Mentoring God-Fearing Leaders
Much has been written about mentoring. The abbreviated mission statement that serves as the motto for International Baptist College and Seminary is “mentoring God-fearing leaders into ministry.” Mentoring is an integral part of the ethos of our college and a central aspect of our leadership development. Yet while mentoring is the process, it is not the goal. The essential question in mentoring is, “What are we seeking to accomplish?” At IBCS the goal of our mentoring is to raise up men and women who understand and apply the fear of the Lord.
The Fear of the Lord
There was a day when a Christian considered it an honor to be called a God-fearing person. Today we seldom hear someone referred to by that terminology. The emphasis on the fear of God seems to be missing in our society: “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:18). The secular culture has become openly hostile to the cause of righteousness. Biblical values are attacked and mocked. “Secularism has a daily routine in which God is essentially invisible, and practically irrelevant. Secularism has a routine which suggests that God does not matter” (de Bruyn 2013, 22). Sadly, the fear of the Lord has faded from within the Christian culture as well.
In an attempt to placate the critics and make church more appealing to the world, churches have promoted an unholy familiarity with God. The result is amusement over adoration, and a casual attitude has replaced a heart of consecration. Today’s professing Christians lack discernment to make choices based on principle; instead, they vacillate with the pull of personal preference, persuasive opinions, or the pressure of peers. Unfortunately, churches and colleges that cater to the cultural obsession with entertainment and enthusiasm for the trivial encourage superficial commitments. What is lacking is a biblical understanding of reverence, the holiness of God, and the fear of the Lord.
But what does a God-fearing individual look like? What vital characteristics and attitudes are present in such a life? In Proverbs 1 Solomon provides some fatherly counsel that is foundational to such considerations. The two primary purposes of the book are expressed in the second verse, “to know wisdom and instruction” and “to perceive the words of understanding.” The proverbs are given so that one who heeds them will be morally skillful and mentally discerning. How does Solomon encourage his son to gain this skill and discernment? Verse 7 provides the disposition needed to accomplish these purposes: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Presbyterian theologian John Murray wrote, “The fear of the Lord is the soul of godliness” (Murray 1957, 229). A biblical fear of God arises from a proper comprehension of the character of God. To fear the Lord means to hate evil (Prov. 8:13). Too often contemporary Christianity possesses an unfortunate caricature of the Lord that exalts the love of God and excludes the fear of God. The result of this misconception is that God is not properly revered or glorified. Those who revel in God’s mercy must also remember His majesty. As they are warmed by His love, they must be warned by His holiness.
Directing attention to the cross provides the necessary perspective to draw one in humble reverence to a loving and holy heavenly Father. The cross demonstrates God’s judgment on sin as well as His love in sending His Son to pay sin’s penalty. The hymn writer captured the tension when he wrote, “See from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?”
Both awe of His greatness and gratitude for His goodness are necessary and proper in expressing the fear of the Lord. “There’s a difference between holy and unholy familiarity with God” (Bridges 1998, 99). Because believers have “received the Spirit of adoption,” we cry out “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15). But God is also “the light which no man can approach unto” (1 Tim. 6:16). In working with college students we strive to mentor young people to stand in reverential awe of God’s glory and rejoice in wonderment at His grace.
Characteristics of a God-Fearing Person
A God-fearing person will possess a biblical understanding of reverence, the holiness of God, and what it means to truly fear the Lord. A God-fearing person will walk in a humble trust of the Lord. The familiar verses in Proverbs 3:5–6 urge us to walk humbly and trust in the Lord wholeheartedly. But verse 7 is especially applicable to the mentoring process: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” Young people today possess much knowledge. They excel in technology and the ability to access information. A couple of dangers of such intellectual prowess are (1) to assume that knowledge is the same as wisdom and (2) to become wise concerning evil. Jeremiah rebuked Israel for their cleverness in doing evil: “For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (4:22). A person can appear to be wise yet be a biblical fool. A God-fearing person will recognize that biblical foolishness is a spiritual issue, not an intellectual deficiency.
Young people with a biblical perspective will recognize that righteousness and lawlessness have no partnership, that light and darkness do not mix, that there is no harmony between Christ and Belial, and that the temple of God has no agreement with idols. One cannot walk with God and participate in idolatry (2 Cor. 6:14ff). The next generation of spiritual leaders must be “capable of defining good and holding it tight, and defining evil and holding it off” (McLaughlin 2015). A God-fearing person rejects the relativistic redefining of sin and shuns cultural corruption. “Living in the fear of God means living in the realization of accountability to him. . . . Living in godly fear means living in full light of God as a holy God who calls his people to holiness” (Tripp 1995, 187).
“To go through this world—this carnal, secular, evil world where the devil swishes his tail constantly and you can feel his hot breath on your neck—and yet to go through the world being a God-fearing man is an accomplishment. I’m telling you that only God can enable us to do it. So, fear God” (Tozer 1994, 116). Young people who fear God will experience the Lord’s favor. “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments” (Ps. 112:1).
At International Baptist College and Seminary, we are striving to mentor God-fearing leaders into ministry. This goal affects not only what we do but who we are. I regularly remind our team that “we mentor God-fearing leaders as we model God-fearing lives.”
Works Cited
Bridges, Jerry. The Joy of Fearing God. Colorado Springs, Colorado: WaterBrook Press, 1998.
de Bruyn, Dave. “Save Them from Secularism.” Self-published. 2013.
McLaughlin, Douglas R. “Shepherding the People of God.” CBTS class notes. 2015.
Murray, John. Principles of Conduct. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957.
Tozer, A. W. Success and the Christian. Zur Ltd., 1994. 116.
Tripp, Tedd. Shepherding a Child’s Heart. Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd Press, 1995.
At the time of original publication, Ken Endean was the president of International Baptist College and Seminary in Chandler, Arizona. He is now the pastor of Tri-City Baptist Church of Chandler.
(Originally published in FrontLine • September/October 2017. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.)