Collective and non-hierarchical leadership that enables the mentors new leadership to

emerge: Barnabas and Paul

Apostle Paul had a clear understanding that he was called to become an apostle by the will of
God, and not as a result of human’s selection (1 Corinthians 1:1, Ephesians 1:1). He was
transformed from a persecutor of the church (Philippians 3:6) to a devoted minister of Christ
to the Gentiles (Roman 15:16).

Although Paul was called to be an apostle by the will of God, his acceptance into the
apostolic community came through the sponsorship of an apostle named Barnabas (Acts
9:26-30). Barnabas’s mentoring relationship with Paul plays a significant role in Paul’s
development into an influential leader in the early Christian church.

Barnabas was an early leader in the Christian church through his financial gift to the apostles
in Jerusalem (Acts 4:36), his selection as a representative of the Jerusalem church to confirm
the work of God in Antioch (Acts 11:22), and the prominent position his name occupies in
the list of leaders in the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1). Mentoring is described as a
relationship in which a more experienced manager helps a less experienced person. Barnabas’
relationship with Paul began when he introduced him to the apostles in Acts 9, but his
mentoring relationship started when Barnabas recruited Paul to help him teach the new
followers of Christ in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). Barnabas guided Paul during his development
from a novice follower of Christ to the greatest propagator of the faith in the early church.
(Senior leaders today can follow the example of Barnabas and contribute to the development
of the next generation of leaders).

Paul displayed humility by submitting himself in this process. Cohen and Nelson posit that
sponsorship includes the concept of subordinating oneself to a senior member of the
organization in order to grow and develop within the organization. Paul did not use his
considerable Jewish pedigree (Philippians 3:5-6) as a reason not to submit to Barnabas’
overtures to come alongside Paul and show him the way in the Christian church. Barnabas
plays a role here consistent with his role throughout the book of Acts. Barnabas encouraged
the church in Jerusalem (Acts 4:36-37), encouraged the new believers in Antioch (Acts
11:22), brought Paul along to work in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26), accompanied Paul on his first
missionary journey (Acts 13:2-3), and took on Mark as mentoree when Paul refused to
continue working with Mark (Acts 15:38-39).
This form of mentoring relationship was most likely not new to Paul. As a Pharisee (Acts
23:6) Paul was accustomed to learning from his elders as he developed as a Pharisee
(Galatians 1:14). Although he was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, Paul spent a considerable amount
of time in Jerusalem under the sponsorship/guidance of Gamaliel in the strict manner of the
law of the Jews (Acts 22:3). His primary concern in the school of Gamaliel was to become as
proficient as possible in the ancient traditions in order to advance in Judaism. Paul
experienced a form of the mentor and mentee relationship at an early age when he was being
trained as a leader in Judaism.

Mentoring was a life-style for Barnabas. He guided Paul by spending time with him and
letting Paul observe him interact with new believers at Antioch (Acts 11), church leaders
(Acts 13), and non-believers in their first missionary journey. This same mentoring
relationship can be used by today’s leaders to produce similar results in their leadership
development programs. Barnabas took Paul through the initiation-stage during their year in
ministry together in Antioch. Barnabas may have seen in Paul a worthy person to impart his
ideals to. Paul most likely saw in Barnabas a man with an open heart who gave to others.
Barnabas’ example may be an explanation of Paul’s regular practice of investing in younger
leaders like Timothy and Titus. Acts 11 gives us a description of how Paul entered the
initiation-stage of the mentoring relationship with Barnabas.

