Category Archive for ‘Mentoring’ at Serving Bread

Archive for the 'Mentoring' Category

My Fifteen Minutes with Fame

Published

on November 9, 2007

in In The News, Mentoring, Ministry and Politics

. 1 Comment

Thanks for visiting my blog, Serving Bread. Here you'll read stories, insights, reflections and ramblings from a campus minister, father, husband and Jesus-follower. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Last night, I got a phone call from one of our core InterVarsity students and close friend Yemi (affectionately known as Sky). He is a board member of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and had been asked to speak at City Hall on the one year anniversary of the Michael Richards incident at the Laugh Factory, where the comedian dropped the N word in a derogative way toward Black patrons who did not care much for his jokes.

Sky asked me to accompany him for this historic moment. Councilman Bernard Parks invited Sky to speak in favor of a symbolic resolution calling for an end of the use of the N word.

Here is Sky in action:

And here’s me caught on TV walking to the press conference following the testimonies and the vote. That’s me in the red sweater.

Sky did a fantastic job, and though the event took way longer than it should have (our tax money at work), it was a joy to see Sky given such an incredible feat and (for both of us) to have an opportunity to rub shoulders with fame.I met Councilmembers Parks and Janice Hahn.I thanked Ms. Hahn for her work on the council and had a moment to chat with her about our ministry. She is a devout believer who had given a testimony at the Billy Graham Crusade in Pasadena a couple years ago.

I also had lunch with a few members of the NAACP, the attorney representing one of the victims in the Richards case, the young man she is representing, and Mrs. Parks (wife of Bernard Parks). Parks may not be my representative on the city council, but he does represent my church’s district. I shared with Mrs. Parks some of the ways that our church is trying to bring transformation to the community and got a contact of accessing some money from the city that would help us toward that end.

An irony of the day was seeing the uncanny resemblance of Council President Eric Garcetti to Nathan Petrolli of Heroes. If you know the show (I’m just familiar with Season 1), Petrelli is a politician on the show. They have similar looks and mannerisms.

I was glad to join Sky for the day. He is a young, black, emerging leader. It’s been a joy to serve as a mentor in his life, and I foresee great influence and transformation through Sky. When we influence students, we don’t know the kind of power we will be influencing in the future.

-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----

Related Posts:

Turn off your TV

Just wondering…

Apparently, God CAN fill up your tank

First day of (pre)pre-school

My First Run

Leadership Insight 1: Mentoring

Published

Eddy E

on June 26, 2007

in Leadership and Mentoring

. 0 Comments

All leaders need mentors. The leaders who claim that they have it all together and believe that they have a lot to give but nothing to receive are probably suffering from some form of narcissism. Regardless of age, effective leaders learn from others. I am always impressed when the people I respect the most, are still seeking to learn from mentors (whether they be living or historical).

Just this past week I stumbled upon Bobby Clinton’s website. Clinton is a professor at Fuller Seminary and one of the premiere voices and teachers of leadership, especially in the Christian realm. I have been influenced by him more than I probably know, since so much of his material and insights have made their way to the ethos of Southern California InterVarsity.

As I reflect on my leadership, mentoring is an important way for me to continue to be shaped by people I respect. Supervisors act as mentors, but so can others. What has been difficult for me is that the older I get, the more important it is for me to seek out the mentors. The onus of finding a mentor and developing a relationship with him or her falls on me.

Effective leaders seek out those mentors on a regular basis. I have noticed that lately, life has passing me by and I have failed to seek out those mentors—some of that has been because of my life circumstances that make it difficult to do that (being a primary care-giver) and some of that is because I have not been proactive about seeking them out. Continue reading ‘Leadership Insight 1: Mentoring’

-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----

Leadership Insight 26: Passive Leadership

Leadership Insight 12: Watch and Learn

Leadership Insight 30: It’s Messy

Leadership Insight 31: For better or for worse

Lessons from John Wesley

Published

Eddy E

on March 22, 2007

in Biography, Book Review and Mentoring

. 3 Comments

I was raised in the Presbyterian tradition, so [tag]John Wesley[/tag]’s theology should probably irritate me (especially if I were a pure Calvinist). I like Wesley. Some of the spiritual practices and life experiences of Wesley have drawn me to him over the past several years. I have been particularly intrigued by his response to failure, his pursuit of [tag]holiness[/tag], his attention to disciplines, his generosity, his passion, and his evangelism. He has become one of my [tag]historical mentors[/tag]. (But not enough to join the local Methodist Church)

In the past couple of days at a prayer retreat, I read one of his biographies and began assembling lessons from the life of John Wesley. Here are my notes: Continue reading ‘Lessons from John Wesley’

-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----

Related Posts:

Heroes with difficult marriages

Seven lessons on being a witness from John the Baptist in the Gospel of John

Leadership Insight 1: Mentoring

How much renewal do renewal movements bring?

Take this up with a toddler