TITLE:
A Study of the Viability of Reverse Mentoring as a Leadership Development Strategy for the Malawi Assemblies of God
AUTHORS:
Edward J. Chitsonga
KEYWORDS:
Reverse Mentoring, Mentoring, MAoG, Revelation, Relationships
JOURNAL NAME:
Voice of the Publisher,
Vol.6 No.2,
June
29,
2020
ABSTRACT: Reverse
mentoring is a topic that is receiving increased attention these days due to
the rapid changes that technological advances are bringing about both in the
community and in the workplace. This is the kind of mentoring where a younger or junior person mentors an older or
senior person. (Meister & Willyerd, 2010: pp. 1-4) point out that the term indicates that in reverse mentoring, the roles
of traditional mentoring are reversed: a less experienced person serves as mentor, and a more experienced person
taking over the role of the mentee.
The problem under investigation is: Is reverse mentoring a viable leadership development strategy for Malawi Assemblies of
God? Such leadership development strategy must be applied to the church’s
socio-cultural and environmental context of pastors, elders, and
members, including the youth. The rationale for this study is that if reverse
mentoring is a viable leadership development
strategy for the MAoG, then it must be tied to a contextual framework. For this reason, the values, behavioral
practices, and perceptions of senior
pastors, assistant pastors, student pastors, and elders/members of the MAoG must be taken into consideration to inform the
viability of reverse mentoring as a leadership development strategy for
the church. The article is based on a proposed study of the viability of reverse
mentoring (RM) as a leadership development strategy for the Malawi Assemblies
of God (MAoG). Part of this process is to have knowledge of what precedent
literature says on RM. The question the study will answer is: What does the
biblical and theological literature reveal about mentoring and reverse
mentoring? This will be handled in two
sections. The first section will examine what the Old Testament reveals
about mentoring in general, and reverse mentoring in particular. It will explore the Pentateuch, the
historical books, and the prophetic books of the Old Testament. The
second section will explore what the New Testament reveals about mentoring in general, and reverse mentoring in particular?
It will examine the synoptic gospels and the epistles in the New Testament. The
two sections will provide a biblical foundation for the decision to either consider or reject RM as a leadership development
strategy for the MAoG. Christian
leadership and relationships find their mandate and roots in the Bible.
Biblical models of mentoring and reverse mentoring relationships will be
highlighted, and the article will also explore Scriptures that support RM
relationships.