This Sunday, in our sermon series Fresh Starts to Finish Well, we come to our fourth Christian imperative for aging well – mentoring.

As we age, we yearn to leave a legacy that helps those younger.  Mentoring is the natural and generous expression of this yearning.

Mentoring is about transmitting lessons that are eternal.  We may not be up on the musical tastes and technology of the young – how much do you know about Billie Eilish, Spotify or Venmo?  But the young and old are connected by eternal wisdom.

You can see that in those photos of the aging basketball coach, John Wooden, as he coached his young, UCLA players.  He wasn’t just teaching the latest basketball plays – he was transmitting eternal lessons.  Wooden famously began each year’s practice drills by teaching players how to put on their sweat socks and basketball shoes properly – right down to tightening and tying the laces!

His point?  The small, repeated actions we do each day are the basis of life’s success or failure.  That’s mentoring eternal wisdom!

This Sunday we’ll hear the Apostle Paul’s call for Christian leaders who can mentor.  Paul insists that mentors stay away from useless controversies and squabbling.  He calls church leaders to be mentors of eternal wisdom.

Could our church fulfill Paul’s call?  Could we commit to mentor the young in our lives?  We’ll reflect on that challenge and yearning this Sunday.