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Baptist Preaching: A Global Anthology
Baptist Preaching: A Global Anthology
Baptist Preaching: A Global Anthology
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Baptist Preaching: A Global Anthology

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Baptist Preaching comprises thirty-five sermons from around the globe given in the same year by Baptist preachers. These sermons demonstrate, as Joel C. Gregory argues, that the act of preaching lies at the heart of Baptist identity—possibly rivaling the practice of believers' baptism. The sermons collected here represent varied voices, multicultural contexts, and global concerns that occupy Baptists worldwide. The sermons thus give living witness to how Baptists wrestle with cultural issues confronting their respective churches. From Latin and South America to Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe, Baptist Preaching celebrates the diversity of global Baptist proclamation while simultaneously highlighting the near-sacramental role of preaching in Baptist churches.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 15, 2014
ISBN9781481302685
Baptist Preaching: A Global Anthology

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    Baptist Preaching - Joel C. Gregory

    INTRODUCTION

    Preaching may address those inside the family of faith or speak from the inside to the outside. This collection presents robust evidence that most global Baptist preaching speaks to those inside the family of faith, while others outside may overhear enough to want to be inside. Thirty-two of the thirty-five sermons preach to those inside the family of faith. Three specifically speak to outsiders. Isholah preached his sermon on the occasion of the sixtieth birthday of a Nigerian governor, using this event to speak directly to national concerns. Johnson preached directly to the general culture of Jamaica at the time of countrywide celebration of emancipation. Okwakol’s is the only sermon in the collection addressed specifically to outsiders as an evangelistic sermon.

    This certainly raises again the question, For whom do we preach? C. H. Dodd famously made the distinction between kerygma and didache, the former to the outsider and the latter to the insider. This is to note that the voices in this collection seem not to speak to seekers on Sunday but to the believers’ church. One message stands between the two, the sermon by Ayegboyin presents a Christology for the church but seems to look beyond the church. Any number of the thirty-two sermons to the church would have an appeal to those outside the faith, but most of the messages addressed to insiders call on them to be the church in order to reach those outside.

    Half of the sermons in this collection are delivered on a special occasion other than a Sunday service. As noted, Isholah and Johnson speak directly to political and national occasions in their cultures in Africa and Jamaica. One would not be surprised that several occasions are meetings of Baptists. Oprenov and van der Leer speak to the European Baptist Federation (EBF) in Amsterdam on the four hundredth anniversary of Baptists. Others preach to national or regional gatherings of Baptists. Asante speaks to the occasion of Isholah’s retirement in Nigeria, En preaches to Baptist leaders gathered in Myanmar, West preaches to the preachers at the E. K. Bailey International Conference on Expository Preaching in Dallas, and Othoniel Jose Sepulveda Torres speaks to the National Baptist Congress in Chile. Lama speaks to Baptists in northeast India. Two of the sermons directly reference liturgical occasions in the local church. Mason preaches on Transfiguration Sunday, and Holmes speaks in a Lenten series. This raises the interesting question of how many Baptist preachers today may follow the Revised Common Lectionary as a guide to preaching, either explicitly or indirectly. Two preachers speak directly to local church concerns. Henlin preaches a dedicatory sermon for a church in Jamaica. Koralage presents the only funeral sermon in the collection, a moving pastoral message preached at the funeral of a young Sinhalese man in Sri Lanka.

    The other half of the sermons in this collection could have been preached at any local church occasion. Some have more timelessness than others. For example, John Piper’s sermon on the Old Testament witness to Christ could have been preached virtually anytime or anywhere in Baptist history, even though he delivered it to his own church. This is not to say that many of the sermons are not culture-specific. The detailed analyses in the following pages demonstrate the preacher wrestling with culture time and again.

    Much debate in the mainline Protestant discussions of preaching for the past thirty years has demonstrated the inclination to move away from deductive sermon structure to inductive or narrative. Not debatable in this collection is the Baptist predisposition, if not to say fondness, for the deductive style. As noted, this conforms to the Baptist partiality for the teaching voice in the pulpit.¹ Deductive preaching moves from a generalization to the particulars that support that generalization. At its best, deductive preaching roots in the soil of the text, has a trunk that presents one big idea, and produces branches that inevitably grow out of that big idea. Fully twenty-seven of the sermons among the thirty-five in this collection have to some extent a deductive style. This is fascinating in light of the academy’s almost univocal criticism of deduction as preaching that will not be heard today. To tell them what you are going to tell them and then tell them that very thing is often flogged for killing suspense and not permitting the congregation to do enough of its own work. The deductive sermons in this collection, given their global ubiquity and acknowledged power, stand in the face of this pervasive criticism. All six BWA regions are heftily represented by deductive sermons. If deduction does not work, the Baptists of the world have not found out about it.

