Arguments and Compromise

“They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.”
-- Acts 15:39

Remember the scene in the movie “Elf,” when an enraged Miles Finch huffs and puffs across a conference room table to beat up poor, startled Buddy the Elf? Well, sometimes truth is just about as wild as fiction. Years ago, one of our church leaders told me the story of a meeting at a church down the hill where he once served as an elder. During this meeting of the elders—a group of seasoned, experienced leaders in the church—an argument broke out. Two of the elders were adamantly disagreeing about something. As they argued, tempers started to flare, words were exchanged … and it escalated to a point where one of the elders pulled a Miles Finch.

Yep. He stood up and started to crawl across the conference table to exchange blows. The other elders had to hold him back before the punches started flying. Not exactly church fellowship at its finest, was it?

If you live under the same roof with another human being, sooner or later you’re going to argue about something: maybe about the bills, maybe about who’s supposed to do the dishes, maybe about who left the toilet seat up. Similarly, if you have a church family, sooner or later you’re going to argue with another brother or sister in Christ about something. You don’t live with a clone of yourself, and you don’t go to church with a clone of yourself. So, there’s bound to be some conflict along the way. In the Book of Acts, an unexpected conflict came up between two of our favorite church leaders: Paul and Barnabas.

Paul and Barnabas made a GREAT team! They did amazing ministry together in their home church of Antioch in Syria. They led great numbers of people to a saving knowledge of Christ. Then they joined forces for their first missionary trip, spreading the gospel and planting healthy, self-sustaining churches throughout Cyprus and Galatia. But at the end of Acts 15, they had an argument that tore their relationship apart.

After Paul and Barnabas had been back home in Antioch for a while, Paul suggested they go back to visit the Christians in all the towns where they had preached the gospel and planted churches (v. 36). Barnabas thought this was a great idea. But then Barnabas suggested taking along his cousin John Mark (v. 37). And Paul basically responded, “Over my dead body!” (v. 38), remembering that John Mark had jumped ship early into their first mission trip. So, the argument began. Verse 39 says that “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company”—and as far as we know, they never did ministry together again.

It pains me to say this, but it seems clear to me that these two great heroes of our faith—Paul and Barnabas—screwed up. They could have come to a God-honoring compromise … but they didn’t. And I believe God placed this incident in the Bible without sugar-coating it so that you and I don’t make the same mistakes in our marriages, in our families or in our churches.

So, how do we argue in a way that honors God and nourishes relationships? Here are 3 keys:

Key #1: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). When I think about the most immature, toxic arguments I’ve had with my wife, my kids or with other Christians, they have this in common: I talked too much. I listened too little. And I became angry too quickly. Can you relate? Never forget: God gave you two ears and only one mouth for a reason.

Key #2: Even if it seems to be out in left field, work hard to see and understand the other person’s point of view. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4). So often we climb on top of our moral high horses and make the case that our opinion is so much more right and biblical than the next guy’s opinion. Believe, really BELIEVE, that the person you’re arguing with is better at certain things than you are and smarter in many ways than you are. So, listen to them, learn from them and understand their point of view. It’s valuable. They are valuable. 

Key #3: When both sides have validity, seek a wise compromise. Moral compromise is sin. But loving, submissive compromise is very Christlike. During his ministry years, Jesus routinely sacrificed his own personal comforts and preferences for the good of those around him. And He’s calling us to do the same.

Barnabas had a deep desire to give his nephew Mark a second chance. Paul had a deep desire to assemble a trustworthy, hard-working team of missionaries to do the best work possible. Both perspectives were valid. Both men made some great points. So, if they had been living out these three keys, their knock-down, drag-out argument could have turned out so much better. God ended up using their breakup in an amazing way. But that doesn’t mean their rift didn’t grieve His heart or cause their church collateral damage.

