Wall Warriors: Lessons from Nehemiah for Educational Leaders

Biblical Leadership Example from Nehemiah

As we think of Christian school leadership, let’s turn our minds to Nehemiah.  He’s likely a familiar biblical leader, known for his work to restore the wall around Jerusalem after it had been destroyed and its people exiled.  A city’s walls were a sign of its strength and security, so their destruction revealed the mighty loss the Jewish people had taken.  Further, it left them vulnerable to future attack.

Upon hearing of the wall’s destruction and the embarrassing and vulnerable position of Jerusalem and the remnant there, Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, petitioned for the ability to return to his homeland and oversee the rebuilding of the wall and its gates.

Nehemiah’s work, much like ours, was not without opposition.  Just as some call Christian education ineffective and a lesser version of a secular school’s program, enemies mocked Nehemiah and the workers, calling them feeble and ill-equipped for the work at hand.  

When mockery didn’t stop the project, the enemies plotted an attack. Meanwhile, his workers had grown discouraged and tired.  Nevertheless, Nehemiah learned of the planned attack and set half the men as a guard while the other half continued the work on the wall. Those carrying materials carried a sword in one hand and the supplies in the other.  The workers also wore a sword, ready to defend their work when necessary.  

Nehemiah’s people were spread out far away from each other as they worked around the city. Perhaps we could say they were spread thin, much like the Christian educator.  Though it was difficult to defend themselves, Nehemiah knew God would fight for them (Nehemiah 4:20b) and encouraged his people saying,

“Don’t be afraid of them.  Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”Nehemiah 4:14b

When the work was nearly completed, the opposition tried a new approach.  They attempted to lure Nehemiah away from the work with plans to harm him.  In wisdom, Nehemiah responded,

 “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” Nehemiah 6:3b.

Finally, just fifty-two days later, due to God’s sovereignty, the workers’ dedication and effort, and Nehemiah’s leadership, the wall was completed.  Nehemiah 6:16 states, “When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”

Like Nehemiah, Christian educators are surrounded by brokenness as families fracture and our society increasingly consists of people who are “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power” 2 Timothy 3:2-4a.  

This work of fortifying our children against the views and lifestyle of the world and empowering them to impact it for Christ is daunting and not without opposition.  We, too, are mocked.  We, too, are increasingly under attack through regulations and threats to funding. And we, too, could easily become distracted from the important things or discouraged with the work and leave it for something easier or just plod along towards retirement.

This is where our inspiration from Nehemiah comes in, and why I think of Christian educators as Wall Warriors. Whether administrators or teachers, we, too, can adopt the mindset of “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down!” as we fight for the next generation of believers.  

Let’s do this work together as we look at the latest trends in education and evaluate their appropriateness for our school settings.  Let’s work together as we live out our faith through Christian education- to God’s glory!

As Christian School Administrators and Teachers, let’s stand together like Nehemiah did to raise up a generation of leaders!

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