Tag: Role model

Nehemiah 4:18-23

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, leadership, Nehemiah, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Nehemiah 4:18-23

This past year I took one of my former students to camp with me as a leader. He commented how his experience as a leader was different than his experience as a student. He had the blessing of being my roommate so not only did he get to hear me snore through the night but he quickly realized that being a leader meant that you go to bed later than everyone else, wake up earlier than everyone else, and spend yourself all throughout the day concerned with how everyone else is doing. This was the burden of leadership that he had never seen before.

Most people from the outside looking in see leaders as those who bark orders, make plans, and get stuff done. Sometimes there are “perks” of leadership like looking at a set of plans in an air conditioned office building while the rest of the crew works outside putting the plans together; most often though, the demands of leadership are those of sacrifice and service. It wasn’t any different for Nehemiah.

Cover

 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.  (Nehemiah 4:18-23 ESV)

In this passage he puts the trumpeter right by his side and he lets the people know, “When you hear the sound of the trumpet, run to the sound because that is where the fighting will be.” This communicated two things. One, that they would be able to know where to go should they be attacked at some point. Two, that Nehemiah would be right at the front lines of battle. After all, the trumpeter was with him!

Then Nehemiah went a step further and requested all the people to say in town so they could keep watch at night. It would have been easy for Nehemiah to post watches and go to sleep. He could have still taken advantage of his positions and taken baths, had his clothes washed, and even dined on a fine meal, but instead of taking leisure while everyone else was puling double time, he makes sure that he and his attendants serve just like everyone else. He sets the example.

Nehemiah made a promise to his people that when danger came he would be the first one into battle and that when the days got long and tired because everyone was pulling over-time, he would be the last one to get a bath. This type of leadership is called servant leadership. It doesn’t boast, gloat, or rule over others in a proud way. The people Nehemiah had come to help were already being exploited by people like Sanballot and Tobiah; they needed someone to lead them who loved them.

When I read this about Nehemiah I can’t help but also think of Jesus the ultimate servant leader about who the Apostle Paul wrote, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7 ESV).

The BOY who CHANGED the WORLD by Andy Andrews (review)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Family, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews is a large hardback children’s book based on the inspirational gift book The Butterfly Effect. The Boy Who Changed the World is about how every life and every person make a difference in lives of others.  The book is well written and the graphics certainly caught the attention of my four-year-old. The story only takes a few minutes to read and shares an inspiring message of hope.

The actual story of the book follows a chain of events back to a few significant moments in a few individuals lives that eventually lead to the feeding of over 2-billion people.  Its a great story for children to be inspired by and great for parents who are hoping to inspire their kids to attempt great things.  The message is clear and concise… You make a difference.

This is a great book to give the children in your life and read with them over and over.  The retail price is $16.99 (Hardcover), and is available at a discount at Amazon.com for $11.55. I gave it five stars.

Children book reviews

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

    “Mentor Like Jesus” by Regi Campbell (Review)

    On By pastorjonathanIn books, discipleship, leadershipLeave a comment

    I ordered my copy of Mentor Like Jesus last week, got it by Thursday and read it by Sunday afternoon.  It was thought provoking and kept me engaged all the way through.  I was blessed by the book and some of the key principles and plan on reading it again slower in order to harvest all that it has to offer.

    The author, Regi Campbell writes with a simplistic and straight forward fashion.  In essence the book is his story on how he fell into group mentoring, the lessons he learned along the way, and how similar it really was to how Jesus mentored the disciples.  The book also has a co-author named Richard Chancy who had been through one of Regi’s mentoring groups.  At the end of each chapter Richard shares the perspective of the guys who were being mentored.

    Overall I really liked this book.  Some of the principles were common, but others stood out as brilliant insights into the world of mentoring.  Probably the biggest key I took away was that mentoring in group dynamic can be beneficial to those being mentored as well as to the one mentoring.

    If you are looking for a good book on mentorship, this book is for you.  I highly recommend it to anyone looking to begin a mentor group.  The retail price is $16.99 (Hardcover), I got my copy for just under $12 at  Amazon.com.  I gave it five stars.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

    3 Things You Should Know About My Mom

    On By pastorjonathanIn About Jonathan1 Comment

    I haven’t always been the best son.  I have a better mom than I deserve.  She has been and continues to be a great mom.  I’m all grown up now, but I will never miss a chance to get one of her hugs.  Next to my dad she has had more influence on my life than anyone else.  There are 3 things she does with her influence that radically shapes my life.

    1. She Prays for Me

    Growing up I remember that she prayed for me in family devotional time.  I also remember passing by my parents room and hearing my parents pray for all of us children.  I remember as a teenager coming home drunk one night and passing by her room and hearing her call out to God on my behalf.  One time she got with some ladies and asked God to birth a desire in me and provide a way for me to go back to school (and He did). I wasn’t there, but I’m sure my mom prayed for me before I was born (maybe even before I was conceived).  I believe God answers prayers, I’ve seen Him answer my mothers time and time again.  I am thankful for a mother who asked God for me and clung to promises when I was in the midst of rebellion.  I haven’t always been the best son.

    2. She leads me to love the Bible

    I remember a kids devotional book with a raccoon on the front (I don’t have a clue why a raccoon was on a kids devotional book).  My mom made sure that in addition to our family devotional time that I began to develop a daily time in Gods word through the aide of this little book.  Later it would be the purchase of an “encounter” teen bible complete with devotionals in the back.  It was in this Bible that I would first document that I thought God might be calling me into ministry.

    Beyond equiping me, she was in God’s word every morning too.  Often getting up early to read the bible and do her woman’s devotionals.  I remember several mornings waking up to use the bathroom and find my mom in the living room spending time reading her bible.  I knew she wanted me to get in the habit of reading God’s Word because she was in the habit.  I have a better mom than I deserve.

    3. She speaks truth

    Several times my mother has spoken with a prophet’s voice in my life.  The time I remember the most was the 16 hour car ride down to college.  She knew I was going into student ministry and took a moment to challenge me.  She said, “Jon, there are a lot of student ministries that are built around games and just hanging out, don’t lead one of those student ministries.  You teach the word.  Love people enough to tell them about Jesus.”  I really took her advice and a study of God’s word is what ultimately brought me to my own true conversion and trust in Christ.

    I can imagine that there were countless times as I was growing up that my mom was biting her lip wondering If I would get it.  If I would really listen.  If I would receive the blessings she was giving me.  I am sure there were times that she felt like she was defeated.  I was a very strong willed child.  But she has always had the last say.  Her words even now hang in the air and influence me long after she has said them.  She has been and continues to be a great mom.

    She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: (Proverbs 31:26-28 ESV)

    Communicating With Children: 5 Ways to BLESS your kids

    On By pastorjonathanIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

    Be Available

    This means removing distractions, like the phone, television, computer, etc.  This isn’t always face to face interaction.  Sometimes it can be enjoying a hobby or meal together.  It may involve a late night session of learning how to play Rock Band.  The point is to be available.

    Level appropriate

    When choosing how to interact with your child remember to keep it on their level.  I made the mistake of trying to teach my daughter tennis at the tender age of four and expecting her to be responsive to my techniques.  She quickly taught me that I needed to be on here level, so we reduced tennis to some basic motor skills and hand eye coordination with a racket and made a really fun game of it (we didn’t even worry about the net… which is where I started).

    Her dance instructors are amazingly sharp at getting on her level.  In a few short lessons she knows more about dance than I would have ever hoped to learn.

    Empathetic

    Try to imaging the world from the eyes of your child (especially if they are younger).  We made the mistake of letting our daughter watch Scooby Doo.  Everything seemed fine during the day, but at night she was seeing “creepy” monsters and ghosts all over the place.  Not so much because scooby do is Evil (they do reveal the real culprit at the end of each show), but because she has an active imagination.  Things that seem harmless to us can be scary to our children.  Things that seem clear to us can be confusing to our children.  Its important that we try to remember or understand what life is like on their level.

    Straight forward

    Somewhere many of us have adopted the idea that it would be a good idea to persuade our kids what they should do instead of telling them what to do.  You may catch yourself dropping hints instead of giving actual commands.  We’ve found that stating the obvious really goes along way towards moving your child to be productive.  If you want something done like having the trash taken out, a room cleaned, home work done, etc.  Be direct.

    Simple

    Sometimes we forget that what is clear to us, may not be clear to our kids.  Not only is it important to be direct, but be simple.  Sometimes what appears as disobedience our kids part is really a lack of clarity on our part.  Here are a few basic tips for clarity.

    1. use simple language (make sure your kids know what you are saying)

    2. Provide direction.  ” You can’t be in your brother’s room right now. You can play outside or in your toy room, which one would you like to do?”

    3. Give options, but not to many. Notice there were only two options above.  This gives your child room to make a decision about playtime.  We intentionally limit the options.  Too many options stifle the decision making process.