In his book Augustine as Mentor Dr. Edward L.
Smither brings us a seminal work about the importance of mentoring, and the
many things that are involved. Dr. Smither is a well respected and known
professor at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. This is not a very large work
it weighs is at 259 page consisting of five chapters. Chapter one deals with
mentoring in the first century. Chapter two is what he calls the mentoring
matrix, which is where he focuses on four different church fathers other than
Augustine. Chapter three delves into those who actually mentored Augustine.
While chapters four and five become more personal looking at his approach and
thoughts about mentoring. Before getting too far into the critique of this work
I must be completely honest, due to physical ailments I was unable to read the
whole work but did get in to chapter four of this work. This authors intentions are to give the most
far and balanced view of this piece of material I possibly can.
In discussing this work you could say that the main
themes that play themselves out are the history of mentoring, Augustine’s
approach to mentoring and his thoughts on its importance. Dr. Smither did an
elaborate job in laying the foundation of mentoring in the centuries before
Augustine. To be honest with you the first chapter was very intriguing, while
the further along the second chapter went questions of its importance began to
arise. If a general consumer were out looking for a book on mentoring and
discipleship and knew the name Augustine they would automatically think this a
great book to read. This would be a false assumption. That being said because
as you read through this work you do not embark upon Augustine’s’ ideals until
chapter four which is half way through the book. Chapter four begins on page
125 and deals with Augustine’s approach to mentoring; so for the casual reader
expecting this work to deal specifically with his thoughts and approach. However,
if this book is approached from the perspective of a historical lesson on
mentoring as a whole with additional attention paid to Augustine then you will
be very pleased with the read.
After coming to an understanding that the first portion
of the book is more of a historical survey, Smither did an immaculate job on
this work. In chapter one he goes back to where every good Christian doctrine
should come from Christ himself. He lays the ground work of the disciple giving
several different definitions of the word to make sure it is clearly understood
what is meant (pg 5-6). After he defined
disciple he expounded upon the duties of a disciple showing the reader that it
is not merely just an act of learning, but also required the steps of obedience
to what has been taught (pg 11). Once he has fully established the role of the
disciple he begins to unravel the semblance of what a true mentor should
resemble. While most people today think of mentoring as a one-on-one
relationship Smither points out that neither Jesus nor the Apostle Paul
mentored in that manner. He specifically says, “In summary, mentoring in the
context of a group, as demonstrated by Jesus and Paul, is most effective
because it meets the inherent relational needs of the disciple” (pg 15).
While chapter one lays a foundation of mentoring chapter
two becomes a little more muddled (at least in this authors opinion). Chapter
two begins to deal with four church fathers specifically Cyprian, Pachomius,
Basil of Caesarea, and Ambrose of Milan. Smither literally takes sixty five
pages of his work to discuss these four men and their approach to mentoring and
the difficulties they faced. When reading a work whose title is specifically
about Augustine, one should be confused or at the far least concerned as to why
so much of this work has been dedicated to these men. It is understood that
those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it (unsure of the
quote or I would site it). However, I
noticed no evidence of the input of these men in his approach that stood out of
any major importance. While they could have all made minute increments of
influence upon his style of mentoring there is nothing overtly noticeable to
commend so much space to these men.
There is a personal appreciation for chapter three of
this work because it deals directly with those in Augustine’s life who mentored
him. It also gives some historical background on the man himself which could
have taken place in chapter two had the book been developed differently. Chapter three shows the reader the importance
of a loving Christian parent even while the other may be a non-believer. This
chapter also reveals that Augustine valued a lifestyle type of mentoring more
so then a sit-down hash it out kind of relationship. There were many different
people who played a role in his life as mentors, he had his mother, his friends
(or peers), and then he had men who we more mature in life as well as the faith
who played a major role in his life. One relationship in particular hit close
to home and that was his friendship with Alypius, their relationship reminds me
of one of the closest relationships I have; especially when Smither says of the
two,
While Augustine needed an
intellectual sparring partner, he also needed someone for support and
encouragement on this delicate and uncertain journey. The two continued as
friends, providing mutual support after their conversions and were ordained to
the ministry roughly at the same time. While Augustine will forever appear the
genius and the strong one, he clearly needed Alypius (pg 101).
This work as a whole was very informative about mentoring
throughout the history of the church. It also shows the importance and need for
men to be willing to step up and disciple the younger generation (not just in
age but in Christian maturity). Smithers work could have been repackaged or
re-titled a little differently, but as a whole there would not be a problem
recommending this work to someone looking for a historical survey of mentoring
and discipleship in the early church.
Bibliography
Smither, Edward L. Augustine as Mentor.
Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2008.
