Acts 13:1 Now in 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.
A tendency today is to either seek positions of influence and power, or avoid them at all costs. But sometimes we don’t have a choice in whether we have influence and power. Sometimes we are born into it or with it.
Most reading these words have power and influence because we live in the United States. We have a roof over our heads, a computer or smart phone. We will eat three meals today, have clean water, have more than one set of clothes. We have some privileges that many around the world don’t have.
We live our lives in relative safety. As long as we don’t get into a car and drive on the crazy streets, chances are we will make it though this day unscathed. We will close our eyes at the end of the day and sleep in peace.
Our text tells us the international cast who were part of the church at Antioch, an ancient city in modern Turkey. Simeon called Niger was most likely a dark skinned person from Africa, transplanted and flourishing in the Antioch church. Lucius of Cyrene came from his north African home at some point and was part of the leadership there. From modern day Libya to Antioch.
But the man named Manaen sparks my interest. He grew up in the spheres of the highest influence. He grew up with the young boy who would become Herod the tetrach. Herod’s dad was Herod the great and had received a quarter of his kingdom to rule.
And Manaen had grown up with him! Think of growing up with the Ambassador to the United Nations, or the Governor of California or New York. Talk about knowing people in high places. Manaen would have known all the secrets, the places where all the bodies were buried.
There are people in our churches who are people like this. They are ‘connected’ and influential. Should we automatically either put them in positions of leadership in our congregations or automatically exclude them? Does their connection poison their faith? Are they to be labeled because of something over which they might not have had any influence or choice?
Sometimes the LORD uses these types of connections to further His work in the world. Sometimes these people are able to speak in circles that the rest of us have no voice. We need to recognize the power and the liability of this connection, and bathe it in prayer.
The Arnold Journey 