Great leaders are needed today

I recently read a book detailing the history of the Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy. Coal may be a four letter word to some people but I like coal! Emil Usibelli was born in Italy in 1893. His family immigrated to America when he was very young. Emil only had three years of formal education. He and his wife, Rose, came to Alaska in the Great Depression with nothing. Emil worked and worked and built the mine. He was a leader. He died in a mine accident on the morning of the Good Friday earthquake in 1964.

Many of the people in Healy were in shock. Their leader died in the morning. The earthquake struck in the afternoon.

God wants us to be effective leaders today. General Douglas Macarthur said, “There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity.” We must lead and take advantage of the many opportunities around us.

Great leaders build great things. We need leaders today. One of my favorite people in the Bible is Nehemiah. God used Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and to rebuild the people of Israel. Nehemiah demonstrated four characteristics of a great leader.

The first characteristic is that Nehemiah prayed. Nehemiah found himself in the capital of the great Medo-Persian Empire. He heard that the people of Jerusalem were in great distress and the walls were broken down. Nehemiah 1:4 reads, “When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” In the following six verses Nehemiah prayed.

Martin Luther said, “I have so much to do today I must take time to pray.” Prayer unleashes God’s power. Jesus often spent time in prayer. The disciples slept in the garden. Jesus prayed in the garden. The disciples fled before the soldiers. Jesus courageously went to the cross.

Nehemiah prayed twelve times in the Book of Nehemiah. The entire first chapter of Nehemiah records one of his prayers. When we lack wisdom we must go to God in prayer (James 1:5). Prayer is simply talking to God. The Bible commands us to pray about everything.

Great leaders also persevere. The toughest time in any project is the half way point. In chapter 4 the wall was half way built. Verse 10 reads, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, yet there is much rubbish; and we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall.” Great leaders do not quit. They continue on.

The third characteristic is that Nehemiah was practical. The enemies of God threw everything at the people rebuilding the walls. The workers faced ridicule (4:1-6), intimidation (4:7-9), discouragement (4:10) and fear (4:11-13). Sanballat and Tobiah led the opposition. The people continued working despite their enemies.

Nehemiah reported, “From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah (4:16). With one hand they worked and the other hand held a weapon.

In 1865 Charles Spurgeon started his magazine. He entitled it, “The Sword And The Trowel.” He titled his magazine after the life of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah organized the people. As the enemies circled, he responded. He said to the people, “Let each man with his servants spend the night within Jerusalem so that they might be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day (verse 22).”

Nehemiah prayed. He persevered. He was very practical. Finally, Nehemiah set the pattern for the people. The people did not have enough food (5:2). Many were deep in debt (5:3). The famine was tough (5:3). Taxes were high (5:4). Wealthy landowners exploited the people. Sons and daughters were sold into slavery (5:5).

How did Nehemiah respond? He held a great assembly and rebuked the guilty. For twelve years neither Nehemiah nor his kinsmen ate the governor’s food allowance (5:14). Nehemiah said, “I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work” (5:16). He said, “I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people” (5:18).

Nehemiah set a very humble example. He did not live above the people. He graciously served. Every organization becomes like their leader.

Nehemiah was a great leader but an even greater leader is the Lord Jesus. Jesus left heaven and became poor to die on the cross for our sins. One day Jesus Christ is coming back to rule and to reign. America today needs strong leadership. We must learn from the example of Nehemiah and pattern our lives after his life.

Ethan Hansen is a pastor at Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake