The Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) began its Annual Council on November 9 with a devotional delivered by Brent Burdick, SSD associate treasurer, who urged the SSD Executive Committee to inspire others through friendship, purpose, and encouragement.
Drawing from Acts 11:19-26, Burdick focused on the relationship between Barnabas and Paul in Antioch. In this story, Barnabas helped develop Paul (formerly Saul) into a missionary by believing in him, bringing him into ministry, and encouraging him in his calling.
Burdick organized the message around three convictions he saw in Barnabas: Everyone needs a friend, everyone wants to feel needed, and everyone needs encouragement.
“People want real friendship,” Burdick said, contrasting genuine relationships with the large but often impersonal audiences influencers often have on social media.
He described friendship as a powerful influence on his own decisions. Friends led him into school sports, Pathfinders, and choir; encouraged him to accept a conference treasurer position; challenged him to run his first marathon; and helped him meet his wife, Angela. He also said his relationship with Jesus shapes his service to the church.
“I work for a Friend, and that makes a difference,” Burdick said, referring to Jesus. That friendship, he said, motivated him and his wife to leave Canada for Russia in 2010.
Burdick then said people need opportunities to contribute. He pointed to Barnabas’ decision to recruit Paul for the work in Antioch and urged care groups to give every member a responsibility, even a small one.
To illustrate that need, Burdick told the story of Benji, a kindergarten student who used a wheelchair. Classmates eagerly competed to push him, but Benji wished another student also used a wheelchair because he wanted to help someone too.
The devotional’s final section emphasized encouragement. Burdick cited Barnabas—whose name means “son of encouragement”—as a model for leaders, spouses, and teachers whose words can redirect a life.
“The heart of encouragement is to communicate a person’s value,” he said.
To Burdick, God encourages people through Scripture and the Holy Spirit, then works through them to encourage others. A word, a look, or a note can tell another person that someone noticed them, cares about them, and considers their work significant, he said.
Burdick closed by asking SSD Executive Committee members whether they should seek a small influence on millions or a significant influence on a few. Jesus concentrated his earthly ministry on 12 disciples, he said, while Barnabas’ personal investment in Paul helped expand the church’s mission to the Gentile world.
He challenged each delegate to identify one person—perhaps a young person, a secular person, or someone in a position of responsibility—to become friends with, provide a meaningful role to, and offer encouragement.
“God has called you for this mission,” Burdick said. “You will make a big difference in that person, and you will help change the world.”
The original article was published on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division news site.
