Denver Seminary

O ENGAGE 15 MENTORING COMPANIONSHIP: THE POWER OF PRESENCE IN A DIGITAL AGE DAN STEINER HAS BEEN A MENTORING DIRECTOR AT DENVER SEMINARY SINCE 2016. ALONG WITH HIS WORK AT THE SEMINARY, DAN IS A COHORT LEADER WITH THE 5280 FELLOWSHIP OF THE DENVER INSTITUTE FOR FAITH AND WORK. HE AND HIS WIFE, ANNA, LIVE IN LITTLETON, COLORADO, AND HAVE THREE CHILDREN: JOSIAH (13), MICAH (11), AND CAMBRIA (10). THEY ARE INVOLVED WITH A LOCAL CHURCH PLANT, THE SACRED GRACE ENGLEWOOD. 1 Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2017), 197. 2 Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family, 199. One of the uncompromising requirements placed on Denver Seminary students is to find a mentor from their local context. Each student must engage a primary mentor face to face, sharing the same space and breathing the same air. Every semester I am asked to grant an exception to a student who wants to use technology to engage a mentor living in another state. Every semester I deny these requests. Digital options may grant us opportunities to connect with others at great distances, but they cannot fill the need we have for physical presence with others. Interacting through digital means isn't bad in and of itself. I am thankful my kids can connect with their grandparents living in other parts of the country more often than I did growing up. But we shouldn't resort to digital engagement when face-to-face interactions are possible. We must be cautious not to let followers, likes, and emojis replace something we desperately need: in-the- flesh companions to walk with us through life's varied circumstances. In his book, The Tech-Wise Family, Andy Crouch describes the importance of physical presence: "We learn how to be human by being fully present at our moments of greatest vulnerability." 1 Although he is referring to weddings and funerals, I believe his observation applies to the world of mentoring as well. The vulnerability required within an effective mentoring relationship is maximized by physical proximity and presence. Crouch continues, "Any sort of mediated presence is the palest shadow of what it is like to be with another person— that is, present in the fullness of what our bodies make possible." 2 It may be easier to pursue convenient digital options, but there is something formational about swimming against the cultural currents that downplay physical presence. As we process a difficult situation, a virtual thumbs-up can't compare to a word of affirmation from a mentor sitting right across the table. While we may never go back to a world devoid of digital connectivity, we can choose to prioritize in-person relationships and pursue mentors as companions who, through their physical presence, remind us of what it means to be human. JohnDWilliams/iStock

• Cover