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“The wall was completed in 52 days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.”
[Nehemiah 6:12 HCSB]
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The best teams are crafted in unity found only in God
For Christians, our unity is a fact. It is a solid base upon which we must build. When we do so, when we live out our essential unity through missional teamwork, the accomplishments can be positively staggering. Sadly, that causes many both inside out outside the church to assume that the prime factor is human. This is a tragic mistake. God is the One in us to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Nehemiah built an incredibly diverse team (or better, set of teams) where nearly everyone worked very hard with a clear mission before them. Further, those who served were both developed and appreciated. Anyone desire to achieve a big, hairy, audacious goal would be wise to follow Nehemiah’s example. Yet, we must not forget that it is the Lord who accomplishes the work in and through us. We can only achieve things of lasting value by God’s grace working through His Spirit. That’s why those who submit and serve before the Lord as a lifestyle can achieve powerful unity no matter how fractured their age.
When I was a little kid, war protest songs were the rage. I think that may be part of why that Boomer generation tested out as more unhappy, lonely, suicidal, and drug addicted than any generation since. Anyway, you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing some song about San Francisco…or the evil man…or imagining a world with no religion.
But in the midst of that malaise, there was a great song, titled “Get Together.” It was written by a Chet Powers, and originally recorded by The Kingston Trio and a few others. But the big hit came when a group called The Youngbloods re-released “Get Together” in 1969. It became a bestseller and was sung in a lot of church youth groups. Here are some of the lyrics:
Some may come and some may go
We shall surely pass When the one that left us here Returns for us at last We are but a moment’s sunlight Fading in the grass Come on, people now
Smile on your brother Everybody get together Try to love one another right now If you hear the song I sing Come on, people now In the midst of all the hate and put downs and riots of 1969, why was that song a hit? Because deep down American culture knew that unity is desirable. And sacrificial unity requires hope. You can fear or love. Not both. Why can you choose to sacrificially love? How is it you are able to get together and love others? Because you aren’t alone. You have hope because Jesus left you here for a purpose and He is coming back.
Great letters
As I taught on this recently, I received some wonderful notes. Here are a few that I believe will help each of us build truly fulsome teams that rely on the Spirit as they achieve greatness.
Wayne, leadership and dependence on God go together! I recommend people think through Proverbs 2, which has practical steps to live the combination out.
Wayne, you put me on to Mervin Breneman. I found this great quote in his book, “In Nehemiah we constantly read about the “leaders” of the people. God raises up leaders, and those in charge, such as Nehemiah, must pay attention to developing leadership and delegating responsibility to the leaders. Nehemiah teaches us the balance between efficient organization [with] good leadership and dependence on God at the same time. The two should not and need not be contradictory.” [Mervin Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (NAC Vol. 10) pp. 254]
You said, “Nehemiah developed people by giving them authority and responsibility. People learn by doing!” That made me think of one of my favorite quotes from D.L. Moody – “A great many people have got a false idea about the church. They have got an idea that the church is a place to rest in…To get into a nicely cushioned pew, contribute to the charities, listen to the minister, and do their share to keep the church out of bankruptcy is all they want. The idea of work for them-actual work in the church-never enters their minds.”
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