Care Connections—Nehemiah: Participation in Rebuilding

By Kam Cook

Stephen Ministry Coordinator

The Old Testament tells us the walls of Jerusalem had been completely annihilated by the Babylonians. The Persians, who conquered Babylon (530 BC), allowed a remnant of the Jews to return from exile in Babylon to their homeland. There they endeavored to rebuild the Temple (536-16 BCE), restore the community of believers under the priest Ezra, and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem under the governor Nehemiah.

In last Sunday’s Formation Sunday School text, Haggai 1:1-11,14-5, the prophet Haggai takes the Judeans to task for having failed to honor God by completing construction of the Temple. He accused them of having misplaced priorities, for seeing to their personal comfort rather than the House of the Lord, and for their failure to maintain their religious traditions.

The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Haggai offer us a guide for rebuilding our church. The rebuilding of Jerusalem was as much a spiritual rebuilding as it was a physical project, and both required God’s help. Last week we discussed how, after the Temple had been rebuilt, Nehemiah motivated the Jews to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.

The second step in rebuilding is participation (Neh 3:1-32). God has provided us with dedicated, capable leadership, but rebuilding depends on the participation of the remnant of our members working together for the common goal of restoring our community of believers.

Members’ perceptions of HHBC were addressed at the Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, October 19. Your Perception of HHBC – Part A revealed a 74% overall satisfaction with HHBC. Respondents agreed they know how to get involved in church ministries (90.5%); are inspired by the worship service (85%) and worship music (77%); that HHBC cares for its members (82%) and welcomes visitors and new members (75%); that they are provided with opportunities for spiritual growth and leadership (70.5%) and members feel engaged at HHBC (69%). The survey also revealed we have not done a good job of affirming our mission. Your Perception of HHBC - Part B revealed more than 80% ranked inspirational sermons, worship style and music as Excellent; over 1/3 ranked Sunday School as Excellent; over 50% ranked Prayer Meeting, Women’s Ministry, Pastoral Care and Stewardship as Good; over 1/3 ranked Sunday School/Bible Study, music, outreach and community involvement and missions as Good. All of these need improvement - and more participation.

Out of approximately 300 members currently on the roll, we have about 115 active members. Based on the Haggai text, the Journey Sunday School Class had a lively discussion on how to increase member participation. The survey revealed a need for more small group activities and outreach. Some of the ideas generated by the Journey class are just a few of the creative ways being discussed to increase participation.

Nehemiah conceived an ingenious idea to reignite the Jews’ fervor for wall building: he made each family responsible for the part of the wall closest to their family to keep them safe. How can we ignite in our members a zeal to participate? As with a wall, our church is only as secure as its weakest link. We as members are responsible for keeping our church safe and for keeping naysayers, discontent, and dissension out as we work together for a common goal - to keep our church strong and defend its spiritual integrity.

Nehemiah also let us know special talent isn’t required. God gives us on-the-job training - no one will be turned away. God has imbued each of us with Spiritual Gifts that, collectively, enable us to participate in rebuilding a beautiful new creation here at HHBC. If you would like to discover your Spiritual Gifts, make plans to participate in a Spiritual Gifts class; another class will be available soon. Each individual - and his/her unique gifts - is an important component of the entire body of Christ and the corporate body of HHBC.

A synergy occurs when we work together to restore the walls, repair the breaches and re-establish the relationship with God that we might have let slip. The Pastoral Search Committee survey has given us the opportunity to reflect on what we do well and areas that need improvement. Instead of questioning why this happened to us, let’s ask what we can learn from the experience to help us become better people, better Christians, and better participants at HHBC. God becomes our wall, our defense, when we seek Him individually and as a group. When we do this repentantly and humbly, God will heal our breach. Each of us needs to seek God and ask God to restore our relationships as we work to rebuild HHBC.

If your walls of security have crumbled or been breached and you need someone to help you rebuild your life, a trained Stephen Minister is available to walk alongside you on your journey. For more information on how Stephen Ministry can provide you with confidential, nonjudgmental one-to-one lay pastoral care, contact Referrals Coordinator Peggy Williams at (478) 719-3340 or by email.

Recognizing that God is the ultimate Cure Giver, the Mission of the Highland Hills Baptist Church Stephen Ministry is to serve God and bring Christ’s healing love to individuals who are experiencing life’s challenges through confidential, non-judgmental, one-on-one Christian care.