We wrapped up our series on Nehemiah this past Saturday at Revolution. It was an amazing 22 week experience for me personally and for our church. I thought I’d share a few things that jumped out to me over the last year of preparing for this series and actually preaching it. A lot has been written about Nehemiah as a leader, so this might duplicate some of that, but I wanted to share some personal applications from the story of this man.
One thing that stands out about Nehemiah is his integrity.
What sets any leader apart is their integrity over the long haul. Are they the same person at all times? One of my goals is for my kids to be able to say that I am the same person when I am at church and when I preach as I am at home. It is so easy to put on a face, but I want to live by the mantra, “What you see is what you get.”
I think integrity gets into whether or not a leader is comfortable in their own skin. Too many people want to be someone else. This is especially true for pastors. We see a pastor, hear what another church does, and we want to emulate that thinking it will be the magic pill. If I can yell like Driscoll, have the mannerism’s of Chandler, sit on a stool like McManus and have an accent like Perry Noble. The masses will come. The problem with this is that God only created one of them and he created you to be you. Nehemiah fulfilled the calling God had on his life.
So, what calling has God given to you? Not someone else’s, but yours. Be you, fulfill your calling.
Filed under: leadership, pastor Tagged: calling, erwin mcmanus, integrity, mark driscoll, matt chandler, nehemiah, perry noble
