The Call (Building Lives #1)

Have you ever just known you were supposed to do something?

And I do not mean knowing you are supposed to eat some ice cream. I mean you just know you are supposed to stop and help that person on the side of the road. You just know you are supposed to start that business. Nobody told you. You did not read it in a book. You did not watch a how-to video. Somehow you simply know: I am supposed to do this.

I have had a number of moments like that.

In fourth grade, kids were teasing me that I could never wrestle — and the instant they said it, something in me knew I was supposed to do it.

The summer after fifth grade, my church held a baptism and picnic out at a farm. Baptism sounded strange to me, so we just went for the picnic. And then I started watching people get baptized, and I suddenly realized I was supposed to do that. I had no change of clothes. We had brought no towel. I walked over to my parents — who happen to be here this morning — and told them I needed to go do that. They looked at me and said, no, we asked you about this ahead of time and you said no. I do not know whether I threw a tantrum, but I knew.

I could keep going. I just knew I was supposed to transfer to a particular college. When our third child came along, my wife and I just knew we were supposed to have one more — and as soon as our fourth arrived, we knew we were done.

And when it came to planting a church, nobody told me to consider it. There was simply a moment where I sensed God saying, here is what I want you to do.

Two Things I Am Not Saying

You might look at me and think, well, you must be highly intuitive. I honestly do not feel intuitive. I get an embarrassing number of things wrong in life.

Or maybe you are thinking, you are a pastor, you have this close relationship with God and he tells you what to do. I will not deny there have been times in my life when I sensed the voice of God — but those have been rare and precious moments. It is not as though every morning God is telling me what to eat and what to wear.

And here is the other thing: it is not as though the things I felt called to were wildly successful. I was not a great wrestler. Transferring schools did not suddenly produce a 4.0. And if you ranked church planters, I am not sure I would crack the top half.

So even with real risk involved, and no guarantee it would work, and no confidence that I would be especially good at it — I just knew.

Now, maybe you have never had a moment like that. I want you to know that is completely okay. I do not think you have to. In fact, I think most people do not.

If you have never had one, you are not a failure. And if you have had one, you are not somehow better than everyone else. It is simply what God chose to do in your life.

Why This Matters Today

I bring it up because we are starting a new series in the book of Nehemiah, working through one chapter every Sunday. And this week in chapter 1 we are going to watch Nehemiah simply know he is supposed to do something.

But my goal is not to teach you some knack for intuitive decision-making. What I want you to notice is what Nehemiah does when this sense — this burden, this vision — lands on him. And my hope is that seeing how he responds will help you respond the same way, whether you ever have that kind of moment or not.

Full Disclosure: We Are Also Starting a Capital Campaign

Let me be completely transparent. We are not only kicking off a series in Nehemiah. We are also kicking off a capital campaign we are calling Building Lives.

Which means if you are a first-time guest and you are anything like me, you are thinking: Great. I show up at church and they are going to talk about money.

My church family has heard me say this before: I am still growing in this area of talking about money in church. I have pulled back from it in the past because I never want anyone to think what we want from them is their money. What I actually want is for you to follow Jesus. That is what matters to me, whether you give a dollar or not.

Yes, following Jesus includes generosity — Jesus gave his entire life. But this is not about extracting money from you. It is about helping you live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved.

To help people do that, we have developed a simple pathway: gather, grow, give, go.

We gather together in worship.

We grow spiritually with a two-handed approach. One hand is personal spiritual disciplines — Bible reading, which is why we keep Bibles available for anyone who needs one, along with prayer, fasting, and journaling, whatever helps you grow on your own. The other hand is relationships — which is why we offer growth groups, and why we encourage you to partner with someone at work or school to read Scripture and pray for each other.

We give. And we do not only talk about finances. We talk about giving your fist: your finances, your influence, your skills, and your time. You open your hands and give these things to God.

And ultimately we want people to go — to their school, their neighborhood, their work — and live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved.

Why We Need a Place to Gather

But to begin that pathway, we need somewhere to gather.

This church started on Easter Sunday of 2014. Since then we have met in a lot of different locations — schools, government buildings, the veterans post, the fairgrounds, and outdoors. We have been all over the place.

And every one of those, except the fairgrounds, was set-up and tear-down. Which means there were people who loved this community enough to get up early, come in, set up chairs, set up the sound system, and set up lights so we could gather and worship Jesus and learn what it means to find him and follow him.

When we realized the fairgrounds was not a long-term solution, we recognized it was time for this baby church to grow up and find a more permanent location. The search was on.

We eventually found this building, and the owners agreed to a three-year lease with the option at the end to sign another three-year lease or purchase.

