Utumishi Blog

We live in a two-faced world that tells you, on the one hand, to be the best you can be. To go out there and conquer the world. Start that business. Take on that ministry job. Ask that girl out. Go to that frontier mission field. We will be together, they say. But on the other hand, a world that believes we cannot amount to much. A world that waits for you to fail. People who quickly say we told you so. Those who talk behind your back. The Sanballats and Tobiahs say our wall cannot withstand a fox. Unfortunately, it is so easy for Christians even “mature” believers to behave the same way. To look down on young people who have a zeal for the Lord. To sit back with the world and wait for that ministry to collapse. To be critical of new ideas instead of being supportive.

Part of the disconnect in our more mainstream churches is because sometimes young people want to do things differently but the older saints believe this to mere youthful zeal. Churches lose young people when they wait for them to grow up and conform. When we think what they advocate for cannot be done. We lose our future ministers when we tell them the old path is the only way here. We kill our Gospel workforce when we critic more than we encourage and mentor. It’s a sort of “godly” scorn that uses words like discipleship and maturity to cool down youthful zeal. This is crazy because, on the other hand, we complain that young people nowadays don’t want to serve the Lord. So how do we correct this trend? I think in this two-faced world we need more Barnabas, more sons of encouragement and fewer critics.  

We need More Sons of Encouragement

The ministry of Barnabas is one we can easily overlook but one I think was very important to the early church. Barnabas was one of the first disciples to sell off his property and lay it on the apostles’ feet, Acts 4:36-37. Most people today would wait and see what would become of these apostles’ ministry before spending their money on them. It was Barnabas who brought Paul to the church in Jerusalem, Acts 9:27. With Paul’s history many would be afraid to back him. Many would wait to see him become somebody trustworthy. But Barnabas was ready to support him. Barnabas would later bring Paul to Antioch where the disciples were first called Christians, Acts 11:25-26. Barnabas a mature believer could easily have gone for one of the other apostles or older believers but he worked with Paul. Barnabas would later even work with the deserter John Mark, Acts 15:37-39. If Barnabas ever thought of his status as an older and possibly wealthy saint he would have little to do with the likes of Paul and Mark. If he thought he knew best he would have expected those who came after to conform to his way and style. But not so with Barnabas. He was ready to work with anyone and ready to support those starting out in ministry. We need more men like these today.

We need to realize that anyone available for the work of the Lord is welcome however young and differently oriented they are to us. Those children in Sunday school, those naughty but energetic teenagers, those students, those new believers with new ideas are a needed workforce for the kingdom. We need them more than we think. Sadly, older saints think it’s their mandate to rain on their parade, to kill their youthful ideas instead of holding their hands. But imagine having a friend like Barnabas, one who is gifted and mature but ready to hold your hand. A friend who listens to your uncooked thoughts and tells you it can be done. One who doesn’t just say go for it but is ready to walk with you in the journey? One who is ready to support the work with their own resources? One who is available to hear your disappointments without saying I knew that would happen?

We are All called to be Encouragers

Whenever we think about God calling people to ministry we think of those going to plant churches. Those going to be missionaries. Those called to be Bible teachers, pastors and evangelists. But we forget a ministry that we have all been called to. That of encouragement. In truth, only a few people in a congregation can become pastors and frontier missionaries. The major role of the rest of the church is to support and encourage anyone wanting to take initiative for the Lord. To disciple and encourage those who will be future ministers. To encourage those serving the Lord in the corporate world. To encourage those who believe they have a calling among students. To encourage those raising children for Jesus. To encourage those who want to serve him through music. Those who want to start Christian institutions. Those seeking causes of justice. Those Christians going into politics. Those leading churches.

The Lord has called all believers to do his work. The whole church is needed for the whole world to hear the whole Gospel. But while some will take leadership roles and others go out from among us we have all been called to the ministry of encouragement. The world has enough critics as it is. And yes there are times we need to warn people of the dangers involved in each initiative. Sometimes we might need to tell people they need to take more time to prepare. Other times we need to help people see the bigger picture. As a church, we need to disciple more before we deploy. But we do this with a spirit of encouragement. We get excited when someone shares their vision. We walk with those young in faith ready to see them do more for the Lord. We disciple young students with a vision of them outgrowing and outdoing us. We need a posture that says I’m ready to work with you. More than that, I’m ready to hold you on my shoulders. I don’t just want you to sell my brand. I want you to do what the Lord is calling you to do. Where many look down on the new generation we need to see them as a great workforce for the kingdom. We need to listen to them and help them do exploits for the kingdom of God. We need more sons of encouragement.

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