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Mentors From History

One of the greatest resources we have as Christians is the two millennia of faithful Christians that have gone before us. They span countless languages, come from many nations, and have lived on almost every continent (Antarctica being the obvious exception). These people have lived through persecutions, natural disasters, and cultural breaking points many times over and through it all their witness to Christ remained strong.

Many Christians today don't have even the simplest understanding or appreciation of the history of their own faith. This leads to many negative things. History helps us see that Christianity and the Church are far larger than our own particular nation, culture, and time. We often get so caught up in our own particular culture war that we forget that the Church of Jesus Christ is not limited to America. In fact, most Christians in the world do not live in the USA!

The question is how do we get over this hurdle? How can we better engage our own history in a way that is beneficial but also manageable? After all two thousand years is a lot of time, people, and writings. 

One way is to choose a historical mentor. Most of us have mentors of one kind or another in our lives today. They are people we have learned from, listen to, and respect. Though we may not always end up agreeing with our mentors we always listen to what they have to say and allow them to help shape our own understanding. 

The same is true of choosing a historical, spiritual mentor. Choose a Christian from the past who has written things about the faith and learn from them. Sit at their feet and listen to what they have to say. Will you agree with everything they say? Of course not, but you will learn a lot. Let this person speak for themselves and hear what wisdom they offer. Notice both how differently they discuss the faith due to their own cultural context and how the fundamentals haven't changed a bit.

Here are some good candidates to choose as a mentor - Augustine of Hippo, Irenaeus of Lyons, John Chrysostom, Basil of Caesarea, Maximus the Confessor, Athanasius of Alexandria, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, Karl Barth. 

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