October 10 - Dele“gate”ion

 Read today’s texts first: Nehemiah 3,4; Luke 23

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

We cannot build “gate”ways of ministry into
our community without dele“gate”ion!

Unlike Ezra, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem without a delegation of exiles.  Apart from a small escort of soldiers, he was alone.  One man with a mission – to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  He crafted his vision through prayer and fasting (1:4), sharing his plan with a benevolent king (2:2-8), and then observing the lay of the land with some trusted men (2:11-12).

To some, chapter 3 may seem like TMI - too much information, but we need to appreciate the principles these details beautifully illustrate.  The overarching theme for me is clear:  if you want to rebuild ten gates (and all the connecting towers and walls in between) you must dele-gate!  Nehemiah, with proven credibility, inspires his people to “arise and build.”  And then he assigns tasks according to these insightful principles (followed by some examples from my home church):

• The priests should lead by example (3:1) eg. like the staff of NorthRidge serving on the Sunday set-up teams!
• Have them serve where they have a vested interest – “in front of their house” (3:23) eg. like dividing the city into parishes and having each church family hand out invitations to our annual carnival throughout their own neighbourhoods.
• Include everyone and their children in the work (note the emphasis on families in the text).
• God will take note of those who don’t get behind the work (I love how they are singled out in v. 5).
• Persevere in the face of opposition (4:8,9)
• Have some of the volunteers intercede in battle to protect the workers (4:13). eg.  we may not need swords and spears to protect the church in Canada but we do need to use spiritual weapons to push back the opposing gates of hell (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

There is so much wisdom in these chapters some would dismiss as irrelevant.  “Lord, thank You for reminding me today of how important every detail in Your Word is to me and those I influence.  May I always be known as a leader who builds the church through delegation.”