By: Steve Wilmot
Edgerton, Ohio
Dr. Howard Hendricks spoke at the Promise Keepers (PK) Conference at the University of Colorado football stadium in Boulder in 1993. It was the first of many PK conferences I attended. All these years later, a few sentences from Dr. Hendricks stay with me still.
“Every disciple needs two types of relationships in his life. He needs a ‘Paul’ who can mentor him and challenge him. And he needs a ‘Timothy,’ someone that he can pour his life into.”
Moses selected Joshua as his “Timothy.” God told Moses on more than one occasion Joshua would be his successor. After Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land, he would drive out the inhabitants and oversee the settlement of the nation in the Land.
Moses was wise enough to know Joshua needed a mentor to prepare him for such a daunting task. So he took Joshua under his wing.
He challenged him, taught him, and answered his questions. Notably, he took Joshua with him everywhere he went. That’s when he showed him vital truths about God and leading people.
An example is worth a thousand words, they say. Jesus certainly concurs. When he selected the 12 disciples, Jesus’ modus operandi was to have them “with him” (Mark 3.14). Oh sure, he sat them down and taught them stuff.
But his primary practice was to take them with him to watch how he handled a variety of situations. They learned far more from observing Jesus than they did any other way.
The “with him” principle is key to mentoring. Success is found when a “Timothy” rubs shoulders with a “Paul.” He gets to observe his mentor in actual life situations, probe him about issues, and practice what he’s seen under the watchful eye of his mentor.
That’s what Moses did for Joshua. Moses stressed the most important item on Joshua’s daily to-do list was growing his relationship with God. That’s why he took Joshua into the tent of meeting (Exodus 33.7-11).
There Joshua saw Moses model the value of spending time alone with God. A regular appointment with God to question him, to listen as God told him what to do next, and to find a reprieve from the pressures and criticism thrown at him by those he led. These times with God encouraged and refreshed him. But most of all, he and God became better friends.
Moses’ decision to pull Joshua aside and pour into him over so many years was critical for the future of the nation.
In his letter to Timothy near the end of his life, Paul affirms the “with him” concept Jesus and Moses modeled and Dr. Hendricks emphasized. “And the things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2.2).
Here’s the pattern. Someone pours into your life; you pour into someone else’s life; then that person pours into someone else’s life, and on and on it goes. That’s what Dr. Hendricks means when he says you need a…
— Paul — someone who is a few steps further down the road on their spiritual journey than you are.
Someone who is helping you progress on your spiritual journey. — Timothy = someone who is a couple of steps behind you on their spiritual journey who you are helping to mature in Christ.
Who is your Paul? Who is your Timothy?
Please don’t write this off as unimportant. Like Joshua of all people did. It became a black mark on his legacy and should serve as a warning to us.
The guy who accomplished great things for Israel (conquered the Promised Land), trusted God when few others did (spies, Numbers 13-14), and obeyed God even when it made little sense (Jericho, Joshua 6) failed to follow Moses’ pattern with him. He didn’t pick a Timothy to groom as his replacement when he died… with tragic results.
“After that generation died [Joshua’s], another generation grew up, who did not know the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal… In those days Israel had no king; everyone did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 2.10-11; 21.25, NLT).
So let me ask you again: Who is your Paul? Who is your Timothy?
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.