    Yet one-third of the sermons demonstrate a narrative or inductive approach. Narrative requires a story and a storyteller, a move from cause to effect, and a story in time that moves from past to present and anticipates a future. Without question, narrative captures attention. Just watch the reactions in the pews when you say, Let me tell you the most unexpected thing that happened to me this week. The inductive style moves from particulars to generalizations, taking the congregation on a journey through the text. It has all sorts of subspecies beyond this discussion. In this collection five of the eight narrative or inductive sermons come from Europe or North America. Blyth of the United Kingdom speaks to the use of tradition, Pilli of Estonia preaches to the Christian use of power in a dramatic and evocative dialogue between Jesus and Pilate, van der Leer narrates Baptist history, Mason aesthetically narrates the images in the transfiguration, and Vickery narrates the lectionary texts from Psalm 116 and 1 Peter 1 for Mother’s Day, observed on May 8, 2011. Thompson gives an intriguing combination of narrative and deduction in her emphasis on the family of God. Quembo engages the congregation and the culture of Mozambique in a reflection on the needs of the African boy. Andronovienè presents the only dramatic monologue in the occasion, a creative sermon preached in a public place on Easter.

    The three other narrative sermons more than deserve comment. Koralage, a revered preacher in Sri Lanka, brings a comforting narrative intertwining the death of a young man with the death of Lazarus and the reaction of Mary and Martha. Hall of the Bahamas uses an animated, dashing, and sprightly narrative around the resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain. In another key, Jacome of Ecuador narrates the cost of faith in the life of the genuinely faithful. Sometimes, narrative works well with texts that do not lend themselves to definitive subdivision or linear thinking. Folks at a funeral often need a story. Facing down death itself in a graveyard is best told as an engaging tale, as does Hall in his sermon. The sober costs of a life of faith may best be heard as a story moving through time, as in Jacome’s effort.

    Another time-honored way to consider sermons rests in the intent of the sermon. What does the preacher intend for the sermon to do? Sermons may be devotional, evangelistic, pastoral, doctrinal, ethical, or ecclesial/institutional—among other categories. Few sermons live in only one category. For example, Clifford’s sermon addresses both Christology and what the church needs to be doing. Pilli’s sermon about the Christian use of power in the world is both devotional and ecclesial. Sermons generally have a dominant purpose. The sermons in this collection might be assigned to the following categories:

    DEVOTIONAL: A sermon that intends to deepen the Christian experience of Christ and calls for a renewed commitment in light of that experience

    Andronovienè

    Lucero

    Pilli

    Warrick

    EVANGELISTIC: A sermon that proclaims the gospel with the specific intent of conversion

    Lages

    Okwakol

    PASTORAL: A sermon that shepherds and nurtures from the pulpit

    Hall

    Holmes

    Jacome

    Koralage

    Thompson

    Varas

    Vickery

    DOCTRINAL: A sermon that emphasizes a category or categories of Christian doctrine

    Ayegboyin

    Clifford

    En

    Kok

    Lee

    Olivares

    Piper

    Wanje

    ETHICAL: A sermon that calls for change or reinforcement in Christian attitudes or behavior

    Isholah

    Johnson

    ECCLESIAL/INSTITUTIONAL: A sermon that addresses an aspect of the church and its witness

    Asante

    Blyth

    Callam

    Henlin

    Kirlew

    Kok

    Lama

    Oprenov

    Quembo

    Sepulveda Torres

    van der Leer

    West

    This collection strikes the reader with a repeated theme: How can the church keep its identity and be the church today? Global Baptist preaching, in its major emphases and minor themes, addresses the existence and purpose of the church.

    TEXTS

    The texts supporting these sermons display the canonical interests of the preachers.

