Charles Simeon—My Historical Mentor in 1993—5 Things I Learned From Him

(This is not my standard editorial—at least length-wise.  It is extra long. I am describing some of the philosophical/practical ideas that have shaped my ministry and which will be part of the under girding of my AFTERGLOW ministry.)

 

Background

   In 1993 and 1994, I was on a one-year-long sabbatical. Marilyn and I went to Pinehurst, N.C. for that yearlong time. We stayed with Marilyn’s mom, Mary. During that year I did research on strategic formation by studying 8 leaders who had finished well. My book Focused Lives—Inspirational Life Changing Lessons From Eight Effective Christian Leaders Who Finished Well—was a major result of that research. Here is my description of that work.

 

Focused Lives, Book Description
   Focused Lives is a comparative biographical study of eight effective Christian leaders who finished well. From this comparative study a definition for a focused life was derived. A focused life is a life dedicated to exclusively carrying out God's effective purposes through it, by identifying the focal issues, that is, the life purpose, effective methodology, major role, or ultimate contribution which allows an increasing prioritization of life's activities around the focal issues, and results in a satisfying life of being and doing. Comparative study as to how each of the eight discovered life purpose, effective methodologies, major role and ultimate contributions, yields invaluable information/lessons for a leader who wishes to see how God strategically guides a leader to become and achieve what God intended. A companion manual, Strategic Concepts—Which Clarify A Focused Life, enables the research findings of this book to be applied to leaders today.

   Later, the next year, I also did a working manual, STRATEGIC CONCEPTS That Clarify A Focused Life— A Self-Study Manual Defining and Applying Focused Life Concepts to Leaders Today.

Strategic Concepts, Book Description (original in 1995; revised edition 2005)
   This manual was originally written in 1995 by Dr. J. Robert Clinton and used in classes at Fuller Seminary. After ten years of use the book has been revised to show the latest findings gathered from these ten years of studies of leaders' lives. The manual gives results of research on focused lives: life purpose, effective methodologies, major role and ultimate contribution. It defines a Personal Life Mandate—a two to three page document with narrative paragraphs giving the findings and anticipations of a focused life. The end result is a major tool for decision making and help in movement toward a focused life. The concepts will be used by leaders for their own lives and for others as they mentor them toward completion of an Ephesians 2:10 life. This is the culminating work that completes the material on life long development given in the Leadership Emergence Theory Manual.

 

Simeon and His Influence on Me-5 Ideas

   The first of the eight leaders I studied was Charles Simeon (1759-1836)—A Strategic Mentor. Below I have captured five of the most important lessons I learned from this historical mentor. I am still applying them today as I move into AFTERGLOW ministry.

   My personal application study of Charles Simeon (see chapter 2 of Focused Lives for Simeon’s Focused Life) identified some 12 applicational ideas for my own life.  Let me share how five of these ideas affected me. (I have written them in value language (should, ought, must).

 IDEA 1.  YOU MUST CONTINUE ON WITH IMPORTANT IDEAS EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT RECOGNIZED BY THE SYSTEM.

 IDEA 2.   YOU OUGHT TO PRAY REGULARLY AT EACH MENTORING TIME WITH A MENTOREE.

 IDEA 3.  YOU MUST FIND ALTERNATIVE WAYS AT THE EDGE OF THE SYSTEM TO EXPERIMENT WITH CHANGE.

 IDEA 4.  YOU OUGHT TO GET OUT WRITTEN MATERIALS INTO CENTERS OF INFLUENCE FOR LONG RANGE INFLUENCE.  

 IDEA 5.   YOU MUST DELIBERATELY DESIGN AND USE EQUIVALENTS OF SIMEON'S CIRCLES OF INTIMACY. 

    Let me go on and describe each of these ideas—which I still use even today.

