Recently, I heard a statistic that 95 percent of academically trained, that is seminary educated, ministers are out of vocational ministry after two years. We could look at the educational process to fix the problem, but I think we need more Barnabases. I know too many people that entered the ministry, got beat up in the rigors of ministry, and now are on the sidelines or in a lesser role. The burdens of ministry can overwhelm and damage the egos of the best of us as we care desperately for people and want God’s best for them. We need more people like Barnabas to help pick up the pieces and sponsor young people to have a second chance to thrive in ministry. Before I get into the story of Barnabas and John Mark, let me give some contemporary examples of what I mean.
I know one person who was close to me in Bible College who upon graduating took a youth pastor role in a church. When expectations and reality don’t line up (from both the young leader and the senior leader) discouragement often happens and the person wants to quit. This person was left beaten up and discouraged. It took another pastor who believed in him to give him that second chance. Another senior leader knew the potential of my friend and offered him a safe place to flourish. Now he is in another ministry context and continuing to follow God’s call on his life in an incredible way.
The problem is most of us don’t hit a homerun in our first attempt at serving in the church. We have unrealistic expectations from our own visionary ideas matched with incredible demands from senior leaders. When our reality fails to match our expectations, we are left discouraged. Often the young leaders are left wounded on the sidelines as senior leaders (and I don’t mean to be unfair to senior leaders as most of them do not intentionally wound their young leaders) look for the next person to fill the void and keep the church moving forward.
Let me come back to the story of John Mark. John, a young emerging leader joined Barnabas and Saul on their first missionary journey. They saw his potential while in Jerusalem on a mission from Antioch to help with the famine in Jerusalem (Acts 11-12). They brought him back to Antioch to help in the ministry there. He then accompanied them to Cypress (Acts 13:1-6). Since he was a cousin of Barnabas, he probably enjoyed going back to visit some of his relatives where Barnabas was from.
When the reality of ministry overwhelmed him, he left them at Perga in Pamphylia, and went back to Jerusalem on the next ship.
When it was time for a second missionary journey, Paul wanted to nothing to do with John Mark, the deserter…we can’t have him leaving us in our time of need he contended. Barnabas knew the potential they first saw in him and said he can make it this time. I love how Luke understates the dispute, saying it was sharp. They fought to the point that they went separate directions. The church planting hero went off to build the kingdom of God while Barnabas continued his ministry of encouragement and sponsored John Mark into maturity. Barnabas left his mark on John Mark in the same way he did on Paul, so that later in Paul’s ministry, he asked Timothy (II Tim 4:11) to send John Mark to him as he was helpful in the ministry.
Scripture leaves us guessing as to how Mark matured from a flaky, young leader into a helpful minister to someone like Paul. However, we can safely assume Barnabas played a crucial role in seeing John Mark grow into a successful and useful minister.
I know a young leader in Bangkok who served with us who but had too much responsibility placed on them. It overwhelmed this person as they weren’t ready for it yet, and then they cracked and left in a huff. The way this person left gave them a bad reputation and not being faithful to the ministry. Sometimes we see great potential in young leaders and place unbearable burdens on them before they are fully ready to bear the full weight of all those responsibilities. When they crash and burn, we can’t just leave them on the sidelines. We need someone who can help pick up the pieces like a Barnabas.
We need someone who still sees that God-given potential in them and helps sponsor them into a second chance. We need more Barnabases to help the John Mark’s in our world reach their potential and be helpful to the ministry.
ASK THE BLIND PASTOR 
I concur Andy – it seems like we make “discipleship” an upgrade program for Christians. It cheapens everything for both new believers and leaders. The new believers think they can do fine with just being Christians, and not a disciple. Leaders think that discipling others something they may do if they have the time a part from all the other ministry work. I am really wondering what we think our jobs are supposed to be as ministers of the gospel, if we do not take seriously the role of discipling others? I don’t think making disciples is just making new converts, but it is investing ourselves into the lives of new Jesus followers to see them be successful at following Jesus like Barnabas did – Paul did too with different people. Neil Cole said that “we need to lower the bar on what it takes to do church, and raise the bar on what it means to be a disciple.” I would say we need to lower the bar on what it takes to do ministry, and raise the bar on what it means to make disciples / disciple others. It’s our job.
Alex,
I like the idea of lowering the bar on what it takes to do church and raising the bar on making disicples.