Something I remember a lot as a child was that in my church, the pastor used to organize events at least twice a year, inviting a guest preacher for a weekend, which he called “Night of Miracles,” and also inviting a Christian band to attract young people and children through music.
After leaving the seminary, I received my first appointment to a church of no more than 30 members in the small town of Rio Bravo, Coahuila, Mexico.
As I was reading Romans 12, “do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” my mind went down one of those strange hallways my wife says my mind is filled with. I began thinking about the weird names of towns like Yellville, Arkansas, and Pumpkin Center, Missouri.
The early church was growing by leaps and bounds, and suddenly, the Disciples found themselves doing everything except what they were truly called to do in Matthew 28, “preach and teach the Good News of Jesus to all the world.” It probably wasn’t easy for them to delegate the other responsibilities of ministry to others.
Each of us is a member of Christ’s body, equipped by God to spread love and joy.
I want to dip back into yesterday’s reading from Acts to talk about one of my very favorite characters in the New Testament. Apart from his journeys with Paul, Barnabas is only mentioned once. This one verse gives us an insight into both his character and heart.