Preaching Daily - December 24

Today's Devotional Insight...

Passion, Prayer, and Planning: Ministry Building the Nehemiah Way

Todd Brown

There may not be anything more stressful to a pastor than a facility expansion.  We have all heard stories of building programs destroying a church’s ministry and culture.  One day the church is growing and the next day they are fighting about paint colors.  What causes one ministry to flourish during a building program and another to struggle?

Working with hundreds of churches over the last 35 years, I have observed three common elements of successful building programs and all three are characteristics displayed by quality leaders. These strengths are so prevalent in the lives of the church leaders, they become engrained in the culture of their ministry.  When the adversity of a building program strikes, these strengths emerge and allow a church to rise above the fray.

The book of Nehemiah provides us with a wonderful illustration of these strengths. As cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah was in a position of authority. One day he asked his brothers about Jerusalem and the Jews who escaped captivity.  He learned Jerusalem’s wall was crumbled, its gates were burned, and the people were in great distress.  Upon hearing the news, he wept, mourned, prayed, and fasted before God. Displaying great courage, he asked the king to allow him to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.  To the glory of God, Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days and restored the city’s might and honor.

Strength 1:  Spiritual Passion

Spiritual passion is created when a leader embraces a burden. Effective leaders naturally take on burdens and respond with action.  When Nehemiah asked about the “Jews who had escaped”, we see clearly his passion for the people and their spiritual condition.  Effective leaders have a burden for people and express it openly as part of their ministry.  When it’s time to build a wall, the spiritual passion of a church and its leaders provides the energy and momentum necessary for success.

(Read the full article here.)

Today’s Pastoral Resource...

Preaching Media

Preaching's Media Store is a great location to find media resources for the creative church. The visuals you will find will help enhance the effectiveness of your services, whether you use sermon slides, countdowns, motion backgrounds, or mini movies. Be sure to check out our free download that you can have today.