So often what we argue about is not sinful, but the way we handle the argument IS sinful. And sin always causes damage. So, let’s honor God by handling our arguments and disagreements wisely—like Jesus—with humility, love and grace.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook Live. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Preparing for Change

“Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” – Acts 13:2

A certain man went to see his cardiologist, and the report wasn’t good. His cholesterol was high. Several of his arteries were 40 percent clogged. So, the doctor told him, “You need to make some changes to your diet. You should start by cutting out red meat.” The man thought that was a good idea … so he promptly stopped putting ketchup on his hamburgers.

We don’t like change very much, do we? But here’s what Albert Einstein said about change: “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” And the journalist Sydney J. Harris put it this way: “Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.”

I imagine the Christians in Antioch would have said much the same thing. The Church in that city was firing on all cylinders. Under the leadership of Barnabas and Saul, the Holy Spirit was drawing hundreds, possibly thousands, of people to salvation. They were baptizing those new Christians and teaching them all that Jesus wanted them to know, so they could grow in their faith, lead many others to salvation and bring glory to God. I can just imagine a group of Antioch Christians coming out of a worship service and saying, “This feels like heaven on earth. I hope this never ends!” But a big change was coming to their church.

For a whole year in Antioch, Barnabas and Saul were used by God in an amazing way. People were drawn to that church, including a few Christian prophets from Jerusalem. One of them, a man named Agabus, prophesied that “a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world” (Acts 11:28). The church’s response was immediate: “The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea” (v. 29). As far as we know, this is the first time in church history that a special offering was taken to help Christians hundreds of miles away. And amazingly, the offering was collected before the Judean Christians even had the need that would have prompted them to ask for help. That’s Christian charity at its best: meeting needs even before a brother or sister in Christ shares the need … at times, even before the person knows he or she has a need.

The Antioch Church entrusted Barnabas and Saul to deliver this special offering to the church in Judea, which would have taken at least a couple of months. That required the church to make some adjustments, because Barnabas and Saul were a critical part of their leadership team. But soon after Barnabas and Saul returned, they received a set of marching orders for a much larger and more important mission: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’” (Acts 13:2). God made it clear that their ministry in Antioch was temporary. It wasn’t a final destination for them—it was a launching pad.

After fasting and praying, the Church family in Antioch did what must have been one of the most exciting yet heart-wrenching things they’d ever done: “They placed their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:3). It probably didn’t make complete sense to the Antioch Christians. But they were obedient to the leading of God’s Spirit.

Here are a few life lessons we can take from these world-changing events:

Life Lesson #1: Christ calls us to be cheerful givers who give freely and generously to God’s work. And the most generous givers don’t wait to be asked to give. I find what the Antioch Church did in Acts 11 to be SO inspiring. Perhaps Paul had the Antioch Christians in mind when he wrote in Philippians 2:3-5, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

Life Lesson #2: As Chuck Swindoll once said, “Let’s be willing to release gifted men and women without reluctance. And when you are called by God to go to a place you would never have expected to go, there’s no need to be afraid of change…. Faith and risk go hand in hand.” Sometimes God calls Christians to leave one church and go somewhere else. We need to be okay with that. And at whatever point God calls you or me to go, we need not be afraid. God knows what He’s doing.

Life Lesson #3: In the words of missionary Henry Martyn, “The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we must become.” Regardless of whether God calls you to go or to stay, He is calling you to be a missionary.

So, if you are growing in your faith and deepening in your relationship with Christ, but you are not impacting more people around you for Christ, there’s something wrong. Wherever you are, make sure you are sharing Christ with others.

As Barnabas and Saul left Antioch, they had probably talked about where they were going. But I think it’s safe to say the Holy Spirit doesn’t give them a detailed road map. Much as He did with Abraham, He simply said, “Go.” And they obediently went. A big change had come to the Church at Antioch, and I am so thankful that they were smart enough and—more importantly—obedient enough to accept it from the hand of God.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook Live. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The First Christians

“The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”  – Acts 11:26

Beginning on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, Jerusalem was the original launchpad of Christianity. It’s easy to see why. Jesus had been crucified in Jerusalem. Jesus had risen from the dead in Jerusalem. And all 12 of the apostles lived in and led the church in Jerusalem. Since Jerusalem was the launchpad of Judaism, it made sense for Jerusalem to be the launchpad of Christianity as well. But in Acts 11, Jesus Christ created a strategic shift.

