We don’t know who the source is of this story; hence, it may be legend. So let’s listen to it as a parable and apply it to mentoring.
Over a century ago, Andrew Carnegie was the wealthiest man in America. He came to America from his native Scotland, when he was a small boy, performed a variety of odd jobs, and eventually ended up as the largest steel manufacturer in the United States.
At one time, he had forty-three millionaires working for him. In those days a millionaire was a rare person; conservatively speaking, a million dollars in his day would be equivalent to over twenty million dollars today.
A reporter asked Carnegie how he had hired forty-three millionaires.
Carnegie responded that those men had not been millionaires when they started working for him. They had become millionaires as a result of working for him.
The reporter's next question was, "How did you develop these men to become so valuable to you that you have paid them this much money?"
Carnegie replied that men are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but one doesn't go into the mine looking for dirt - one goes in looking for the gold.
That's exactly the way Christian leaders need to view people. Don't look for the flaws, warts, and blemishes. Look for the gold, not for the dirt; the good, not the bad.
When we achieve this, we can truly cultivate a culture in our churches where equipping disciples can occur.
