Description
Soul Mentoring draws upon the wisdom of Gregory the Great (540-604) from his Pastoral Care, one of the most widely read books on mentoring from the ancient world. Those who walk in Gregory’s steps will discover practical guidance for the journey into mentoring, including the formation of a mentor’s soul, and wisdom in learning to care for others. Gregory describes mentoring as the “art of arts”, the highest creative endeavour we share together. Gregory has ancient wisdom applicable to mentoring in our time, both for mentors and mentees, friends and family, coaches and teachers, clergy and spiritual directors, among other people looking for guidance in the ancient art of caring for souls.
About the Author
David Robinson (MDiv, DMin) lives in Cannon Beach, Oregon with his wife Trina, serving as pastor at Community Church since 1993. His previous books include Ancient Paths: Discover Christian Formation the Benedictine Way (2010), The Busy Family’s Guide to Spirituality (2009), and The Christian Family Toolbox (2001). He enjoys playing jazz piano, hiking in national parks, and spending time with his family. Robinson is a Benedictine Oblate with Mount Angel Abbey, Oregon.
Contents
Preface: Caring for Feet
Acknowledgments
Introduction: When Setting Out on a Long Journey
Part One: The Journey into Mentoring – Learning the Art of Arts
Part Two: The Character of a Mentor – Drinking from Mountain Streams
Part Three: The Practice of Mentoring – Becoming a Skilled Musician
Conclusion: Care of the Soul of a Mentor – Portrait of a Master Artist
Appendices
A. The Life and Legacy of Gregory the Great
B. Study Guide for Individual or Group Study
Bibliography
Endorsements and Reviews
Robinson has again taken us down a pathway of spiritual practices that is both grounded in the rich tradition of the church while being urgently valuable to a spiritually thirsty contemporary church. Read, drink deeply, and live and love generously.
Mark Labberton, President, Fuller Theological Seminary
I wish I had had Robinson’s Soul Mentoring when I introduced graduate psychology students to Gregory’s On Pastoral Care in years past. … Robinson’s book is insightful, engaging, and eminently practical for those who want to learn how to care for the ‘souls’ of others, while taking stock of their own spiritual lives in the process.
Dennis Okholm, Professor of Theology, Azusa Pacific University
Robinson has written an ingenious and graceful book. Taking his cue from Gregory the Great’s classic work on pastoral care, he has reinvented and recontextualized those lessons in ways that urge the reader into a relationship with both authors at once. Far from a paraphrase and yet remarkably faithful to Gregory’s original series of meditations and admonitions, Robinson’s own wisdom simultaneously disarms and equips aspiring mentors as well as those whom they serve.
John L. Thompson, Professor of Historical Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary
Robinson has the knack of bringing alive ancient manuscripts. … In this day and age when spiritual direction is being rediscovered, Gregory’s Pastoral Care has valuable insights into the lost art of soul care. Like Gregory’s original, Robinson’s work is rich in imagery, metaphor, illustration, and story, making it very accessible, very readable, very useful to pastor and layperson alike.
Richard Peace, Professor of Evangelism and Spiritual Formation, Fuller Theological Seminary
Soul Mentoring is a wonderful resource for seekers who want to deepen their relationship with the divine through their relationship with each other: as mentors and as the mentored. … The writing is clear and poetic. I am delighted that David Robinson is bringing this all-but-forgotten classic text to our current generation.
Laura Swan, Benedictine Sister, Saint Martin’s University
