Leadership development requires a core group of mentors. This should include the pastor, of course, but must expand to include other staff and key volunteer leaders. The #1 reason seekers come to church is to find mentors who can help them endure the ambiguities and overcome the obstacles in life. Every great mentor is both evocateur and provocateur:

Evocateur                                               Provocateur

Intuit and tell the truth;                          Embody and reveal the real issue;

See what others see … but deeper;       Exaggerate to force attention;

Appeal to the longing to be better;         Hold up a mirror to reality;

Adapt any method to learn;                     Pace the aggravation and growth;

Focus on identity, not tactics;                  Communicate with nuggets of insight;

Acknowledge and reinforce.                      Doggedly persist.

These great points are adapted from John Schuster’s book Answering Your Call: A Guide for Living Your Deepest Purpose (Berrett-Koehler, 2003).