Book Review: The Spiritual Mentor

The Spiritual Mentor by Jim Grassi sounds the call for Christian men to get off the sidelines and actively begin discipling/mentoring one another to grow in the Lord.  Grassi uses Scripture, personal examples and anecdotes to highlight the need for and principles of spiritual discipleship.  While there are many principles that can be applied in a variety of settings, the reader should be aware that this is specifically written to address men.  The Spiritual Mentor calls men to relate to one another in such a way that spiritual maturity is encouraged and involvement in the Great Commission is the result.

I was drawn to this book as I have been searching for good resources on spiritual mentoring and discipleship.  There has been a surge of books as of late promoting the need for intentional discipleship among Christians.  This is much needed, especially as we move away from the self-concerned Christianity of the 1980's and 1990's.  As far as addressing the need for more discipleship and the principles of discipleship, The Spiritual Mentor does not really bring anything new to the conversation.  Some issues are addressed in a way that maybe men can understand better, such as examples ranging from being a fishermen to the training of NAVY SEALS.  However, it falls short of stating truths not already put forth in other works.  Also, it fails to give any real concrete helps regarding how to actually go about mentoring or discipling someone.  There are countless invitations to visit his web site for resources.  However, I wouldn't want to spend $17 on a book that only points me to a web site where I can freely access the information.  Any specific helps should have been included in the book, and would have made it an extremely valuable resource.  The content of the book is very good, it just isn't new and isn't very specific.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”