[OBW]

I do not doubt that others before and since Lee have considered Barnabas as some sort of problem that got written out of the NT after that first journey with Paul. But since leaving the LC, I have never heard those kinds of sentiments. In fact, Barnabas is generally spoken of in a strictly positive light.

Also, while the reference is not altogether clear, Paul mentions Barnabas in 1 Cor 9:6. Unless he is talking about another Barnabas (otherwise not stated), is it not sufficient that this is written at some time after Paul’s second journey which did not include Barnabas? Since Barnabas was not on that journey (and according to Lee now written out of the NT ministry), why would Paul mention him, and in a manner that was aligned/parallel with himself, unless they (the Corinthians) had knowledge of him and also Paul was not adverse to him. Surely if there was something incorrect in the person of Barnabas, Paul would not have spoken of him as a teacher with similar constraints to himself as part of an appeal to the sensibilities of the Corinthians.

I think Lee’s teaching on this point is part of a fishing expedition for an excuse to cut off those who decide on a different direction than his “ministry” which is later described as the “ministry of the age.”