Years ago, when I was still a candidate for ministry under care of the Presbytery of Western New York, I was asked in an interview: who is your favorite Bible character? I answered Paul. He is the one who give shape to the Christology on which the church is built. He’s the one who takes the good news and gives it form and function. He’s the one who interprets salvation through Christ, not only for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as well. Paul has the knowledge, education, and status to bring the message of Jesus to people throughout the Greek and Roman world.
I am writing this post on the first night of my final (third) annual week of training and community with new presbytery leaders in the PCUSA. During my first week of training (two years ago) our morning Bible Study considered the parallels between presbytery leader (or executive/general presbyter) work and the work of the Apostle Paul. The ways in which he cares for the Christian communities … churches … in the cities he visited and kept contact with is similar to the kinds of work we do. That is true, Paul was a preacher, a teacher, a writer, a motivator, a politician, a peacemaker, a conflict mediator, an applied theologian, an organizer, a mentor, a pastor, a healer, and a tent maker. He was a Greek and Roman citizen as well as a Jew. He knew how to get things done and was a great reader of people. But today I’m most interested in the steadfastness, passion, and spontaneity of his mission. He had a plan, but he was free to change it. He listened to the leading of the Holy Spirit in his work.
Mostly, Paul was on the road. He was on the lecture circuit, the traveling evangelist, the missionary sent to be a witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like any frequent traveler, Paul visited so many places, he had stories to tell … of the times he was locked up, the times he ate with this one or that one, the time he told the demons to leave the slave girl, the time …
This week, though, I was struck by the times Paul decided to stay in one place for awhile.
At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.(Acts 14:1-3 NIV)
Paul went to see them,and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them … So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. (Acts 18:3, 11)
With all the traveling I’ve been doing these few weeks, I’m wondering if Paul ever woke up at night in a strange room, with sounds of strangers in the room above, wondering where he was, or what the itinerary was for today. I don’t get the sense, though, that Paul had the “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium” head spinning. I get the sense Paul was attentive, highly attentive, to the people, the context, the work … he stayed for as long as it took, and he left when the mission was no longer being served.
What is your passion and mission in life? Do you go where you are called, and stay when you are needed? How do you know where and to whom the Spirit is calling you?
The Story 