After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. [Acts 15.36-39a]
OK, here's the early church... Trouble is brewing. A hole has been revealed in their unity. And these are key figures in the early church!
Conclusion: these people are human - disagreements were bound to happen.
That sounds nice, but is it true? There's a whole lot of "following the Holy Spirit" recorded in the early church, but what spirit led to this disagreement?
As a personal observation, it seems to me that simultaneous with the 'development' of the early church, there seems to be another pattern being established: miracles seem to be decreasing (not going away entirely, but noticeably decreasing). Is there reason to believe that as the early church gets better organized, that the Holy Spirit is less involved?
Father, help us all to look for the simplicity and unity that Your Holy Spirit leads us to so that Your power may be seen.
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