To me, the saddest verses in the Acts of the Apostles are where Paul and Baranabas split up forever. Acts 15:39-40 says: “And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.”
I’m not sad that there was an angry scism between these two Apostolic giants. (And make no mistake, Barnabas was a spiritual giant on par with both Peter and Paul.) Holy Ghost-filled humans are still humans. Both continued in successful ministries separately, probably respecting and admiring the other.
No, why these verses are so sad is because Luke didn’t follow Barnabas and John Mark. But if he did that, then Paul’s ministry would have been overlooked, you say? No one would know of this amazing missionary’s many triumphs! And that’s why I’m so sad. If only another Luke had followed Barnabas and John Mark to record their amazing miracles and multiplying revivals! Barnabas’ incredible minstry disappears from our minds because there was no one to record it. But he kept living and bringing people to Christ. Think how many more powerful chapters could have been added to the Acts of the Apostles if someone had done that!
Of all the multiple thousands involved in the First Century Church, only Luke seems to have recognized the importance of writing all of these miracles and wonders down. We think it must have been obvious - Acts is swarming with incredible spiritual events! - but evidently it wasn’t to the locals, because no one else wrote it down.
Luke was a physician by training, but a writer by calling. No one told him to do it. No one paid him to do it. But what if he hadn’t done it?
Humans have never had more tools to record stories than they do today. You can blog, video, tweet, text, snap, and email with the simplest effort. Our problem is the problem of the rest of the First Century Church—we don’t recognize the importance of what’s going on around us. What are the Acts of the Apostles in Tulsa, OK? What are the Acts of the Apostles in Denham Springs, LA? What are the Acts of the Apostles in Long Island, NY? What are the Acts of the Apostles in Montgomery, AL? What are the Acts of the Apostles in Chicagoland? Are we overlooking the Barnabas revivals in our lives just because we’re “busy”? Will future generations never hear of any local moves and miracles in 2010 because we don’t have the clarity to see what’s right in front of us?
It’s time for a generation of Lukes to arise and record that God is still alive and participating in the world today. Are you up for the challenge?
Thanks, Kent. This could not have been more timely a word for me.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading K.P. Yohannan's Revolution in World Missions and Gospel for Asia's magazine that highlights stories from missionaries around the world.
What these two publications do to GREAT effect is to use storytelling as a vehicle to propel the reader along the so-called "walk" of faith, but at a thrilling pace. It's a little like a novel that uses 2nd person, and for long stretches of the story, you're convinced you're living the story yourself.
More than merely reporting numbers, either of people saved or monies raised, the authors launch the stories in media res--right in the middle of the action--and then go back and fill the reader in on the details, before proceeding to bring us right out of the crisis to the resolution. It's breathtaking, this faith business!
But there is not just one story to each resolution opens another gate it seems, and we're off an another adventure.
It's easy to get bogged down in our own walk of faith and forget it too is an adventure. Reading (and writing, I'll wager) stories from others' walks can be a powerful reminder that God is at work in lives today as he was in the first century church.
A few questions, though, if I may ask them: what is the story you most want to tell? Is it yours or someone else's? Do you think you will jinx its impact if you summarize it here? What format do you think would be most effective? Why? Ultimately, how do you see it tying in to God's story?
Let's keep writing, thinking, living along these lines. I like it!
A few questions, though, if I may ask them:
ReplyDelete** Rachel, Rachel, Rachel, why must you end this inspiration with soul-searching required on my part? Wasn’t my post supposed to create soul-seraching in you?
what is the story you most want to tell? Is it yours or someone else's? It's mine now. 90&9 was my 10-year effort to interlace my story with so many others Apostolic stories that were going unheard. It was my (mostly) non-fiction stab at explaining what it was like to grapple with the 21st Century as an Apostolic. And do it with candor - why are we so afraid of sharing our real struggles and victories? Most of the criticism we received (when they weren’t related to outright stupidities on our part) was due to candor. Now, with 90&9 the zine going quarterly, I've (mostly) stepped back from the public struggle to engage in a long private one that I hope will reap even greater benefits in due season if I faint not.
Do you think you will jinx its impact if you summarize it here? Probably, because I'm terrified (though growing less so by the page) that I will never complete it.
What format do you think would be most effective? Why? It will be long, probably a book, because I've written in most every other format (magazine journalism, newspaper news, print and web personal essays) and this one needs much more room to breathe than other formats allow.
Ultimately, how do you see it tying in to God's story? So I spent too much time thinking about what you meant by this. I’m still not sure. Here’s a stab at it – God needs more of His stories out in society today. I’m aiming to directly contribute to that mission in hopes it will make a difference to many people.
Does that help?