In Acts 8:1, we read that on the heels of Stephen’s martyrdom, “a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem.” As a result, “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (v.4). It’s remarkable to realize that the great persecution against the Christian Church in Jerusalem was led by Saul. But his plan to wipe out Christianity backfired. His persecution actually helped Christianity spread—just as Jesus had planned all along.

Driven out of Jerusalem, some followers of Christ began to spread the gospel 300 miles away in Antioch. And just as Jerusalem had been the launchpad for the Christian church to reach ISRAEL for Christ, Antioch would become the launchpad to reach the WORLD for Christ. It was in Antioch that some Christian men began to do something revolutionary: They “began speaking to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus” (v.20). This may not sound like a big deal today, but it was a HUGE deal! Up until that point, Christians had only been leading Jews and Samaritans (who were half-Jews) to Christ. But these Christ-following men in Antioch didn’t hold back from sharing the gospel with ANYONE; they even shared the gospel with Greeks.

And the Greeks referred to here were complete pagans. Not only were they not Jewish, many of them couldn’t care less about God. They probably worshiped gods like Zeus, Apollo and Daphne, and many of them likely spent their weekends getting drunk and having sex with Daphne’s temple prostitutes. These were not God-fearing or moral men. They were heathens—heathens who desperately needed to hear and be transformed by the power of the gospel. And some Christian men in Antioch were willing to stick their necks out and try what had never been done before—lead complete pagans to salvation. And look what happened: “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” (v. 21).

What was happening in Antioch was so revolutionary that word of it spread 300 miles south, all the way back to Jerusalem. So the church leaders found just the man to go up north and check it out: Barnabas, whose name means “son of encouragement.” When Barnabas went to the church at Antioch, he liked what he saw: “He was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts” (v. 23). But something must have been missing, because he tracked Saul down—150 miles away—and brought him back to Antioch. Verse 25 tells us, “For a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.” And don’t miss this last sentence in verse 26: “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

Non-Christians most likely were the ones who coined this term for Christ’s followers. Outsiders who observed the Christians in Antioch noticed that their lives were all about Jesus Christ. Christ was first on their lips. Christ was first in their actions. Christ was first in their worship. It reminds me of a wonderful morning prayer written by St. Patrick, whose holiday just came around in March: “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. I arise today.”

Here are three life lessons to consider:

Life Lesson #1: If you are a Christian, you have to think, act and share Christ outside the box. Jesus’ followers in Antioch were the first to freely share the Gospel with ALL people regardless of their socio-economic, ethnic or moral differences. Regardless of how unchurched they were. Regardless of how godless they were. Regardless of how immoral they were. To live up to the name “Christian,” you and I need to do the same. We need to reach beyond social, ethnic and religious barriers and introduce people to Jesus Christ. And once they accept him, we have to disciple them—helping them to build a brand-new life centered on Jesus Christ.

Life Lesson #2: You need a Barnabas in your life—a faithful, spirit-filled Christian who will encourage you to love and serve Christ with all your heart and will stand with you as you do. That’s one of the reasons Jesus gave us … the CHURCH. Chances are, your home church has many Barneys and Barnitas who can come alongside you and encourage you to grow in your faith and obedience to Christ.

Life Lesson #3: Just like Barnabas and Saul, we are much better and stronger together. So, don’t be a lone-ranger Christian. When God calls you to do something for Him, enlist at least one other Christian to do it with you. Evangelist D.L. Moody hit the nail on the head: “It is better to put 10 men to work than to do the work of 10 men.”

