He had the advantage of being multilingual, a Roman citizen, which meant a citizen of the world, and having a support group of like-minded men, such as Timothy and others.
He was also a Rabbi trained by the best in the day, knew his Scripture, could pray, preach, heal and organize.
Men need to start communities not women.
All the communities I have tried to start failed for three reasons.
One, men were not keen.
Two, orthodoxy was not shared.
Three, few were willing to sacrifice.
Such is the way real lay communities are founded. St. Publius became the first bishop, and martyr as well.
We have many excellent men who are leaders, but are so caught up with other things, they think they cannot start communities.
They also may feel they are unworthy. Of course, that is true. God does the work, not the person.
Pursuing perfection is absolutely necessary for the foundations of community.
I would think that the leaders would have to at least be in the Dark Night of the Soul or Senses. But, the real work would begin in the Illuminative state.
Perfection must precede or at least be part of the journey of the building of the Kingdom, as the ego gets in the way otherwise. All communities must be God's Plan, not ours.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta managed to create her community when she was in the Dark Night of the Soul.
She was humbled by this experience, but kept going. Fifty years without consolation meant she was being purified to become the great saint she is. Her work is not what we look at but her purity of heart and mind.
St. Paul did not start his missionary journey for a long time after his conversion.
At least nine, if not ten years passed in exile, time for him to be in the state of purification.
So be it....start...get an "exit strategy".
