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“We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness”
Francis Chan
We will be reading through Nehemiah 2:1-6
The fear of asking for help is a big thing. The fear of failure is too. So when the church technology ministry is not living up to the standards someone is putting on you and does not do well with listening or hearing your requests, this can feel like an impossible place to be.
That’s the worst-case scenario and in many ways, that is where Nehemiah was. You don’t ask anything of the king unless you want to lose everything. Insult him with a request or ask for something unreasonable, and you could find yourself in a bad predicament. But it was because of the favor that he had built up with the king, as well as his faithfulness to God with the mercy and grace from God that made Nehemiah successful in his request.
The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
Nehemiah 2:4-6
It is no wonder that the Israelite nation needed to be reminded about how God can do amazing things. We think routine is bad, but what about wandering in the desert for forty years with only manna to eat? God’s people had grown stale themselves and now they were about to go up against Jericho, the impenetrable nation. Would the God that allowed them to wander for so long come to their rescue now?
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Luke 2:52
This plot line is reminiscent of a role-playing game. To re-describe it with a gaming mindset, Nehemiah was an ordinary Israelite who found himself with a quest. He must go forward to achieve greatness for the sake of the kingdom. But in doing so, he will need to go forward to the wise leader. Queue 8-bit music and audio that is out of sync to the characters moving their mouths. Similarly, Link receives a sword, in World of Warcraft you get quests, and in Pokémon you can get a starter Pokémon.
So the question is: what is leadership doing for you? If you are in leadership, are you setting your team up for success? They need to have the tools to do the work that has been entrusted to your volunteers by you. If you need to ask for the tools—because even those of us in leadership have someone we have to report to—make sure you are asking from a place of wisdom and right-standing before them and before God.
Use these reflection questions for the comments section.
- Where is your ministry lacking overall? Do you need to ask for specific tools in order to improve in these areas?
- Individually we can increase our wisdom and stature with men and God. How do we do that as a whole church tech community?
- How do we ensure fear individually as well as a group does not gain control? This includes personal fears of failure, fear of rejection as a group, and any other adversities your ministry may face.
John Miller says
I run two summer camps for my children’s ministry – one sports focused, the other art. This year I gave over 50% of the Art Camp responsibility to a team of two high capacity volunteers. I trust them, but my heart is punctured by anxiety repeatedly.
As we near the camp, I can see things coming together but I still am seeking that peace from giving things away. Hopefully it comes–sooner rather than later!
Great thoughts on this topic, man.