Paul did not immediately begin his work as an apostle after Barnabas vouched for him before
the disciples in Jerusalem. Paul had to leave Jerusalem because the Greek speaking Jews in
Damascus sought to kill him because of his bold proclamation of Christ (Acts 9:28-29). The
believers sent Paul away to Tarsus for safety. After a period of about three years (Galatians
1:17-18) Barnabas went to Tarsus to seek Paul’s assistance in teaching the believers at
Antioch (Acts 11:25- 26). During their year together in Antioch, they were able to teach a
great many people during their stay (Acts 11:26). While in Antioch the elders took up a
special offering to help the believers in Judea affected by the great famine prophesied by
Agabus (Acts 11:28). Barnabas and Paul were selected to take the offering to the believers in
Judea. In this initiation-stage of the mentoring relationship, Paul learned, two vital functions
of apostolic work—teaching and ministering to the physical needs of people. This model of
meeting spiritual and physical needs is the same undertaken by Jesus during his ministry in
Galilee (Matthew 4:23).
One of the lessons we may learn from the initiation-stage is that the mentor should take the
initiative to seek out the mentee. The Bible does not say what Paul was doing in Tarsus, but
Barnabas recognized Paul’s teaching ability and called him to service. Barnabas took the
initiative and helped Paul grow into a key leader in the early Christian church. Perhaps, Paul
may have been lost or delayed as a contributor to the rapid expansion of Christianity if
Barnabas had not taken the initiative to recruit him to teach in Antioch. Similarly today,
churches may be forfeiting valuable contributions from its members because they have not
been recruited for challenging work assignments.

Barnabas was a senior leader on the first missionary journey. Barnabas was a leader in the
first days of the church and is mentioned first in the list of leaders in the church at Antioch
(Acts 13:1, 2, 7). As they travelled, Barnabas was willing to take the risk of letting Paul speak
on Cyprus and Paul responded to the challenge of a false teacher (Acts 13:9-12) which
caused the proconsul of the region to believe teaching of the Lord. Some scholars describe
this as the need for individuals in the mentoring relationship to be willing to take personal
and organizations risks. Barnabas would never know how far Paul advanced unless he tested
him. Paul found that he could minister in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:9). Barnabas
was willing to suppress his need to be the leader on every occasion for the good of the
organization and his mentee’s development. Barnabas or Paul is alternately mentioned first
during this missionary journey, indicating that change in the mentor/mentee was underway
(Acts 13:7, 13, 43; 14:14; 15:12, 25). Barnabas is mentioned as the lead four times and Paul
is mentioned twice. In the cultivation stage, the senior leader is still looked up to
support, but the emerging leader is gaining experience and confidence that he or she can do
the job apart from the senior leader.

Just as Barnabas had an influential mentoring relationship with Paul, so Paul had an
influential mentoring relationship with Timothy, Silvanus, and Titus (2 Corinthians 1:1,
1 Thessalonians 1:1, and Galatians 3:1). As one who was graciously mentored by Barnabas,
he returned the gracious act by mentoring others in the same manner. A further reading of
Paul’s epistles demonstrates his fondness for maintaining contact through correspondence.
He maintained contact by letters. Like Jesus and Barnabas before him it appears that Paul
adopted mentoring as a life-style as well.

The elements of mentoring between Barnabas and Paul provide current church leaders with
principles they can apply in their own mentoring relationships – formal or informal. First, like
Barnabas, leaders should be willing to take the risk and sponsor emerging leaders in the
workplace. Second, leaders should take the initiative to actively search for promising
candidates to mentor, just as Barnabas went to Tarsus to recruit Paul to work with the church
at Antioch. Third, leaders should cultivate the leadership capabilities of their mentees by
exposing them to diverse and challenging frontline work while still under the direction of
their mentors, similar to Barnabas giving Paul leadership opportunities on their first
missionary journey. Fourth, individuals in the mentoring relationship should anticipate a time
when the mentoring will end to avoid the clash of competing desires and positions illustrated
by Barnabas’ dispute with Paul over the role of Mark. Lastly, both individuals in the
mentoring relationship should recognize the change when the mentoring relationship
is finally over, but still find way to support each other on their mutual missions. Although
Barnabas and Paul went to different locations, both could accept and support each other’
apostolic call.