The Gospel and The Kingdom

Strategy in Nehemiah:
Nehemiah 1

Strategy Principle #1: Strategy is most often necessitated by undesirable circumstances.
When looking at how Nehemiah used or implemented strategy, the first thing that must be noted is that if there had not been an exile, a strategy would not have been needed to move the people who remained in Jerusalem from a state of disobedience to one of obedience. As a matter of fact, we learn from 1:4 that the news that Nehemiah received caused him to weep and mourn for days. These times and the condition God’s people were in were surely “undesirable” by church strategists, missiologists, and pastors alike. Often times, pastors find themselves in churches that, initially, to others who are not providentially placed at that pastor’s church, seem “undesirable.” It should be said from the outset, so you know where I am coming from, that if we do not have pastor’s in these “undesirable” churches, then how are these churches to become “desirable?” I say all of this to say that there are churches out there that may seem “undesirable,” but these churches are just the churches that godly pastor’s are called to carefully and patiently implement strategy in order to move them from ungodly, disobedient churches to godly, obedient, Spirit-led churches.

Strategy Principle #2: All strategy is to have prayer as its foundation.
It should be noted that immediately after Nehemiah heard the report of his countrymen, he wept over the “undesirable” circumstances, and then he prayed. It is a prayer that acknowledges that God is indeed a covenant-keeping God and that his covenant people have disobeyed him. It is a prayer that has a steadfast faith in God to bring about and accomplish what he has said he would do. It is a prayer that acknowledges that God is indeed active in his creation. So how should we pray? I think Nehemiah’s prayer is a great place to start. We must confess that God is a covenant-keeping God and that he will bring about what he has said he will do. We must know that God is active in his creation and we must know that he will work through those who care for his kingdom.

I can’t help but point you here. My oldest son graduated kindergarten tonight. I am proud of you Dwayne Jr.!

It seems as if each week there is overflow that never makes it into the sermon. This week, what follows needed to be in there, I just did not give it to you for some reason. That is why I am giving it to you now. For those who do not know, we have just begun a series on Daniel at Midlane Park Baptist Church. Yesterday, we studied Daniel 1:3-21.

While studying for this passage a few weeks ago, I ran across something that James Montgomery Boice quoted in his exposition of Daniel. He quoted J.C. Ryle’s Eight Reasons Holiness is Necessary. They are:

1. We must be holy because the voice of God in Scripture plainly commands it (1 Peter 1:14-16).
2. We must be holy because this is the one grand end and purpose for which Christ came into the world (Ephesians 5:25-27).
3. We must be holy because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in Jesus Christ (James 2:26).
4. We must be holy because this is the only proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity (John 14:15-23; John 15:14).
5. We must be holy because this is the only sound evidence that we are the true children of God (John 8:39-40; Romans 8:14).
6. We must be holy because this is the most likely way to do good to others (1 Peter 3:1-2).
7. We must be holy because our present comfort depends much upon it (James 1:17).
8. We must be holy because without holiness we shall never be prepared to enjoy heaven (Hebrews 12:14; Revelation 21:27).

May we pursue holiness while living as strangers in exile….

Invariably, from time to time, you will receive an email that you have no idea as to why or how you had received it. That happened to me the other day - but I didn’t necessarily mind it. This email was about a recent Barna survey that surveyed pastor’s about their strategy for their church. I cannot quote you the survey, so I am going off second hand information here - but I would venture to guess that these statistics are not that far out of line. To tell you how I got the email, again I could not. However, it did come from here, in case you were wondering.

Here are some statistics from the study:

1. More than eight out of every ten Senior Pastors (86%) indicated that they are not effective strategic planners.
2. Churches without an articulated strategy tend to remain small, generally averaging less than 100 in weekly attendance.
3. Churches that do not implement a proactive strategy are more likely to stay in a constant state of crisis.
4. Leaders in non-strategic churches are less able to analyze situations and are less effective at problem solving.

I am sure that if I think about it long enough, #4 will make more sense to me; however, the first three are “right on.” What do you think?

