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Divine Secrets of Mentoring: Spiritual Growth Through Friendship
When women get together to share their stories, they nurture and encourage each other. This natural way of relating can become an intentional way of spurring one another on to grow in the Lord.In Divine Secrets of Mentoring Carol Brazo tells powerful stories of the women who have shaped her understanding of key areas of Christian confession, forgiveness, prayer, integrity, self-image and much more. Through reading her wonderful stories and biblical illustrations, we gain perspective on how we are mentored by the women in our own lives. And we discover how we too can mentor others. Questions at the end of each chapter make this a great choice for a women's Bible study or discussion group.Come, and discover the divine secrets of Christian sisterhood!
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 8, 2022
This book was published shortly after I became involved with the management of a mentoring program, and has been on my TBR for that entire time. Over the years, I would sometimes consider trying to find a copy to read through inter-library loan, but would then change my mind and set my sights on another volume that seemed more on point to my work. Having now read the book, I think I finally understand my own hesitation.
This book isn't really about mentoring.
Carol Brazo is a college professor who teaches in an education program at a Christian university in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. She also speaks regularly at church retreats for women. In an early chapter of this book, she admits that she doesn't really like the term mentoring, preferring to just call it spiritual friendship. However, I think she is describing what Christians have often called discipleship. And while discipleship shares some things in common with mentoring, it is not identical to mentoring.
To be fair, Brazo gets some things right in her descriptions of mentoring. She mentions that the best mentors are found organically, that we all need multiple mentors as differing needs in our lives arise, and she highlights the role modeling function of mentoring. All good.
Where Brazo loses me is in her evangelical cultural trappings. Every chapter starts with a Biblical narrative, reimagined as a mentoring story by Brazo. She then leans heavily on patriarchal, hierarchical approaches to Christian faith, laden with heavy doses of guilt, sin, and shame. She also privileges some narrow views of women and men, and does a lot of "girl talk," which I found both annoying and theologically unsound.
Brazo's book on mentoring (or discipleship) is well-intentioned. But much of her material lands heavily and dully for those of us who don't live in her conservative bubble. There are better books on mentoring out there - and certainly better books on discipleship.
This book isn't really about mentoring.
Carol Brazo is a college professor who teaches in an education program at a Christian university in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. She also speaks regularly at church retreats for women. In an early chapter of this book, she admits that she doesn't really like the term mentoring, preferring to just call it spiritual friendship. However, I think she is describing what Christians have often called discipleship. And while discipleship shares some things in common with mentoring, it is not identical to mentoring.
To be fair, Brazo gets some things right in her descriptions of mentoring. She mentions that the best mentors are found organically, that we all need multiple mentors as differing needs in our lives arise, and she highlights the role modeling function of mentoring. All good.
Where Brazo loses me is in her evangelical cultural trappings. Every chapter starts with a Biblical narrative, reimagined as a mentoring story by Brazo. She then leans heavily on patriarchal, hierarchical approaches to Christian faith, laden with heavy doses of guilt, sin, and shame. She also privileges some narrow views of women and men, and does a lot of "girl talk," which I found both annoying and theologically unsound.
Brazo's book on mentoring (or discipleship) is well-intentioned. But much of her material lands heavily and dully for those of us who don't live in her conservative bubble. There are better books on mentoring out there - and certainly better books on discipleship.
October 28, 2024
Very dated information, not as much about mentoring as it is about women's friendships with other believers. Much of this advice and information is not relatable in 2024.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews