Walter Hill was very excited when he arrived at the office and discovered that a letter from professor Loren Richards was sitting on his desk. He eagerly opened the letter, but was shocked at what he found. Walter had written a twelve-page letter to his former professor explaining the dire condition of the church he was pastoring, and needed ideas and suggestions. Walter wanted to know how to go about rebuilding a broken and dysfunctional church. With one simple hand-written sentence, professor Richards had given his answer. Reading it again, Walter thought, "Is this a joke or what? This can't be his real answer."
Walter Hill had graduated from Central Theological Seminary with his Master of Divinity degree five months ago. While at Seminary, he had become very close to Professor Richards of the Applied Theology and Pastoral Ministry Department. Prof. Richards was Walter's favorite professor. He not only respected him for his academic excellence, wisdom, pastoral experience, and communication abilities, but also for the spiritual direction and mentoring he had provided him.
Walter was called to be the pastor of Faith Church in Gordon, Nebraska. He and his wife Patricia, were warmly received by the small struggling congregation. They both were eagerly looking forward to their first pastorate. The day following their reception, Walter received a call from Howard Adams, the president of the Deacons Board. "Pastor Hill, we are sure glad you are here. We feel that you are God's man for the hour. We have been waiting for someone with competence to rebuild our church and to deal with many of the problems that your predecessor neglected," he explained. Walter invited Howard to stop by the house that evening to expand on the nature of the church's problems.
That evening Howard reported to Walter Hill that there were rumors that Chuck Chambers, the church secretary was gay. The fact that Chuck was single, in his late forties, living with a young male college student, and not having dated anyone, made the rumors even more credible. Furthermore, Alvin Miller, the Sunday School superintendent was having marital problems. Howard had heard that Alvin's wife was addicted to pain killers and had attempted suicide a couple of times. "Pastor, I think Alvin's wife is manic depressive. It seems that Alvin is contemplating a divorce. He is probably tired of her outrageous behavior," reported Howard.
Howard went on to explain that they had to fire the previous pastor because he had stolen several thousand dollars from the missions fund. In addition to this, the church had a pending lawsuit. One of the deacons had spanked a six-year-old boy for knocking a communion tray out of his hands after a morning service. The parents were suing the church for child abuse. Walter was now getting a better picture as to why the attendance had dropped from 450 to 90 parishioners in twelve months. Walter thanked Howard for bringing him up to date on the condition of the church. As soon as Howard drove away from the parsonage, he went to his study and sat down. He was numbed by the depth of the problems. His pastoral honeymoon was over in a day. Since he did not know what to do, Walter stayed up late that night writing a letter to his mentor.
People kept pouring into his office bringing complaints and problems to his attention. But no one had any solutions to the problems. No one wanted to get involved. So many were a part of the problem . . . so few cared to be a part of the solution.
That is why Walter was so shocked to read the letter from his spiritual mentor. Scribbled in big red letters, was Loren's response to Walter's question, "How do I rebuild such a broken and dysfunctional church?"
"READ NEHEMIAH! We'll talk soon!"
THE DAY NOBODY HANDED ME ANOTHER BRICK
- STUDY NOTES
Objectives
A. To identify leadership principles from the book of Nehemiah.
B. To explore the nature of leadership problems in case.
C. To integrate the leadership principles in the book of Nehemiah, seeking to find plausible solutions to the problems in the case.
Commentary
Walter Hill, the main character in our case, represents the sentiments of a majority of theological students who must confront the difficult reality of leaving the safe and comfortable halls of academia and be immersed in the dysfunctional happenings in the community of faith. The fact that Walter was shocked and overwhelmed by the struggles and sins in the church depicts a typical seminary student who commences his/her church assignment without being prepared to face the dark, destructive, disappointing, and depressing issues which constantly plague churches.
Walter Hill is somewhat naive about church life or at least he is ill equipped in believing that he would not encounter any difficulties. Walter's need to seek advise from his former seminary professors demonstrates his need to develop concrete and practical solutions to his problems.
The answer Walter received is even more troubling to him than his church problems. Fortunately his former professor did not make it easy for him by calling him up and offering extensive academic theoretical solutions. He did not give his student easy answers, but instead the challenge to theologically reflect on the book of Nehemiah as a source of leadership wisdom. It is apparent that Prof. Loren Richards could have given his student wise counsel, but he was more interested in his student developing sound critical thinking faculties by learning to discover biblical principles of leadership in his contemporary situation.
Many pastors have used Nehemiah in order to develop principles for dealing with the challenges of leadership. The case study emphasizes self-directed learning in which the learner develops practical solutions coming from sound theological reflection.
The Ministry Case
A. Read the case study several times.
B. Identify the major issues Walter Hill must deal with as a leader in the life of the church. (i.e., Child abuse in the church. How do you deal with the perpetrator, the victim, the institution where the abuse took place, and the litigious outsider?)
C. Read Nehemiah at least two times.
D. Identify the major issues that Nehemiah had to deal with as a leader in the life of the people of Israel. (i.e., The walls are destroyed, how do you rebuild?, The fear of the people due to the threats of the enemy.)
Theological Reflection
A. How did Nehemiah begin to deal with the problems in his context?
B. What are some of the similarities and differences between the problem issues in the case study and the book of Nehemiah?
C. Are there any lessons you can apply from Nehemiah's leadership to deal with Walter Hill's church problems?
D. Identify and describe the leadership principles Nehemiah lived by in rebuilding the walls. (i.e., Leadership Is Dissatisfaction):
"In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, 'Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.' When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. " (Nehemiah 1:1-4)
Leadership is Dissatisfaction.
When Nehemiah heard about the plight of the remnant of Israel who had survived the exile, he became very dissatisfied. His dissatisfaction was so deep that it led Nehemiah to tears and to his knees. His heart was overwhelmed with sadness. He sat down and wept over Jerusalem's disgrace. Seldom do we see leaders who weep over the human condition surrounding us. Dissatisfied leaders weep over the lost people in their neighborhoods. They shed tears over teenagers who fall prey to violence, sex and drugs. They weep over the divorces in their churches, over the children who have to grow up without the love, affirmation and nurture of their parents. Dissatisfied leaders challenge the status quo. They weep, pray and take action. They change things under the direction, inspiration, and sustaining power of God. Leadership is dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction leads to action. Apathy sleeps undisturbed, never caring about what was, is or could be. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls. What is he calling you to rebuild? What are you dissatisfied about?
Develop A Theology Of Leadership Based On Nehemiah. (See following examples.)
Leadership is Praying for a Solution (Nehemiah 1:8-11)
Leadership is owning the problem. (1:6-7)
Leadership is conflict resolution. (5:1-13)
Leadership is confronting the enemy from within and the enemy from without. (4:1-23).
LEADERSHIP RESOURCES BASED ON NEHEMIAH
John White, Excellence in Leadership : Reaching Goals With Prayer, Courage and Determination (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986.)
Charles R. Swindoll, Hand Me Another Brick: Principles of Effective Leadership (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1978)
J.I. Packer, A Passion For Faithfulness: Wisdom for the Book of Nehemiah (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1995)
OTHER SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP RESOURCES
J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1994 Second Revision)
Leighton Ford, Transforming Leadership: Jesus' Way of Creating Vision, Shaping Values and Empowering Change (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press)
Joseph M. Stowell, Shepherding The Church Into The 21st Century: Effective Spiritual Leadership In a Changing Culture (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1994)
