Adult Bible Study May 11, 2008

Lesson Text: Nehemiah 2:1-8; 11-12; 17-18
By Ken Hawkley
E-mail: louise050@comcast.net

Nehemiah is one of my favourite Bible characters. He seems to be the kind of leader who truly had a vision and was compelled to follow it. I look around today and wonder if we can point to anyone of our leaders who reminds us of Nehemiah.

It seems as though one of the things we need to do is demonstrate how all leaders have feet of clay. Perhaps it’s because people have felt that in the past we were duped by those in leadership. We could be seen as a cynical people in some respects. In the USA presidential race, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama constantly point out each other’s faults and questionable associations. They also take potshots at John McCain, who will fully enter the fray after the Democrat catfight is done.

Obama has been able to excite the people so that voter registration is breaking records all across the USA. In Canada, Pierre Elliot Trudeau gave Canadians new hope with his charisma. Is Nehemiah in their league? Are they in his?

Gas prices are going through the roof. Global warming apparently is causing ancient ice shelves to melt. The pine beetle is devastating much needed forests in Western Canada, and the forests of South America are shrinking at an alarming rate. Foreign trade and economics are beginning to shift away from the USA, which has been the trade center for many decades. Science and medicine are making discoveries ahead of ethical and moral concerns and issues. We are depleting oil, fish, land, minerals, and wildlife habitations. There are so many things that seem out of control!

We need church leaders like Nehemiah, ones who begin their day on their knees before God, getting their working orders before actually doing something, and then proceeding with confidence, taking appropriate risks. Where and who are such leaders? The reality is, we can never tell until they emerge from our very midst. They emerge in response to the people around them who are examples of what it means to be a people of God. Never underestimate the power of your example to influence a future leader in God’s kingdom.