Perhaps you have or have not seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Either way, I thought this Star Wars was the best Star Wars out of all the recent Star Wars movies that have been released. Kudos to Disney in taking Lucas Films and taking this film up a notch from the previous trilogy, etc. If you have not seen the movie, I will not ruin the storyline for you by telling everything that happens.
However, I do want to point out a couple of things that stood out to me in the movie that I feel relate to next generation ministry (NGM). The first thing that caught my attention was when the now gray-headed Luke Skywalker wanted to burn the original Jedi scrolls and refused to train Rey. Yoda appears to Luke to not only encourage him to train Rey but also later to place an emphasis on the living scroll (found within the living Jedi’s). Luke experiences some dissonance, but Yoda clears his feelings up by magically burning the tree with the Jedi scrolls found inside. At first, Luke is ok with letting the Jedi’s die out. He is frustrated, having experienced a lot of pain himself, and is ready to give up. But Yoda tells Luke the Jedi religion must be passed down to a new era.
Working with the next generation can be frustrating. You may feel like giving up and not passing down the faith. I recently read this about working with the next generation: “It is not easy. They think differently. They demand attention. They make lots of mistakes. They are immature. They are tough on facilities. They don’t give like we think they should. They sometimes misbehave. They have short attention spans. They are not committed as we think they should be. In reality, they are much like we were when we were young.”
Did you catch that last line? Never forget how you where when you were young.
Next, Princess Leia reminds me of intergenerational ministry. She willingly works with the next generation (Poe, in this case) to patiently guide him in his own journey. Rey is also a bit impulsive, but not as much as Poe. Poe thinks he is ready for leadership when he clearly is not. He leads a mutiny which comes back to bite him in the end. And though this has nothing to do with intergeneration ministry, I can’t help but wonder if Captain Phasma, a senior adult with purple hair, is not the wave of the future when it comes hair-styles.
Whether its Luke working with Rey or Leia working with Poe, the church needs senior adults who are willing to pray for, support, and mentor the next generation. This may come in the form of giving young parents advice or just going to watch a youth’s ballgame. Though the next generation will disappoint you at times (Remember Poe), keep on loving on them. Captain Phasma kept her cool and a good attitude toward Poe. In the end, Leia and Phasma endured Poe’s good qualities.
This all brings me to Kylo Ren, the quintessential postmodern. Kylo is ready for a new day, a day where there is no good or evil, right or wrong, rebels or jedi . . . a day where he rules the day. Kylo wants Rey to join him on his quest.
There are a couple of things that are wrong with Kylo’s proposition. For one, its his quest, not Rey’s. No one can force his or her feelings on another. Secondly, the world Kylo envisions cannot exist. There will always be absolutes this side of heaven. Kylo tries to construct his own meaning as do many postmoderns. Whether postmoderns want to embrace it or not, there is a God and a devil, a heaven and a hell. There is no middle road to choose that will lead to a good destination because God has not provided a middle road to travel down. Jesus is pretty clear that those who are not with him are against him, that there is time to change the road you’re on (we’re all born rebels), and that if you do not, it will not end well for you in eternity. You might think that is unfair, but the truth is you have already chosen one road over another.
Let me explain why I choose the road less traveled with an illustration from another movie, The Wolverine. At the end of The Wolverine, the wolverine is back to his healthy self and goes to rescue the woman he loves. He has to make his way past 700 ninjas in a location that has been heavily guarded for generations. The ninjas ultimately bring the wolverine down after shooting dozens of arrows that stick in his back. Though the wolverine keeps moving forward, he eventually is shot so many times that he falls face forward and doesn’t get up. The scene encapsulated the sacrificial love of God for me on the cross. The wolverine loved this woman so much that he was willing to die for her. Like Jesus, the wolverine would rise up again. I choose the narrow road because of God’s love for me demonstrated through his Son. Jesus not only gave up everything for me (heaven, his own life, etc.), but showed me the grave couldn’t hold him.
Ultimately, this is why we can’t stop sharing the faith or discipling the next generation. Because our Savior never gave up on us! He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!