For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:13-14a.
Our Creator intricately and intentionally wove together every detail of your mentees’ beings. They are blessed with spiritual gifts, personalities, experience, skills, and strengths. And each has his struggles, temptation zones, pitfalls, and fears. Even though sin is embedded in them, that does not take away from the truth that a perfect God knit your mentees together just the way he wanted to according to his perfect plan.
God also “prepared good works in advance for them to do” (Eph 2:10). Just as each piece of the “full armor of God” is a metaphor for preserving their spiritual health and safety in a big picture, heaven-hell kind of way, we can also infer that he’ll equip them well for all of their callings and roles in life in a day-to-day and year-to-year way – for all of the good works he’s planned for them to carry out. The point: Remind them that they are “on purpose” creations for service in “on purpose” locations and in “on purpose” roles and callings. Help them press this into their hearts and minds! And, of course, undergirding and driving all of this is their identity in Christ; that a holy God made a plan for unconditional love to intersect with justice at the cross is breathtaking. Remind them of their never-changing status in the eyes of our never-changing God as he sees them through a never-changing Savior.
With the firm footing of the Gospel and all associated truths and promises in place, you might help them identify and use various tools and services in supporting your mentees in various ways. The CliftonStrengths instrument is one of those tools for helping to unpack just a bit of the careful and thoughtful “knitting work” by our heavenly Designer.
Ideally, your mentees will have their list of all 34 Strengths so they can draw more and deeper insights. Consider reminding your mentees of some of the foundational elements of this tool:
-
Strengths are not skills; they are “lenses” that help inform HOW your mentees see people, challenges, opportunities, relationships, conflict, self, etc. That HOW will typically help drive WHAT they think, say, and do.
-
Every person has all 34 Strengths, and every person can operate in all 34 Strengths. This tool is not meant to paint anyone into a corner by implying a “can or can’t” mindset with various tasks and responsibilities.
-
There is no one best set of Strengths for “this or that” calling, role, or vocation; the key is to “lean into” their top Strengths as much as they are able.
-
The list of 34 is a continuum; the higher on the list the more natural, effective, and energizing . . . and as they move down the list of 34, they find they need to focus more and they may be less productive/efficient.
We would offer that a Strength is truly a Strength when it is being leveraged for others and for our Lord in response to the Gospel. This is true within the body of Christ as a whole and especially within the various subsets of the larger body (marriage/family, extended family, friends, colleagues, etc.).
Some reminders/encouragement to help your mentees more fully leverage this tool:
-
That each Strength brings with it some strong “upside” – but also a number of potential “downside” – manifestations. We refer to these as “balconies” and “basements,” and your mentees can be in both at the same time. (Example: Responsibility Strength – Balcony: conscientious, dependable, productive, thorough; Basement: can’t say “no,” overcommits, unfair self pressure, feeling the weight of the world). Help your mentees be aware of the potential basements of their top Strengths. And that basement scenario really comes into play when the pressure in life is high.
-
That some Strengths “don’t play nicely with each other.” Their lying enemy and their sinful nature will conspire to dig in, to believe their “lens system” is the best one. This can lead to unhealthy conflict; instead, by honoring other people’s lenses, they can see a fuller picture, and come to the best way forward for the sake of the larger mission and vision for family, ministry, etc.
-
That God places people in your mentees’ lives as part of his purposeful plan. Encourage them to be intentional in tapping others to get different perspectives. If people are united on their overarching mission, vision, and core values, they’ll see these different perspectives in a more positive light. This helps build trust and creates an environment for necessary, healthy conflict to move things forward in a God-pleasing way.
Your Creator God is blessing your work. We pray this quick look at this facet of his powerful “knitting work” is helpful in your efforts!
Steve Granberg – Ministry Leadership Partner
Grace in Action (a WELS Partner Ministry)
For more on identity in mentoring, check out the following articles: