The Force of a Barnabas (Use the Force, Luke!)
Here is a simple but very special post from a dear friend of many years. When I saw it, tears came into my eyes and I immediately knew why. I’m posting this special story for three reasons, lessons if you will, which I will share after my friend’s post:
This is where I first began playing piano in church back in 6th grade. I was 11 or 12. It doesn’t look like a church, but it was a rented store front, a tiny mission church pastored by the dad and mom of Barbara Griggs McCarty, and Martha Trigg in Roseland just north of South Bend. They had no one to play for the congregational singing. They asked me to play piano even though I could not read music well enough to play with both hands out of a hymnal. So, scared to death, I read and played only the right hand for a few weeks while the tiny congregation sang along.
But that experience drove me to practice hard and within a few weeks I added the left hand. The rest is history. I am blessed that a pastor saw an opportunity to let a child fill a void that later changed his life and his life’s musical direction.
“I am blessed that a pastor saw an opportunity to let a child fill a void that later changed his life . . .”
That pastor was a Barnabas, a “Son of Encouragement.” And Ken was his Paul. This relationship set in motion a lifetime of relationships and ministry that continues to this very day.
What does it take to be a Barnabas, an encourager of others?
I. A Barnabas Eye
You know the story: Paul and Barnabas, friends and ministry partners for years not only dissolve their shared ministry, but apparently their friendship as well. Why? Paul lost confidence in their assistant, John Mark. But Barnabas sees qualities in this young man that, with encouragement, he is certain will become powerful in the hands of God. Where Paul cannot see the potential in a young minister, Barnabas can.
It was a good thing for Paul that Barnabas could see the potential in young ministers because it was this eye that led Barnabas to introduce Paul to the Apostles and stand by him when they were doubtful of Paul. But Barnabas saw Paul’s qualities, pointing them out to the Apostles and to him.
The pastors of my friend, Ken, saw qualities in him that others may or may not have seen – not only musical ability, but the heart of a sincere worshipper, a servant, someone with a great future leading the people of God and in developing ministers. And they were right. Ken went on to not only be a fantastic worship pastor and leader, but he and his family traveled in a wonderful and effective music ministry for many years. The churches I pastored hosted them as often as possible and their visit was always a church highlight. How we thank God that Ken’s childhood pastors had a Barnabas Eye for quality people.
II. A Barnabas Hand
After presenting Paul to the Apostles and standing by him when the Apostles were suspicious of Paul’s sincerity, Barnabas proved he not only had a great eye for character and ministry ability, but he had touch, a hand ready to release ministers to just the right ministry at just the right time. It was Barnabas who went to Tarsus to ask Paul to return to Antioch as an assistant pastor. He not only believed in Paul for some future day, but Barnabas believed in him today, demonstrated as he released Paul to help lead now the congregation that would succeed Jerusalem as the world’s leading church of that time.
Somehow Barnabas knew that releasing younger, less experienced people to ministry is the healthy and effective thing to do. He knew that as he trusted Paul, Paul could and would take that ministry far, quite possibly even farther than Barnabas could take it. Paul did just that.
The pastors of my friend, Ken, not only saw his qualities, but they released those qualities, actually putting him in front of the piano (and in public!). But they were sure of their young charge and their trust was well placed, proven by Ken’s lifetime of ministry, leadership and development of others for ministry. Though Ken was young, his pastors believed in him enough to not just say, “one day,” but “today.”
Leader-pastors are program-focused and have the tendency to hold on to ministry and to people, micro-managing them because, in their own minds, no one can do ministry as well as the leader-pastor. Their driving motivation is to protect what they have and who better to do that than them?
But pastor-leaders are people-focused and have the tendency to release ministry to people. Their driving motivation is to multiply the Gospel through people to people and that means making more ministers. In their minds – and as Ephesians 4 describes – given time, training and encouragement, quality people will multiply ministry and ministers over and over again, AND, they will probably be even more effective in doing so than the pastor-leader.
III. A Barnabas Heart
Here’s the best part, the part that really launched this piece for me.
I remember moving to Northwest Indiana many years ago to serve as assistant pastor at a great church. My primary role was that of youth pastor.
As I got my feet under me in that new position, I became aware that the churches in our area had built a very active and strong network of youth ministries. Their individual groups were strong and once a month they brought their groups together for incredible services and activities.