We brought that to our church partners in January of 2020, and they voted yes — not knowing that two months later a pandemic would hit the world. In February we ran a small campaign so we could remodel this space. And now here we are.

Our lease ends next year. So: do we sign another lease, or do we try to buy it?

Our elder team and finance team brought it before our partners, and in January of this year they voted to attempt the purchase. There are brochures on the table with all the details, so I will not walk through all of it. The short version is that we need to raise a hundred thousand dollars for a down payment — and the good news is we have been given a fifty thousand dollar matching grant. So we are halfway there, which means we need to raise the other fifty thousand.

But here is why I am not simply standing up here saying, we want to buy the building, give us your money, let us get this done.

The reason we are taking Sundays to talk about it, creating growth group guides, and putting out a brochure is that we want it done well and done right. But I also believe it is part of our spiritual growth as a church. I believe God has significant days ahead for us, and that to get us ready he is going to prepare us — and I think this is part of that preparation.

I do not want to cheat us out of that by keeping this off to the side. I want it front and center, so we can consider together what God might want to do through us as a church, and in you as an individual.

A Disclaimer About Using Nehemiah

Before we go further, a disclaimer. It has become somewhat trendy for churches to use Nehemiah during a capital campaign. In fact, one person who found out what we were planning said, no, no — do not do that.

I want you to know we are not doing this because it is the latest fad, and we are not doing it to spiritualize the idea of giving money for a building.

I do not believe God wrote the book of Nehemiah to be a template for the twenty-first century American church on how to get people to fund buildings.

I believe God embedded truths and principles in Nehemiah that we need to learn from and that can help us through this process. And I also believe there are truths in this book that God has for you personally.

So this is going to be a two-part journey. One we take together as a church family, and one you take individually. Because I think as we work through Nehemiah, some of you are going to hear from God, and it is going to change your life — because God changed Nehemiah.

The Text: Nehemiah 1:1–4

“The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, ‘The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.’

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”

The Backstory You Need

In our weekly email this past Thursday we linked to a video explaining that Ezra and Nehemiah — which sit next to each other — were originally a single book. It is believed Ezra wrote both, and that when he wrote the portion we call Nehemiah, he talked with Nehemiah, interviewed him, learned his stories, and captured them for posterity. They were later separated when the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures was produced.

So let me set the stage.

Babylon was the empire God used to invade Israel. Israel had wandered from God in their hearts and had been disobedient, and God warned them for centuries: if you do not return to me, I will send a nation to take you into exile. The people kept rebelling, so God allowed Babylon to invade and defeat them. They utterly destroyed the city — the temple, the altar, the walls. And on three separate occasions they deported groups of Jews into exile.

Roughly seventy or eighty years later, Persia invaded Babylon and defeated them. The first Persian king was Cyrus, who sensed God moving him — you can read this in Ezra 1 — to allow a remnant of the Jewish people to return and rebuild the temple.

So in the opening chapters of Ezra, men named Zerubbabel and Joshua lead a group back and rebuild the altar. Things are going well, and in chapter 4 they begin trying to rebuild the walls.

But by then Cyrus has died and another king has come in. Enemies of Israel write to Persia and warn: you do not realize what is happening. They are trying to reestablish Jerusalem. Israel used to be a mighty nation. You do not want to let them get reestablished. So the king issues an edict that all work must stop.

And it stops. And it stays stopped for years.

Then that king dies, Artaxerxes takes the throne, and Nehemiah is serving as his cupbearer. Which is when Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother, comes back from Judah.

We do not know why Hanani was there. Maybe he held a government position and was on some kind of fact-finding trip. Maybe he was simply visiting. All we know is that he and a group of men have returned with a report.

Why Nehemiah Even Cared

Nehemiah goes to his brother and asks: How are the people? How is the city?

He wants to know because he is a Jew. He identifies with his people and with their city — even though he has never been there.

By this point the exile has lasted over seventy years. One scholar I read suggested Nehemiah was around forty, which means he was born in Babylon. He has never set foot in Jerusalem. And he still desperately wants to know how it is going.

Think about the war in Ukraine right now. There are people in America of Ukrainian background — maybe they still speak Ukrainian at home, fly the flag, eat the food. But they are Americans. They speak English. They watch the same shows. They hold jobs here. And yet what is happening over there affects them far more deeply than it affects the rest of us, because they still identify with their people.

Nehemiah still identifies with the Jews even though he has spent his entire life in Persia. He worships the God of Israel, not the gods of Babylon or Persia. So he wants to know: How are our people? What is our city like?

