Episode 16: The Barnabas Factor

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In this final episode in this series, Dr. Phil leads the listener to consider doing a relational inventory to determine if they have a healthy balance of relationships in their lives. Are you a mentor to others? Do you have various mentors in your own life? The series wraps up with the New Testament narrative of Barnabas in the book of Acts, someone who opened doors for others. It is unlikely he would have done this without understanding Jesus’ teaching of servant leadership. He investing in others like Paul and John Mark, and likely many others not specifically mentioned in the Scriptures. Without his selfless efforts we likely would not have had much of the New Testament including one quarter of the Gospels. Phil’s final challenge is for all of us to be like Barnabas. Being willing to be the unsung heroes in the background, investing in others without caring who gets the credit. This is the real influence and authority of leadership. If we do this we will be amazed at what God will do through our lives.

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Video Script

Episode 16 Intro: Be the Unsung Hero

You likely may never have done a relational inventory, but if we are going to finish our race well, our relationships are arguably our most valuable asset. In this last episode I am going to challenge you to consider your current relationships to see if there are obvious gaps. Do you have peer mentors? How about upward mentors? Are you functioning as a mentor to someone else? As we wrap up, my hope is that you will take practical steps in your life and ministry to be a Barnabas in your generation.

Your Relational Network

As we grow and progress throughout the stages of our life and ministry, to be effective leaders at every stage we need many types of relationships. Having a variety of relationships that form a balanced relational network is one of the most strategic indicators of a leader who will finish well. This network includes spouses, family members, senior leaders, ministry team members, mentors, mentorees, as well as various levels of peer relationships.

I’d like to provide you with a few steps to manage your relational network. I understand we are usually not this intentional in evaluating our relationships, but I would suggest that the relationships in our lives are arguable our most valued resource. We manage our money, our time, our stuff, so why not be intentional in managing our relationships? How would this help us finish well? The reality is that in order to achieve our full potential, while remaining healthy spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically, we must have a varied network of relationships.

The first step in this process is to identify what stage of life we are in and make an assessment of our own developmental needs. As with doing a Timeline, this requires introspection and self-awareness. Next we need to make a list of all our relationships and identify if we have a variety of mentors and determine where we are functioning as a mentor. Then we need to identify the opportunities that exist for new relationships or ways to enrich current relationships.  If there seem to be few options, an individual needs to look beyond one’s own church or group or organization and prayerfully ask the Lord to lead them to those relationships that can produce mutual benefit. As we increase our own interpersonal skills we will be able to better relate to others. As we go through this exercise, do we notice gaps in our existing relational network? Do we have those who we gain strength and are investing in us. Are there those we are mentoring? Do I have peer relationships who I am on the journey with?

A Tale of Three Leaders

As we wrap up our series on mentoring, I would like to spend a few moments with likely one of my favorite characters from the New Testament. He did not get much press in the early church, but without him we would not have had most of the New Testament, or a quarter of the Gospels, not to mention far fewer church plants. You may be thinking that I am referring to the famous Apostle Paul. Good guess but I am thinking of someone else.

In Acts 4 we see an early church firing on all cylinders. People are coming to Jesus, they are living in community, exciting things are happening. Almost as an afterthought my favorite character is introduced, he was a Levite from Cypress. Need another hint? Okay his original name was Joseph? Hmm. How about this, his nickname was “son of encouragement.” Of course, I am speaking of none other than the illusive Barnabas.

After Acts 4 we don’t hear from Barnabas for a while. Before we hear from him again, the author introduces us to who was to become the main character in the early church. This guy was busy imprisoning and killing the followers of the new sect called The Way. He felt that it was his duty to stamp it out. He had actually just witnessed its first martyr. These were also heady days for this Pharisee of Pharisees, this expert in the law, this all around smug guy. Of course that was all before that fateful ride to Damascus. You know the story I am sure. In Acts 9 a certain Saul is on his way to persecute  those who were  part of this Christian sect.

Well we know what happens next. There was a bright light, an unceremonious fall off a horse, followed by darkness and a visit from a local prophet. The day was not really going the way he expected, to say the least. Within days,  Saul has a dramatic conversion, sees the light and goes to the synagogue proclaiming that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Well as you can imagine that did not go over very well with his employers. Meanwhile, those he had only days earlier been persecuting were scared spitless of him. For good reason, they probably all had friends and relatives still in jail because of him. So he tries to join the disciples in Jerusalem, which was ground zero of this new sect, but they were all too fearful of him and likely questioned his intentions.

It is at this point that Barnabas enters the narrative again. I actually think this is one of the most consequential verses of the Acts narrative. In Acts 9:27, Luke writes, “But Barnabas.”  We know that Barnabas was recognized and had credibility in the early community of believers. Remember he was known as the son of encouragement. Now he lays all his capital on the line. He obviously sees something in this gifted, yet flawed, upstart and risks his reputation. He vouches for Saul and personally introduces him to all his buddies, the higher ups in Jerusalem. He was taking a substantial risk on this new guy. What a model for us.

