Augustine as mentor, a model for preparing spiritual leaders

Lauded for his thoughts, Augustine of Hippo (354-430) has influenced virtually every philosopher of the last fifteen hundred years. But his personal character and ministry are even more remarkable, for in a time when most monastery dwellers sought solitude, Augustine was always in the company of friends, visiting disciples and writing mentoring letters to those he knew. Augustine as Mentor is written for modern day pastors and spiritual leaders who want to mentor and equip other evangelical Christians based on proven principles in matters of the heart like integrity, humility, faithfulness, personal holiness, spiritual hunger, and service to others. Author Ed Smither explains, “Augustine has something to offer modern ministers pursuing authenticity and longing to ‘preach what they practice.’ Through his thought, practice, success, and even failures, my hope is that today’s mentors will find hope, inspiration, and practical suggestions for how to mentor an emerging generation of spiritual leaders.”

Publisher: B & H publishing
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780805447071

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Edward L. Smither is assistant professor of Church History and Intercultural Studies at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the author of Augustine as Mentor. He previously taught in North Africa and France and holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from the University of Wales-Lampeter. Smither and his wife have three children.

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This book examines Augustine's pastoral theology. He demonstrates the importance Augustine placed on mentoring and discipleship for church leaders. However, as Smither's demonstrates, his practice of mentoring was not unique to him. Augustine learned from those who mentored him. Smither's begins with Christ and his disciples. Surveying the Scriptures he finds patterns and practices of Jesus and the apostles. Moving into the early church Smithers shows that the bishops and pastors followed these same patterns of Jesus in their context. Augustine's practice of mentoring was a heritage of faith passed down from Jesus and the apostles. His mother Monica, his friends, and church leaders like Ambrose, Simplicianus and Valerius all contributed to Augustine's growth. Smither's highlights three key areas in which they all mentored him in their own way: purity and piety, intellectual rigor and honest and friendship. Many Evangelicals may know of Augustine as an intellectal, but few probably know him as a close and caring friend. Smithers has written this book to present a model for Evangelical discipleship. Concerning the whole, Evangelicals do well at promoting piety. I believe they fail at intellectual discipleship. Augustine's mentoring was powerful because he combined all three with equal confidence and authority. It seems today we have many pastors and leader who know piety and friendship but care little for the intellect. Evangelicals also possess their fair share of intellectuals who care little for piety and friendship. They only care for being right. Neither of these will do. This book was rich with historical insight. Surprisingly (to my joy, I might add), it was well-written and enjoyable to read. His thesis was clear and his argument was easy to follow. It was written that we might learn from this important church figure. I learned a lot. This book will serve as an excellent tool in developing leaders and discipleship programs in local churches. Jacob Sweeney