The Report

You would think Hanani might say something encouraging — the altar has been rebuilt, as we learn in Ezra 2. The temple has been rebuilt, as we learn in Ezra 3.

That is not the report he brings.

He looks at Nehemiah and says: the walls are torn down, the gates are burned, and our people are living unprotected and in shame.

And in verse 4 we watch Nehemiah completely break down.

If we heard our hometown had been hit by a tornado, we would feel devastated. But would we mourn and fast for days? Probably not. We like our food too much. We like our time too much.

Nehemiah is so connected in heart and mind to his people that this absolutely wrecks him.

Is that because he is unstable? No. As we work through this book we are going to see he is a remarkable leader — he is rock solid.

He is heartbroken because a city with its walls torn down was like a king running around naked. It was an utter humiliation.

In Nehemiah’s world, many people believed a particular god ruled over a particular geographic region. So when one people group invaded and won, it meant our god is more powerful than your god. For Jerusalem to have its walls knocked in and its people hauled off into exile meant the God of the Jews was puny. Weak. Pathetic.

So when Nehemiah hears the walls are down, it is not really about walls. It is that his people are unprotected and the reputation of his God is being mocked.

Nehemiah’s Prayer

Which is why his response is prayer. The moment he hears, he turns to God.

His prayer roughly follows what some call the ACTS model — adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Though as we will see, he skips thanksgiving and substitutes something else in its place. This is a great model, so if you want to grow in prayer, listen in.

Adoration

Verse 5: “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.”

Do you think he is buttering God up? Flattering him so he is more likely to answer?

No. This is Nehemiah reminding himself: my God is not weak, even though the walls are torn down. My God is not pathetic, even though the gates are burned. My God is the God of heaven, the creator of all things, and he is powerful and good and just and loving and merciful.

He is reminding himself who he is talking to.

So often when we pray we launch straight into our requests. Our hearts are troubled, so it is: God, would you give me this job? God, would you help me with this financial crisis? God, would you fix this relationship?

I think it is fine to bring those to God. But let me encourage you — sometimes stop and adore him. Remind yourself who you are actually talking to. This is the creator of the universe, the one who made you and put his image in you, and who, even though you sinned, sent Jesus to die for you so your sin could be forgiven and you could come into relationship with him. And he delights to have you come. Spend a moment delighting in him.

Confession

Notice Nehemiah does not linger in adoration. He moves quickly to confession. Verse 6:

“Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.”

If you think about it, this progression makes sense. When you begin in adoration and genuinely consider who you are speaking to, you start to realize how holy and awesome he is — and how unholy and un-awesome you are. And that leads you to confession.

Do not be afraid of him; he wants you there. But be in awe of him — because he could punish you for your sin, and instead he loved you so much that he took that punishment on himself through Jesus.

But notice something. Nehemiah does not only confess his own sin. He confesses the sins of his family and the sins of his people.

I will be honest. I cannot remember the last time I confessed the sins of my family. I am not sure I recall ever confessing the sins of us as a church. I genuinely do not recall praying and confessing the sins of our nation.

And Nehemiah does exactly that, because he recognizes he is connected to something far bigger than himself, and he identifies with it. He does not say those people. He says I am one of those people.

Remembrance (instead of thanksgiving)

In the ACTS model, confessing your sin and realizing God has forgiven you should naturally lead to thanksgiving. But something else is stirring in Nehemiah. Verse 8:

“Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’”

Numerous times in the first five books of the Bible — especially in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy — God warns the people through Moses: if you wander from me, I will discipline you. And if you keep wandering and ignore my discipline, eventually I will bring a nation in to carry you into exile.

This is a couple thousand years before the Babylonian exile ever happened. And yet God warns them — and also promises that if they come to him with their whole hearts, giving him everything and nothing less, they will be his people, he will make them prosper, and they will change the world.

Now, does Nehemiah need to remind God because God is forgetful? Oh yes, I did write that. Thank you, Nehemiah.

No. Nehemiah is desperate. He is essentially saying: God, this is what you said. You said if we wandered we would go into exile — and we have been in exile seventy years. But you also said if we returned to you, you would restore us and gather us back.

And Nehemiah believes it is already starting. He believes it was God who moved Cyrus to let a group return and reestablish the temple. He believes it was God who sent Ezra to reestablish the practices of the Jewish people.

But he knows it is not finished. If the walls are down, the people are unprotected and God’s reputation is in the gutter. So he says: God, would you finish the restoration? Because our hearts are returning to you.

Supplication

Which leads to the last movement. The word supplication does not merely mean asking God to supply what you need — though that is part of it. Tucked inside the word is an idea of humility, almost of desperation to the point of begging. When you enter supplication you are pleading: God, I cannot do this. I need you. You are the only one powerful enough.

