Allen: moving on

Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Meditation:
    But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
    They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
    —Acts 14:20-23 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Paradoxical as it may seem, I think that it is quite possible that the shortness of his stay may have conduced in no small measure to St. Paul’s success. There is something in the presence of a great teacher that sometimes tends to prevent smaller men from realizing themselves. They more readily feel their responsibility, they more easily and successfully exert their powers when they see that, unless they come forward, nothing will be done. By leaving them quickly, St. Paul gave the local leaders opportunity to take their proper place, and forced the church to realize that it could not depend on him, but must depend on its own resources.
    ... Roland Allen (1869-1947), Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or ours?, London: World Dominion Press, 1927, reprinted, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1962, p. 125 (see the book)
    See also Acts 14:20-26; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:7; 14:12; Eph. 4:11-12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You can raise up whatever is needed in the church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt