Jeremiah 30:18
Thus says the LORD:
‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan. NKJV
A couple of weeks ago, I was watching a YouTube video, where they tried to summarize the Bible story into half an hour. It was fascinating. One of the things I learnt, that I had never thought about from just reading the scriptures, was that the exiles from Babylon, returned to Jerusalem in three tranches. The exiles had been away for seventy years as prophesied by Jeremiah, and now on their return, they had the task of rebuilding the society that their fathers had been forced to leave behind.
The first group was led by Zerubbabel, and their main work was to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 3:8). The second group was led by Ezra the Scribe, and their main work was to teach the people the law and get their hearts after God again (Ezra 7:8- 10). The third group was led by Nehemiah and their main task was to rebuild the walls and welfare of the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:17-18).
I immediately noticed that though we were doing it without knowledge, this seems to be the same exact strategy God had given us for catalyzing spiritual, social and economic renewal in our cities.
• First, plant a Worship Harvest Location. As it grows, establish it with a property or building. This is the Zerubbabel phase.
• Second, begin to teach the people the word of God intensely and to turn their hearts to the Lord. You realize that this is easier for Locations that have their own properties, than those that are renting. The teaching revives the people and helps them order their lives, families, businesses etc after the word of the Lord. This is the Ezra phase.
• Third, as more and more people are discipled, through individual efforts, missional frontiers and collective organizational work, we start to rebuild the communities and cities where we are Located – rebuilding the safeguards (walls), like education, finance, and health; that help the city live more abundantly. This is the Nehemiah phase.
Which phase are you, at your Location?
How about collectively as a movement?