Verse 11: “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

He is saying: God, I need you to hear me. I am desperate and heartbroken. So please listen — and not only to my prayer, but to the prayers of all your people who follow and love you. We need you.

But notice how he ends.

“Give success to your servant today.” You might think, good advice — God, tomorrow is Monday, give me success at work. That is fine, but it is not what Nehemiah is praying.

Success in what? The very last phrase: “and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

This man is the king.

The moment Nehemiah heard his brother’s report, he knew he needed to go help rebuild those walls. And he also knew he could not simply do it. He does not have the resources — where is he going to get stone and lumber? He does not have the authority — he would show up in Jerusalem and people would ask who he even is.

A word about being cupbearer

I used to think a cupbearer was basically a butler — someone who tasted the wine to make sure it was not poisoned and then handed it over. That was the whole job.

It turns out cupbearers were extremely important. Because they had to be trustworthy enough not to poison the king, they often became close confidants. Some became something like chief financial officers. Some functioned almost as an assistant king, filling in when a son was not ready to assume the throne. It was a prominent position, sometimes second-in-command.

We do not know exactly where Nehemiah fell on that spectrum, but he had to be deeply trusted. He was a man of integrity.

So he is not going to simply walk off the job. And he recognizes the king’s authority — a previous king had ordered the wall construction stopped. He cannot show up and disregard that. He needs favor with the current king.

And he knows he is in no position to march in and start making demands. He needs God to move. So he prays: God, give me success. Only you can move the heart of this king.

Here Is Where We Are Not Going

You might expect this to be the moment where I pivot and say, and therefore we simply know God has called us to buy this building, so give us your money.

We do not simply know.

There was never a moment when our elders gathered on Wednesday mornings to pray and God’s voice boomed through the office. There was never a moment at our partners’ gathering when the Spirit swept through and we all knew to buy this place.

Because it is not about the building.

Nehemiah cared about the walls being raised not because he liked walls. He wanted them raised to protect the people living in the city and to reestablish the reputation of his God.

Same for us. This campaign is not really about a building. The burden and the vision on our hearts is you — and the people we are called to love and reach and bless.

That is why we intentionally named this campaign Building Lives. We need the reminder. This is about helping people find Jesus and follow him.

And that mission is not unique to us. That is the mission every church has, or should have. And you can accomplish it without a building.

There are entire church movements accomplishing this mission without owning any real estate. For some it is because they are in countries where Christianity is banned, so they meet secretly in houses and businesses. But there are also movements deliberately trying to reach people who have been badly hurt by this format of church — people with zero interest in ever walking into a building for something like this. So they use homes, businesses, community centers, workplaces, schools.

I did not plant a church to get into real estate. I could not care less about buildings. I got into this to help people like you grow in relationship with God. I want to see God work so deeply in you that he does something tremendous through you.

Why We Ended Up Needing a Building Anyway

When we lived in Kansas City we got a glimpse of the other approach. We would meet people and invite them to church on Sunday morning, and they would say, I am not really into organized religion. But the moment they found out we held a Bible study in our house, they would ask if they could come. The food we served may have helped. But they were genuinely open and spiritually curious — they wanted to study the Bible, they just did not want to do it in this format.

So when my wife and I moved here, we brought those ideas with us. We thought we would start a Bible study, and when it multiplied into a second one, maybe then we would be ready to start something like this.

And we found the exact opposite of Kansas City.

When we invited people into our home for a Bible study, they looked at us like we were aliens. Strange. Weird. Come to your house and study the Bible? And then they would add: but if you ever start a Sunday morning thing, I would check that out.

We slowly realized our plan was not going to work. We had to shift. We needed a place, and we needed to hold this kind of gathering — because this fit what they understood church to be, and if we were going to reach the spiritually interested, we needed a format they would feel comfortable walking into.

And so we launched at Easter of 2014.

So for me, this is not about a building. This is about helping people find Jesus, follow him, and grow into his likeness. It is simply that if we are going to see that accomplished, we believe the wise thing is to buy this place. It appears wise financially, and it appears to be how God is leading us.

But I am not telling you God has ordained it — because what if we do not raise the fifty thousand? What do we do then? I do not know. I believe God will lead us and provide something. But from where I stand right now, the wise move is for us to come together and attempt to buy this place.

So that we have a home base to invite people to on Sunday mornings. A place for discipleship — a couple of our growth groups already use this space, and other groups do too, and we think we can do far more with it. And a place from which we can send you into your neighborhoods, your workplaces, and back to school to make a difference.

