Nehemiah and the Mission

One of my treasured companions on the journey of pastoring a church is Nehemiah. He was an extraordinary man with vision, passion, perseverance and courage. His example is one for all of us, perhaps particularly church planters, to know and to follow.

His great achievement in life was overseeing the rebuilding of the walls of the city of Jerusalem after its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Nehemiah lived about one hundred years after this and likely had never been to Jerusalem himself. He was, however, Jewish and for that reason loved her very stones. It is the city of God, chosen by Yahweh as the place where His glory would dwell, the place where the mercy seat was where the people could come and make sacrifice and receive pardon and restoration to covenant with the Lord and with one another. No sacrifice could be made or accepted outside of Jerusalem.

The introduction to the book of Nehemiah, chapter 1, begins in an odd way. He tells us that he was in Susa which was a Persian city (now Iran) and his brother came with some men from Jerusalem. Nehemiah questioned them as to the Jews of the exile and the state of the city itself.

All we know at this point is that he is in Susa and yet he is concerned with the welfare of his fellow Jews and the city of God. We don't know his personal situation in Susa or anything else about him. We know, however, that he cares about God's people and God's city. The welfare of the people and the city that is God's dwelling place are central to him and their condition reflects on the God of the city and the people. If the people are poor and the city is ruined, the God of both is equally abashed. We know that Nehemiah cares about both because He cares about God.

That has to be the first priority for church planters, do you care for God and for people. In the new covenant in the blood of Jesus, our sphere of care isn't defined by geography or by nationality. Jesus opened the way for all people to become covenant people without respect to race,nationality, or ethnic origin. He gave us the right to become children of God, adopted into His family in new birth. Jesus also said a time was coming when worship wouldn't be defined by or confined to the temple in Jerusalem. There is no need for the sacrifices of the temple, His sacrifice on the cross would be sufficient for the sins of the entire world if we would believe in Him. Geography was no longer a barrier to worship and the entire world now was a place where God's glory could be found in His people.

Church planters and all pastors have to begin with a passion for the glory of God and for people, we have to have the Spirit and the heart of Jesus, we have to be concerned about the same things Nehemiah was concerned with and they must be the first concerns of our lives.