Whenever I think about working on a ministry team with others, I remember this tragic story in the early Church. Paul and Barnabas had been blazing a missional path, and the gospel impacted regions. Everything was going great until they disagreed on the team’s formation going forward. Barnabas wanted to reengage Mark in the mission, but Paul didn’t want him on the team. Mark had deserted them before, and Paul ran out of patience. Paul and Barnabas could not agree on the issue and parted ways (Acts 15:39). While Luke aired the dirty laundry for future Christians to read, he tells the story but not what we should think about it.
In Scripture, we find descriptive and prescriptive portions. Descriptive tells us what happened. Prescriptive tells us what should happen. In this passage, Luke doesn’t tell us it was the right thing; he tells us it was a thing. Maybe Luke included it to say that sometimes people can’t get along. Sometimes, people who love Jesus and each other can’t continue to function as a team. Maybe he wanted to suggest passively that Mark was wishy washy, Barnabas was a pushover, and Paul was impatient. We really don’t know.
While God obviously used this tragic situation by sending out two mission teams rather than one, relationships were fractured due to one team member’s lackluster nature, which is unfortunate. But what is glorious about this situation is that it wasn’t the end of the story. The last letter that Paul penned was to Timothy. Not long after he sent it, he was executed. And in Paul’s earlier days, he said something remarkable about his former traveling partner: “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11).
There’s more to this story than we know, but what we can ascertain is beautiful. Mark had been unhelpful, and Paul opposed him because of it. Later in life, both changed their positions. That’s what it means to be the church. That’s what it looks like to do the hard work of biblical unity. That’s how it portrays putting the gospel mandate over personal feelings.
Jesus calls us to work alongside others. The adventure would be much simpler without such a dynamic. Serving in isolation may produce fewer headaches, but it would also rob us of more delight. Any team you serve on will be challenging because of all those on it, including yourself. In our strengths, we make the collective stronger. In terms of our weaknesses, we do the same. You can’t guarantee a peaceful team, but you can promise to be a peaceful team member. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18).
Paul and Barnabas’s split over Mark reminds us that even devoted believers can clash, but God can still use the fallout for greater mission impact. Later, Paul’s restored relationship with Mark shows how grace, growth, and unity can heal what once was broken.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
