And I’d like to stop and take a moment
to talk to you about the crucial role
that men and women with the heart
of Barnabas could play
in missions mobilization.
Did you know that out of every 100 people
who actually say yes to a call
to missions, only two or three
actually make it into the harvest?
So, of course, as missions,
leaders and missions mobilizes,
we’re trying very hard to change
that, because the harvest is ripe
and the laborers are a few.
So evidently the Holy Spirit is calling
those labors and they’re saying,
“yes, here am I, send me.”
And yet there seems to be huge gaps
in the bridge from that event,
from that moment to actual fruitful
deployment in the harvest.
And so we need to stop and remind
ourselves, as we’ve said elsewhere,
that mission’s mobilization
is not an event only.
It is this process,
this discipleship process,
and requires people to come along side
of the disciple,
continue to invest in them,
help them take the next step,
the next step and the next step until they
are actually deployed into the harvest.
And so laborers are being called,
but we need many more trainers,
mentors, coaches, mobilizers,
leaders of all sorts who are
willing to walk alongside of them.
So I’ve noticed that some of these
labels actually are not so clear.
For example, the word “coach”,
I’m trained as a life coach.
I’m a huge fan of that approach.
And yet sometimes that word has other
associations, like with sports coaching
or even the word “mobilizer”.
These days, there’s much more awareness
of what mobilizer is,
but there’s still so many people who are
functioning in a way where they’re trying
to help people find their
role in the great commission.
And yet they would not label themselves as
a mobilizer and might not
know what that term is.
So it brings up the question,
is there a Biblical point
of reference for this role?
Is this found in the Bible?
And I think we do see it.
I think we see it in the life of Barnabas.
Right.
Barnabas, was that guy who willing to take
a risk on a brash, unpolished ex-terrorist
named Saul,
come along side of him,
walk with him and actually
release him into greater levels of
ministry and influence than even his own.
You notice and in the Book of Acts
at the beginning of their story,
it always says “Barnabas and Paul”.
Because you mention the most important
person first, but then it starts
to say “Paul and Barnabas”.
And so the heart of Barnabas also includes
this willingness to be the sidewalk
for others to walk on and actually be
launched into greater levels,
potentially greater levels
of ministry and fruitfulness.
And so regardless of what we call these
roles, we need more men and women
with the heart of Barnabas who are willing
to look for and take risks on unpolished
potential missionaries who could be
incredible disciple makers
among the unreached right.
So that’s actually stop and do
a Bible study on Barnabas.
Let’s ask God,
who how can we become more like Barnabas?
Let’s stop and ask God that.
He would highlight the people around us
that he’s asking us to invest
in and take a risk in.
Because I think one of the huge solutions
for this gap between the event of people
saying, here am I send me and actual
fruitfulness in the nations in the harvest
is the solution for that gap is many more
men and women with the
heart of a Barnabas.
GlobalCAST Resources 