Leadership God's Way: Mentoring our 'Samuels'
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Concern over
what he sees as a leadership vacuum in the Free Methodist Church —
and the very real danger of diluting our theological heart — three
years ago led Gateway’s Superintendent Dale Winslow to create a program
for identifying, mentoring and placing young leaders.
“One
of our main jobs as leaders,” says Winslow, “is to identify
the disciples around our feet. We don’t want to be like sleepy-eyed
Eli who failed to assist Samuel — until he finally realized
God was calling.”
The superintendent
has regularly asked his pastors (Elis), “How is it with your Samuel(s)?”
Everyone has been encouraged to name his or her Samuels, describe specific
in-place training, preaching opportunities, relational supervision, etc.
Every spring,
Gateway’s Elis and Samuels attend a special brunch. The first gathering
brought 120 together; the second and third garnered 60 each as the process
and participants became more clearly defined.
Proof that
the Samuels Ministry is working? For one, Gateway approved 14 ministerial
candidates at its most recent annual conference. And, one Samuel is now
pastoring: Kristine Marshall at St. Louis, Living Water FMC (Winchester,
MO), where her “Eli” — former pastor Paul Delashaw (now
serving in Auburn, WA) — invited her and her husband to spend time
with his family. “We have a friendship that goes beyond mentoring,”
she says. Now Living Water has a new pastor who’s on fire for God
and equipped to lead well.
As Winslow
leaves the Gateway Conference to pastor an FM church in Southern California,
he says the identifying, equipping and employing — especially of
“second-career” Samuels (those who have been successful leaders
in the secular arena and now feel called to ministry) — will be his
main work.
“This sort of organic/relational mentoring didn’t happen to me,” he adds. “Seminary was great, but I always wished for someone to be an Eli to me.” Most probably, Winslow’s loss is now Free Methodism’s gain.
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