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Hand Me Another Brick, by Charles Swindoll
This book by Charles Swindoll is an in-depth study of the book of Nehemiah. Swindoll begins the book with the background and overview of Nehemiah’s work in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He follows Nehemiah’s three different roles: Cup bearer, builder and governor.
Swindoll considers the prayer life of the cup bearer. He digs deep into the story to uncover the powerful principles that Nehemiah lived by as he waited and prayed for Jerusalem. Did you know that he waited and prayed for four months before the king gave him the approval to go to Jerusalem?
Next Swindoll considers Nehemiah the builder. We have much to learn from Nehemiah from his example in building. He models for us how to handle criticism, strong opposition, threats, discouragement and issues of sin.
The final role that Swindoll examines is Nehemiah as the governor. How a leader handles promotion and authority is even more important than how a leader handles difficulty. Nehemiah used, but did not abuse his authority. Nehemiah did not just build a wall, but he helped bring about spiritual revival to the people.
“What do we mean when we use the word leadership? If I were asked to define it in one single word, the word would be ‘influence.’ You lead someone to the measure you influence him.” -Charles Swindoll