And he's not alone—he's among a choice community of top-flight instructors! Over the years I have sailed with Noah; I have trekked with Moses. Entering the world of the Bible to learn from my friends and heroes changes me.

Jeremiah saved my life. Nehemiah buoyed my faltering ministry. Through his
struggles with riches and greed, Solomon tutored me to be a person of excellence without opulence.

I have often heard young leaders decrying the scarcity of mentors. But we have been looking in the wrong places, for the greatest mentors will not be found among those currently on earth. They await us from another gallery.

When the student is ready, the mentors will appear. These heroes and legends
have been expecting you.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

Encouragement is God's native tongue. But encouragement without change is like a bicycle with only one pedal. Our participation is required. Encouragement turns into hope when His instructions find our ready acceptance and application.

The journey on which you're about to embark is interactive. The lessons you will garner in this book have been distilled from more than thirty-three years of friendships with the mentors of the ages. What you're about to learn has been the most important key to everything I have done. It is not a program. It is a lifetime adventure offered only to avid students of life.

We have only one life to live on this spinning globe, and many people are already halfway through before they realize that life will not fall neatly into our laps without our participation and involvement. Or, worse, that life will not remain neat and tidy in the face of our poor choices. Life will only yield its best fruit to diligent farmers and its treasures to industrious pilgrims.

* * *

I have spoken with hundreds of men and women in their fifties, sixties, and older who grieve over memories of foolish decisions.

"Oh," they say, "how I wish I knew then what I know now!" If only they had understood; if only they'd been able to see; if only they'd stepped back to get some perspective—then, perhaps, they would have raised their kids differently. Or not destroyed their health. Or not wrecked their marriage. Or they would have avoided a thousand nameless heartbreaks that have placed in them a never-fading regret.

Divine Mentors

You don't have to live with an endless string of if-onlys. You really don't! God has given an assignment to certain men and women who, though dead, "still speak." (see Hebrews 11:4)

These instructors have been delegated the task and obligation to tutor those who enroll. By shadowing these men and women, you can:

• Find the help you need when difficult tests come
• Walk with both the heroes and the fools of the Bible
• Start thinking like God thinks, so you can respond as He responds
• Avoid costly errors and so avoid decades of misery.

The mentors will lead you to strength, direction, and hope even when you come to life's narrowest and most frightening passages.

And the Holy Spirit promises to exhale key lessons from the past into your present and make them come alive. Abraham will mentor you on faith. You will learn from Samson about sexual self-control. Daniel will instruct you in how to influence your community. Ruth will teach you about love and loyalty.

* * *

Let me take you on the greatest adventure you'll ever experience. Come walk with me as we visit God's men and women of faith (as well as a few scoundrels). They all await your audience.

Excerpted from:  The Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro. Copyright © 2007; ISBN 9780764203497.  Published by Bethany House Publishers.  Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.