But Nehemiah Is Also for You Personally

I also believe studying Nehemiah is for you individually. Because I do not think you are part of this church merely so you can help fund a purchase. I think you are part of this church because God wants to do something in you so he can do something through you.

Which means that if you have had a Nehemiah moment — if you have sensed God saying I want you to do this — then as your church family we want to do everything we can to help you accomplish it. Because if it is from God, we want you to be obedient.

I do not know what it is. Maybe God is calling you overseas as a missionary. Maybe he is calling you to start a business. Maybe you need to start a ministry, or help us start one. Maybe he is calling you to get involved somewhere specific, here or elsewhere. I do not know. But if that burden is sitting on you, we want to help.

That does not mean you start tomorrow. As we will see next week, there is often a period of waiting. Sometimes the best thing you can do when you sense God’s direction is pray, sit, ponder, seek advice, and work out what will be needed.

But if you have it, we want to unleash it — because God wants to use it to help others.

Praying Through Nehemiah’s Model

So let us create space to pray, following Nehemiah’s own pattern.

Heavenly Father, if each of us began trying to describe your majesty, your presence, your power, and your goodness, it would take us all of eternity and we would never run out of words. You are that magnificent. That glorious. That big.

And that is exactly why we move into confession. We confess that we have shrunk you in our minds. We have not trusted you, the Almighty God. We have pushed you off to the side and tried to do it our own way. So hear us now as we confess our sins to you.

We confess not only our individual sins, our shortcomings, and our mistakes — but also, as a church, that we sometimes get caught up in the week-to-week motions: planning songs, preaching a sermon, gathering, contributing to the offering, serving. But I believe you started this church to be a blessing to the world. So forgive us for the moments we have become too inward-focused. Forgive us for the times we have doubted your provision. Forgive us for the times we have doubted others in our church family.

We live in a broken and hurting world, and some of us feel that very closely right now. So heal us individually, so that you might also use us to bring healing to those around us.

And as we confess, we are so grateful for Jesus. You left your throne in heaven and set aside the rights you held as God to take on human flesh. You became obedient even to death on a cross, though you had done nothing wrong — you are the only sinless person who has ever lived, and you died a horrific death. I believe you did not do that merely as an example to us. You chose to die in our place. So we say thank you.

Hear us now as we thank you for what you have done through Jesus and for the blessings in our lives — and as we remember, recalling what you have already done and what you have already said, whether in your Scriptures or to our hearts.

We know intellectually that you have put your image in us, that you have given us talents and gifts and strengths, and that there is so much good we could do. And yet when we are honest before you, we see how far short we fall. That is why we come in supplication — laying these things before you, knowing we cannot do it on our own. There are things in our lives we cannot fix. We do not have the knowledge. We do not have the power. We do not have the resources. So we come asking for your favor, that you would move so these things might be done.

And even after I say amen, keep moving the hearts of these people, that they would continue in prayer.

I pray for the person who may not know you, who is not sure where they stand with you. Let them realize you love them, you created them, and you want to do something great in them — and that the first thing you ask is that they give themselves to you, everything and nothing less. As they confess their sin and acknowledge you as Lord, would you place your Holy Spirit in them, empower them, and begin the process of making them more like Jesus.

And for all of us: that corporately we would be like Jesus, and individually like Christ — in our homes, at work, in our neighborhoods, on the ball field, at school. Do that deep work in us so we can go and be a blessing. Burden us with this. Let it be our concern, our vision, our dream to see you do great things in the lives of other people. Open our eyes to those around us, and open our eyes to what you are already doing in us. Help us keep surrendering, day by day, all of our lives to you — for your glory and for our joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Come to the Table

We want to continue in this atmosphere of prayer by celebrating communion.

If you are a first-time guest, we practice open communion — this table is open to you on one condition. These elements are entirely about Jesus. He died on a cross; his body was broken and his blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. If you have put your faith in that story, these elements are for you. Come any time during the song.

If you are not a follower of Jesus yet, and you are simply not sure about everything I have been saying — that is okay. I would just ask you to respectfully not come to the elements. There is no need to impress anyone; nobody here will be impressed that you did. These elements are about Jesus, so if you are not sure the story is true, do not come. Listen to the words of the song instead. Spend time in prayer. Ask God whether it is true and whether he would help you see it.

But if you know it is true — if you know Jesus Christ, God the Son, took on human flesh to die on the cross and rise again from the dead — then come. And as you take these elements, adore him. Keep confessing. Thank him for what he has done. Cast all your cares and concerns on him, because he cares for you.

So let us sing, let us pray, and let us take these elements in remembrance of him.