministry look like at Trinity?

Trinity has an average of 20 to 30 Master of Divinity students each year. Mentored Ministry is an academic requirement for these students, two consecutive semesters, usually in their second year. They spend an average of 10-15 hours a week in a setting that is not their sponsoring parish – this includes participation in Sunday services and an hourly appointment each week with their Mentor. In addition to time in the ministry setting, students have a peer mentoring group in a weekly classroom setting here at school with me or with Dr. Leander Harding.

Each student will write a Learning Covenant with two foci: one in an area of growth in character and spiritual formation and one in an area of ministry skill and competence. Obviously we are looking for depth rather than breadth in these Learning Covenants, which provide each student with obtainable goals for their mentored ministry process. There is a midterm and final evaluation from both the student and the mentor.

The radical piece of the program is structuring one hour a week for the student and mentor to actually meet, with the only goal being reflection and attention to the process of the student's growth in Christ-likeness. Use of reflection tools – to clarify and name the areas of growth – is actually a big part of the work itself.

Another radical piece is the class time where students actually grapple together, sharing, reflecting, praying for each other, breaking down the natural competitiveness and comparisons, seeking to become real partners and companions in the way.

Why now?

There has been a significant movement over the past 10 years or so in seminaries across the country toward a mentoring model for formation in both character and competence of seminarians. Seminaries like Gordon Conwell, Denver, Asbury and Dallas are moving away from a "supervisory" model, with its task and ministry focus, and toward a reflection model which is more focused on formation and character development in the context of ministry. Our Academic Dean and faculty are entering into the process of strengthening the practical and formational dimensions of our program at Trinity. This combined with Trinity's traditional strength in biblical theology should provide for our students the integrated foundation they need to serve effectively and for the long haul.

We are embarked upon a most exciting and challenging time in the life of orthodox Anglicans in America. The "old, old story of Jesus and his love" remains the same, the rich tradition of worship rooted in the Scripture, the life of the Holy Spirit and the Sacraments will continue to provide "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow," the hurts and sin and need of the world for a Savior are ever before us.

But the context of the ministry is changing. The benign, generic support of culture for "church work" and the network of institutional reinforcement is crumbling. Our students will not have the wealth of curacies which were available to many of us to help form them. Most of them will be thrown immediately into new missions or languishing parishes with very little collegial support. Most of them will face subtle and not so subtle opposition in a world and a culture (and a church!) that increasingly see gospel ministry as counter cultural and hostile to the aims of this world. This is, of course, a bracing opportunity! For indeed, the Gospel is counter-cultural and does call us to stand in opposition to those things that lead us away from obedience to Christ and his vision for the world's redemption.

The Communion of Saints

There is no such thing as an "individual Christian." Believers, whether ordained or not, depend at the most basic and profound level upon the communion of saints. There is meant to be an interdependence within the community of faith. This is especially critical at this moment of great transition in American Anglicanism when most of our students will be going into ministry settings that are still uncharted and fraught with challenges. The work of ministry is unceasing, hard to measure and the rewards are often hidden or deferred. Many of us have learned the hard way how crucial friends, colleagues, peer support, prayer groups and wise counsel can be – and how challenging it can be to find and maintain these supportive relationships.

Our prayer is that each graduate will add to his or her host of godly mentors while they are here at Trinity. That each would go forth in ministry with not only wise elders at the other end of a phone call or email, but with the beginning of a reflection group from among their peers to support them for the future. We would like to see students equipped with tools for active theological reflection on the stuff of ministry so that they may find themselves working both more deeply and more effectively in the gospel for a long and fruitful life of service. Some of those mentors will be faculty; others will be those they have come to know through the Mentored Ministry experience; still others will be peers and fellow graduates whose discernment and counsel they have come to trust and depend on. There will surely be some unexpected counsel along the way! Our prayer is that Trinity students will have perceptive spirits to seek out and find their Fellowship of Mentors and the tools to continue to be theologically reflective and responsive to the work of the Holy Spirit in the midst of ministry.

The Rev. Martha Giltinan is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Director of the Mentored Ministry Program at Trinity. This article was originally published in the September-October 2006 issue of Seed & Harvest.