I vaguely remember some aspects of my childhood but some stand out more than others. One such standout is the movie “Bloodsport.” Who can resist Jean-Claude Van Dam jumping in the air while dispensing a various array of kicks and ninja moves? He wants to defend the honor of his good friend who tragically was murdered in the kumite by a Korean haus and win for his master who trained him during his youth (sounds very typical 80s to me). The thing that stands out , besides the ninja moves and the Korean guy losing, is the bond between Frank Dukes (JVD) and his Master. This martial arts master trains Frank physically, emotionally, and mentally to achieve an end goal. What does it mean to mentor?
When I was a teenager, I remember the man who walked along side me during high school and “lived life” with me. He was my youth pastor, Brian Burkey, and I could tell that although it was his role to be my youth pastor, there was something different in the way we interacted. Brian cared about my spiritual growth but his focus wasn’t about changing my behavior, it wasn’t about training me to be a leader in my youth group, it was about loving me well when my faults and sins were known to him. Brian is a mentor. He is a man who loved and cared for me, first and foremost, like one of his own kids and was transparent enough to show me his own shortcomings. He wasn’t a “Superman” type figure in my life but a broken man who loved me in a real way. His love for me was a means to no end. In relationships of actual love there is no agenda – especially at the beginning.
What would it look like for the Riverside family to embrace mentoring? Is it possible for us to do it, not as a means to an end but through “living life together” as our starting point? Wouldn’t mentoring then be a natural outgrowth? It’s easy to talk a big game and use this term “living life”, and in this way we definitely ‘talk the talk’ at Riverside! But, mentoring requires us to move beyond just teaching and training and engage the issues of life. That’s what Jesus did. He lived day in and day out with his disciples and his main message to them was to love God first and foremost and love other people. Do you think Jesus spent 18-20 hours a day only teaching and telling parables? Jesus laughed with people, cried with those who were broken, got excited about doing certain things, and probably told a few zingers himself. What I’m trying to say is that mentoring should not be our focus…but love. When we love people well we will naturally become a mentoring community.
Brian and I continue to meet up and have a close friendship. He’s like a second father to me in almost every way. I don’t think we would still be hanging out 10 years after I graduated from youth group if his focus wasn’t love.
PS - did you know Blood Sport is based upon a true story? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodsport_(film)
-Simon Kim
Dude, awesome. One of my favorite films. I totally learned from Frank Dukes how to do the changing the quarter into a nickel trick while it is in someone else's hand. I have cat like reactions.
ReplyDeleteAlso, didnt realize the antagonist was a Korean guy until now....figures, Hollywood typically has the anglo prevailing over the Asian (unless of course the Asian has a pretty face, then he's the champion).
Good stuff on mentoring. It requires a posture of humility on both parties that is hard for me. I have a great mentor that I know needs to mentor me but at the same time I don't want him to mentor me because I so often think my training is complete and I am ready to leave Master Yoda to take on Darth Vader at the death star by myself. A foolish notion so thanks for the reminder.
We should chat soon.
Peace,
Nathan Carico