Paul: we, ourselves and us

Engaging | more by Helen Parry | Word for the Week

by Helen Parry (Word for the Week 03-03-08)

‘While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them”. So after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.’ Acts 13:2-3

Paul’s call to a life of service was sudden, dramatic and exclusively personal. A light, a voice and a sign (blindness) left him in no doubt. It’s likely that he expected his life from then on to be individually directed, his guidance equally unmistakable.

But the following years were full of uncertainty and waiting. When the Acts record of his ministry finally begins, we see Barnabas in the leading role: he it was who went to Tarsus to bring Paul to Antioch. Together, and with other ‘teachers and prophets’, they worked with the young church there for a year. One day, when they were all worshipping and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke – not to Paul, but to the church, not only about Paul, but about Barnabas and Paul.

Paul became the spearhead of Christ’s mission into western Asia and then into Europe. But he was never again a one-man band. The lessons of Antioch taught him the need for fellowship and accountability. Whether with Barnabas, with Silas, or other disciples, he always travelled and ministered with someone else. And, having been initially commissioned by the Antioch church, he and Barnabas returned there, reported on their doings, and spent time with their friends.

Our highly individualistic culture can learn much from Paul about collective decision-making, teamwork and accountability. We are so used to making our own decisions, solving our own problems, that it is often easier to do things ourselves than to involve others. Our self-sufficiency and self-reliance may undermine our families and disempower our colleagues. They also engender pride.

The problem exists also in the church. Some patterns of Christian leadership confer such authority on the leader that he or she may become a petty dictator – and challenging that authority may be perceived as challenging God. But Paul’s example reminds us all of the principle of listening to God together, of training disciples and building teams. And in the matter of guidance, can we seek advice and prayer, and make ourselves accountable to our brothers and sisters?

The New Testament knows nothing about one-man bands.