    Old Testament

    Genesis 14:13-16

    Exodus 32:17-26

    2 Kings 2:1-15

    1 Chronicles 4:9-10

    Nehemiah 5:14-19; 13:10-31

    Job 42

    Daniel 5:12; 6:3

    Isaiah 61:1-4

    New Testament

    Matthew 17:1-9; 24:4-14; 28:16-20

    Luke 7:11-17; 9:32-35, 57-62; 10:1-24; 15:11-18

    John 5:1-16, 33-47; 11:1-44 (two sermons in the collection); 18:33-37

    Acts 8:26-29

    Romans 13:1-7

    Ephesians 1:3-14; 4:4-6

    Colossians 4:16

    1 Timothy 1:3-7

    2 Timothy 2:1-7

    Hebrews 11:1-4, 38-39; 13:8-9

    1 Peter 1:17-23

    Revelation 22:8-21

    For those familiar with Baptist preaching, this list may hold one surprise. At least in this era and globally there is something of a balance between epistle and gospel. For the most part Baptist preaching in the West has hewed to the epistle over the gospel. The preference for New Testament texts is not a surprise.

    THE APPROPRIATION OF REID, McCLURE,

    AND HOFSTEDE

    In an effort to bring other partners in conversation with this collection, I have chosen three. John McClure teaches homiletics at Vanderbilt and serves as a Presbyterian minister. His book, The Four Codes of Preaching, does not advocate one style or sponsor one approach to preaching.² In a highly conceptual, rhetorical, and phenomenological approach, McClure attempts to help every preacher preach more powerfully in that preacher’s own sequencing of codes. I have attempted to apply his judgment to most of these sermons. In some of the codes a consistent outcome has been observed.

    McClure’s Four Codes of Preaching

    Scriptural Code

    Overwhelmingly the preachers in this collection use McClure’s code of translation. This is the bread-and-butter preaching of this collection. There are a few instances of literal translation: do now exactly what the text said to do then. Most examples in this collection represent dynamic translation. The Christian today is doing the dynamic equivalent of the text then. Many preachers use present-tense, active-voice declarative sentences to convey the scriptural code of translation. The reader will notice in the various analyses the pervasive presence of the translation code.

    Semantic Code

    The predominant semantic code in Baptist preaching is denotative-assertive. The preacher is making timeless affirmations that are precise and applicable to that congregation at that time.

    Theosymbolic Code

    By common consent this is the highest abstract concept in McClure’s system. In the assessment of any preacher’s sermons, this code represents the way God, humans, doctrines, and opponents to the faith interact in a typical sermon. It is difficult to characterize the preacher’s theosymbolic code in any one sermon. There is little unity among the preachers in this collection at the point of this code. Please refer to the analysis of each individual sermon to observe the variety of relationships among the actants in the sermons.

    Cultural Code

    This code measures how a preacher uses illustrations, lived experiences, literary references, and contemporary situations in the sermon. The primary code for sermons in this collection is the dialectical cultural code. Baptist preachers here believe that a little piece of any particular human reality can point in the direction of God. The widest variety of anecdotes, personal stories, art, literature, and various pundits show up in these sermons, pointing toward God in part of what they say. Baptist preachers represented here do not capitulate to culture and identify the faith with culture, but neither are they dualists who believe culture has no way to point to God.

    Robert Reid

    Robert Reid is an American Baptist minister who teaches rhetoric at the University of Dubuque. His book The Four Voices of Preaching puts an emphasis on how sermons get heard in the congregation.³ Preachers speak in what Reid calls the teaching voice, sage voice, encouraging voice, and testifying voice. He defines each of these and gives examples of specific preachers. In this collection of sermons nearly all of the sermons belong to Reid’s teaching voice. The preachers in this collection have something they want the congregation to learn and know. Sermons are not, for most of these Baptists, transcendent events of experiential encounters but occasions of cognitive content that are translated. There are exceptions to this but not many.

    Geert Hofstede

    Geert Hofstede assessed cultures for folks doing international business. To help businesses, he devised scales that show how far people feel from power, whether a culture tends toward individualism or collectivism as a mind-set, how much a culture wishes to avoid future uncertainty, whether masculine or feminine traits as traditionally conceived dominate the culture, and to what degree cultures have short-term versus long-term thinking.⁴ I stayed away from the masculine/feminine measurement scale for the most part, because it could lead to stereotyped observations. The other scales were applied to most of the sermons as one outside, objective measurement of the culture in which the preacher spoke. Hofstede represents seventy-six countries or cultures in most of his indices. The reader will consult the individual sermons to see the disparity of preaching cultures represented in this collection.

