Some context for today's passage: after Stephen was martyred, the church scattered — believers fled to Phoenicia, Antioch, and beyond, afraid of the same persecution. Paul, already converted after his encounter on the road to Damascus, had been preaching so boldly that his own life was at risk, so the church sent him to Tarsus, his hometown, for safety. He was there for a couple of years.
Meanwhile, in Antioch — a city with almost nothing culturally in common among its people, a real mix of Jews, Gentiles, Aramaic and Greek speakers — something significant was happening. A great awakening was underway. And Barnabas, one of the few entrusted to teach and lead in this new movement, made a decision worth paying attention to.
"Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." — Acts 11:25-26
Get a Friend
Barnabas didn't walk into Antioch alone. He went and found someone — an accountability partner, someone who would keep him motivated and someone he could motivate in return.
Years ago, a guest speaker at a church used two made-up words that have stuck ever since: "lumach" and "mummic." Not Hebrew, not Greek, not anywhere in Scripture — just useful shorthand. A lumach is a less mature Christian — someone you're pouring into, encouraging, helping learn. A mummic is a more mature Christian — someone you can call on for spiritual advice and encouragement when things get hard.
That's exactly what Barnabas is doing here. He goes and gets Paul, and he's doing it as much for himself as for Paul. The church in Antioch was brand new — nobody fully knew yet what to say, how to lead, how to act. So they didn't try to figure it out alone.
You Need Both
Everyone needs a mummic, and everyone needs a lumach. Men need a man in both roles; women need the same among women — because some conversations genuinely call for someone who shares the same specific experience. There are things a husband can't fully work through with his own wife, not because the relationship isn't strong, but because he needs someone outside it who can say plainly, "here's where you missed it, and here's how you go make it right with her" — advice that's harder to receive from the person the conversation is actually about.
Finding a lumach tends to come easy — plenty of people are looking for someone to pour into them. Finding a mummic often takes longer. It took real time, longer than it probably should have, and prayer before it happened. But once it did, it changed the trajectory of the walk that followed.
Where the Name Comes From
One more detail worth knowing: this is the passage where believers were first called Christians — at Antioch. The name came from "Christ ones." In a city where nationality, language, and culture gave people almost nothing in common, the one thing they shared was Christ. So that became the name.
What to Look For — and How to Ask
Start with prayer. Ask God to show you who that person might be, and to put them in your path — it may not happen that day, and that's alright. What matters more than someone's years as a believer is their depth: two people can come to Christ at the same time, and years later one has simply spent more time in the Word and grown further. Someone closer to your own age and season of life often relates better than someone simply older. Look at it as a helping relationship in both directions — someone who's already walked a road you're about to walk, and, for someone younger, you being the one who's already walked a road they haven't yet.
And when you've identified that person, actually ask them. Don't ask, "will you be my mummic" — they won't know what that means. Instead: "I need someone I can call for spiritual advice or encouragement in this walk. I've seen how you show up here every week — could I call on you when I need something?" The honest hesitation to ask is often the real stumbling block, but the answer is far more likely to be yes than not. You get 100% of what you don't ask for.
You can catch this devotional and every weekday message live on carltondewaynedunko.com, Monday through Thursday at 9:15 AM Eastern. Carlton also co-hosts the original 9:15 Devotional, where you'll find the full video archive and more ways to connect.