I remember taking my youth group for the first time to one of these monthly meetings. It was in Valparaiso, IN. I was knocked out by the energy, the excitement, the worship, the sense of unity and, most importantly, the presence of God. It was an amazing evening not only for my youth, but for me.
The speaker that night was incredible. He had this energetic and magnetic personality as he shared Jesus with us. He was going somewhere powerful and wonderful and it seemed he had only one desire in life: that we would join him in the journey. The longer he spoke, the more sure I was that I wanted to not only join his journey, but I wanted to know him and, unthinkably, maybe, just maybe, we could develop some kind of friendship, even though he was already an established leader and minister.
After the service that night I not only met that speaker, I made a friend. This incredible man of God opened a door of blessing to me that continues to this day.
That man was Ken Grace, the boy at the piano in the story above.
From that first meeting in Valparaiso to this day, Ken has been a great friend. He has shown me life in Jesus in so many ways. He has sparked joy and peace in my heart, he has encouraged me in my walk in Christ and in my ministry, he has shared godly wisdom with me. He has been a Barnabas to me.
God has been so gracious to fill my life with other Barnabases as well: Mike, Tim, Frank, Chris, Ron, the Montpelier Seven. All of these saw something in me, encouraged me, trusted me and challenged me.
There isn’t time to tell you all of their stories, but this one I can share – the story of Barnabas Ken.
I tell it for its own merit – it’s a story that deserves to be told.
And I tell it because little did those two pastors in South Bend, IN, know that in being a Barnabas to Ken, that Ken would be a Barnabas to me. Their decision to believe in one young man would go far, far beyond the walls of their own church to much of America and the world. Their investment in that one young man would far outlive their Sunday services, but would reach out over the decades to influence the lives of many.
CONCLUSION:
Yes, we must be wise in who we release to do what, but both Barnabas and Paul would say this is less an issue in the church today than the many leaders who refuse to release the Pauls of our day to ministry.
The problem in church leadership is not that there are too few Pauls among our young ministers, but there are too few Barnabases among our older ministers.
Let me repeat that: The problem in church leadership is not that there are too few Pauls among our young ministers, but that there are too few Barnabases among our older ministers – those who take the time to invest in young men and women, helping them to know and grow themselves and their ministries in Christ.
As a pastoral coach, I am often told by staff pastors – and by senior pastors – that the senior pastor spends little or no time developing his staff, mentoring them, discipling them. It is frightening just how many pastors give 0% Barnabas investment to their staff while expecting 100% Paul returns from them. Then they demand their staff pastors be Pauls and are surprised when they get young John Marks instead.
In a word, if there were more Barnabases ahead of us, there might very well be more Pauls among us.
So, two questions for your devotional time with God:
Who is your Barnabas?
Who saw qualities in you and encouraged you in those qualities? I write in the past tense, but possibly I should ask in the present tense for some: who IS your Barnabas; who sees qualities in you today and encourages you (maybe when even you don’t see those qualities in yourself?)
Who has trusted you to lead and to minister? Who put you in front of the piano and not only said, “You can do it, but you can do it now?” Who said, “You can do it, and then stood by your side in public as you put your hands on the keyboard of ministry and played?”
Thank God for that person even now. Why not send him or her a note of thanks, a note that lets them know their confidence was well placed, a note that says you will always be grateful for their trust and their encouragement, for them giving you a chance and then standing by you.
Whose Barnabas can you be?
Are there John Marks around you that Paul has moved past? Why not give them a second look, looking for their Jeremiah 1.5 creation, those strengths lovingly created by God and set into the DNA of their being? Identify those qualities not only in your own mind, but like Ken’s pastors, and like Barnabas and John Mark, identify those qualities in that young man or woman’s ears. Speak them often and with conviction, and in time, that young man or woman will see them as well and you will have given them a wonderful gift: the gift of seeing themselves as God sees them.
Who is your Paul?
To whom are you handing the reigns of leadership? You can be 55 or 25, but there are people under your ministry whom you can encourage to develop. There are people who are aching for you to give them a chance to put their hands on the keyboard so they can write songs, play songs, lead and direct songs that no one has ever heard before or even dreamed possible.
Barnabas, who will you stand by as they do the things that young Pauls do?
Why not thank God for them? And why not send them a note, telling them again just what it is that you see inside each one of them? Tell them that the keyboard is theirs, and as they play, it will always be your joy and privilege to stand by their side, your hand on their shoulder.
Thank God that one day near South Bend, IN, a pastor saw the potential in a young boy. Thank God for a Barnabas.