Have you ever seen (or used) the Twitter acronym GBGH? It’s used when someone wants to challenge another to up the game. It stands for “Go Big or Go Home.”

Good leaders dream big. When you are tackling a spiritual mission or project, the size and level of difficulty show what you think of your God. Nehemiah could not be accused of a small-time vision. In fact, his project drew the withering abuse of the governor of the neighboring province of Samaria: “When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, ‘What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?’” (Nehemiah 4:1,2).

Sanballat preferred the status quo—Jerusalem weak and vulnerable. Nehemiah believed that the little band of Jews in Jerusalem could indeed rebuild its walls if they all worked together, if they all brought maximum effort, and if they all devoted their hearts to the Lord.

What are you and your congregation daring for the Great Commission? Jesus was apparently quite serious with his instructions to proclaim the gospel to all the world. Are you pushing yourself with goals worthy of that mighty mission? We’re running out of time.

GBGH.