Omniscience, Omnipresent, Omnipotence. These are big words that describe three characteristics of God.  He is omniscient.  He is omnipresent.  He is omnipotent.  But do we actually know what these words mean?  Moreover, where do we find these specific words in the Bible?  Truth is, the terms "omniscient", "omnipresent", and "omnipotent" don't actually occur anywhere in the Bible, yet we know that God is all three.  The Bible DOES describe these three terms, even if it doesn't use them specifically.  John is flying solo this week to show us where these characteristics of God show up in Scripture, and how we can lead our mentees into understanding both the concept, and the significance of these three characteristics in their lives.Purchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

169. Big Words, Bigger Meaning

It's the middle of January, which means we've had a chance to make (and fail at) some New Year's Resolutions.  But the reality of life is that we make time for the things that are truly important to us.  So how does that play into mentoring relationships?  Well, maybe we've recognized towards the end of last year that our relationship with our mentee isn't going as well as we hoped or thought is would.  Maybe we're starting to think that we need to do these grand gestures to win over our mentee's trust.  The new year, though, affords us a chance to renew our vision for mentoring.  Zach and John are back together this week to talk through some things to think about and meditate on as you reflect on your mentoring relationship and where you want it to grow.  They also provide some tips on how you can help the relationship grow closer.Purchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

168. The Simplicity of Mentoring

The life of a mentoring organization involves implementing programs.  Maybe it’s as simple as a mentoring program where individual mentors are connected with individual mentees.  Maybe it’s an after school program where a group of mentees show up and work through a curriculum.  Maybe it’s getting a sweet old muscle car and working with the students to restore it to its former glory.  Whatever the program is, it first needs to gain some traction.  Our newest host, John Barnard, is flying solo this week to bring a word of encouragement on how you, as the leader of an organization, can gain traction on some of the programs you want to implement.  He puts into focus the three main facets of planning a new program: the who, the what, and the where.Purchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

167. Person, Program, Place

More and more, Americans are stating that they feel burned out.  With the holiday season in full swing, and Christmas right around the corner, those feelings of burnout are even more prevalent.  There's traveling, gift purchasing and wrapping, parties, school concerts, and any number of other commitments in each week.  But that burnout can negatively impact your relationship with your mentee.  After all, if you're exhausted all the time, you're less likely to be attentive to the needs of your mentee.  Our newest host, John Barnard, is flying solo this week to bring you an encouraging word on how you can navigate the holiday season without burning out.Purchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

166. The Four R's of Christmas Break

When a bone breaks, the recovery process goes through three stages: reactive, reparative, and remodeling.  It takes a while for each of these stages to occur, but the bone ultimately heals back stronger than it was before.  Interestingly, the healing of a bone after a break is the perfect metaphor for when a mistake is made in the mentoring relationship.  The relationship experiences the same stages of reacting, repairing, and remodeling.  John Barnard takes over the podcast as our newest host with Zach as his guest as they discuss what the mentoring relationship looks like in each of these three stages and how you can press into helping your mentee grow while going through the process.Purchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

165. Broken Bones: When Mentees Make Mistakes

The crucial differences which distinguish human societies and human beings are not biological. They are cultural.  This quote by Ruth Benedict proves to be true time and time again.  Society is determined by how that group of people operate.  Each person belongs to at least one culture, and often belong to several subcultures at the same time.  And yet, with all of these different cultures out there, people tend not to know how a person from another culture operates.  Cultures can teach us a whole new world view, and while that doesn't necessarily mean we need to adopt that culture, it can certainly help us relate to the people in that culture.  Mentoring is often a bridge between cultures.  The mentor will more than likely have a different set of experiences in their life than their mentee will.  Zach and John are back this week to talk through what kinds of things different cultures can teach us, how we can be open to learning from other cultures in our mentoring relationships, and how all of that factors in to Zach walking into a skate shop in Waco.Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

164. What Different Cultures Can Teach Us / Zach Walks Into A Skate Shop

One of the core values at Forerunner Mentoring is "trust the process".  It's this idea that as a mentor, you're not always going to see the fruit of your mentoring relationship.  You may be sowing seeds that won't blossom until years after your official mentoring relationship with your mentee ends, and that can be discouraging.  But what you can do is operate in faith, knowing that God's in control of the relationship and that all of those negatives that you see are being worked together for His good purposes.  Zach flies solo this week to bring an encouraging word about how we can trust the process in our mentoring relationships and trust in God's perfect timing. Purchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

163. God's Timing Is Greater Than Our Timing

Growing old is a fact of life.  It’s inevitable and unavoidable.  Most people hate growing old and do everything in their power to avoid it.  But what if growing old isn’t a curse?  What if it’s a blessing?Zach and John Barnard from Middleman Ministries are hosting this week to talk through the benefits of growing old and how that can benefit your mentoring relationship.  Tune in to also hear what how basketball and the 2002 All Stars game has to do with growing old.Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

162. Old is Gold with John Barnard from Middleman Ministries

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  These words, found in Matthew 6 are the start of the most famous prayer in history: the Lord’s prayer.  It was a response to Jesus’ disciples asking him to teach them how to pray.  Many people use it as the basis for their own prayer life, and it can be a helpful tool to teach your mentee how to begin theirs.  John Barnard from Middleman Ministries is back with Zach this week to talk through what exactly these words mean and how they can encourage us on a daily basis as we meditate on them.Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

161. Guiding Your Mentee Through The Lord's Prayer

What does a shepherd do?  They protect and guide their sheep.  They show their sheep the way.  In a way, they love their sheep.  Jesus is known as the Good Shepherd, and models all of these things for us.  Zach is flying solo today to bring a short, but encouraging word to all you mentors out there about how Jesus is our Good Shepherd, how he calls us to be shepherds for our mentees, and how we can live that calling out.Purchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