    PART I

    AFRICA

    1

    Live to Be Remembered for Good

    (Nehemiah 5 and 13)

    Stephen K. Asante

    Osokowa Baptist Church

    Kumasi, Ghana

    BIOGRAPHY

    Asante has pastored Osokowa Baptist Church in Kumasi, Ghana, since 2005. He also ministered to the church from 1986 to 1994, before becoming the national director of the Ghana Evangelism Committee (1994–2002). Asante has also served as the president of the Ghana Baptist convention. He is married to Evelyn Salome Asante, and they have four daughters. Asante describes himself as an Evangelist to the core. Apart from his ministry responsibilities and service as an international conference speaker, Asante enjoys reading, soccer, and watching wildlife documentaries.

    SERMON COMMENTARY

    Asante contributes a sermon proclaimed on a most specific occasion, the send-off service in Nigeria for Solomon Ademola Isholah, the general secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention. Isholah also has a sermon in this collection. Thus, the sermon is somewhat specific to the venue and occasion. Asante uses selected passages from Nehemiah as a means to consider the ministry of Isholah.

    Asante devotes a significant portion to the historic background of Nehemiah and his times, providing the biblical history, timeline, and geography without choking the pace of the sermon. At just the right time, the historical background is rescued from becoming laborious by his use of an apposite aphorism from George Bernard Shaw concerning the sin of indifference. Asante then turns to the expansion of his clearly stated focus statement in a deductive style.

    In the first move he presents Nehemiah and Isholah as burden-bearers. They are both positive and motivational leaders who avoid the minor key of cynicism. He sets alongside these two a lineup of similarly passionate leaders in Europe, America, and Africa, indicating a global reach of illustrative culture. As in each of the four moves, he directly comments on the qualities he sees in Nehemiah that are reflected in Isholah. The message does an exceptional job of commending Isholah without going over the top or being saccharine. Throughout his sermon, Asante presents brief, didactic lists of textual references that reinforce his concern. He pins the point to the practical with a direct address to the listener: Are you a burden-bearer?

    In the second move he uses Nehemiah again as a backdrop for Isholah’s personal sacrifice in leadership. He reinforces his remarks with references to Mandela, Beecher, and O. P. Clifford, calling them like witnesses to his point. In this move Asante makes the first remarks related to prosperity preaching, upon which he will expand in great length in his fourth move. He deliberately contrasts Isholah with the assumptive attitude of prosperity preachers. With the staccato point-by-point method characteristic of each of his moves, he directly rivets the reality of his exposition to the incoming leadership of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.

    In an adroit third move Isholah again uses Nehemiah as a sounding board for Isholah’s courage. He particularly deals with the willingness to risk enmity and criticism. Of particular charm is his quotation of an indigenous Akan proverb: It is the fetchers of water from the river who break the jar. This provides a common touch of shared indigenous experience that balances his other theological observations. Another especially appealing point of an intensely hortatory sermon is Asante’s telling of an old Indian fable. Part of getting a sermon heard in many cultures depends on the preacher’s awareness of how to balance didactic, dense, hortatory, and admonishing material with the relief of anecdotes, aphorisms, and humor. Just as a minor chord is only one half-step at its third tone from a major key, so also just the right step at the right time can make a hortatory sermon effective.

    In the fourth and final move Asante widens the scope of the message to discuss which leaders get remembered. In this fourth move he ranges from the presence of the Holy Spirit in ministry to a long quotation and reflection on John Piper’s critique of the prosperity gospel. From this move one senses again the seemingly ever-present specter of prosperity preaching that other sermons in this volume confront. The Baptist confrontation with ubiquitous prosperity preaching is one of the discoveries in this collection.

