I’ve never really been a Star Wars fan. Every time someone tried to get me to watch the movies, they would inevitably put on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. While I understand that the movie was ahead of its time, it never failed to put me to sleep.
This past winter, Disney Plus finally came to Hong Kong. After binge-watching all the Marvel TV shows, I found that I had nothing to watch. So my wife and I decided to sit through all of the Star Wars movies to understand what the hype was all about. To our surprise, we fell in love.
As a pastor, it was hard to ignore the overt theme of discipleship littered throughout the series: Jedi Masters and Padawans. A Padawan is a sort of apprentice, following their master around to learn all things regarding being a Jedi. And throughout the series, Padawans either disappoint their masters by turning to the dark side of the force, or they live up to their potential.
If you’ve been involved in discipleship ministry for any time, you will resonate with this.
The major fear of every Jedi Master is that their Padawan would turn evil. Obi-wan mentored Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker mentored Kylo Ren. Both Darth Vader and Kylo Ren grew up to become villains. This of course causes the Jedi Master to blame themselves.
The major fear of every Jedi Master is that their Padawan would turn evil. Obi-wan mentored Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker mentored Kylo Ren. Both Darth Vader and Kylo Ren grew up to become villains. This of course causes the Jedi Master to blame themselves.
Now in a pivotal moment in Episode 8: The Last Jedi, Luke yet again wrestles with that insecurity. Ren, a promising young Jedi, seeks his guidance as a Jedi Master only to be turned down again and again. That is, until Yoda’s spirit whispers from beyond the grave:
Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery, hmm… but weakness, folly, failure also. Yes: failure, most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.
What a statement right? I instantly paused the movie and wrote up some reflections on this statement as it relates to mentorship, here are a few of them:
1. Pass on your failures
I don’t know why this was such a revelation to me, because it should have been intuitive. Whenever we mentor people, we fear that sharing our failures will somehow disqualify us. And so we feel that we have to put on some image of ourselves that has everything together… that has all the answers.
But failure is the greatest teacher.
And think about it, the moments of greatest learning in life have often come at our lowest points – when we said something stupid that led to a breakup, or when we forgot an assignment and got fired – those are important moments to pass on, so that the learning is shared.
2. We are what they grow beyond
This was another paradigm shift for me. So much of mentoring is centered around replicating ourselves. To produce another little Kevin that thinks and acts just like me. But there is a fundamental issue with that type of thinking: our goal is not to reproduce ourselves, our goal is to equip them with what little we know and watch them surpass us.
So much of mentoring is centered around replicating ourselves. To produce another little Kevin that thinks and acts just like me. But there is a fundamental issue with that type of thinking: our goal is not to reproduce ourselves, our goal is to equip them with what little we know and watch them surpass us.
A helpful phrase I’m going to steal from Andy Stanley is this: “Empty your cup”. As mentors we are not responsible for filling up someone else’s cup, we are only responsible for emptying our own cup. For instance, if you help out with youth ministry, and a teenager asks you all sorts of questions about theology that you don’t know how to answer… don’t sweat it. Be willing to say, “I don’t know”, and share about the things you do understand.
As mentors we are not responsible for filling up someone else’s cup, we are only responsible for emptying our own cup.
This has helped me immeasurably. So often our fear to take up the mantle of a mentor is rooted in this idea that we are not ready, that we don’t have enough wisdom or knowledge to adequately help someone out.
But that is not our responsibility.
Our responsibility is to pour out what little there is in our cup. All of our knowledge, our experiences, our strengths, our weaknesses, and yes… even our failures.
3. Just do it
I’ve had the privilege of being mentored by Pastor Albert, and I will borrow a phrase that he often uses on me: “Just do it”. There will always be excuses for not discipling others, but it is a fundamental call that we’ve all been given.
There will always be excuses for not discipling others, but it is a fundamental call that we’ve all been given.
Jesus says in Matthew 28.19, “therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Don’t be scared, just do it. There are people in our communities longing to be guided in their faith, and you can be that person to help them. We don’t need to have it all together, we don’t even have to know everything. Just (1) pass on your failures, and (2) empty your cup.