160. The Good Shepherd

How are people experiencing me as a mentor?  What do people feel when I walk into the room?  Every person has a presence.  It's that thing people notice about them when they walk into a room, either positive or negative.  It's the experience people have in interacting with you.  So what is your presence as a mentor?  How is your mentee impacted when you show up?  Stephen "Murr-dawg" Murray is finally back on the podcast as Zach's special guest this week to help unpack how you can use your presence to benefit your mentee.Let Stephen or Zach know how you feel about a Mentoring Conference sometime next year:zach@youcanmentor.comstephen@youcanmentor.comPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

159. The Presence of a Mentor

It takes a village to raise a child.  We’ve all heard this old saying, but it’s absolutely true; community is vital in every person’s life.  We were never meant to do life alone.  But how do you include your mentee in your community?  What does it look like to help them develop their own community?  In the final installment of our Pillars of Mentoring series, Zach and John Barnard talk about these questions as well as the three areas of community and the three I’s of what community even is.Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

158. Pillars of Mentoring: Community

Why are you here?  What are you supposed to be doing with your life?  What is the reason for your existence?  These questions seem aggressive in how they're phrased, but the fact of the matter is we all ask ourselves these questions.  As they grow, your mentee is asking themself these questions too.  So how do we help them discover their purpose in life?  Zach is back with John Barnard from Middleman Ministries this week to share about the second of the three pillars of mentoring: purpose, and how you can help your mentee discover their vision, skills, and action steps to live out their calling.Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

157. Pillars of Mentoring: Purpose

Who are you?  Are you what you do? Are you where you're from? Are you your parents?  Are you your neighborhood?  Are you your talents?  Who does God say you are?  All of these questions target the same thing: identity.  Who we are is the one of the most critical questions we try to answer as we navigate our lives, and the foundation for how we see the world.  And the world is quick to answer it.  So how do we, as mentors, speak identity over our mentees?  How do we speak THEIR identity over them and not OUR identity?  Zach and John unpack this topic in this week's episode.Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

156. Pillars of Mentoring: Identity

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."  Benjamin Franklin said these words about what it takes to actually impart knowledge on someone.  In mentoring, these words prove true.  These words also point to each of the three levels involved in teaching something to another person: the head, the heart, and the hands.  But what does it mean to teach something at each of these levels?  Zach is back this week with John Barnard from Middleman Ministries to talk through what it looks like to teach your mentee at each of these levels, and why each is important.Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

155. Pillars of Mentoring: The Three Levels of Teaching

Did you know that a mentor wears three hats?  Sometimes it's one at a time.  Sometimes it's all three in the same mentoring encounter.  But at some point in the relationship, every mentor will fill the role of the farmer, the miner, and the tour guide.  So what do each of these roles do?  John Barnard is back with Zach this week for the second episode of our Pillars of Mentoring series to define how to fill each of these roles. Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

154. Pillars of Mentoring: The Three Hats a Mentor Wears

There are several pillars to an effective mentoring relationship.  After all, if there isn't trust, love, or respect, then the relationship can't thrive.  But trust, love, and respect aren't necessarily pillars.  They're important, but they stem from three key elements that all relationships possess.  Zach is back this week with special guest John Barnard from Middleman Ministries to start a new series on the three pillars of mentoring:  Identity, Purpose, and Community.  This week, John shares his thoughts on why identity is so important and does a deep dive into a lesser known passage in 2 Samuel about how identity plays a role in a person's life.Reach out to John:john@middleman-ministries.orgCheck out Middleman Ministries:https://www.middleman-ministries.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

153. Pillars of Mentoring: The Story of King David the Mentor

There's an old saying: "It takes a village."  Of course, this has many different connotations and interpretations, but the point is that community is a necessity to accomplish any goal.  That community is built through collaboration.  Zach is on this week with Jon Passavant from Start Up Waco to talk through how to collaborate with other members of your community to accomplish everyone's goals.  He shares a real, powerful example of a time when that almost didn't happen and the lessons he learned from that experience.Check out Start Up Waco:https://startupwaco.comReach out to Jon:info@startupwaco.comPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

152. Encouraging Others Through Collaboration with Jon Passavant from Start Up Waco

One of the most unique challenges for mentoring ministries in America is the idea of separation of Church and State.  It's this idea that prevents most mentors from actively sharing the gospel with their mentee while at school and can prove to be a hurdle for the organizations they volunteer with.  Kids Hope USA, however, has found a solution to that challenge.  Zach is joined by Dr. Karen Pearson, the President of Kids Hope USA, to discuss what they do, how they do it on such a small budget, and how they manage to get around the idea of separation of Church and State while simultaneously CONNECTING the Church and State in a mentoring relationship.Check out Kids Hope:https://kidshopeusa.orginfo@kidshopeusa.orgPurchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

151. Connecting The Local Church and Local School in Mentoring with Dr. Karen Pearson from Kids Hope USA

Not every mentor gets to see the fruit of their labors.  Often, a mentee will move away or seem like they're not responding to the mentoring in the moment.  But the truth is that as you engage in the mentoring relationship, those seeds are getting planted.  Retired Lt. Cubit is back hosting this week with his Kendrick Littleton, who was once Lt. Cubit's mentee.  Today, they share a number of stories of the impact Cubit had on Kendrick's life, and how Kendrick transformed from a gang member into a youth mentor.Purchase the You Can Mentor book:  You Can Mentor: How to Impact Your Community, Fulfill the Great Commission, and Break Generational Cursesyoucanmentor.com 

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