Nehemiah Leadership

From the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah... twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

Nehemiah 5:14-16 & 19

Those who fear God use their authority not for their own gain but as an opportunity to bless and serve His people. This is pleasing to God and will result in their reward in due time, even though in this life it often means hardship. 

I became a senior pastor six months ago after serving in youth and children's ministry roles for more than a decade. I knew that becoming a senior pastor meant more authority. I also knew that in the church more authority means more responsibility, more hardship, more service. I wasn't climbing higher to rule, I was stooping lower to serve. And this has proven true through my first six months. The demands on my time and the needs crying out for my attention have only increased. 

It ought to be the case in our churches and in Christian families that the higher you climb the lower you go in service. Jesus models this for us. "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45) Jesus had more power and authority than any other man in the history of the world, but He refused to use it to advance His own cause choosing instead to serve others. In the verses preceding this quote He commands us to do the same. “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all." (Mark 10:42-44) 

How many of us actually do this though? It is so very tempting to think that whatever position of authority we have attained has come to us because we paid our dues and that now is the time for us to reap our rewards. But this is an unchristian way of thinking. It is out of step with the gospel and out of step with Jesus. So, who do you need to be serving? Most of us have authority over someone. Is it your kids? Your employees? Your Sunday School class, youth group, or kid's ministry? Wherever God has given you leadership and authority, no matter how small, use it to bless and serve those beneath you. It glorifies Him and gives you a good name as you do so. Plus, it will secure for you a sure reward for Heaven.

You've Got to Show Them

(King) Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the musicians played and the trumpets sounded. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed. When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped.

2 Chronicles 29:27-29

These verses pretty well sum up King Hezekiah's leadership. He excelled in a quality that many lack today: public spiritual leadership. This quality enabled Hezekiah to successfully turn his people away from idol worship and back to the one, true God. Though he lived about 2,700 years ago, there's much you and I can learn from him. 

Can you imagine how much of an impact it must have made for the king to get on his knees and worship God in plain sight of his people? It's difficult for us to grasp how important a king was in those days, but I think it would be hard to exaggerate how impactful it was to see a man this powerful humble himself in worship publicly.

I know that Jesus said "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." (See Matthew 6:1-6 for the full context and teaching.) But the key words here are "to be seen by them." Jesus' point is that your giving, your prayer, your worship shouldn't be performed to be seen by men. They should be directed at God. It can't be merely a show to impress other people. It shouldn't be a ruse to somehow advance people's opinion of you. But we sometimes wrongly take Jesus' teaching to mean that we should only ever worship or pray in our private prayer closets. This is not what Jesus meant and this misunderstanding of the text has contributed to the lack of spiritual leadership in the church today. 

The church needs men and women who will fall on their knees and openly, unashamedly worship God in front of those they lead. But these public acts of prayer and worship should be only a small fraction of the time you spend praying and worshiping. The bulk of the time should be kept private (between you, the Lord, and your family). Many, many people in our world (including children) need to hear their leaders pray, see their leaders give (even if they don't know how much you give), and feel the passion in their leader's worship. Many of the people in our world will never find the courage to worship God whole-heartedly until they have seen someone else live as an example before them.

We are all leaders in some respect. We are fathers, mothers, managers, shift leaders, pastors, grandparents, and mentors. God calls us to use our influence to draw others to Christ, to give them the courage to worship Him before the watching world. Do the people you lead know you worship God unashamedly? Have they seen your love for God lately?

For further reading...

• Consider another king, King David. He also worshiped the Lord publicly and unashamedly. (see 2 Samuel 6:12-16) Moreover, his psalms often speak of publicly procaliming God's goodness in worship before all the nations. (for example see Psalm 9:11 and Psalm 105:1)