Teaching the Scriptures, Addendum: Barnabas

 I spent much of my early years in fundamentalism. Some would say I still exist in that realm, but I would say only in some associations. I do not consider myself an evangelical any longer because the word has changed meaning from theological to socio/political. I experience a good bit of cognitive dissonance about complementarianism in its extreme forms yet don't buy into egalitarianism because it's too close to "no-gender-ism."  I am conservative in social issues, libertarian in fiscal policy, and lean somewhat progressive about the environment (except my version of it would not strike some as progressive).  

So I don't like labels any more. 

But, back to sentence one. Some things from fundamentalism were helpful. Some things not, and those things I have had to shake off and shed, and some need to be excised like a cancer.  One of the latter is the sense of cause v. people. Fundamentalism as I was taught it said the cause of evangelism was more important than the people being evangelized.  A second is a false binary, that everything has to be seen as morally/scripturally right or morally/scripturally wrong. Another is that the Apostle Paul was infallible not just in the Scriptures he penned but everything he did.

Case in point. In Acts 15:36 and following:

³⁶ Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. ³⁸ But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and departed, being ^[n]commended by the brethren to the grace of God. ⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

I remember a lot of "Bible teachers" claiming that Paul was right and Barnabas wrong, end of story.  I don't think this is how Luke interpreted it. Such a viewpoint misses several facts. 

Up to this point Barnabas had been a partner with Paul and in some ways the leader of the two. Go back and read all the references to Barnabas to this point. He first appears in the end of Acts 4, making a sacrificial contribution to the young church. The next time is 9:27, where he is standing up for Saul/Paul before the apostles and vouching for him. Then there are 19 references to Barnabas traveling, preaching, and evangelizing with Paul in some very tough and opposing circumstances, including the Jerusalem Council, where they had to argue that Gentiles were equal to Jews in the church. Nothing but references to what a mensch Barnabas was. And then Paul disagrees with him over John Mark, they split,  and we really don't hear about Barnabas any more.  

The "preachers" took that to mean Barnabas was disqualified from ministry for disagreeing with Paul. Uh, how about no?

John Mark was a kinsman (cousin) of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), who kind of wigged out in Pamphylia (Acts 13:13) and apparently Paul had a major issue with it.  Barnabas decided to return to his home of Cyprus to minister there with John Mark. While that is the end of Barnabas in Acts, but not John Mark in the New Testament. He later penned a gospel under the guidance of Peter's recollections, and Paul wanted his help in a couple of cases and mentioned him in II Timothy, Colossians, and Philemon. 

Clearly Mark ended up a leader. Why Mark wigged out, who knows? Barnabas had a calling to encourage people (the apostles gave him the name "Son of Encouragement") and he fulfilled his calling. 

I want to be a Barnabas, a Daughter of Encouragement. He wasn't wrong. Paul could have been more forgiving, and Paul wasn't right all the time (the last ten books of Acts can be read as God making right some bad decisions on Paul's part). 

And "the work" is not more important than people. Whatever that work might be thought of.

It takes a long time to cut out utilitarian, dehumanizing thinking from one's soul.