1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
It is amazing the diversity of this group of prophets. We don’t know exactly who each of these men are, but we do know that they come from various geographic regions, and socioeconomic strata. Barnabas is from the Jerusalem Church, a leading Jew and pillar of the church. Simeon might be from Africa because of his dark complexion. Lucius is from Cyrene, a port in North Africa. Manaen had political connections with the ruler Herod. And of course there was Saul, a leading Jewish Rabbi of his day. This was a crowd with influence and some connections. This group was not like the twelve disciples, not one of whom had any connections and who seemed to be drawn from a very similar working class crowd. One thing for certain, they were not Northern European in descent. They would not fit very well in a Michael Angelo painting. They would not fit very well in many congregations here in this country either. They are too diverse, too different from one another. Our congregations tend to be very mono-cultural. I love congregations with white and black, rich and poor, Hispanic and Asian. I love the richness that many cultures bring to worship and congregational life. My current place of ministry is very diverse, and I am thankful for that diversity. As congregations we need to work at encouraging diversity in our worship. Everyone needs to be welcomed in our services. All need to be able to yield to the cleansing work of the Spirit. The Lord makes not distinctions between us, so why should we. We are all one in Christ. Every barrier that could stand in the way of unity has been removed in Christ. When are we going to practice that unity among diversity?
The Arnold Journey 