    SERMON ANALYSIS

    Of Reid’s four voices, Asante speaks in the teaching voice, imparting information.¹ In McClure’s four codes, Asante represents a clear translationist approach to the text, coining timeless truths for the present from the past experience of Nehemiah.² Asante emphasizes what is true then, now, and always from the career of Nehemiah. For the most part this translation is a dynamic equivalence of the text. The semantic code is obviously denotative in an assertive mode. Asante clearly articulates in a classical deductive expository form the very things he wishes us to understand without any ambiguity. The theosymbolic code is permutational in an interesting way. The activity of God in the life of Isholah demonstrates a triumph of grace and good news with virtually unabated victory other than one reference in Asante’s sermon. God is the actor who gives memorable ministry with integrity to faithful ministers such as Isholah, as foreshadowed by Nehemiah. The story of Nehemiah as an actor gives to the other assembled ministers in the convention empowering encouragement in the face of the enemy that is entropy, inertia, prosperity gospel, and self-centered ministry.

    Asante’s cultural code is dialectical. At the negative pole of the dialectic, he presents prosperity gospel preachers and others. Yet at the positive pole, a wide spectrum of iconic figures from multiple cultures peppers the sermon with quotations: George Bernard Shaw (who would be surprised to be here!), D. L. Moody, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, and Henry Ford all have cameos, along with many others. Asante’s dialectical paradigm seems to depend on the God-given sapiential truth of the widest assortment of folks who would not have been comfortable at the same dinner party. It suggests a view that God’s wisdom has a self-evident quality in much the same sense as the wisdom movement in the ancient world could reflect the same wisdom in Hebrew literature and in other ancient near-Eastern texts.

    In Hofstede’s Power/Distance Index (PDI), West Africa ranks seventeenth of seventy-six nations and regions.³ The people of Ghana and Nigeria sense more distance from power than 80 percent of those polled. Isholah managed power well in a country where many feel disempowered. In the Individualism Index (IDV), West Africa is fifty-eighth of seventy-six nations and regions, which suggests a strong inclination toward the collective aspects of society over individualism. Such comfort with the collective aspect of culture could suggest a congregation ready to be led by the kind of leader represented by Isholah. In the Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), West Africa ranks fifty-fourth, so this nation is less concerned with avoiding uncertainty than most cultures. This might underpin Isholah’s appeal as a leader of projects on the cutting edge of transformation in Nigeria.

    Proposition

    Your actions in all of your life are value statements and they spell the adjectives and the adverbs of your remembrance, so be very careful with the choices you make in life.

    Introduction

    Remembrance festivals have been part of many cultures from time immemorial. In most African cultures many of such festivals are celebrated at different times during the year. What is common about these festivals is that they commemorate the achievements of great men and women within the various communities. They are periods of remembrance for their contributions to the building of their communities.

    We have come to this moment in the history of your great convention because of the significance of it. Today marks the end of a great episode—the formal exit of a great servant leader, who has served your convention and in fact our continental and global Baptist fraternity with distinction. Dr. Isholah, we salute you and your family for allowing our God to use you.

    We in Ghana share in the joy of this day because we were privileged to be part of his social, spiritual, and academic formation, when he was growing up as a young man in Kumasi, Ghana. We are very glad to be here!

    For our reflection on this momentous occasion, let us examine a very interesting but challenging theme in the historical narrative of the life and ministry of Nehemiah. History has it that Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra. Both lived at the end of the seventy years of captivity. The Jewish people had been exiled to Babylon in three stages, and they returned with the permission of the Persian king, Cyrus, who defeated the Babylonian Empire in 539 B.C.

    Zerubbabel led the first group of returning Israelites in 538 B.C. and started to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1–6). The priest Ezra led the second group (458 B.C.) and instituted a number of reforms (Ezra 7–10).

    Finally, Nehemiah led the third group (444 B.C.) and rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem (Neh 1–6). Nehemiah, whose name means God Comforts, we are told was a cupbearer to the great Artaxerxes Longimanus, who ruled Persia from 464 to 423 B.C. History tells us that it was a position of great responsibility and privilege. At each meal he tested the king’s wine to make sure it was not poisoned.

    And yet he was willing to leave such a position, risked his life to come to the aid of the suffering people of Jerusalem and to help rebuild the broken wall of God’s holy city. He was a very caring, selfless servant leader who challenges all in leadership, even in our day! Someone has said that the worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that is the essence of inhumanity.⁴ (George Bernard Shaw put those words into the mouth of the Anthony Anderson in the second act of his play, The Devil’s Disciple.)

