I Said, “God Won’t Allow Christians to Disagree.” I Was Wrong!
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When I was a brand new Christian, my mother and I watched a movie that included the plot of Christians who disagreed and split a church.
I told my mom something like, “That can’t happen in real life. God won’t allow Christians to disagree.” She graciously replied, “I’m not so sure about that, honey.” But I was confident about my opinion. Little did I know…what I didn’t know.
I know you’re either laughing or smiling or grimacing because my comment revealed my naive perspective about Christians and the church. I guess I hadn’t yet read in the book of Acts about the conflict between Paul and Barnabas. God actually did allow conflict between them and then used it for good. Now, since I’ve walked the path of being a Christian for 55 years, I know the error of my idea.
Here’s the passage about the conflict between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:36–41).
And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. (Acts 15:36-41, ESV).
Paul and Barnabas had already been ministering side by side and traveling together for years. Paul’s love of churches influenced him to conclude Mark’s abandonment put the ministry at risk. Of course, he loved individuals, but Barnabas’s love for the individual was greater. The fact Mark was Barnabas’s relative also must have contributed to Barnabas’s loyalty to Mark.
Barnabas’s name means “son of encouragement,” and he was known for encouraging everyone around him. He knew John Mark was overwhelmed by the demands of ministry and didn’t have the spiritual maturity to be steadfast. Barnabas’s people-loving nature wanted to build up the faint-hearted.
Both Paul and Barnabas were right … and wrong. They loved all aspects of ministry but in this situation, their commitment valued one aspect as more important than another. Paul saw the big picture of the church’s needs. Barnabas saw the little picture of the individual within the church. Knowing their bents, we can understand how each contributed an important part for a wholesome, effective ministry.
God wasn’t caught short when Paul and Barnabas separated. TWEET THAT!!!!!
Paul took Silas with him, and Barnabas took Mark. The outreach was doubled. Later, Mark became associated with Peter, and Mark ended up writing the Gospel account entitled “Mark,” based on the information Peter gave him.
Plus, Paul learned to value Mark so much that later he wrote of Mark’s “helpfulness” (2 Timothy 4:11).
Notice in 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul comments Demas “deserted” him. The Greek word is “forsaken,” meaning to “utterly abandon with the sense of leaving someone in a desperate situation.” Yet Paul persevered.
If anyone thinks they have reason to say, “Why should I go to church, everyone there is imperfect,” it was Paul. Only keeping his eyes on Jesus kept Paul faithfully serving imperfect people. Paul knew he wasn’t serving people; he was serving God who would never desert him. Such confidence can empower us to persevere in serving an imperfect group of people making up the church.
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