When God wants 40% of your church’s leaders

Acts 13:1-3

13 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. 2 While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

This passage is a turning point in the book of Acts. Saul (soon to be Paul) is back as part of the pastoral leadership team of the house churches in Antioch. Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire with between 200,000 and 250,000 people. The church in Antioch would have been made up of small groups – 30 or 40 people in the largest groupings and maybe as few as 8 to 12 in the smaller ones – who met week by week in people’s homes. The five named leaders would have preached in those house churches, also training others to do the same.  

The five named leaders are an unusual collection. Barnabas, the encourager and mentor who helped people at odds with each other to find ways leading to peace; Simeon called Niger (which means “black”), many scholars think he was Black; Lucius of Cyrene, was from North Africa (Cyrene is in present day Libya) a highly Christianized region in the first century; Manaen part of Herod’s court who had a conversion experience turning to follow Jesus, he had probably left Jerusalem because Herod would not have taken kindly to one his entourage becoming a follower of Jesus (think back to Acts 12), and then Saul. Diverse, strong characters, none of them originally from Antioch.

The Holy Spirit said, “I have a mission for Barnabas and Saul, so the leadership team in the Antioch church is going from 5 to 3.” The leaders heard this call as they were in prayer and fasting, listening for God’s leading for the church. Even though they knew this was God’s call, losing 40% of the leadership team of the church would have been unsettling. But God was in it.

The Holy Spirit calls us to decisions and actions with challenging consequences, which are often hard work. But if God is in it, then God will go with us.

PRAYER:

Lord God, we often think we know the best plan for the church, but in fact you know better than we do, for the church is yours. Help us to trust you when you invite us as your church to do things that are hard and require hard work. In Jesus’ name. Amen.