    Nehemiah’s life and ministry rebuke all those who fold their arms complacently, smile boringly, and say somewhat sarcastically, Ask me if I care! Nehemiah was the kind of person who cared. He cared about godly traditions of the past of his people. He cared about the needs of the present. He cared about the hopes of the future. He cared about the sanctity of the family of God’s people. He cared about the house of God! How will you be remembered one day? Live to be remembered for good! Nehemiah lived so well for God’s glory that he even had the courage to ask God to remember him (5:14–19). In his life we meet the values that deserve remembrance. Let us examine some of them. What are they?

    We Remember Leaders Who Are Burden Bearers

    Knowledge of mankind is a knowledge of their passions (Benjamin Disraeli).

    Listen to Nehemiah, the burden bearer, the man with great passion for God and for His people. When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven (Neh 1:3-4).

    Every great work of God can be traced to a kneeling figure (D. L. Moody). Burden bearers believe that they can make a difference. They have a desire to make something happen, to change the way things are, to create something that’s never existed before.

    Burden bearers are driven by a clear image of what the community can become. They have a shared vision. They envision the future, and they enlist others in a common vision. Secular history as well as sacred history is replete with them: David Livingstone, Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Count Zinzendorf, Martin Luther, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Kwame Nkrumah. Burden bearers communicate hopes and dreams so that others clearly understand and embrace them as their own. Nehemiah was that kind of man. His enthusiasm was infectious, as a burden bearer. Then I said to them, ‘you see the distress that we are in; how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the walls of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach’ . . . So they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work (Neh 2:17–18). Leaders must fuel their constituents with hope and inspiration. We follow people with a can-do attitude, not cynics who give twenty reasons why things can’t be done or who don’t make us feel good about ourselves or what we’re doing.

    That is the kind of person we have seen in Dr. Isholah! Even those of us who are outside have always been strengthened by him. The great strides you have made as a convention in mission, church growth, education, social services, etc., have come all because under his leadership he always knew how to motivate his constituents. When leaders clearly communicate a shared vision it enables people to work. They uplift people’s spirit.

    Dr. Isholah, we salute you as a burden bearer! Your work is there for all to see! As a burden bearer, you also learned to challenge the process you came to meet.

    Changes have been implemented smoothly in every area of your great convention. The truth of the matter is that burden bearers don’t have to change history, but they do have to change business as usual. To true burden bearers, the status quo is unacceptable. Leaders challenge the process. They search for opportunities, and they experiment and take risks. Burden bearers also know that they have to be willing to make some personal sacrifices in service of a higher purpose.

    Why Do Burden Bearers Have Such Commitment?

    Why do burden bearers have such commitment?

    (1)They know the God of heaven (Neh 5:19).

    (2)They revere the God of heaven (Neh 1:4-6).

    (3)They know the word of God and believe it (Neh 1:5-9).

    (4)They seek for God’s will to be fulfilled (Neh 1:9).

    (5)They are looking for present and eternal rewards (Neh 5:19; 13:14; 13:22).

    (6)They care about people (Neh 5:19).

    Do you have any burden when society is dying, bereft of godly values? Do you care for the lost? Jesus was a burden bearer, Paul was a burden bearer. Are you?

    We Remember Leaders Who Make Personal Sacrifices in Service of a Higher Purpose

    When you read Nehemiah 5:14-19, it puts so many of today’s leaders to shame. When I was appointed to their governor—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people . . . but out of reverence for my God I did not acquire any land. Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. . . . Remember me with favor, O my God, for all I have done for these (Neh 5:14-19). The biblical truth is that sacrifice is the soul of leadership. Nehemiah embodied sacrifice. The central theme of the Christian faith is sacrifice, which is the redemptive power. It is what makes our history more than nostalgia and makes our teaching more than philosophical speculation. It is what the cross is all about. This is what separates us from the world: we proclaim Christ crucified.

    Why do we talk so much about Nelson Mandela? Sacrifice. Why do we talk so much about Paul? (Acts 20:24ff.) Sacrifice.

    Great leadership we have known, in battle or in peace, is sacrificial in nature. It is as if the height of the vision is proportional to the depth of the sacrifice. It is the fundamental act of believing in the future.

    Leadership that will be remembered starts in the soul with a desire to live out our calling in Christ as Spirit-shaped people. That is the kind of leadership you have shown. For this we remember you on this day.

