How do we discern what God is doing when we are locked in a disagreement with another believer? One of the most gut-wrenching scenes in the book of Acts is the conflict between Barnabus and Paul over whether to take Mark with them on their second missionary journey. Luke records the sad conclusion: “Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated” (Acts 15:39).
What makes their conflict even more painful is that it comes on the heels of the beautiful unity resulting from the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1-29). How could godly leaders sense and follow the Lord’s leading in the first half of Acts 15 and end the same chapter in a dispute that divided a close-knit team?
As godly as they were, Paul and Barnabus made a mistake we see spiritual leaders at all levels make all the time. They mistook dissonance between their gifts for dissension and irreconcilable division.
Barnabus, with strong gifts of encouragement wanted to invest in Mark, just as he had invested in Paul. Complicating matters further, Mark and Barnabus were family (Col. 4:10). Mark’s history with the early church goes back to the house owned by his mother, the sight of a prayer meeting that saw Peter miraculously released from prison (Acts 12).
But, in Paul’s eyes, Mark was a quitter. He had deserted them when things got tough on their first missionary journey. Paul’s apostolic calling, evangelistic gift and the scars on his back made him less tolerant of quitters. Paul’s gifts were in strong tension with Barnabus’ ministry of encouragement.
In this case, they allowed dissonance between their gifts to become divisive. In the process, they lost sight of what God wanted to do in their midst. He used the dispute over Mark as a pry bar to redirect both Paul and Barnabus’ ministries. Each had a calling to fulfill, one investing in kingdom workers and the other in expanding the kingdom. God used the division to reach both Cyprus and Europe.
Paul went with Silas and continued to see God work through his ministry. We see the same blessing on Barnabus’ ministry to Mark. Mark goes on to become a confidant of Peter. Peter calls him his “son” (1 Peter 5:13). He and Paul reconcile at some unrecorded point in time (Col. 4:10). Mark takes up with Paul in his travels (Philemon 24). To cap it all off, in Paul’s last recorded letter he declares Mark’s usefulness to him (2 Tim. 4:11). Barnabas’ faith in Mark was rewarded. Then, in addition to all this, Mark graces all of us through the Gospel bearing his name!
So the next sharp dispute you have with a fellow believer, take time to discern what God may be saying, doing, or trying to accomplish through the dissonance between you (this works in marriage too). Try to see if spiritual gifts are at work, giving you both differing perspectives. If sharp (and severe) enough, take time to fast and pray for discernment. Then God will grant you the ability to discern between dissonance between your gifts (and what He may be saying through it) vs. dissension because of self-will.
Mark Barnard serves with Blessing Point Ministries. Blessing Point facilitates breakthrough moments in ministry that can transform a church’s impact for the Kingdom of God. Learn more at blessingpoint.org.