The bible tells us that: "A disciple is not above the teacher.." (Matthew 10:24) To paraphrase "an apprentice is not better than his master." Clearly Anakin Skywalker did not get this memo or did not spend much time studying scripture.
So what makes a good apprentice? There is a lot of things that go into being an apprentice. There are three things I would like to focus on.
First, one of the best ways to learn a craft or trade is to follow someone around who knows how to do it. If you want to be a gardener then follow around a master gardener. If you want to be a teacher, go student teach with a teacher. If you are studying to become a pastor, meet with and shadow a pastor. No matter what you choose to do you can and should learn from someone who is doing it or has done it. I learned about youth ministry by following around (interning) for my mentor, Boyd Goodloe. I learned more from him than I could ever possibly express to him or anybody else. If you need another example I give you the disciples. They learned about Jesus and from Jesus by walking around with Jesus. They followed him so closely that they got dust from his sandals on their feet.
Second, as an apprentice you should know that eventually you will be asked to step out and lead. In the New Testament, an apprentice named Timothy followed Paul. Short version: Timothy followed Paul, Timothy learned from Paul, Paul eventually told Timothy "go lead a church, peace out yo." Well, you get the idea. A good apprentice follows the master/leader and learns from them. They soak in everything they can learn from them and when they are ready they step out and lead.
Our junior high youth want leadership opportunities. I asked them last night to follow (ask) our senior high leaders how they can be leaders in the youth group. Brittney (8th grader) stepped out and musically led a song last night by singing. She didn't just decide to do that last night. She has been coached by soundwave leaders, a youth praise band leader, and a vocal coach. She wants to improve and lead musically so she has surrounded herself with those people. Which brings me to my third point. A good apprentice must surround himself/herself with the right people. If you want to learn how to improve your singing go take lessons from people who have trained in that area. You would not learn to sing by going to take singing lessons from me, although that would be entertaining and humorous it ultimately has no "musical" value. Seems simple enough to me.
To recap: Anakin Skywalker=bad apprentice. He didn't want to learn because he thought he knew everything, he even whined about how Obi-Wan was holding him back because he was jealous. He was never prepared to lead. He was the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy and yet he chose to "follow" the Emperor. And he surrounded himself with a Sith Lord, enough said.
We as Christians are called to make disciples, to make disciples, to make disciples until the whole world knows Jesus Christ. The way we do that is to follow other Christians, step out and lead other Christians, and surround ourselves with other Christians. And we have a great model in Jesus and the disciples. They followed and learned, and eventually led. They followed around the greatest teacher of the faith ever. And we can follow around teachers and disciples of faith too. No matter if you are a senior adult, an adult, a student, or a child. You can be an apprentice. So today ask yourself: How can I be a student of faith?
Grace&Peace
Kevin
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