    In this world it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich (Henry Ward Beecher).⁶ To love and serve God is an empty life if there is no heart to serve others.

    In our day when Christian superstars are parading on our TV stations with so much talk about prosperity and good living, sacrifice has become very foreign in our vocabulary. You have always exhibited a different spirit. You have not gone the way of popular thinking but have lived very modestly, you have lived, giving some space for others to live; you have listened to the apostolic admonition Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position (Rom 12:16). Personal sacrifices are tough but very rewarding (Matt 19:29).

    One truth which life in God teaches the believer is that self-preservation is the first law of nature. Self-sacrifice is the highest rule of grace. The altar of sacrifice is the touchstone of character (O. P. Clifford).

    To love is to know the sacrifices which eternity exacts from life.

    Dr. Isholah, you refused to collect your per diem when you traveled outside your home on divine assignments: what an example of sacrifice, especially in our day of prosperity preaching. We will remember you.

    Why Do Great Leaders Sacrifice?

    Why do great leaders sacrifice?

    (1)They appreciate the grace of God.

    (2)They learn to imitate God, the greatest giver (John 3:16).

    (3)They understand the reward of sacrificial life: both heaven and earth remember them.

    (4)They know that on the altar of sacrifice changes are brought into the lives of others, especially the marginalized of society (Neh 5:18; Heb 12:2).

    (5)They see their calling as a divine assignment (Acts 20:24).

    (6)Finally, in the words of Dr. David Livingstone, I never made a sacrifice. We ought not to think of ‘sacrifice’ when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us.

    For the new administration, may I humbly admonish you to build on what you are inheriting and yet do challenge the process. The work of leaders is to change. Leaders search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, and improve. They seize the initiative to make things happen. And knowing they have no monopoly on good ideas, leaders constantly scan the outside environment for creative ways to do new things.

    Let everyone here leave this place with the desire, a burning one, to sacrifice, to give room, make space for some poor people to have a future (my own testimony is evidence of this).

    When you sacrifice, people will notice it, and you will be remembered, even by your enemies. Sacrificial life will always empower you to even ask God to remember you with favor (Neh 5:19; 13:14, 22, 29, 31).

    We Remember Leaders Who Have Courage to Challenge the Process (the Status Quo)

    Nehemiah was a very courageous brother. He did not give in to his numerous enemies. He knew that The God of heaven will give us success (Neh 2:20). He was confronted by Sanballat, the Horonite, Tobiah, the Ammorite, Geshem, the Arab, first with mockery and ridicule: What is this you are doing? they asked. Are you rebelling against the king? (Neh 2:19; 4:1-8).

    In every mockery and ridicule are lies and distortions of the truth. But Nehemiah knew his calling. He was focused and refused to be ruffled by his enemies (Neh 4:1-9). The enemies were very relentless in their attacks, but he managed to handle them all. Every successful leader will face opposition. But you will be remembered by your response to it: when you respond with courage you will be remembered.

    Courage is not the absence of fear—it is the mastery of it. Courage is another word for inner strength, determination to hang in there, to venture, persevere, and withstand hardship. Courage is what our Lord displayed all the way to the cross. Paul displayed it throughout his ministry life (Acts 20:22-24). The Old Testament heroes and heroines of our historic faith were all people of great courage.

    (1)Noah: To build an ark in that generation, we are told that by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Heb 11:7 KJV)

    (2)Abraham (Gen 12:1-3; 22:1ff.; Heb 11:17-19)

    (3)Moses (Heb 11:24-26)

    (4)Joshua (Josh 1:5-9)

    (5)Deborah (Judg 4:4-14).

    Leaders are people who are not afraid to fail. They have the ability to accept their failures and continue on, knowing that failure is a consequence of trying. Dr. Isholah will admit that he failed in several ways and many times. The new leader will also meet some failures but never mind—in my Akan culture, our forefathers said, Ko asuo na obo ahena, which means, It is the fetchers of water from the river who break the jar. In other words, hardworking people will sometimes fail. Failure is only the opportunity to move intelligently and begin again (Henry Ford).

    An old Indian fable tells of a mouse, which was in constant distress because of its fear of the rat. A magician took pity on it and turned it into a cat. Immediately, it became afraid of the dog. So it was turned into a tiger. Immediately it began to fear the hunter. Then the magician said, Be a mouse again. You have only the heart of a mouse and I cannot help you again.

