John3Thirty

The lives of past saints can be very inspiring, so reading biographies is a thrill. Whether we are reading about a recent saint, like Nate Saint, Jim Elliot and their partners killed trying to reach a stone age tribe, or those of the early church like Polycarp or Ignatius, we are inspired to handle adversity, to stand against persecution and to sacrifice all in service to our King. The danger comes when we take these stories that should empower and unfairly condemn ourselves, seeing these people as more endowed or having more of the Spirit, greater potential or ability than us. One example is Paul. What church planter has not looked at Paul planting churches, over an area of several hundred miles from diverse cultural and linguistic groups, and concluded that he was a sort of Über-Christian—fascinating but impossible to emulate?

When we look at Paul in his letters and in Luke’s account in Acts, we see a Christian that has far more in common with us than we might imagine. Paul went throughout Asia Minor and Macedonia planting churches from city to city. His efforts were often thwarted by opposition. Whether beaten, jailed, stoned, or driven from town by an angry mob, Paul was not a popular man among those he most wanted to reach. His own people we are told, on various occasions gave him the forty lashes minus one (2 Corinthians 11:24). In spite of this he kept on, town to town, synagogue to synagogue, church to church, spreading the gospel he once tried to stamp out. When we look at this we must ask how we would react in the face of such hatred and opposition. Would we keep marching forward into the fray or, like Jeremiah, swear never to preach again?

When Paul went into Macedonia, he was sure the Lord had called him to cross the Hellespont, taking the church and the message of Christ from Asia to the continent of Europe. He was not the first; Claudius had driven the Jews out of Rome because of their fighting over the name of Christ (Suetonius). Paul, however, seems to be the first to enter Europe to reach gentiles with the gospel. We would love to be like Paul, certain of God’s call and the direction that call leads. Paul under this certain call, preaching in Philippi, finds himself beaten without trial and thrown into prison. From there he experiences riots in Thessalonica and Berea. Not a great start! Looking back from our vantage point we see the churches in these regions were placed on a solid footing by him in the short time with them; but Paul, unaware of this, sent to Thessalonica for a report on the church’s condition. After this physical opposition Paul makes his way to Athens. As a citizen of Tarsus (a Greek speaking city since Alexander the Great), familiar with Greek philosophy (he quotes Epimenides in Titus 1:12, Plato in Acts 17:28a and Aratus in Acts 18:28b), Athens would have special significance for Paul. After a period of time speaking in the synagogue and the marketplace Paul is invited to the Areopagus to share this new teaching, which was well received until he spoke on the resurrection. From this the crowd ridiculed him, so he departing with a small few longing to hear more.

Through this period Paul planted several churches in the face of opposition and even received reports that they were doing well after his departure, so here comes the distorted view of Paul as being unlike anything we could, or would, hope to experience. However, if we take all of Paul’s previous and latter experiences and writings together we get encouragement by seeing a man no different from us, with the same weaknesses. When he entered Corinth, shortly after Athens, he came before them with trembling. We know this because Paul reminds tells them in his letter to them. Of course he was trembling: in every city he had been beaten, jailed, driven out, ridiculed or a combination of these. In Corinth he is preaching in another Greek city with little to expect but more of the same.

Paul’s experience in Corinth was far different from any other. Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, preaching, teaching and nurturing. He finally got a break and a chance to enjoy some of the fruits of his ministry. From this church, Paul can expect far more than any other church—this has been the closest to a home he has had for a long time. They are his people. So Paul and the Corinthian church are forever bound together in mutual love and admiration—not quite. Paul’s sadness is almost palpable when we hear in letters written to this church that they have begun to question Paul’s efficacy and authority in ministry. Those whom he has worked so hard to birth and mature are questioning his very authority to speak to them.

Anyone who spends even a brief time in ministry opens himself up to questioning and attack. Those who attack are often the ones we spent most time helping. It proves the truth of the old adage “familiarity breeds contempt.” Those we spend the most time helping get to know us the best and see some of our shortcomings. It could also be due to the natural over-reaction of those who discover imperfections in people they once adored. As we work in a church some place us on an undeserved pedestal. Over time, as they discover our weaknesses and foibles, we can find ourselves no longer holding the place in their hearts we once held. Churches often forget that perfection is not a requirement for ministry, and that appearances of perfection are short lived.

Just like Paul we experience the highs and lows of ministry. His reactions to these were very human and very much in line with what ours would be. He experienced fear and trepidation when facing resistance and he was disappointed by those he loved. Paul inspires us when we know that the same Holy Spirit who indwelt him, indwells us; the same Christ who confronted Paul on the Damascus road confronts us today; the same kingdom for which Paul strove is the kingdom for which we strive.