QSource | Q1.8 Whetstone

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QSource | Q1.8 Whetstone

Weather | 71° F | Humidity 49% | Wind: 23mph WNW

6 Pax continued our leadership study: QSource. If anyone feels inclined to lead one these discussions there is a signup sheet on the Q schedule. This morning we continued the first quadrant Get Right with Q1.8: Whetstone.

Q1.8 | Whetstone

Statement

The Vertical Relationship Between Men

Scripture

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Socratic

  • What is the purpose of mentorship?
  • Are there any required components to Effective mentorship?
  • How does a mentor benefit?

Synthesis

A man must be sharpened like a knife blade

  • A knife is sharpened by a whetstone.
  • To whet actually means to sharpen, like with a man’s appetite and his curiosity.
  • Just as a man’s appetite for pure food must be whetted, so must his appetite for the heavy responsibility that comes with Leadership.

Hard looks and straight talk (tempered by love) get results

  • Because the desire of an older man to pass on what he has learned to a younger man is natural, the vertical relationship between stone and Blade has existed since men first sought the advantage of gathering together into Communities.
  • A HIM is about the business of Sharpening younger men even while he himself is being Sharpened.
  • For a Blade to be Sharpened properly, the Stone must be the harder of the two, at least for a season.
  • Like the Shield Lock, the Whetstone is a relationship that is subject to the 3P: it must be Proximate, Purposeful and periodic to be Effective.
  • There is no set rule for the periodicity of the meeting between the Stone and the Blade. It must be frequent enough to be Effective but not so frequent that the Stone and Blade smother each other.

The Whetstone is necessary for both the Blade and the Stone to Get Right

  • Through the Whetstone, the Blade receives something he lacked before, a honed edge to his life that he must possess to be Effective and have IMPACT on his Community.
  • Nothing closes the hypocrisy gap for a man like having a Blade. Helping another man build his Guardrails through the formation of positive Habits strengthens the Stone’s Guardrails.
  • The Whetstone results in an abandonment of self which deprives hypocrisy the fuel it needs to survive.

Spur

  • A man must be sharpened like a knife blade
  • Hard looks and straight talk (tempered by love) get results
  • The Whetstone is necessary for both the Blade and the Stone to Get Right

Homework for 4/27

Thoughts for the week:

  • Is there anything inherently good about work?
  • Is work anything more than something we do?
  • What priority should a man give to his work?