At this point Luke continues to follow the exploits of Peter. It is not until Chapter 11 that we see Barnabas again. Now he is in the church in the city of Antioch. He needs some help and he remembers this guy Saul that he vouched for and invites him to join him. They teach there for a year and then in Chapter 13 they are sent by this church to do foreign missions work. Now Barnabas, being the networker that he was, thinks it would be a good idea to take his young cousin, John Mark with them. At first, things were are going well, but at some point between Paaphos and Perga things went sideways. Not sure if Saul made Mark carry his bag or if he was expecting to do more of the preaching, but for whatever reason, he deserts the team and heads back to the familiarity of Jerusalem. In this chapter there is another subtle change that is worth noting. Up to this point the team is known as the Barnabas and Saul ministry team. But after giving his first recoded sermon, he is known as Paul and from verse 46 onward Luke  referred to the duo as the Paul and Barnabas missions team, not the original Barnabas and Paul team.

I am sure Barnabas could have been thinking, Who does this guy think he is? Why am I now having to play second fiddle to him? After all, where would he be if I hadn’t stuck my neck out and introduced him to my buddies in Jerusalem?  Now that may have been what I would have thought, but it seems Barnabas got the memo of what kingdom leadership was all about, serving others, not self. He never wrote a nasty email to all the Jerusalem leaders saying, “Ya, I made a mistake with Paul, look he is now taking over!”  In 15:36 they embark on their second missions trip and true to form, Barnabas has a great idea. “Hey let’s give young John Mark another chance.” Well as you know that did not go over very well with Paul. Of course with all his talent and ambition he had a lot of lost time to make up for, he had places to be, people to teach, Epistles to write. Actually there was such a disagreement between them that they went their separate ways – Barnabas with John Mark and Paul with Silas. Again, though, there was no name calling, questioning motives, nasty messages on the social media of the day. So there is a side lesson there for sure.

Full Circle: Barnabas, Paul, Mark

I don’t think it stretches the meaning of the text to see that they did not share the same values when it came to developing others. Barnabas was a mentor at heart. He had opened doors for Paul when he was still Saul no one would give him the time of day. Now he was doing the same with John Mark. Who knows how many other leaders in the early church he mentored that we do not even know about. Now to Paul’s credit, much like Peter eventually coming around, he eventually did get his priorities and values sorted out. Throughout his Epistles we see Paul with team members like Timothy, Titus, Onesimus, Epaphroditus, and the list goes on. He realized that ministry was a team sport and you have to build your team.

At the end of his life, when Paul is in prison, there is a passing reference (2 Tim 4:11) that I think speaks volumes. Apparently, many had deserted him by this point and only Luke was still with him. So he asks Timothy to bring Mark to him, “for he is helpful for me in my ministry.” Interesting. Now how do you suppose Mark became helpful for the mighty Paul in his ministry. My guess is had something to do with a guy called Barnabas… a guy who faded from the limelight of Acts, but continued to develop young leaders like Mark. He opened up doors for him, training him, mentoring him. The same thing he did for Paul all those years early. A guy willing to work in the background, but whose life had great influence. How much of the New Testament would we have without Barnabas opening doors for a mistrusted Paul? How many church would not have been planted without the leaders he mentored?

Be a Barnabas!

Are we willing to be a Barnabas? Yes it requires a heart and mind transformation to view leadership differently than others in our culture and our church. We have to be willing to see others go beyond us. We have to risk our own ministry and reputation to open doors for the next generation. But if we are not concerned about who gets the credit, we may be amazed one day what God will be able to do through our lives. Remember God’s plan in our lives encompasses more than just our generation, he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Ministry and life is a marathon, let’s play a good long game, not focus so much on our short game. Developing others through mentoring will not only provide you with a fulfilling, meaningful life but will ensure you will leave a legacy in this life and the life to come.

We began our series with the question, Why is mentoring not as common as it could or should be? Why is it not the go to means by which to develop the next generation of leaders? We discovered that we needed to define our terms and clarify the Kingdom values as taught by Jesus. We also discovered that it is virtually impossible to mentor someone else and see them develop even beyond us, without the heart of a servant. A final discovery has been that mentoring is really difficult when our church and organizational cultures are based on values that hinder such relationships. Even if there is a lack of mentors, I hope you have been encouraged with the possibility of peer mentoring. I hope this series will help you develop your teams and be even more effective for the Kingdom.

Thanks again for joining me. You may have noticed this topic is a bit of a life passion of mine and has informed most of my ministry and leadership activities. If you missed any episodes, I would encourage you to check them out as each episode builds on previous ones. Any feedback you have is appreciated. I look forward to having you join me in one of my other Leadershipmatters Podcasts. God bless.

Some Leadership Matters to Consider

But before then, I’d like to leave you a few leadership matters to consider:

What did you discover through the Relational Network exercise? Are there gaps you need to prayerfully consider filling?

What did you learn from the story of Barnabas? How could you be a Barnabas within your spheres of influence?

In what ways can you create a lifestyle of mentoring in your ministry and leadership?

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