BEAUTIFUL MUSIC

The radio personality Charles Osgood once told the story of two ladies who lived in a convalescent center. Each had suffered an incapacitating stroke, one on the left side of her body, and the other woman, on the right side of her body. Both of these ladies had been accomplished pianists all of their lives up until that point, but now they despaired of ever playing music again. One day however, a therapist at the center sat them both down at a piano and encouraged them to play the piano together, compensating for each other’s weaknesses. They did, and a beautiful friendship developed, in addition to the beautiful music they produced. (Osgood 206) What an amazing picture of the members of the Body of Christ working together as a team! Areas of ministry that one member of the body may not be able to perform, because of an absence of gifting or calling, are easily carried out by other members of the fellowship. These amazing partnerships can be seen within various ministry relationships that are recorded in Scripture, and perhaps most notably in the New Testament, is the partnership between Paul and Barnabas. There are four major characteristics within their partnership that are worthy of examination: 

1. The Relationship: A meaningful rapport, with common interests and goals.

We see the ministry partnership of the Apostle Paul and Barnabas, known as the, “Son of Encouragement”, come in and out of focus throughout the book of Acts, and it is a fascinating study in early church ministry relationships. Had it not been for Barnabas, Paul may never have been involved in the early church at all, and therefore would not have written the vast majority of our New Testament as we know it today. Nevertheless, God works through people, and he chooses often to work through relationships between people, their common interests, friendships, and affections, and this is certainly the case with Barnabas, as he saw something special in Paul from the very beginning, and wanted to include him in the work of the Lord at Jerusalem. We find in the Acts of the Apostles that, “…when Saul [Paul] had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. (NKJV Acts 9:26-27)”

This was a monumental step in the progression of the early church, but again it was God working in and through a relationship that brought it about. So often, the importance of relationship is not given due consideration when making decisions about ministry positions being filled. Just as King Saul was chosen for his natural good looks, athletic build, and his height, to be the first ruler of Israel, and we all know how that worked out, ministers are often chosen because of their resume, speaking abilities, sense of humor, and the way they look, in order to fill positions in churches. However, it is a much more godly principle to first consider those with whom we already have a relationship, prior to looking for that superstar hired gun, from outside the church, without ever wondering if they will even get along with others within the fellowship; not to mention if they are even God’s choice.

2. The Rationale:  Seeking God’s will to fill a need with the right person and the right gifts. 

As the years passed and the church began to spread out into the world, there came a need for a new kind of ministry approach in order to reach out to the Gentiles, and Barnabas knew just the guy for the job. There never seems to be a shortage of dear souls within the church who will stand up and say, “Well, I’m not gifted in that area, and don’t really feel called to do it, but I’ll do it until someone else shows up!” Bless their hearts, that is so truly appreciated, and sometimes that is what you have to go with, but it is always better to wait on the Lord, seek His face, pray for the one that God has chosen to lead that ministry, who is called and gifted, and then keep your eyes open for when they finally show up, because eventually, they will! Other times you may have to go look for them as, “…Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. (Act 11:25-26)” This is another great example of partnership at work. Barnabas looked around, saw the need, realized that neither he nor his compatriots could fill it, so he went in search of the one man that he knew could fill the need, and brought him home to Antioch. Again, it is better to wait on the Lord, pray, and rationally think these things through before just throwing someone at the task and assume they will be able to accomplish it effectively, and to the glory of God.

3. The Rivalry: Tensions that exist within ministry partnerships due to varying gifts, visions, callings, and Scriptural understandings.

As great of friends and ministry partners that Paul and Barnabas were, they still had a disagreement that resulted in their friendship being strained and their ministries dispersed in other directions. This was obviously God's will, as we view it in hindsight; which tells us that ministry partnerships are subject to changing and even disbanding. This is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on how we handle it and how we conduct ourselves throughout the entire process. We find that, “…Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark. (Acts 12:25)” However, the young Mark, for reasons unknown to us, wanted to return home, and this did not sit well with the bold nature, and passionate convictions of the Apostle Paul who, “…insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them… and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus… (Acts 15:38-39)”. Barnabas on the other hand, has a very compassionate nature that sought to encourage and build up the saints, caring more for the needs of Mark than the needs of the ministry. These rivalries between the various gifts and callings within the body have been clashing with each other ever since, but we need to see them more as compliments to each other, rather that contradictions against each other.

4. The Reconciliation: The biblical need to forgive, confess, apologize, and restore the broken fellowship of ministry partners for Heaven’s sake.

Finally, we see the biblical need for forgiveness and humility to allow for reconciliation to take place when the ministry partnerships are fractured by differences in viewpoints. There must come a confession of guilt, an apology, and a restoration of that broken fellowship to take place, for the sake of the ministry of the Gospel, and for the restoration of our own souls as well. We are uncertain about the relationship status of Paul and Barnabas, but as for Paul’s relationship with Mark, we find at the end of his life, Paul told Timothy to, “…Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. (2 Tim 4:11)” This is perhaps the pattern that we need to follow most within ministry. It is all too easy to write someone off, when they have hurt you or there has been a falling out of some type, but we must become more amendable to the principle that Jesus taught, saying, “… leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Mat 5:24)” Just think of the beautiful music we could make together!

By Pastor Glen Mustian

Works Cited:

New King James Version. The Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishing. Nashville, TN. Print. 2002.

Osgood, Charles. The Osgood Files. Random House Publishing. New York, NY. Print. 1992.