Week 96
Barnabas and Paul—Not Considering being a Leader a Position
Point to Emphasize: Being a leader should not cause us to think so highly of ourselves.
Reference Reading: Acts 13 (especially vs. 1-4,9, 13, 42-43, 46, 50); 14:12, 19
Memory Verse: For I say, … to everyone who is among you, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think… (Romans 12:3)
Sample Story
Today, we want to talk about what it is to be a leader. There are many different types of leaders for different types of groups. For example, who is the leader of our country? (President.) Who is the leader in a family? (Father.) How about at school? (Principal or teacher.) Who leads a symphony orchestra? (Conductor.) How about a sports team? (Coach or captain.) Although each of these groups is different in many ways, all the leaders have something in common. They lead, direct, inspire, or guide the group so that there is some order in the group. What do you think makes a good leader? [Discuss together.]
In the Bible, the book of Acts shows us an example of leadership and how sometimes the leader can change from one person to another. In the city of Antioch, there were some leaders in the church who were prophets and teachers. Five of them came together to minister to the Lord by praying and fasting. They sought to know what they should do regarding the preaching of the gospel. The result of this time led to the decision that Barnabas and Saul should go out to preach the gospel. At first, Barnabas took the lead. His name was always mentioned first. But as time went on, the leadership changed, and the Bible first mentioned Paul (who had been called Saul), then Barnabas. Paul became the one who took the lead as they traveled. He was the one who rose to speak as they entered the different cities. Not only that, but when the people argued about what was being said, Paul was the one who took the lead in these discussions to help them understand.
I think this is such an interesting story in the Bible. When I first read it, I wondered how this could have happened. Why was Barnabas the leader at first, and then Paul took over the lead later? And why didn’t Barnabas get jealous? He seemed to step aside and allow Paul to become the leader. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Barnabas accepted this because he recognized that Paul was the one who was meant to lead at that time.
What are your feelings towards a classmate who becomes a leader? [Open a discussion.] Oftentimes, we feel so jealous or envious towards a leader that we start looking for flaws in that person to excuse ourselves for not following their leadership. Oftentimes, we criticize the leader’s decisions and say to ourselves, “She is so bad at her job. I could have done better.” How many times have you wished your teacher would do things your way? How many times have you told yourself, “My mom is wrong. When I grow older and have children, I will be a better parent than my mom.” And what about with your own peers? When a classmate is chosen to be the leader of a project, immediately in your heart you react and say, “He will not be a good leader. Oh man, now I’ll have to do everything he says.”
It is in our nature. We don’t like to follow any leader who is placed above us. I could ask you to raise your hands if you have ever felt jealous because someone else was chosen to be the leader. I could also ask you to raise your hands if you have ever criticized the person who was chosen. If we are honest, we would all have to raise our hands, because we often think we would do the best job—that we could be the best leader. But this is what the Bible says—that we should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. When we do, we easily belittle others. This conversation should make us feel uncomfortable inside. All this time, you may have thought it was normal to criticize and belittle others, but it is not.
Just today, when you go home, consider what the Bible says. It says “not to think more highly” of yourselves.