A Biblical Model of Lay Ministry
April 24th, 2007
(By Phil Johnson)
Nehemiah is often regarded as an ideal role model for spiritual leadership—and he certainly is that. He had all the strengths of good leadership: he was decisive, well-organized, a wise overseer of other people, a good administrator, and a skilled project manager who knew how to get things done.
He likewise had all the biblical qualifications for spiritual leadership: godly character, a consistent testimony, a burning zeal for the Lord, a desire to serve, and a commitment to honor God in all that he did. Above all, his prayer life was exemplary. (Perhaps more than any other single character in the OT, Nehemiah teaches us what a vibrant prayer life ought to be like.)
Nehemiah also had all the masculine traits Scripture associates with men who are called to be shepherds and overseers among the people of God. He was passionate but not driven by his emotions; he was a hard-working man himself, but he also understood the importance of delegating tasks; and he loved people, but never compromised on matters of principle.
What’s often missed about Nehemiah is that he is primarily a model for lay leadership. Some of the key lessons of his life and work are as immediately applicable to laymen as they are to pastors and teachers in the church.
Nehemiah himself was not a priest, a scribe, an expert in the law, a theologian, or a teacher. As far as we can tell from Scripture, when Nehemiah began his ministry in Jerusalem, he had never been a leader of any kind. He apparently had no special training to do what he ultimately did. He was simply a model of hard work, practical ministry, and principled living.
He is the epitome of what every lay person in the church should aspire to be. And his leadership shows us what all spiritual leadership should be like.
When we meet Nehemiah on the pages of Scripture, he was a servant in the king’s palace in Shushan, in Persia—far from his homeland, which he had never even seen.
As servants go, he was an important one. But this special status among servants certainly gave him no particular renown in Jerusalem. He was still a servant, not anyone’s boss.
In fact, as far as the people of God in Jerusalem were concerned, Nehemiah was an outsider and a latecomer with direct ties to the ruling echelon of their former captors. That probably even made him somewhat suspect at first.
So he labored among them as a layman and a fellow-worker. And he earned their respect as a leader solely by serving them, and by being a flesh-and-blood example of what all the people of Israel ought to be.
So, as it turned out, his work as a servant was his training for his life’s work. After all, servitude is the best kind of training for spiritual leadership, because a servant is exactly what Jesus said every true leader ought to be (Mark 10:44).
Nehemiah is thus a reminder to us of how God uses the weak things of the world to accomplish His work (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
Next time you read Nehemiah, bear that in mind: this book is full of rich lessons for lay people who want their lives to count for the Lord.
As someone who has technically been a layman for most of my ministry, I love this aspect of Nehemiah’s life-message. He teaches us that whoever we are, whatever our background or training, and whatever our position in life—God has gifted us and called us to use our gifts as servants. If we’re willing to serve, He can use us in a mighty way.
Dear Phil,
I’ve always thought of you as one the the people at Grace that help help to make John MacArthur more effective in his ministry. This is a very important principle for pastors.
Every effective pastor has people like yourself that have particular gifts and talents that enable him to accomplish tasks he could never tackle alone.
How many books could John write without the editing work you provide? How many blogs could John produce without Nathan? I coould go on and on.
By the way, John told me how valuable the many people in his life are when I asked him how he accomplishes so much.
I’m reminded of Moses in Exodus 17. He had to hold up his hands in order for Joshua and the Israelites to prevail over the Amalekites in battle. But his arms were getting weary. So, Aaron and Hur each supported one of Moses’ arms so Israel could gain the victory.
All that to say this: pastoral ministry is really a team effort. Behind every effective pastor is a team of servants who support his ministry and multiply his effectiveness.
Thanks for being such a support to Dr. MacArthur.
Steve Lamm
The three things that stand out to me about Nehemiah are his zeal for the Lord, his zeal for the Lord’s people, and his zeal for the word of the Lord. Would that all leaders, professional or lay, have that kind of zeal.
The lay person moniker I will have to chew on.
Steve:
Thanks. That’s very kind.
I have been leading a weekly men’s bible study and just finished a the book of James. Reading through the book learning that James was an ordinary man, a well respected leader in the Jerusalem church and his community, there is some that claim he was an apostle of the Lord. There is differing opinions about that, but I like to believe he was a man that was a leader, a lay person if you like. Why am I talking about James? Well I have been praying that God would show me a new book to study for our group. I have thought about Nehemiah several times, it has always been a book that I was drawn to. I think it would be a great transition from James to start studying Nehemiah. We lack the leaders in many churches across America. I believe as men we are not taking a position of leadership. We,I, often think that it is only the pastors and deacons or the well noticed leaders up front. We,I, think that what can ‘I’ do? I am just a lay person! But, encouraged that Nehemiah proves that ordinary person can do extraordinary things with the power of God. So I thank you for the article and it confirms to me what we need to study.
Good article! God’s people need to remember every one is important from the toe on up.