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Augustine as Mentor

A Model for Preparing Spiritual Leaders

by Edward L. Smither


Trade Paper
January 2009
$17.99

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Lauded for his thoughts, Augustine of Hippo (354-430) has influenced virtually every philosopher of the last fifteen hundred years. But his personal character and ministry are even more remarkable, for in a time when most monastery dwellers sought solitude, Augustine was always in the company of friends, visiting disciples and writing mentoring letters to those he knew.

Augustine as Mentor is written for modern day pastors and spiritual leaders who want to mentor and equip other evangelical Christians based on proven principles in matters of the heart like integrity, humility, faithfulness, personal holiness, spiritual hunger, and service to others.

Author Ed Smither explains, “Augustine has something to offer modern ministers pursuing authenticity and longing to ‘preach what they practice.’ Through his thought, practice, success, and even failures, my hope is that today’s mentors will find hope, inspiration, and practical suggestions for how to mentor an emerging generation of spiritual leaders.”

Edward L. Smither is assistant professor of Church History and Intercultural Studies at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the author of Augustine as Mentor. He previously taught in North Africa and France and holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from the University of Wales-Lampeter. Smither and his wife have three children.

Learn more about Edward L. Smither...

Product Details

ISBN: 9780805447071 Trim Size: 9.00 x 6.00 x 0.67 in
Page Count: 272 Weight: 0.73lb
Binding: Trade Paper
Status: Active Publication Date: January 2009

Reviews:

“Augustine as Mentor builds on sound scholarship and research”

“Augustine as Mentor builds on sound scholarship and research. Smither not only displays his own familiarity with a multitude of secondary works but more impressively his extensive working knowledge of the voluminous Augustinian corpus from the Latin sources. The volume’s style is straight forward, systematic and well organized. No fluff is found here. Often using [...]

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Endorsements:

Augustine as Mentor “an important book”

The relationship that Augustine established with others engaged with him in pastoral ministry has fascinated scholars for decades. Now a new perspective is brought to the question by this book. It looks at how Augustine was the mentor of his disciples and, indeed, how this relationship was for more common in the early church than [...]

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Endorsement of Edward Smither’s Augustine as Mentor

The church today is becoming ever more aware of its need to look to the ancient fathers for wisdom. Christian leaders who wish to draw on patristic insights need to read Ed Smither’s useful study of Augustine as a spiritual mentor. Smither investigates ancient practice with the expertise of a scholar and the heart of [...]

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Augustine as Mentor “an excellent sourcebook of applied theology”

Works on the subjects of mentoring and disciple-making have blossomed in recent years, but rarely are such practices linked to similar expressions in the early Christian centuries. Few topics are more central to ministry and few scholars are more qualified than Augustine, who enacted this process in the lives of others. Smither, an exceptional church [...]

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