Consider the Acts 9 conversion narrative of Saul before he became Paul. Ananias and Barnabas are two key frontline disciples crucial in Paul's conversion journey. They are symbolic 'typologies' of the present realities of the church today in choosing to embrace BMBs or not in the different Christian-faith expressions.

 

Paul encounters the Lord Jesus

While 'still breathing out murderous threats and slaughter against the disciples’ (Acts 9:1), Paul is confronted with a vision of the risen Christ in glory, which ultimately leads to his faith in Jesus. Even with such a glorious testimony, Paul receives no warm embrace from some brethren in Damascus and Jerusalem, respectively (Acts 9:13,26). They were fearful of the ‘old’ unregenerated Saul who had made havoc among them, didn’t believe his new faith in Christ, and hence could not welcome him among the brethren. Paul's story has many parallels with BMB experiences.

Let's look at two contrasting responses of Ananias and Barnabas to Paul’s story and testimony, a ‘typology’ of two potential choices for the church today.

 

Ananias, a picture of scepticism

‘Lord, I have heard by many of this man...’ (Acts 9:13). Ananias was well-informed of Paul's past but not his present. How much of the things we know about past negative experiences have shaped and informed decisions? Ananias’ hesitation to obey the Lord in going to Paul is so evident that he had to remind God of Paul’s past. Yet against his natural intuition, he dares to go and meet Paul.

Contrast with the disciples in Jerusalem, who knew Paul’s past more than those in Damascus. They were afraid of him and couldn’t even believe his testimony (Acts 9:26), hence not accept him as a brother.

While it is normal and acceptable to a certain degree to be hesitant, slow, and sceptical in receiving BMBs whose past is known in the fellowship of the brethren, I find it unacceptable to solely use past information to inform a sober godly judgement. The Bible commends us to test every spirit, and the test of time in the life of a believer brings a revelation of the fruit of the Spirit, the ultimate evidence of a lived and experienced visible life.

'Test before you trust.' Is this even recommendable? Whatever your convictions and persuasions, it should never be a prerequisite for qualifying or disqualifying BMBs from the fellowship of the brethren. After a 12-hour walk in the sun, no one would understand being kept at the door for another hour just because the host is making sure that house details are in order. While there is no specific formula for testing, it certainly doesn’t mean interrogation, viewing them with sceptical eyes, or even subjecting new converts to a process of making them prove the authenticity of their faith.

As one who developed a set of questions from 1 John for testing the authenticity of BMBs before revealing my identity as a fellow believer or connecting them to other BMBs, this ‘supposed’ formula, mostly prompted by fear of exposure to wolves in sheep’s clothes, did not seem welcoming. It did not give a good first impression of hospitality to enable Somali BMBs feel finally at home with fellow brethren.

 

Barnabas, one who dares to risk for others

Not only did Barnabas welcome Paul and embrace him as a fellow disciple, he was willing to risk his name and reputation among the brethren by making a case for a stranger he had met briefly (Acts 9:27). He dared to believe Paul’s testimony and stood in witness about him before the other brethren, opening the door for Paul into fellowship and acceptance.

Putting your life in such a place of vulnerability is not a risk many of us would be willing to incur. How can we welcome and embrace BMBs with no level of guarantees or certainties? Or rather, should we opt for a level of certainty before embracing and welcoming? We must dare to trust, not just the individual but the God who is at work within us and the individual he has brought our way. This is no case for blind faith.

What if Barnabas was not this radical in choice but rather chose to be careful about risking his name on just a new disciple? Without speculating so much, it seems certain that this would definitely have had a negative influence on Paul as a new believer, on the church then and now.

 

The concern for security among BMBs cannot be underestimated or treated lightly. However, it’s not a new paradigm in history. The conversion narrative of Paul has reflections to teach the church today from Ananias’ and Barnabas' responses to embracing and welcoming Paul into the fold of Christ’s church. How similar, or different, the response the modern Church (corporately) appears to make is shaped by the choices that every individual believer makes, depending on their contextual circumstances.