Background Info to Nehemiah:
Why Nehemiah?

It is late in the 5th Century B.C. You are an Israelite and things are not well on the homefront. Poverty is rampant. Spiritual depletion is the norm. The international scene is much worse. Whispers of war are on the lips of everyone you meet. Defeat and destruction loom over you as dark clouds on a rainy day. Hope is only a thought and assurances are few. To say the least, these were not the best of times in the history of Israel.

Ultimately, King Nebuchadnezzar would defeat the Israelites and deport many of them to Babylon after destroying their Temple and taking treasure from the house of God and placing them in the treasure of the temple of his gods. Many years would pass and those left in Jerusalem would have no way to properly worship God, not to mention little zeal or passion in even doing so.

But early in the 4th Century, God would raise up two men, Ezra and Nehemiah, to return to Jerusalem and restore the city and the Temple, as well as proper worship. These men were sent in the midst of poverty on the homefront and in terms of spiritual health. These men were called to lead by serving. These men, were called to accomplish tasks for the glory of God. There is indeed much strategy in these two books, specifically in the book of Nehemiah.

Unity of Two Books: Origianlly, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were one unit. Josephus and Eusibius, famous church historians, saw these two books as one unity. Even the Masoretic Texts have this as one unity (the Masoretic Notes do not appear until after Nehemiah). It was not until the church father Origen (3rd Century A.D.) when he divided these books into two units. Jerome, in agreement with Origen, separated these books in the Latin Vulgate; it has remained this way to this day.

Authorship: Understanding the unity, the arguments for authorship of these two books can now be understood. There are basically three options:

1. The first option is that Ezra wrote both Ezra and Nehemiah.
2. The second option is that Ezra and Nehemiah wrote their own works.
3. The third option is that a Chronicler wrote with the approval of these men.

Options one and two, while not out of the realistic realm altogether, present too many problems. The third option, while not without challenges, seems to be the best fit. I will not take the time to hash out all the logistics with each option, but will refer you to F. Charles Fensham’s commentary on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. It is available here on amazon.com. It seems as if there was a third person writing with input from both Ezra and Nehemiah on a personal level (the first 7 chapters of Nehemiah are, in essence, Nehemiah’s personal account).

Methodology for Obtaining Strategy: So how are we going to obtain strategic principles to implement from the book of Nehemiah?

First, let me offer this background…contextualization, if you will. While there are vast differences between the culture of Nehemiah’s day and our current cultural context, there are many similarities as well. Similarities such as spiritual poverty, the need to establish proper worship, the need to defend the church, and the fact that Nehemiah is a hometown guy in a strange land. Again, recognizing the differences and similarities is a crucial step.

So, on to how we obtain our strategic principles. Throughout the book, especially in the first 7 chapters, we are given glimpses of decisions, or actions, or thoughts of Nehemiah. A purposeful and careful reading of the book with intentional meditation toward the advancement of the task of Nehemiah, and how he got from where he was to where he wanted to be, yields an effective methodology of obtaining our strategic principles.

Again, Why Nehemiah? Honestly, where else would we turn for an example of both confronting culture and buidling up what you have? We could turn to the Minor Prophets, but their context is a bit different. We could turn to the beginnings of the nation of Israel, but again, the context is perhaps different. Nehemiah is a man that was sent of God to lead people who wanted to do what was right, but did not know how to accomplish it themselves. Sound familiar?

I am fast approaching one year of service at Midlane Park. So, in keeping with my initial strategy when I assumed leadership there, I have asked the deacons at my church to read through the book of Nehemiah with me over the next few months as we seek biblical principles in forming a strategy to reach our community and to develop biblical disciples in our midst.

Over the next few weeks, I will be periodically posting some thoughts on strategy in the book of Nehemiah. To be clear, I am not suggesting that the book of Nehemiah is the sole standard for biblical strategy, or that I have all the answers. I eagerly await any input from you. But I am suggesting that if our leadership were to develop a strategy that never even considered the Word, what strategy would we really have?

Building the body and defending the Word…