Implications for our Churches
Who are sacrificial and generous; who are full of faith; who are full of the Holy Spirit; who are good men and women; who stick up for those who’ve made dreadful mistakes; who see what people can yet be and become; who can see in churches, in communities, in everyday situations, the Presence and Work of God.
The happy and almost impossible task of the Church is to set up signs that God is yet present, actual symbols in life, in art, in dance, in word and deed that Jesus cares and is among us and in our world – still alive and well, in His Body the Church.
Just as Barnabus was one person and the Church is represented as the Body of Christ, so we see in these living organisms the Presence, Peace, Care and Work of Jesus. His forgiveness is mirrored in and through our individual lives and in the Church. There we experience honesty but also open welcome. There we find faith and are encouraged to build it up through living it out. There we experience the Presence and Power of Jesus’ Spirit. There we find people who live generously and sacrificially – who do without that others may have the basic needs of life. There we find people who stick up for one another, who encourage, who teach, who help us live on the edge – living out faith, singing borderland songs, in these increasingly very strange times. There we find people who both seek to build up the Body and to expand the Body – drawing people into find such life and love – and pushing people out, scattered – locally and even globally among the nations to share God’s forgiveness and love.
Both within and without the fellowship of faithful ones, one finds a mix of ages, cultures, ethnes, preferences, experiences, perspectives, hopes and dreams – and yet somehow in and through such community is refracted and reflected the mult-variegrated light of God’s grace, shining in all the rainbow hues of creation, and all the spectra not only of light but of sound and movement – throughout space
People and Churches
As one man, Barnabus could only do what God equipped him to do, gave him time, ability, energy, health with which to do it. Like any person, he had a head and a heart - and hands and feet to serve His Lord. Within his limitations, despite them, because of them, he faithfully lived out His days in love of Jesus.
Head – What is it one needs to know about life, about service and ministry in and with Jesus, before or as we become effective in Kingdom work? What is the faith, the teaching the training (theory and praxis) that would enable our churches, individual believers among us, to live out their faith in the everyday realities of their existence – at home, with neighbour, at work, where they work-out, at play, on holiday, with all the relationships of family, community, work and world. What do people need to learn to be and do like Jesus, as modeled in the life and leadership of one like Barnabus?
Heart – And how are we to feel , touch and experience, respond to and embrace the people of our lives, the situations that arise with each new day. What experiences will transform people, help them to see and hear and feel – and respond in new ways? What praxis experiences as well as rationale and learning will help equip them for ministry and mission today? What do people need to embrace and respond to, in relating to others and to their world – in all of the contexts and cultures and challenges of our day?
Hands and Feet – And what shall we do, and how shall we do it; and where shall we go and with whom shall we share it – this faith, this grace, this forgiveness, this caring, this fullness of humanity that we have and are discovering through knowing Christ, by being fully devoted apprentices of Him, with all our being, in all of our lives, and at all times? Assuming that ministry and mission is largely about ‘showing up’ (about ‘being there), how will we prepare leaders to encourage congregants not only to congregate (in attractional models of ministry) to hear them teach and preach and to help run on-site church programs and ministries – but also to go (as apostles – i.e. ‘sent ones’) to live and share faith on their street and in the neighbourhoods, work-places and other places of community where they will relate with people throughout the week. Can we do more and go more, with confidence, comprehension, compassion and purposefully loving action?