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook Live. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Don’t Block the Doorway to God

“We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”

– Acts 15:19

You might find this hard to believe, but up until the early 1800s, most Christian leaders in Europe believed that missionary work was a waste of time. That was before God raised up a young shoemaker named William Carey, who grew up in an obscure, rural town in England. From a young age, William Carey felt a burden for sharing the gospel with people in other countries who had never heard the name of Jesus. One day he took some shoe leather and thread and made a crude little globe. He would often hold that globe in his hands and pray and weep over it. It broke his heart to think of millions of people around the world going to Hell without anyone ever having shared the gospel with them.

Carey attended a minister’s meeting one day, and he stood up and urged the church leaders to prioritize missions. But one of the older pastors shouted him down, saying, “Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.” Sadly, William Carey heard comments like these all the time. It was discouraging, but he pressed on. Not long afterward he preached a sermon which included the now-famous words: “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”

Within a year of first speaking those words, William Carey moved with his family to India, where they spent the next 40 years bringing about 700 people to a saving knowledge of Christ. His inspiring example sparked the modern missions movement. Over the past 200 years, millions of Christians around the world have been inspired to do what William Carey challenged us to do. Despite the opposition, despite the criticism and despite the naysayers, they decided to “Expect great things from God [and] attempt great things for God.” 

These words could have been the motto of the Christian Church in Antioch—the first church to share the gospel with Greeks who didn’t have a drop of Jewish blood in their veins. Thousands were being saved, and everything was going so well … until we get to Acts 15:1: “Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’” We’re not given the names of these men, but verse 5 makes it clear that they were “believers” in Christ. They were saved. They were Christians. They were just very misguided Christians—the kind who could do more damage to the church from the inside than unbelievers could ever do from the outside.

When it came to following Christ, the new Christians in Antioch had been ALL IN. Then, suddenly, some brothers came along and told them: “You aren’t really saved. Believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior isn’t enough. Repenting of your sins and getting baptized isn’t enough. Walking in obedience to Christ’s commands isn’t enough. Unless your men undergo a circumcision surgery and you all start obeying all of the Old Testament laws, you’re all going to Hell.” Now the new Greek Christians were utterly confused in their new faith. Centuries later, Warren Wiersbe shared this great insight: “The progress of the gospel has often been hindered by people with closed minds who stand in front of open doors and block the way for others.” We pray for open doors. But just because God opens a door, it doesn’t mean that someone won’t block the doorway.

So, the church acted quickly. They sent Christian leaders, including Paul and Barnabas, to Jerusalem so that the apostles and church elders could render a final verdict. Once they were assembled together, Peter, Paul and Barnabas all made the case for rejecting the notion of circumcision and law-keeping being necessary for salvation. Then James made this great point in verse 19: “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” The Jews themselves had not been able to follow the Old Testament laws to the letter—why should they expect it of the new Greek believers?

Jesus said in Matthew 11:30, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” But so often Christians have made Jesus’ yoke out to be hard and his burden to be heavy. Many Christians, unknowingly, make the same mistake as the circumcision preachers in Acts 15. While trying to promote righteousness in the church, we heap burdens on new believers that do more harm than good.

Many of us hold strong opinions about matters of our faith and worship. We may hold strong beliefs about speaking in tongues, about free will, about end times prophecies, and about how a worship service should look on a Sunday morning—what kind of songs should be sung, how long the sermon should be, whether or not communion should be taken every week. These opinions can all be fine and good. But we have to be very careful about taking our personal convictions about areas that are not essential to salvation and requiring new believers to believe the same way. Because when we do that, we can muddy the simple message of grace in Christ. May we always pray for open doors of ministry and keep ourselves and others from blocking the doorway once God opens it.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our Grand Opening at 10 am Sunday, October 6^th at the new Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Live Up to the Name “Christian”

“The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

– Acts 11:26

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is in 1 Samuel 17: the story of David and Goliath.

You know the basic details of the story. The Philistines were the archenemies of the Israelites, and their greatest warrior, Goliath, stood over nine feet tall. He was one tough hombre.

