The Gospel of Mark: On the Road With Jesus (9)

Mark’s Story: Streaker
(Mark 14:51-52)

1. today I want to continue in our series in Mark by stepping back from the text & telling you Mark’s story. He’s a little known figure in the New Testament. But his life & experience can be an encouragement to us all.

2. I start Mark’s story with one of my own. I arrived here as the lead pastor in July of 1985, fresh out of Fuller Seminary, 29 years old & younger than all of the church leadership.

3. I arrived to a church in conflict. People had left. Many of those who stayed were deeply hurt. And I was thrown into the midst of them.

4. before long I started making changes. This created more conflict. The conflict was crystallized in 3 older church leaders, 2 of whom were elders & 1 who had been on the pastoral staff at the church. All 3 had served here for years.

5. we couldn’t work things out. Harsh words were spoken. I went into a meeting with 1 of these elders to do some conflict resolution with about 25 people, thinking this elder was coming to be my support. In the middle of this meeting he turned against me & told everyone that the Holy Spirit had left our church because of the changes I was making. Both of the elders left the church.

6. at this same time I remember a Sunday morning where the 3rd man yelled at me at the top of his lungs in the old foyer, 5 inches from my face, before 10-15 people & stormed out of the church. He wouldn’t talk to me for months & months & months.
7. welcome to church. They didn’t prepare me for this in seminary.

8. I was hurt & my youthful idealism was quickly being flushed down the toilet. In alone moments of prayer, journaling & reflection this is what I always came back to & this is what kept me from becoming bitter & quitting – I loved God, I loved the church, I loved these people (even the ones I was conflicted with) & I loved the Scriptures. I felt like that was all I needed. I still feel this way today.

9. this is where Mark’s story comes in.

Mark’s story
streaker (Mark 14:51-52)
1. many biblical scholars believe that Mark wrote himself into his gospel at 14:51-52 – the 1st known streaker of the New Testament! This is an odd piece of reporting, found only here, which has led scholars to believe Mark is speaking of himself.

his mother was a prominent member of the early church (Acts 12:12)
1. Peter has been arrested & is in jail. The church was earnestly praying to God for him (12:5). Where does this prayer meeting take place? At the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark (12:12).

2. Mary’s house seems to have been a well-known meeting place in Jerusalem for the 1st Christians. When God’s angels released Peter from praying, Mary’s house is the 1st place Peter went to find the church

he was a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10)
1. Barnabas was one of the top 5 leaders of the early church. His name means Son of Encouragement & that he was:
§ he sold property & gave the money to the church to help support the needy
§ he was the top leader in what is undoubtedly one of the strongest & healthiest churches in the New Testament – the church in Antioch
§ he discipled, defended & sponsored the Apostle Paul in his emerging years as a church leader

he was taken in by Barnabas & Saul/Paul (Acts 12:25)
1. the church at Antioch took up an offering to help the famine-stricken church in Jerusalem. Barnabas & Saul were sent to deliver the money.

2. after completing their mission they returned to Antioch & took Mark along with them.

he joined Barnabas & Saul on their 1st missionary journey (Acts 13:5) but soon returned to Jerusalem (13:13)
1. the Holy Spirit called Barnabas & Saul to go preach the gospel in Asia Minor. The church had Antioch released & commissioned them.

2. Mark joined them as their helper but soon into the journey he left & went back to Jerusalem.

he was the cause of Barnabas & Paul having a falling out (Acts 15:37-39)
1. time for missionary journey #2. Barnabas wants to take Mark again. Paul says “no, he deserted us before.” They argue. They have a sharp disagreement. They part company. Barnabas took Mark & sailed for Cyprus. That’s the last we hear of them in the book of Acts.
2. 2 of the greatest leaders in the New Testament church argued & separated. Leadership unity was broken. Both loved God, both loved his church, both were committed to serving his church. But Mark gets in the way & this dynamic duo is broken up.

3. but thank God for Barnabas. He saw something in his cousin that Paul didn’t. Barnabas put his Son of Encouragement stuff to work in the life of Mark.

