Being all in
Last week I shared about the history of us attempting to be a Barnabas community, and how like Barnabas, this has required us to be ‘all in’. Barnabas was all in, with his money, with his reputation/status and with how he was with people. This is challenging for us all, but perhaps becomes less challenging when like Barnabas we have ‘seen something’ that so radically inspires us that it becomes the guiding narrative for our lives. I believe Barnabas saw something in Jesus that changed him, and I believe this meant that although doubt, worry and uncertainty weren’t removed, that they were lesser than what he had seen in Jesus.
We see this ‘all in’ approach when he:
- Sold the field, gathered up all the proceeds and planted it in the church (Acts 4:36)
- Backed Saul, gathered up all of his reputation, weight, and status, and planted it in Saul (Acts 9:26)
- Believed in John Mark, gathered up all of his future and planted it in John Mark (Acts 15:36)
As a church community, it feels like we are doing similar right now, as we are gathering up all that we have done, all that we have become and all that we have and we’re planting it into another local church in the city called St John’s. Why? Because we felt God showed us to, we saw something and what we saw, doesn’t remove the doubt, worry and uncertainty, but makes it a little lesser than what we’ve seen and enables us to move forward in ‘obedience to the heavenly call’.
High Risk means High Reward
As we keep circling around, Barnabas did what he did because he saw something, both in Jesus, as the guiding ‘principle’ of his life, but also in the specific situations he encountered. He saw something in the church, he saw something in Saul and he saw something in John Mark, and as such Barnabas believed:
- that planting the money at the apostles’ feet would enable the church to come alive, it did, the church that began over 2000 years ago is still here and still going strong
- that by planting his reputation and status into Saul amazing things would happen, Paul was and still is one of the the most formative minds about Jesus and our faith ever
- That by planting his future in John Mark it would matter, it did, not only was John Mark transformed but he was a help to Paul and the early church
In all these situations there was a high risk for Barnabas, if he had seen wrong, then he could have lost his money, status and future for nothing, but he was willing to take that risk because he was more convinced by what he had seen. As a church community, we believe that by planting all that we are, money, status and future, into St John’s we are doing what we can do so that we might see:
- the best brought out of each other, as the DNA of the two church communities come together and are enhanced by the other (just like Barnabas and Paul did)
- all the generations – young, old, middle – discipled together in such a way that we all spur each other on to continually live for Jesus with all that we are, knowing what it is to live ‘on mission’ and in doing so add what we have to see the people we know and spaces and places we inhabit transformed with the message, grace and life of Jesus (just like happened in Antioch)
- a radical ‘givenness’ to others ‘consume us’ so that we may be a blessing to the city, humbly offering what we have in the hope it may help others do all that God has put on their heart to do
We’re taking a risk, and planting a seed always has an element of risk, but in taking this risk we’re trusting that what we’ve seen is from God and as such He will see it through to completion. We don’t have the ability to ‘make things’ happen, at least not in a city-transforming way, but God does, and therefore we trust Him.
Barnabas is great, but Jesus is our ultimate example
Barnabas gathered up his money, his status and his future and planted them. We are doing the same, but in doing so we are just following the ultimate example that we see in God who first gathered up all that He was, and planted it into the whole world, into you and me.
That seed was Jesus, as a baby, that was a risk, a high-level risk, but that high-level risk brought the greatest reward. That seed, our Jesus, went into the ground and died…but because God is the God of resurrection it didn’t stay dead, it came back to life. Jesus rose from the dead, and in doing so not only experienced the resurrection life Himself but made it available to the whole of creation. High risk, even higher reward!
As a church community, we feel like we’re stepping into a new season, it’s scary and exciting, it’s risky but also so rewarding. What we remain encouraged and strengthened by is that we not only following the call God gave us, to be a Barnabas community, but we’re also following God’s example to:
”Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.“
John 12:24-26 NKJV
…and trusting for the same life-giving results for us, and the city we serve!
Hope Springs Church Coventry 