Sermon Tone Analysis

In January 2015, two men dared to defy gravity.

American rock climbers, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, completed the first continuous climb of the Dawn Wall of El Capitan mountain.

[[[show pic of the Dawn Wall, El Capitan]]]

The Dawn Wall is a sheer slab of granite that rises 3,000 feet above the valley floor.

Prior to Tommy and Kevin, the Dawn Wall had never been climbed.

Even for the world’s best, it was seen as an impossible ascent.

Beginning in 2008, however, Tommy Caldwell saw the possibilities in the impossible.

Widely regarded as the greatest living free climber in the world, he began searching the wall for a route.

After a few years of trying on his own, he realized that he needed a partner to help him continue, so he recruited the much younger, tenacious, but inexperienced Kevin to join his team.

Through Tommy’s mentorship, they finally pieced together a possible route.

After 6 years of preparation, they devised a plan to climb the wall in one continuous push, meaning they would live on the wall until they either completed the ascent or gave up.

Here’s a picture of their home in the sky called a porta-ledge:

[[[show pic of Tommy and Kevin on a porta-ledge]]]

Their attempt attracted media attention from every major outlet across the world, and their climb was featured in a 2018 documentary film called The Dawn Wall.

[[[show pic of Dawn Wall poster]]]

I highly recommend it.

The route they developed is made up of 32 pitches, each about 150 feet in length, the standard size of a climbing rope.

To ascend the wall, one man would climb, while the other belayed.

Then, once that man reached the top of the next pitch, he would belay the other man.

For the first couple days, this leapfrog routine continued without any issue until on day 3, Kevin failed to complete the 15th pitch on the route.

In the years preceding their official attempt, Tommy and Kevin practiced each pitch in preparation for their push.

Tommy completed each one of the 32 pitches multiple times.

Kevin, however, successfully completed every pitch, except for pitch 15.

No matter how hard he tried, he was never able to successfully traverse Pitch 15 in practice.

Now, with the summit on the line, he’s stuck again.

After several days and dozens of attempts to complete Pitch 15, Tommy reached a decision point: does he continue without his partner and summit, or does he stay with Kevin to help him do the impossible?

Everyday that they spent living suspended thousands of feet in the air on the side of the Dawn Wall increased the risks of illness and injury that threatened the completion of the climb, so Tommy decided to continue without Kevin.

Over the next couple days, every pitch that Tommy completed placed him further ahead of Kevin.

When Tommy reached Pitch 19, however, the last of the most difficult pitches on the route, Tommy realized something profound about being a mentor: his success was Kevin’s success.

After gaining several pitches ahead of Kevin, Tommy recognized that his vision to climb the Dawn Wall was no longer his own, but it was now Kevin’s, too.

They were bonded.

Kevin needed Tommy more now than ever, but Tommy also needed Kevin.

Take a look at how Tommy responded after reaching Pitch 19 called Wino Tower:

[[[Play Clip 1 - 1:18.50 - 1:20.08]]]

Did you hear what Tommy said, “I want Kevin to experience this, too… Suddenly I felt alone.

Going to the top without Kevin would be devastating.”

Kevin needed Tommy presence to finish the pitch, so Tommy did what every great mentor does, he went back down the wall, and against the advice of literally everyone on his support team, Tommy committed to support Kevin every step of the way.

After a week of trying and failing and bruising his body on countless falls and catches on the rope, Kevin finally completed Pitch 15 with Tommy right by his side.

Tommy and Kevin reached the summit of the Dawn Wall on Day 19, and for many, their ascent is widely considered the most technically difficult climb on Earth.

The power of Tommy’s mentorship with Kevin defied the gravitational pull of impossibility.

Without a doubt, if Tommy had not risked his own dream and reputation to descend back down the wall, then Kevin would have never reached the summit.

Tommy modeled humble, servant-hearted love to Kevin.

By physically and figuratively lowering himself for Kevin and setting aside his own rights and privileges as the more experienced and renowned climber, both men achieved the impossible.

Last week, we learned that cultivating kingdom leadership begins with modeling what you know.

Actions speak louder than words.

Behaviors follow beliefs.

Jesus modeled in John chapters 12-13 that the lower you make yourself, the higher you grow.

Today, we’re taking kingdom leadership to the next level by modeling what you believe through mentorship.

Mentors demonstrate that the lower you make yourself for someone else, the higher we grow.

In John chapters 12-13, Jesus taught, “Those who care nothing for their life in this world [those who make themselves lower than others] will keep it for eternity.

26 Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am.

And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

John 12:25-26.

Blessing comes to those who serve the Lord.

This doesn’t mean making yourself a doormat to people, but it does mean lowering your pride and sense of self to allow more of Jesus to grow in you.

Jesus modeled this teaching in John 12 by washing his disciples’ feet in John 13, and said, Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am.

14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.

15 I have given you an example to follow.

Do as I have done to you.

John 13:12–15.

Now, does this mean washing your boss’ feet?

No, I don’t think so.

We actually don’t hear of the disciples ever doing this again, but Jesus does mean following his example of humble, servant-hearted love.

People won’t deserve it, but neither did we when Jesus offered to us.

He doesn’t tell us to love others who deserve our love.

Rather, We love because [Jesus] first loved us. 1 John 4:19

His love is grace, and when it leads the way in us, we’re able to cultivate God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

In John chapters 14-16, Jesus gives his most intimate teachings, known as the Farewell Discourses.

Then, in John chapter 17, he offers a prayer for all his followers everywhere and all time.

No other passages in the Gospels so clearly and extensively record Jesus’ mentorship than these 4 chapters in John.

We won’t have time to unpack all 4 of these chapters in this message, so let me encourage you to read them this week to receive all that Jesus taught and prayed for.

Today, I want to lift a few key statements that Jesus made from John chapter 14 that show the heart of the Father’s kingdom and also the qualities both to seek in a mentor and to model as a mentor.

Now, following what Jesus modeled and shared in chapter 13, the disciples felt really troubled.

They knew that Jesus was preparing to leave, but they didn’t know where or when.

Was he going to die, and if so, then how could he return?

Jesus wasn’t clear, and they felt really confused.

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20.

We know what eventually happened, but in the moment, the disciples felt deeply unsettled, so like a good mentor, Jesus assured them, saying:

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.

John 14:3–4.

Whatever happens next, Jesus said, he promised that he wouldn’t forget them, and he wouldn’t abandon them.

These words are often shared at funerals, and they’re fitting.

Death reminds us that we can’t see the way forward after this life ends.

We’re limited by our finite bodies and understanding.

We’re limited by our sin, and we need someone to show us the way through the unknown.

We need a mentor to lead the way.

After Jesus said this, throughout the rest of chapter 14, three disciples - Thomas, also known as doubting Thomas, Philip, and Judas (not Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, but another disciple also named Judas) - each ask Jesus a question to understand what he said in verses 3 and 4.

Jesus’ response to these three questions model 3 key principles of kingdom mentorship.

Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:5–7.

Here, Jesus models the first principle of kingdom mentorship: clarity.

Here, Jesus doesn’t mince words.

He provides remarkable clarity about his identity.

Mentors offer clarity in direction and remove obstacles to a person’s growth.

Nowadays, modern critics use Jesus’ statement to make him seem exclusive against others, calling his statement the height of personal arrogance, but what did Jesus model in his behaviors and teach in his mentorship to the disciples: humble, servant hearted love.

Jesus offered the clearest direction to the Father for all people.