An Experiment in Mentoring
that Changed Lives
Several years into a successful career as a Chicago Mercantile Exchange trader and in subsequent businesses, a life-altering relationship with a mentor made Joe Leininger wonder if he too could impact a younger life. He tried an experiment and asked God to bring the right eight guys to him for a two-year commitment. Guys who were willing to listen to God and learn from each other. And God did. For five groups over a span of twelve years. The names the groups chose kept them from taking themselves too seriously. But what happened in the groups was serious stuff: addictions broken, marriages restored, careers launched, lifetime disciplines established.
Dirt Clods and Donkeys is not a self-help book for mentors, although Joe is transparent about how his experiment worked. It is a lens into the lives of twelve of the men–who they were, who they became, and what helped them get there. They in turn committed to mentor others. If you believe it’s time for you to invest in younger lives, be inspired by the stories of twelve men from the Dirt Clods, the Donkeys, the Snakes, the Bees, and the Stones–and Joe Leininger.
