Church leadership calls for a wider range of skills than most other positions. Church leadership requires skills in persuasion, counseling, teaching, administration, finance, pastoral care and more. How does one continue this juggling act on a long term basis? Is it possible to do so without becoming weary?
Long before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in God’s people, Nehemiah’s noble leadership shows us that a prayerful life with a dependence on God is the key to balance in the life of one who is committed to leadership in the family of God. Nehemiah was an exceptional leader. He was persuasive and compassionate. He was resourceful and personally involved with those he led. He faced opposition from within his own camp as well as from the enemy. In the book of Nehemiah, chapter one, verses four through six, the scripture says he fasted, prayed and pleaded before the “God of heaven.” Then, when asked by the king the nature of his request, chapter two, verse four says that Nehemiah again prayed to the “God of heaven.”
Church leaders of today will do well to follow the example of Nehemiah’s noble leadership. First and foremost, he made prayer a priority in his leadership experience. Recently, while speaking with Pastor Shelly Zook of the First Baptist Church of Amo, IN, she stated that if during her personal time of devotion, she had to give up her prayer time or her Bible reading, she would forfeit the Bible time and save her time of prayer. Which one would you choose? Which one would Nehemiah?
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