This post is an excerpt from a previous post titled Mentoring: The Top Ten Things I Learned From Bill Ferrell. Each day this week i will repost two of the top ten mentoring lessons I learned. Enjoy!

Mentoring doesn’t generally happen within the context of official programmed ministries, but rather through relationships. An example of this is the 10+ years that I spent loitering around the office (and family room) of Pastor Bill Ferrell. At the time neither of us realized it, but as I look back there is no one person more responsible for my Christian maturity, real life experience in the local church, and where I am as a leader, husband, and dad than this man Bill in all his perfectly tanned golf obsessed glory. So without further ado, I give you:

The Top 10 Things I learned From Bill Ferrell: 7-8

7. “I Believe In You.” The man is not a softie, but I remember when he uttered the words “I believe in you” from the stage when my church ordained me as a pastor. It was no light statement. This is the man who had heard my entire life story, each sordid detail, when as a young twentysomething with a past I thought the only way to be a part of the church was to hand him each and every bone fragment one by one from the skeletons in my closet. He had to hear me talk about drugs, about sex, girls, grudges, fear… every mistake I consciously remembered from my life before I moved to Texas. I had so much trouble believing that a guy like me could be a part of a strong church. Now, thanks to having a chance under Bill, I invest in guys like me every chance I get.

8. “I wouldn’t” Not every opinion needs to be shared, especially each and every day.  Spending time around someone with a disciplined tongue will teach you this lesson a good way. Learning this lesson a bad way usually involves a bad outcome (death, dismemberment, or both). The only thing better than taking good advice, is sticking around people qualified to give it.

Tomorrow: #9 & #10