Do You Have a Paul & a Timothy in Your Faith Walk?

I remember a statement from years ago that went something like “Imagine what could happen in the church if every seasoned believer was helping just one younger believer grow in the faith!”

That’s exactly what happened with the older Paul and young Pastor Timothy, not to mention Titus and Philemon. Paul wrote letters to all three to offer instruction and church ‘leadership’ training.

A “Paul and Timothy” relationship is nothing more than one believer coming alongside of another believer to help him/her grow in their faith walk.

I can think of times in my own decades old walk when I needed a more seasoned believer (a “Paul”) to teach me (a “Timothy”) something, clarify scripture, or provide Godly wisdom in a situation and just guide me along .

There have been other times when I ended up serving as a “Paul” to a “Timothy”. At times it wasn’t intentional but just happened because I lived or worked with another believer and the relationship grew naturally. It might have been just started studying the Bible with a coworker or friend. At other times it has been because someone younger in the faith than me walked up to me and told me that he wanted to meet with me and grow.

If you are serving in the military you might be familiar with the term “Battle Buddy”. Paul and Timothy relationships are that and more. No two believers are at exactly the same place in their faith walks and it just happens.

At other times, circumstances automatically create relationships. I remember when I was a recent graduate of the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) and the newest member of an SF “A” team. It’s like being Timothy in a whole room full of Pauls! As the Junior Radio Operator I would definitely be learning from the Senior Radio Operator. I would be trained and learn other SF skills by other members of the team who had different primary specialties. And of course there was the Team Sergeant, the NCO who literally led the team under the supervision of the Team Leader, an officer.

Lastly, Paul and Peter relationships can be come a bit more formal and formal, following a structured growth pattern designed to help a new or young believer grow into a Kingdom Builder.

I’m sure you get the picture. Both in life and in our spiritual walks we are always learning and always have something pass on.

If someone was to ask me, “Dan, what’s the key to establishing the relationships we’ve been talking about, I have a single two part answer. “Be open about your faith and be available for both roles. That’s it.

When God welcomed this prodigal home he was already serving on a Special Forces “A” team. For me, being open about my faith was a no brainer. The big question I had was “Can I be a fully functioning member of such a tight knit unit and be open about my faith at the same time. We are talking about some highly trained tough soldiers most of whom weren’t exactly models of the Christian faith and some of which were openly hostile toward God and could get rather nervous around, or uncomfortable with others who were openly Christian. Suffice it to say that Christians open and unapologetic about their faith won’t be the most popular folks in the room if the are welcome at all.