Barnabus turned out to be a much more emotional topic for me than I expected.
The story of Barnabus the encourager, the patron saint of second chances, can be found in Acts Chapters 4-15.
We first hear of him by his Jewish name, Joseph, when he sells his land and donates all the money to the disciples for the good of the Christian community and mission.
His life and ministry of generosity and faith touched me deeply. He appeared to dedicate his life to spreading the good news of Christ's love and mercy to people that others found unworthy. And he did it not for the personal glory or satisfaction but because he understood how much people needed both encouragement and second chances.
I have been fortunate in my life to have generous, loving people to encourage and support me. Since being in ministry, I have found that God always sends me a balance of encouraging and "wait a minute don't get too big headed!" moments. When I am feeling pretty satisfied with myself, something happens that reminds me that I don't do this alone. Without God, I would be incapable of pastoral care much less preaching. By the same grace, when I am feeling so down on myself, that I think I should go work in a book store, someone comes and reminds me that God has indeed touched someone through my words or actions.
Because I have had such wonderful mentors and friends, I try and pass on the gift to others. I have mentored seminary students, college students, and youth. Currently, I am acting as a mentor for people just starting the ordination process. I also try and encourage other staff members to grow and to take advantage of new opportunities.
One of the issues you face in being a mentor is that sometimes your "mentee" out grows you and moves on to greater ministries than you know you will ever achieve, just as Paul out grew Barnabus. From a human point of view that can be difficult. I remember once a long time ago, a young woman that I worked with at the bank thanking me for mentoring her because she had found other women in business treated her as a rival instead of someone who needed to be encouraged.
However, when we remember that the goal is not our own careers but bringing the kingdom of God to earth, we rejoice with every accomplishment of those around us.
When have you been mentored? Look around you. Who could benefit from your wisdom and experience?
First, thank you, Linda, for being one of mentors as my sponsor for the the Walk to Emmaus! I really appreciated your insight on the experience.
ReplyDeleteSecond, a recent experience with getting a second chance (or was it a 10th chance? I lost track.) with a person who has tried to be my friend and has been a mentor to me as well. I appreciate and cherish the friendship more than ever. My prayer is that I can work in his life as he has worked in mine. I nicknamed him "my hammer of God" because God has used him over and over to knock some sense into my thick skull!
What strengths do I have? I am a musician (who some of you heard for the first time last week), I can be an encourager, I can be that "go to guy" when needed in times of trouble. I will see what God will do with all of that!
I have had two mentors in my life. In both cases they accepted me, helped me believe in myself, and encouraged me to look at areas of my life where I could grow.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was working I had many opportunities to serve as a mentor and to be mentored. I found both to be rewarding. Now that I am not in an official leadership role, there seem to be limited opportunities to mentor.
I sense that society tends not to see the need to mentor those who are not in official leadership roles. I am finding this interesting because those who lead countries, law firms, private companies, etc. are often much older than those who are expected to retire early.
I wonder if Paul and the disciples had similar concerns. I think I need to investigate this a little more. Maybe they did not live long enough to be faced with this. To be honest, it is great to live long enough and to have good health so that this is a concern. This is a blessing in its self.