George Bernard Shaw famously quipped, “The power of accurate
observation is sometimes called ‘cynicism’ by those that don’t possess
it.” My brother-in-law often says that
my family has turned sarcasm and cynicism into our spiritual gifts. If you have ever sat next to me during a
meeting or conference, you can probably attest—I can be a wealth of witty, fun
negativity. It may be funny, or
entertaining, but the fact remains, I am often naturally a very negative person.
This past week, I co-taught a Course of Study class at
United Theological Seminary. Although my
content was good, and helpful, the content of my lectures was not what stuck
with the students most. What really connected
with students was the encouragement. We
purposely tried to provide some encouragement to these students, many of whom
were in their first appointment, struggling to learn what it meant to be a
pastor. There were even times we did not
intend to be encouraging, but were. We
shared some of our struggles, stories of times that we felt discouraged, and
the students were amazed to know that they were not the only ones. Our content was good, but the power of
encouragement was better.
I am amazed by the story of Barnabas in Acts. Barnabas is identified as the
“encourager.” Barnabas is not the first
person we think of when we think of the leaders of the early church. I have seen many churches named after St.
Paul or St. Peter, but never St. Barnabas.
Yet, Barnabas is a crucial figure in the story. After Paul’s conversion experience on the
road to Damascus, Paul eventually came to Jerusalem to connect with the
established church. James wanted nothing
to do with Paul; he had been an enemy of the early Christian church. But Barnabas vouched for Paul, and arranged
for Paul to meet with the other
leaders. Barnabas accompanied Paul on
his first missionary meeting.
And Barnabas’ influence does not stop there. John Mark was one of Paul’s companions, but
seemed to lose his heart. Paul wanted
nothing to do with John Mark. But Barnabas
left Paul to go with John Mark, and bring him back into the fold. We traditionally believe that John Mark
became a travelling companion of Peter, and from Peter’s stories, wrote the
Gospel of Mark, which influenced the other gospels. If not for Barnabas’ encouragement, there
would be no gospels.
2015 is a year of easy cynicism in the United Methodist
Church. At our annual conferences, we
will elect representatives to General and Jurisdictional Conferences. There are serious questions about the long-term
future of our denomination. There are
concerns about the entire Church in an increasingly secular and sometimes
hostile society. Add to this the
sometimes strained relationships we may also have among clergy—the artificial
sense of competitiveness, the lack of confidence we sometimes feel from our
churches. It is easy to be cynical and
sarcastic. And there is an element of
sarcasm that is probably healthy. But if
can also manifest itself in some unhealthy ways. We seem to celebrate when another big pastor
fails. We see another church grow, and
treat it with mistrust and sometimes anger.
My 2015 New Year’s Resolution for the Church is to declare
this the year of Barnabas. To build each
other up. To celebrate the blessings of
our churches and congregants. To
celebrate the strengths of our colleagues, and help each other grow in the
faith. To find the hope in even the
toughest of situations.
One encourager, one Barnabas, set in motion the ministry of
Paul and wrote the first gospel. Imagine
what a church of encouragers can do.
