I wrote a bit about retired quarterback Tom Brady a few weeks ago – a “one-mistake” kind of guy. Mess up once, and you’re out. I probably should have mentioned the Apostle Paul’s handling of John Mark at that time. John Mark quit early into the first ministry journey (See Acts 12.25 and 13.13), and that was it for Paul. See this conversation in Acts 15:

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. (Acts 15.36 – 40, ESV)

“Sharp disagreement” – you can imagine: “I won’t have a quitter on my team!” “But he was young…” So Barnabas the encourager takes Mark with him, and at the end of Paul’s life, Paul is asking to see Mark.

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. (2 Timothy 4.9 – 11, ESV)

Different kinds of guys: intense, hard-line Paul and Barnabas the Encourager, and God uses them both.

Back to Brady. He was replaced at Tampa Bay by Baker Mayfield who is a bit more laid back. Here’s Baker’s perspective according to an interview he gave last week:

The building was a little bit different with Tom in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out…They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football, for guys who weren’t having as much fun.

Brady’s perspective?

I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings. So, there was a mindset of a champion that I took to work every day. This wasn’t daycare. If I was going to have fun, I’d go to Disneyland with my kids.

So which appeals to you? I have to admit, Brady’s drive and tough talk resonates with me. One Sunday morning when I was on church staff I was hurrying from one part of campus to another, and I passed someone I knew without speaking. Then I stopped, called him by name and apologized for not greeting him. He said, “That’s OK, Bob. The Apostle Paul was pretty intense, too!” That said, I can’t do intense for nearly as long as I used to…

Dawson Trotman, founder of my organization, The Navigators, was an intense-Apostle Paul kind of guy. The second president was Lorne Sanney, way more relational as was the third president, my friend Jerry White.

Each of us is called to be what God designed us for. I’ve tried to learn from my more relational colleagues, but I’ll never manifest as much kindness and mercy as some of them do. But some of them don’t do well at confronting or challenging when necessary. It takes all of us!

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2.10, NIV)

When James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (Galatians 2.9, 10, ESV)

But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. (Galatians 2.11, NLT)