Yes, I’m a ridiculously fanatical Star Wars lover. I’ve collected Star Wars memorabilia since 1977 and I still enjoy collecting today. Two friends suggested that I write some kind of post about Star Wars and small groups, so here goes. All small groups have a few stereotypical people in them. Today we’ll give faces to a few of these group-member-stereotypes by comparing them to classic Star Wars characters.
Obi Wan Kenobi — The noble group leader who is trying to get a diverse bunch of people on the same page. He understands spiritual growth and the need everyone in the group has for it. He’s not perfect though: he has martyr issues.
Luke Skywalker — The naive group member who dreams of things to come, and needs to become a little more connected with reality. This person has potential, but needs a lot of growth.
Han Solo — The cocky small group member who is a tough nut to crack. He acts like he’s got everything together on the surface, but underneath he has real issues and needs the friendship-bond of faith far more than he realizes.
Chewbacca — The group member who seldom says anything, but is loyal to the rest of the group no matter what.
Princess Leia — The group member who recognizes the necessity of small groups and has a “whatever it takes” attitude when it comes to fulfilling the vision of small group ministry. She asserts herself into a co-leader role whether or not she’s been asked to serve in that capacity. Although she’s really committed to the group, NEVER ask her about the problem she has with kissing her brother.
See Threepio — Every group has “that person”: the super-needy, always complaining, never optimistic, paranoid, downer who is at the same time the group’s plucky comic relief.
Artoo Deetoo — The group servant. He loves to help and make sure that everyone feels important. Everyone loves him to the extent that he’s almost the group mascot.
Aunt Beru — The “hostess” of the group. She loves to bringing food and being the group “mom”. She’s really nice, but don’t drink her blue milk. It’s good for you, but tastes like Degoba swamp water.
Yoda — The small group coach who shows up from time to time with great advice and insight. He makes group life look and sound easy, but his coaching is sometimes hard to put into practice. He also has a slight tendency to talk over group members’ heads. Plus that whole backwards-speak thing is just weird. ”Out you must go, for your mission to succeed.” I mean, seriously, who talks like that?!?!?
