Week 13- Integrity Yields Leadership

MONDAY — Read the passage with your team. 

   15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 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.

   17 Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. 18 For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. 19 Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

   1 After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed. 2 I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the  citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.

Nehemiah 6:15 - 7:2

What does this passage have to say about integrity?

Why is that important?

TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

1) What was the reaction of the surrounding nations when they heard the wall had been rebuilt (v. 16)?  Does your work inspire that kind of reaction?     In your athletic life, does your play cause others to be awed by God’s greatness?  Why or why not?  (If you are seeking your own glory, will your achievements be great?)

2) Why was the fact that the surrounding nations “lost their self-confidence” (v. 16) a good thing?  If your team’s play causes your opponents to “lose their self-confidence,” should you be happy because you have gained an advantage over them?  Why should you desire that your opponents “lose their self-confidence”?  If they are no longer confident in themselves, in whom may they learn to be confident?  Does your team’s play demonstrate and inspire humility?

WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

3) Why was Hananiah put in charge of Jerusalem (v. 2)?  Why was his integrity an important factor in his appointment to leadership?  Do you think he was merely expected to be fair (refrain from cheating the people)?  (Many people have such a simple view of integrity — that it simply involves following the established rules.)  Based on a more complete understanding of integrity, in what additional way would Hananiah be able to lead the people?

4) Hananiah was also chosen as a leader because he “feared God more than most men do (v. 2).  What does “fearing God” mean (“To fear the Lord is to hate evil” - Proverbs 8:13)?  If you fear God (hate evil), how will you live?

5) What kinds of evil are confronted in the course of an athletic season (and the life of a team)?  What should a fear of the Lord motivate you to do?

THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

6) Do you aspire to be a leader?  On this team?  In school?  To your siblings?  At work?  Are you in a position of leadership now?  Can others say that integrity and a fear of the Lord are evident in your life?  What steps might you take to encourage the growth of those disciplines in your own life?

7) Can you think of a teammate or classmate who possesses integrity and a fear of the Lord? What have you observed that makes you say that?

FRIDAY — Discuss sport applications of integrity, and pray together.

· Ask your athletes to briefly reflect on what they’ve learned about integrity this week, and to repeat some of those things.  (Remind them of some of the Biblical truths about integrity you’ve discussed, if necessary.)

· Ask your team, “Based on what we learned about integrity this week...What does an athlete of integrity do?”  Do not settle for vague answers; challenge your athletes to go beyond general qualities of an athlete of integrity, and to determine what those qualities look like in action.

· Add the results to your team’s list of descriptions of the “athlete of integrity”, and be sure the list is displayed somewhere that is constantly visible, as a reminder to the team.

· Pray together as a team.  Encourage your athletes to pray for your team’s growth in regard to the discipline of integrity — especially in relation to some of the issues and challenges that you discussed together this week.  Challenge them to also ask for forgiveness, when applicable.  Give time for athletes to request prayer (regarding integrity or anything else), and pray together.