Be Barnabus

Barnabas wasn’t his given name, it’s just what everyone called him, his real name was Joseph. Somehow, in all of the dealings with the disciples and the early church, people found him to always be a source of encouragement and hope. We all know people like Barnabas, they always make us feel better about ourselves. These people are always upbeat, and always confident that we’re on the verge of something great.

After COVID, when we reopened our churches, we were surprised to find out how many people actually live from Sunday to Sunday. A lot of people tell themselves on Thursday, “I’ll hang on until Sunday and then I’ll see Barnabas (whoever their Barnabas maybe).” I’m still heartbroken over the amount of damage we did to the souls of our people when we cut them off from the fellowship, that in many cases, kept them alive. As we later discovered, suicides went up, addictions increased, and loneliness became an epidemic. I’m not blaming anyone, we were doing the best we could, but I am saying I will never do it again.

I rediscovered Barnabas reading a familiar story in Acts 4. The early church is surviving the initial push back from the religious leaders in Jerusalem. John and Peter have been arrested, threatened and then released. After everything is said and done, the early church is still there and they celebrate the faithfulness of God with ground-shaking worship and extreme generosity.

Here’s what I found interesting about the story. At the end of the story, we’re introduced to Barnabas and told he’s sold some property and given the money to the church. I was expecting the next paragraph to tell us about a widow with three kids the church had helped out. I was thinking that after all we have been told about the lack of needs in the church, we hear a story about someone who had been helped by the church. Amazing, we’re introduced to someone who did the blessing, not someone who was blessed.

So, if we follow the flow of the story, Jesus promises times will get hard for His followers. You’ll be arrested, He tells them. You’ll be dragged before the councils and accused. When that happens, don’t worry, the Spirit will be there to help you. Everything happened just as Jesus said it would and the church had not only survived but found a way to thrive. Not only did the church survive but it produced a new hero of the church – Barnabas.

If anyone wants to know what kind of people the church produces, here he is – Barnabas. The end of chapter 4 seems to be telling us, “People who love Jesus and are formed by His word end up looking a lot like Barnabas.”

So, be Barnabas.

And why wouldn’t we want to be Barnabas? Look at his career. He was sent by the Jerusalem church to validate the birth and rapid growth of the church in Antioch. When he finds the revival in Antioch to be real he leads the congregation until the church grows beyond his capacity. Then, Barnabas goes to Tarsus to bring back Paul, then Saul, to be a teaching pastor for the church. In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas were called to be the first missionaries of the church. Then, when Paul refuses to take John Mark on their second journey, Barnabas separates from Paul and supports John Mark. While we don’t hear anything else from Barnabas in the book of Acts, it scares me to think about what we would have lost if Barnabas hadn’t kept John Mark in the fold.

Barnabas – generous giver, ambassador for the Jerusalem church, first pulpit committee, first missionary, protector and mentor of young pastors – that’s not a bad career.

These days, I’m meditating more and more about how to be Barnabas. Here are the questions I’m asking myself.

First, how do I declutter my life so I can be a generous person? What happens if I simplify my life so I can have money to give when I meet someone in need? What happens if I can free up my time so when someone calls, I have attention to give to them? How do I live my life so that people always see me as a person of encouragement? How do I live so people are always glad, even eager, to see me?

Who are the churches that need my gifts and experience? What revival fire is smoldering that I can fan into a consuming fire? What pastor needs me to find them and help them find their place of maximum impact for the kingdom of God?

What young pastor needs my protection? What friend has slipped up and needs me to come chase the buzzards off? What future difference maker needs me to stand with them now?

As you can see, Barnabas left us a lot to live up to. If you see me walking around not seeming to pay attention, it’s because I’ll be thinking about how to be more like Barnabas.

I pray you are too.

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.