As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
“Mentoring relationships take many forms. Perhaps one familiar to most people is when an older person (the mentor) guides, tutors, coaches, or otherwise influences a younger person (the protégé) in a profound, lasting way. This is the sort of relationship that Mentor had with Telemachus and that Paul had with Timothy…
However, the more one investigates the practice of mentoring in our society, the more one finds an interesting phenomenon: many of the characteristics that define mentor/protégé relationships are also taking place among people who are basically the same age — within five or six years of each other. At first one is tempted to describe these simply as friendships, but they are actually peers mentoring each other. Peer mentoring has enormous benefits, and I strongly encourage you to pursue these kinds of relationships.”
Howard Hendricks & William Hendricks in As Iron Sharpens Iron: Building Character in a Mentoring Relationship (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995) 32.
This was “seminary week” for the Hoags.
Jenni spent Monday through Wednesday with faculty, administrators, students, and other Hiller Fellows at Sioux Falls Seminary. Upon returning home, she shared how enriching the experience was with Ruth Haley Barton and others, and that it inspired her to further interaction with peers engaged in soul care and spiritual direction work.
Then I flew to Dallas and am edified by the privilege of facilitating discussions with leaders of 14 seminaries at Dallas Theological Seminary (where the late Howard Hendricks taught for years). When peers come together, they are a gift to each other. They share everything from best practices to lessons learned (often the hard way).
Find peers with whom to collaborate in the kingdom. Share generously what you have learned as a gift to others, and in God’s economy you too will reap enormous benefits.