Mentoring is a great opportunity for senior adults who have the time and the wisdom to share with a young person. We often refer to senior adults as the Builder Generation. They helped to build a great nation, and they can help build the next generation. Over Thanksgiving, we went to visit my in-laws. My father-in-law is in a nursing home, and we spent some time with him. He gave my son timely advice: "Follow your dreams. Be your best. You are the greatest. Life is short." Not long after that conversation, a senior adult woman by the name of Anita pulled up beside us in a wheelchair. I introduced my little girl to her, and she said, "Anna, childhood is a wonderful thing. You can enjoy the simple things in life. Adulthood is so full of complexities. Enjoy the moment and make the most of it. Life is too short to do otherwise." You won't hear that pearl of wisdom in the mall or on the interstate. You won't hear that advice from a Boomer or a Buster. Are you willing to let a builder mentor you and pass on the wisdom of the ages?

Proverbs 13:20 instructs us, "He who walks with wise men becomes wise." Boomers, Busters, GenXers, how many senior adults do you know in this congregation? Builders, how many teenagers do you know in this church? We are to weave an inter-generational tapestry of cooperation and mutual respect that cannot be torn by the strife of contemporary issues facing all businesses, families, and churches.

A young college student by the name of Bill walked into church one Sunday. Bill was a brilliant young man, but he wore jeans, went bare foot, and looked like a hippy. That Sunday morning he walked into church, and the church was packed. Bill couldn't find a seat, but he was searching for answers from God, so he meandered down the aisle and plopped down on the floor in the front of the pulpit. About that time, a very dignified and elderly usher walked down the aisle with his cane. Everyone could hear his cane click. Everybody understood what would soon transpire. Everybody braced for the confrontation.

The old man leaned over and said, "Son, don't you have any sense? You can't sit here. Haven't you ever been to church before? Go and sit in the back somewhere." No, that's not what the usher did or said, as everyone expected. Instead, when the senior adult got to the young man, he sat down next to Bill on the floor. The senior adult and the young man worshiped together at the feet of Jesus. The congregation was touched with emotion. Finally, the minister resumed his sermon and said, "What I am about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget." Builders, we all deplore the declining values of the new generations, so what are you doing about it? Senior adults, God wants you to help preserve those vanishing values and give the world the love of Jesus Christ. As mentors and models, you can still be the spiritual Babe Ruths, Hank Aarons, Mark McGuires. You may not get around the bases like you used to, but God still wants you to be grand-slam Christians and help win the next generation for Christ.

Recently, Charles Schultz, the creator of Charlie Brown, died. Within the same hour, the legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Tom Landry, died. Both Charles Schultz and Tom Landry were devout Christians. One cartoonist showed both in heaven at the same time. Tom Landry put his arms around little Charlie Brown and said, "Come on Charlie Brown. Let's work on that kicking game." The coach was there to help his student to be his best and do his best. This is mentoring at its finest: One Christian helping another Christian become more Christ-like. On the journey towards excellence, let's become grand-slam Christians whose mission is to model Christ and mentor others who want to be more like Jesus.
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Edward Erwin is pastor of the First Baptist Church in Shelbyville, KY.
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1 Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 130.
2 Bob Biehl, Mentoring, (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1996), 26.
3 Howard and William Hendricks, As Iron Sharpens Iron, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 132.
4 Biehl, Mentoring, 181.
5 Ibid., 171.
6 Ibid., 19.
7 Howard and William Hendricks, As Iron Sharpens Iron, 18.
8 Ibid., 21.