    Fear stops you from trying. Your fears will stop you unless you stop them first. The positive mind has extra problem-solving power. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience, but you must stop and look at fear in the face. . . . You must do the thing you think you cannot do (Eleanor Roosevelt).

    Nehemiah had moments in his life and ministry when he was afraid (Neh 2:2). But in all he remained very proactive. We must all learn to create our own courage.

    How Do We Create It?

    How do we create it?

    (1)Live for a great and high cause. What great dreams do you have that keep you awake at night? Nehemiah did that (Neh 2:11 ff.).

    (2)Remember, people are counting on you. Your family, your church, etc. (Neh 2:17-18).

    (3)Keep your dreams vividly before you at all times. Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goals (Neh 2:20).

    Nehemiah was a man of great courage. Dr. Isholah, you have been a man of great courage to have brought this convention this far in all aspects of its ministry! We salute you and we will remember you for it.

    We Remember Leaders Who Bring about Godly Reforms

    Nehemiah worked toward true godly reforms (Neh 13:1 ff.). Nehemiah had the commitment to the sanctity of God’s house and God’s people. He had the audacity to deal with the traitors among his own people and to call the people back to faithfulness to the Lord.

    He threw Tobiah out of the temple (Neh 13:4-9). God’s house had been desecrated. The enemy had made his way into it. He reminds us of the Great Reformer, Martin Luther (1483–1546). He devoted his life to reforming the church and restoring the Pauline doctrine of justification to the central position in Christian theology. Let us be open to the Holy Spirit—He has so much for us. Let us keep in step with the Holy Spirit. Do not attempt to keep Him in some box and brand Him as so and so . . . No, He must be accorded the place He deserves in His church with His fruit and gifting. At the last BWA Congress in Hawaii (United States), all the preachers emphasized the need for us to open up to the Holy Spirit: the church is His. Jesus left us in His care! He will not hurt us! He will keep us and shape us for the master’s use and for His honor!

    Dr. Isholah is that kind of a leader. We are seeing renewal in the church. That is good! We salute you! We will remember you for that! The church must always pray for godly Christlike, biblical reforms: check the false and call for the Holy Spirit to lead.

    Leaders who challenge the process are always remembered! Finding leaders who can challenge the process and change the world for the better is not easy. The truth is, it is rare to find a human being who accepts the requirement of true Christian leadership, setting aside ego and fear of suffering, failure, and rejection, which isn’t such a surprise when one considers the nature of our humanity and our inclination toward sin and self-preservation. Nehemiah was not afraid to go for godly reforms:

    (1)Tobiah must leave the temple (Neh 13:4-14). When such reforms have been carried we can even ask God to Remember me . . . concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and its services! (Neh 13:14).

    (2)The Lord’s day must be held in great honor: worship must be in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Whatever relates to true devotion to God must be taken very seriously: preaching, prayer, Bible studies, Sunday school, evangelism, mission, caring for the poor, education, etc. True reformers for the kingdom of God care for all these areas of church life. Nehemiah was a true reformer of God. Like our Lord Jesus Christ it could be said of him, Zeal of Your house has eaten me up (John 2:17 NKJV). Nehemiah commanded that the Jews live to show respect for the Sabbath (Neh 13:22), out of respect for God. He prayed to the Lord to "remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of your mercy! (Neh 13:22; 13:10-14).

    Lastly, Nehemiah led reforms for the restoration of godly homes and families; he told them to be very radical about the sanctity of the home, saying, Did not Solomon . . . sin by these things? (Neh 13:26). His concern was the sanctity of the home for God’s glory.

    True leaders are reformers. True Christian leaders influence communities with values that are biblical and Christlike in nature. Let’s challenge the falsehood of our day. In his great missionary book, Let the Nations Be Glad!, the great Baptist preacher John Piper makes Twelve Appeals to Prosperity Preachers.⁸ For the sake of brevity I’ll touch on the fourth and eighth.

    Don’t Preach a Gospel That Makes Good Work a Means of Getting Rich

    Getting rich is not what work is for. Paul said we should not steal. The alternative was hard work with our own hands. But the main purpose was not merely to hoard or even to have. The purpose was "to have in order to give".

    "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Eph 4:28). This is not a justification for being

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