As the Philistine and Israelite armies met on the battlefield, Goliath offered the Israelites a proposal: “Instead of our armies killing each other, just choose one Israelite warrior to fight me one-on-one. If he kills me, we will become your slaves, but if I kill him, you all will become our slaves. What do you say?” Well, all of the Israelite soldiers said in unison, “No way, Jose! I’m not fighting that guy. He’s huge! He’ll squash me like a bug.” No Israelite soldier had the guts–or the faith—to face Goliath … except for a wet-behind-the ears teenager named David. David alone stepped up and accepted the challenge to fight Goliath.

David had guts. David had great faith in God. But something else I love about David is that he thought outside the box. Every Israelite soldier thought the only way to fight Goliath was in hand-to-hand combat. And they knew they were no match for Goliath. But David refused to think the way every soldier in that army thought. When fighting Goliath, he wouldn’t need a sword. He wouldn’t need a spear. He wouldn’t even need armor, because he wasn’t going to use them. With God’s help, all he needed was his trusty old sling and a smooth stone. Who says he had to have a sword fight with Goliath? He would just stand back—out of arm’s reach--and chuck a rock at his forehead. And afterwards, if he needed a sword, he would just borrow Goliath’s, since he wouldn’t be needing it anymore.

You know who won that battle. And just as David walked in faith and thought outside the box, so did Christ’s followers in the city of Antioch (see Acts 11:19-30). With a population of half a million people, the city of Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire. It had a very diverse population and a booming economy. But sadly, its citizens had a penchant for drinking, gambling and playing cat and mouse with temple prostitutes outside the city. 

Antioch was the Roman Empire’s “Sin City.” Yet it was there, in that Roman Sin City, that Jesus’ followers initiated the Church’s mission to take the gospel of Jesus Christ beyond Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, to every group of people on earth. And it was there in that Roman Sin City that Jesus’ followers were first called “Christians.” Now, Christ’s followers in Antioch didn’t receive this glorious nickname overnight. There were three distinct, out-of-the-box steps that the believers in Antioch took on the road to being called “Christians.”

Step 1: They reached out to share the message of salvation (vs19-21). In the months and years leading up to the founding of the Antioch Church, churches only shared the Gospel with people of Jewish descent. But, in God’s view, that just wasn’t going to cut it. Why? Because when Jesus told his followers that they would be his witnesses in the uttermost parts of the earth, he didn’t mean they would be his witnesses only to the Jews. He meant they would be his witnesses to everyone. The Antioch Church reached out to witness to the “Greeks” who knew next to nothing about God, Jesus, or biblical morality. And the results of their bold outreach are plain to see in verse 21: “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”

Step 2: They reached out to encourage new believers (vs22-24). The Antioch Church was very good at out-of-the-box witnessing. But that by itself wasn’t going to make them into a great church. Next they needed to reach out to encourage. And Barnabas—whose nickname means “son of encouragement”—was just the man for the job! In verse 23 we read that when Barnabas arrived at the Antioch Church, he “encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” Don’t forget: It’s one thing to see lots of people come to the Lord once. It’s quite another for large numbers of people to continue coming to the Lord day after day, week after week, month after month. I believe that without Barnabas’ encouragement and faith, the out-of-the-box evangelistic impact would not have lasted very long.

Step 3: They reached out to teach new believers (vs25-26). Barnabas realized that as well as the church in Antioch was doing, it needed more than he alone could offer. In order to take the church to the next level, Barnabas humbly set out for Tarsus to find Saul, the murderer turned evangelist. That was a trip of some 100 miles. He convinced Saul to come back with him to Antioch, and together, Barnabas and Saul taught “large numbers of people.” It wasn’t once-a-week teaching. It wasn’t light teaching. It was out-of-the-box discipleship which included solid, meaty, daily teaching. And as a result, “great numbers of people” were taught the word of God. And then and only then do we read: “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

Like Christ’s followers in Antioch, Jesus calls us to reach out to share the Good News with those who are far from Christ, to lovingly encourage young Christians, and to teach God’s word to all who will listen. We are “Christians.” And these are things that Christians do.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our Grand Opening at 10 am Sunday, October 6^th at the new Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.