Non-urban mentors for Urban Ministry modules

[Andrew Lee]

I was wondering if anyone had a situation where a non-urban pastor was interested in mentoring a Capstone module from the Urban Missions department. Would you prefer someone with urban ministry or cross-cultural experience? I know that the Capstone curriculum can stand alone and the teaching is done mainly by the video. But would there be an advantage to have someone with urban ministry experience to mentor modules from that department? Especially as the students are familiar with urban life and situations. For that matter, would anyone hesitate to approve a mentor for any of the Capstone courses that has no urban ministry experience? Please share your thoughts/experiences on this topic.

[Don Davis]

While it is always preferable and desirable to recruit mentors for any and all Capstone courses (whatever the department), it is neither absolute or exclusive. Attracting humble, competent, and flexible mentors from suburban churches (i.e., the kind that neither patronizes nor belittles urban church spirituality, service, and mission) can be a remarkably valuable and enriching experience. The central element in this, of course, is proper vetting, leading, and overseeing of all mentors. In other words, the key to a successful class when mentored by someone who does not have urban ministry experience is the constant ongoing feedback provided to the mentor, and careful, clear evaluation of their classroom experience, and relationship with the students.

Here at Hope School we have recruited, trained, and used suburban pastors in our classes since 1996. The single thing that, perhaps, has been essential is how serious we are in sketching out for our mentors what kinds of goals we seek and what a classroom experience in a TUMI environment should be. We leave nothing for chance and take nothing for granted. We carefully explain our rationale and goal with each class, including each element of the class, and every purpose behind each element. We highlight certain things that can be misunderstood or ill-applied, such as grading or reading assignments, and warn of the potential danger of harming students in a class, if we fail to pay careful attention to the students, and not merely the processes of academics. We strongly exhort and challenge them not to make the classroom a display of their own academic or intellectual curiosity, and strongly urge them to draw out of the students all they can, while, at the same, strongly profess the truth of Scripture. If it sounds challenging, yes, it is. But, the right mentor, regardless of their background, can deepen and enrich the learning of the students, even if they are not urban.

In one way, we can allow the case studies in both the Contact and Case Studies sections of Capstone to help us, even do the heavier lifting. The vast majority of these scenarios are taken from actual urban ministry situations, and do not call for the "correct" answer but wise responses based on principles of Scripture and facts of experience. The key is not always urban experience, but wisdom to discern and to distinguish the truth in any experience. In one sense, while we unequivocally affirm the usefulness of urban ministry experience, what we desire most of all is both humility and Scriptural integrity. Humility will enable the mentor to always be open to what the Spirit may be saying through the learning environment, and Scriptural integrity will ensure that answers to ministry's most difficult dilemmas are sought from the Bible, not from the mentor's experience only (whether received from the city or the county).

If we can recruit mentors, either from the city or suburbia, who embody the lowliness and humility of Christ, are unflinchingly committed to the rigorous study of Scripture, and relentlessly seek in the Spirit to apply the wisdom of God to the thorny situations of life--this is what we seek. Wisdom is a premiere spiritual and intellectual virtue/quest/end for TUMI National, and if we are willing to recruit humble mentors, and hold their proverbial feet to the fire to stay in sync with our vision and purpose, we can use suburban mentors or urban ones, those whom the Spirit will lead us to recruit and empower in the classroom to teach. We should be open to non-urban mentors, but careful to inform and equip them for the unique job of equipping urban workers for the harvest.

Don