NoelHeikkinen.com

Mentors

Jan 9, 2007 Print This Post

.:mood:. Really Good
.:itunes:. Why Georgia by John Mayer

I wanted to take a quick break from message prep to share something that has been on my brain for awhile:

Mentors.

I have a whole bunch of them, and some of them don’t even know they mentor me. Each of these people affect my life in different ways, but they all significantly shaped how I did ministry in 2006.

Since this year I didn’t post my annual year end review, I thought I’d give you a list of my top ten 2006 mentors instead. I really have no way of categorizing them, though, so I’m going to place them in alphabetical order.

Mark Bowen
My friend Mark is one of a dozen or so pastors at Evergreen Community Church in the Minneapolis area. Mark has been a great example to me of a pastor in a large church that still has a commitment to a team approach to pastoring. Every time we talk, it seems like he empowers me more and more to do ministry well in this model. Not to mention his love of a fine cigar over a game of pool. It’s our annual tradition that I hope continues for a long time. Not too mention the amazing voice mails he leaves me. Last week’s was:

“Hello, Noel, this is your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am calling to ask you to wake up and fly right. OK. Bye.”

Mark Driscoll
I have never met Mark, although I have been closely following his ministry for a couple years. Dan and I even hit a conference at Mars Hill Church and went to one of their services. For a couple years, I would listen to all of Mark’s sermons. I have been fasting from that for about six months, though, because I found myself sounding too much like him and not enough like myself. At the same time, I have stayed current on his blog and his most recent book is an absolute must read for any growing church and I have read it several times. His descriptions of small vs large churches in the appendix is worth the price of the book.

Grace Heikkinen
I know it’s kinda shmarmy, but I have to list my wife here. We have been married over 11 years and just like any marriage, we’ve had our ups and downs. One of the greatest areas that God tests my character is in my marriage. This year, my wife has been a great example to me in several areas which I am going to leave private. In addition, she exemplifies the wisdom of Bruce Nolan:

“Behind every good man is a woman rolling her eyes.”

The Heikkinen Kids
Each of my kids is so different and that is a great part of my personal discipleship. Daily, I need to figure out how to be a dad and spiritual leader to each of them differently. As my kids are getting a little older, I am enjoying them more and more and seeing how vital their influence is on my life. I have probably apologized more to my kids this year than anyone else. They have taught me humility in a big way.

Andrew Jones
There are a very few blogs that I try to read consistently. Most blogs, I skim. Andrew’s, I read. I agree with a lot he writes. I disagree with some. But more than anything, I learn how to think and lead from reading his blog.

Ray Pritchard
A couple years ago, someone suggested I email Ray because a situation in our church paralleled his church. I emailed him and he quickly emailed me back. Each time I have written to him, I get a response. Sometimes it’s long, usually it’s just a few sentences. It wasn’t until quite some time later, when he sent me a copy of his most recent book, that I discovered that he pastored a very large church. He is one of the most unpretentious people and the fact that he always took time to respond to my emails as the pastor of a large church both honored and humbled me. I am so bad at getting back with people, and I am sure I am no where as busy as him. Whenever I get a backlog of email, I think of Ray and I hunker down and respond to everyone in my inbox. Even if it is a sentence or two, it matters.

Todd Rhoades
Hands down my favorite daily read is Monday Morning Insight, Todd’s site. He consistently has great content that is so practical in my ministry life.

Michael Spencer
Michael is a bit of a famous guy online. His blog, InternetMonk.com, as well as the Boar’s Head Tavern (which he runs), are very popular. He has a great mind for theology and a great heart for the Gospel. Whenever I read his site, I think he must be some big wig pastor in a big urban city doing cutting-edge ministry. Then, this year I got a chance to meet Michael at his school Oneida Baptist Institute. This is a little boarding school in the middle of nowhere in Kentucky. His home is humble, his position is humble, but where else would you find a man with a great mind for theology and a humble heart but in a place that needs him to do ministry? Michael is a challenge to me in many many ways.

The Riverview Pastors
I have the pleasure of pastoring with 4 amazing co-pastors. Each of them is very very different and they each challenge and balance me out in ways you can’t even imagine. Doing my job with these men makes me sad for any pastor who has to go it alone. Even this morning, I sat down with 3 of them and asked for their help getting a log out of my eye. I love that I can trust them with that difficult task.

Greg Van Nada
Greg? Well, he caringly pointed out the log in my eye yesterday. Greg is truly a pastor of pastors. He is US Churches Director with Great Commission Ministries and we have the pleasure of having him as a member of our church. Despite his many years of experience and his extraordinary gifts, he always goes out of his way to honor me as one of his pastors. It’s surreal to travel to conferences with Greg and hear him introduce me as “his pastor.” It strikes me every time because of the amount of pastoring he does in my life. He has really helped me see some areas that need work in my life this past year.

Well, there you go, folks. My top 10 mentors of 2006. I’m gonna go home now.