4. in those early days of conflict when I was trying to keep my head above water God sent some Barnabas’ into my life. I wouldn’t be here without them.
§ Clyde Walker who began to teach me about conflict resolution
§ Ralph Shellrude, DS at the time, who believed in me, prayed for me & spoke truth into my life in his gentle but straightforward way
§ Norm Beck, elder, fierce lover of this church, who simply loved me & tended to some of my wounds

eventually Paul & Mark reconcile & serve together (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11)
1. now we fast forward 10 to 15 years & here’s what we find. Col 4:10 – when Paul writes to the Colossians Mark is with him. He puts in a good word for Mark. Philemon 24 – when Paul writes to Philemon Mark is with him.

2. Mark not Barnabas. Mark who Paul felt deserted him. Mark who Paul refused to work with again. Mark who caused a huge rift to develop between Paul & the man who sponsored him into leadership in the early church. It’s Mark that we find at Paul’s side 10 to 15 years later.

3. the clincher comes in 2 Timothy 4:11. Paul is at the end of his life. He is an old man who carries many battle scars from ministry. He’s in prison in Rome. Many of his associates have deserted him. Some have done him great harm. At his first defense in Rome for his Christian faith he stood alone – no one came to stand with him. He forgave them all. And he found his strength in the Lord alone.

4. and now he writes Timothy – only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. This is the essence of the Christian gospel we believe & proclaim – at the heart of it we discover love, acceptance & forgiveness “at play” in the lives of 2 people who had deeply hurt each other.

5. as far as the New Testament this closes the chapter on both Paul & Mark. And what a beautiful picture it is. One of the most endearing in all of the New Testament to my battle-worn hands & heart.

Wrap-up
1. back to my story. Years went by. I carried a rip in my heart for these 3 men & our failed relationship. By God’s grace all 3 relationships were restored. I took the lead in one, the lead came to me in another & the 3rd came by the clear lead & orchestration of the Holy Spirit.

2. 2 of these men are now dead. I helped bury them with no unfinished business between us. The 3rd has moved away but we carry a deep & abiding love for one another.

3. everyone in leadership faces conflict. It goes with the territory. The larger your responsibility, the greater number of people you lead, the more visible your leadership is, the higher the probability that you will face conflict & the more complex that conflict will often become.

4. 1 of my favorite books of the past year is by Chris Seay – Faith of My Fathers: conversations with 3 generations of pastors about church, ministry & culture. The book is an extended conversation between 3 generations of southern Baptist pastors – grandfather, son, grandsons, all in pastoral ministry. Part of the book is on conflict.

5. chris seay, grandson, started University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas 10 years ago with a musician by the name of David Crowder of the David Crowder Band. He’s now pastor of Ecclesia in Houston. An emerging church of the younger generation that has joined a downtown dying congregation of senior citizens in hopes of uniting the generations, serving the inner city & birthing new life in the heart of darkness.

6. chris seay writes of his 10 year experience at University Baptist Church – I look back on many experiences & realize I failed at being a peacemaker, at building bridges, at making friends, and at being a blessing to others. I deeply regret it. I recently returned to UBC in Waco to celebrate the church’s 10th anniversary. Looking back at those who came to faith in that place and struggled through the challenging questions of what it means to walk in the way of Christ gave me a sense of rare satisfaction. If I was smart, I would save all the emails & notes that remind me that hours of sermon preparation, hospital visits, counseling, writing, and oversight is worth all the trouble that accompanies those things. For every good memory, there were some bad ones at their heels – stalkers, haters, death, broken relationships, firing employees, being betrayed by people you love. The truth is those challenges sometimes jaded me and other times they refined my character. But I never succeeded in escaping them – they changed me.

7. I don’t ever want you to pick up & read the book of Mark without being reminded of the following – how his broken relationship with Paul was restored.

8. pray for me & the broken relationships in my life that I’m trusting God to heal – as I will pray for you & your broken relationships to heal --- marriage, family, church, friends, work associates, community members

9. get Mark & bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.