  IDEA 1.  YOU MUST CONTINUE ON WITH IMPORTANT IDEAS EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT RECOGNIZED BY THE SYSTEM.
    Charles Simeon was able to bring about change in a system that essentially was opposed to his evangelical ideas.  Because he was loyal to the system and had a stable position within it, he was able to weather the opposition that lasted for a period of almost 30 years.  Because he kept changing individuals and sending them in to the grass roots of the system over a long period of time, 54 years, he was able to bring about major change even though many in the system were opposed to his evangelical ideas.  His position was certain; he could out wait opposition and continue to minister toward his goals.
   As a result of my recognizing the two factors, loyalty to the system and stable position, which are true for me too, I am encouraged to continue working in my own system, which does not understand my own approach to teaching, writing, or ministry.  Rather than seeking to get approval within the system or to change the system I simply have to continue doing very well what I am doing.  It will pay great dividends in the future.  Previous to my own study of Simeon I was considering leaving my system and going elsewhere, where I might be appreciated for my teaching and writing ministry. But one does not have to be appreciated or approved by the system. Simeon was never accepted by the system as a whole for his evangelical beliefs until he had transformed much of it at the grass roots.  Yet he was effective in his ministry.  I too am changing lives even though the system does not know this or appreciate it.
   I am ministry oriented—not academically focused (research is solid; but my efforts are not to present material to academic societies but to use them with people who can apply them.)

 

 IDEA 2. PRAY REGULARLY AT EACH MENTORING TIME.  
    Look at this following quote with me. I want to show you two important things in it:

        To John Venn, after his father’s death, he wrote… Scarcely
      ever did I visit him but he prayed with me.  Scarcely
      ever did I dine with him, but his ardour in returning thanks,
      sometimes in an appropriate hymn, and sometimes                    
      in a thanksgiving prayer, has inflamed the souls of all
      present so as to give us a foretaste of Heaven itself; and
          in all the years that I knew him, I never remember him
      to have spoken unkindly of any one, but once;
      and I was particularly struck with the humiliation he
      expressed for it, in his prayer the next day.”                     
       …to another of Venn’s grandsons…he writes, “I wish you
      had known your honoured grandfather; the only end                  
      for which he lived was to make all men see the glory
      of God in the face of Jesus.”  (Moule 1892:25-28)

   I was encouraged by Venn’s always taking time to pray with Simeon.  This very event impacted Simeon.  I have therefore endeavored since reading that to always have prayer with my mentorees whenever we meet.  And I do a lot of mentoring.  In fact, I am seeking to pray a leadership blessing into their lives. I don't always remember this but I do it lots of times.

       1. One praying personally for and with people can change their lives (both because of the answer of prayer and because of the thing prayed for).

       2. Modeling real life things changes lives—note inflamed the souls, spoken unkindly of any one, but once; spoken unkindly of any one, but once.
Your life can make a difference. Live it out as if people will want to imitate you.

  IDEA 3.  YOU MUST FIND ALTERNATIVE WAYS AT THE EDGE OF THE SYSTEM TO EXPERIMENT WITH CHANGE.
   Simeon always found alternative ways to get something done.  Often, he was pushing the edge of the envelope of what was accepted in the system.  It became clear to me that at the fringes of the system it is not always clear just what is acceptable.  It is there that innovative ways can be introduced.  It is much more difficult to introduce innovative things in the center of the system which is usually much more rigid.  For me the application lies in identifying what the fringes are.  Where can I attempt to do some things that would be blocked by the center of the system. Where can I introduce alternative means?

             1. I can do some things with teaching assistants (mentor with them; coaching/ teaching—co-teach; sponsor TAs in classes; move them to become adjunct professors). 

             2. I can experiment with: small groups; prayer ministry in class; SFs; closure activities; in DMin classes where there is more freedom for application).

             3. I can change schedules to fit more of who I am and what I do—like with one and two-week intensives and minimum training models (5 weeks of input and 5 weeks of application—ML540 Leadership Training Models and ML523 Mentoring).

             4. Bring about change through others. (Sherwood, Doug)

   IDEA 4.  YOU OUGHT TO GET OUT WRITTEN MATERIALS INTO CENTERS OF INFLUENCE FOR LONG RANGE INFLUENCE.
(I gave this one a title–The Simeon Project. And I am working on it even now. See my taxonomy, Appendix A–given below)

