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Mentoring often sounds like the perfect way to steward your time in retirement—until you try it and realize it’s not as intuitive as you'd hoped.

For many retirees, mentoring seems like a meaningful way to invest in the next generation—a way to put their life experience to work. But what if we’ve misunderstood how mentoring fits into God’s design for this season of life? Jeff Haanen joins us with practical stories and spiritual insight to help us reframe it.

Jeff Haanen is an accomplished entrepreneur and the founder of the Denver Institute for Faith & Work. He is the author of An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God’s Purpose for the Next Season of Life and Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World.

Retirement is often marketed as the reward for decades of hard work—a long-awaited season of leisure and personal fulfillment. But what if there's a deeper, richer invitation waiting for us in this chapter of life? What if retirement isn’t just about what we get—but what we give?

Retirement isn’t the end of our calling. It’s a fresh opportunity to steward our lives for God’s Kingdom in powerful new ways. One of the most meaningful ways we can do that is through mentoring—especially when we reimagine it as intergenerational friendship.

Many of us picture mentoring as a formal, structured relationship: scheduled coffee dates where the older offers wisdom and the younger listens. While these settings can be helpful, we’ve found that mentoring is most fruitful when it grows from an organic, mutual friendship.

Rather than casting ourselves as sages who dispense advice, we’re invited to be fellow travelers—learning, laughing, sharing, and growing together. Intergenerational friendships emphasize mutual respect, shared experiences, and spiritual growth over time.

This vision of mentoring as a form of friendship has deep roots in Scripture. Jesus said to His disciples, “I no longer call you servants… I have called you friends” (John 15:15). The Apostle Paul invested in Timothy, Elijah mentored Elisha, and Naomi walked with Ruth—but in each of these relationships, we find more than just a teacher and a student. We see companions whose hearts were knit together in love and trust.

In God’s upside-down Kingdom, wisdom flows both ways. The older bring experience and insight; the younger bring hope, energy, and perspective. Together, we become more like Christ.

Through our own journey and through observing others, we've seen several elements that make these relationships truly flourish:

• Delight in the Next Generation. Mentoring starts not with duty but with joy. When we find genuine delight in those younger than us—when we enjoy being with them, listening, and learning—we build the foundation for real connection.
   
• Affirm Before Advising. Many younger adults are uncertain about their calling or whether they have what it takes. A word of affirmation can be far more powerful than advice. Encouragement builds trust and opens the door to growth.
   
• Lead with Vulnerability. We don’t need to have i

The Bible tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It says to put on the mind of Christ. The Lord wants us to, “Be holy as I am holy.” It’s our thoughts, our motives and our actions that set us apart as believers. It helps us do our job as ambassadors of Christ. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to an Old Testament story that shows us how to be a channel through which the love of God can flow to others. A message of encouragement from the life of David.

Listen on harvest.org

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A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

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Today on Bold Steps … Pastor Mark Jobe shows us how to not get swept away in the battles. The topic the apostle Paul touches on in Ephesians 6 … is that there is an unseen world all around us … and that we’re actually in a battle. There are lots of people who are not tuned in to the spiritual realms, but we ARE at war … and more than ever, it’s evident by what we are seeing in our culture. We’re seeing the effects of this spiritual war in both our secular and Christian communities. We need to know what victory and winning the battle looks like.

Bold Step Gift: ENVY: A BIG PROBLEM YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD

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To maintain a lie, some have built an entire network of secrecy around what they’ve done. But their house of lies will inevitably crumble. In this message, Pastor Lutzer calls us to confess to the full extent of the deception. Are we willing to make things right, regardless of the cost?

This month’s special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at https://rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. 

The post If you’re a Christian, you should know it. appeared first on Key Life.

Two simple words encapsulate all the glorious benefits and blessings of the Christian life: “In Christ.” Today, Sinclair Ferguson begins to show us the profound meaning of this phrase that permeates the New Testament.

Request Union with Christ, the new book by Sinclair Ferguson, with your donation of any amount. You’ll also receive lifetime digital access to the Union with Christ video teaching series and study guide: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/4168/donate
 
Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Request the ebook, digital teaching series, and digital study guide for Union with Christ with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global
 
Meet Today’s Teacher:
 
Sinclair Ferguson is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow, vice-chairman of Ligonier Ministries, and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.
 
Meet the Host:
 
Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of ministry engagement for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast.

Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

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Related Resource

Get updates on the Truth Rising documentary at truthrising.com/colson. 

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