Dr Paul Allen

Luke describes the rift that opened between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark in his typical understated way: “There arose a sharp disagreement so that they separated from each other” ( Acts 15:39 ). No elaboration, no circling back later in Acts to tell us how this story ended. We watch Barnabas sail to Cyprus with John Mark while Paul and Silas head to Syria and Cilicia. Really?  Paul and Barnabas ? Friends whose names go together, like David and Jonathan or Peter and John? These brothers who had spent a year together teaching the new Gentile converts in Antioch and then risked life and limb together for the gospel on that first missionary journey? These colleagues became the first missionary team at the particular direction of the Holy Spirit himself ( Acts 13:2 )? And they couldn’t reconcile a disagreement over John Mark? We can be left wondering, If Paul and Barnabas couldn’t stay together, what hope do we have when difficult and painful disagreements arise in our churches and ...

c. 1437-1446 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And they all forsook him, and fled. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.” ( Mark 14:50-52 ) This “certain young man” is mentioned only in Mark’s gospel and was almost certainly John Mark himself. A rather obscure character in the New Testament , yet the Lord chose him to write what is probably the earliest of the gospel records of the life of Christ . If so, his account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is the first record we have of the most important events in all history. Mark’s family ( Acts 12:12 ) apparently was prosperous enough to own a home in Jerusalem with a large upper room where the disciples (even 120 of them, Acts 1:14-15 ) could meet for prayer after the resurrection. This was possibly the same “large upper room furnished and prepared” ( Mark14:15 ) where the Lord’...

Icon of St. Barnabas (1921), Museum St. Barnabas Salamis (Cyprus). Deutsch: Ikone des Barnabas (Apostel), Ikonen-Museum St. Barnabas (1921), Salamis (Zypern). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem2914 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Ananias restoring the sight of Saint Paul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) John Mark was perhaps the first real church kid. His mom, Mary, was a widow, and John Mark was most likely a teenager at Pentecost. The Jerusalem church met house to house, but one of their larger gatherings was in John Mark ’s house. Because he grew up without a father around, and because Peter pastored the church in John Mark’s house (for his teenage years at least), the two of them had a special relationship. Peter even called him his own son (1 Peter 5:13). John Mark had a front row seat to much of the drama and danger the first church experienced. When Peter was arrested, imprisoned, and miraculously released, the church was meeting in John Mark’s house, praying for...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Some people in the church seem to have the spiritual gift of discouragement. It’s all that guy can do – discourage others. Truthfully, we are all “that guy” far too often. We find it far easier to complain and view circumstances negatively than positively. So, when a person embodies encouragement, we notice. The apostles took note of a such a man named Joseph. They recognized that he was no ordinary Joe. They called him Barnabas instead, which translated means “son of encouragement” ( Acts 4:36). The church and her saints grew quickly when Barnabas encouraged people. We know from 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 that when it comes to growth, some plant, others water, but only God causes the growth. Encouragement serves as one form of watering. Romans 12:8 teaches us that encouragement is one of the spiritual gifts. Not all have it in equal measure. Bar...