   Simeon’s giving ministry particularly impressed me.  He gave to needy parishioners out of his own pocket.  In fact, he systematically set aside funds for benevolence giving each year.  I was particularly impressed in with his giving away of resources that would help individuals in ministry and centers of training.  He bought 40 copies of the expensive and important study Bible (Brown’s Study Bible) and sent them to 40 poor pastors.  When he published his major homiletics text, Horae Homilectae, which certainly emphasized Biblical preaching, he made sure it got in to all the centers of influence.  He donated copies to important political figures, including an autographed copy personally presented to the king.  He sent copies to all of the major libraries.  I was challenged by his action.  I have captured much of my ideation in numerous booklets, books, handbooks, manuals, and papers.  Upon reading that, I decided to:

   1. identify from all my written materials those resources which contain the most classic ideas
(that is, ideas that deal with fundamental dynamics and so will still  have application way into the future)
and select the five to eight most important ones,

   2. get packets of these classic items into libraries of Bible colleges, seminaries, parachurch
groups and other learning resource centers around the world,

   3. raise funding to send these packets free of charge.

   Now, today, I have modified the above three and expanded them.  I am going further on this. I don’t have to select the most important ones. Because of the technological breakthrough—the capacity of a DVD—I can put everything I have written on one DVD—See Appendix A for the categories of writings I will use to organize the DVD.

   One of my projects on this sabbatical year, that I have just concluding, involved organizing and putting in PDF all of my writings. I have made good progress on this. Like
Simeon, I am and will be getting my stuff out, and believing that God will use it in the future, even long after I am gone.  I want my ideas to be used.  Why not get them out?

IDEA 5.  DELIBERATELY DESIGN AND USE EQUIVALENTS OF SIMEON'S CIRCLES OF INTIMACY IN ORDER TO RECRUIT FOLKS AND DEVELOP THEM.

   I was impressed by Simeon’s levels of intimacy as a selection means for penetration training.  I have drawn his circles of intimacy (more intimate at the center; less intimate at the fringes) and have identified what for me would be functional equivalent activities.  I intend to deliberately and systematically employ this concept to give in-depth training to past mentorees and as a selection means for processing new mentorees.  I have already envisioned two special ways of doing his two inner most levels; and I even have people in mind to invite to them.

 Click on Circles of Intimacy Diagrams to See Simeon's Circles of Intimacy and My Circles of Intimacy.  Click here  CirclesOfIntimacy.pdf

 My next few comments refer to these diagrams.

     SEE SIMEON'S CIRCLES OF INTIMACY (on pdf file)

     SEE CLINTON'S CIRCLES OF INTIMACY (on pdf file)

    Let me share some of the things I have done in the circles above. In the outward circle, I have done lecture series presentations at seminaries. I have done seminars and workshops at conferences. I have gotten my writings out. I have done two with a known publishers in order to get distribution through their promotion networks. The Making of A Leader has sold more than 130,000 and is translated into 7 languages. Connecting has sold more than 60,000 and is translated into several languages. Other written materials have gotten out through my self-publishing—Barnabas Publishers— and getting my material into the LightningSource data base (a print on demand business—which sells to the big book stores and Amazon and other outlets). See also my resource page on my Web Site, which sells my materials. In the next circle—the Seminary Class circle—I have taught 30 years, about 180+ classes. Out of those classes I identified potential teachers and invited them to TA classes with me. I mentored them and moved them on to become master teachers. In the special activities section, I have taught weeklong seminars to special audiences (like Bible Centered Leadership folks especially recruited for the seminars; mentoring for church staffs, etc.). I have also done several cluster groups (Reading On The Run; Hermeneutics; BCL commentary; Core book studies—Hebrews; 1,2 Ti; 1,2 Co). I have done lots of individual mentoring—particularly coaching teacher types. I have identified 15 or so individuals that I previously mentored  and now consider them to be folks that I am committed to help over a life time (whenever they need me, they are free to call and ask for help)—God willing. It was Simeon’s circles, which helped me pattern my circles. This notion of circles of intimacy diagram has been a great recruitment approach for me.

  

Editorial Closure
   The basic intention of this editorial is to show you how you can learn from a historical mentor and put those things learned into action.

   The five ideas that I have shared were taken from a lecture I gave on Charles Simeon. If you are interested in the whole lecture, send me an email and I will send you the file,    SimeonLecture.pdf

Blessings,

Bobby Clinton

Appendix A. Taxonomy for Simeon Project  To see this Appendix A, click on AppendixATaxonomy.pdf