How would you like to receive the following letter?
Dear Jim,
As I met with God this morning, I was moved to tell God how deeply grateful I am to him for your influence in my life. As I look back over the years, I realized that it has been your life that has most influenced me to follow Christ. You always seemed to be available when I needed you. You understood my problems. You had just the encouraging ear I needed. I could always go to you when I was hurting inside because I knew you cared.
Your walk with Christ has been a tremendous inspiration to me. Your wholehearted commitment to obedience, the wisdom that comes from your lips, your godly spirit in the midst of adversity and pain are a picture to me of what I want to be like. To whatever degree I have learned to humbly yield to Christ's will, whatever it is, it has been by watching you. I've learned to forgive others by watching you be hurt and yet be gracious enough to return love and understanding.
Perhaps what I have appreciated most of all is that you have always believed in me. You told me that God had a great plan for my life and challenged me to settle for nothing less than Christ's best. Even in the dark times when I felt like a total failure, I knew you believed in me. The blue ribbons on my wall and trophies on my shelf are there because you kept challenging me to do the very best I could.
So, thank you for the profound shaping influence your life has had on mine. Yours in Christ, Steve.
Wouldn't you love to receive this letter addressed to you from your son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter, from a friend at work or in the neighborhood, from a sister or brother, from a child in your Sunday school class or teen in the youth group that you lead? This is a letter about influence, getting others to follow you. That is the topic of today’s episode.
There is a difference between authority and influence. Authority is a position that allows you to coerce obedience to you. That is a good thing and needs to be used, especially in training a child. Punishment and rewards are foundational for teaching a child self-mastery. But leadership goes beyond authority. We can coerce a child to be kind in our presence, but when he is on the playground away from us and chooses the be kind—that is influence. Perhaps it is merely the influence of good training. Nevertheless, it is influence and that is what leadership is—the ability to get others to follow you. As the old saying goes, He who thinks he is leading when no one is following is only taking a walk.
If ever there was a man who could teach us how to influence others it was Nehemiah. The reason he was able to get the wall around Jerusalem built in 53 days, when no one else had for 90 years, was not that he had big biceps and a strong back; it was his ability to influence the people to join him in the project. Let's look at this story in the second half of Nehemiah 2/
Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
Six Leadership Insights
As we saw last week, Nehemiah got Artaxerxes’ permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. So, Nehemiah travels the 800 miles to Jerusalem. That is where we start to observe his leadership example.
A. Great leadership requires investigating and evaluating the situation. Proverbs 13:16 says, “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.” In Proverbs 12:23 we read “A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.” Proverbs 14:15 says “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.”
Verses 13-15 tell us that Nehemiah went out through the Valley Gate toward the Dragon Well and on down to the sewage plant (that's the dung gate) and he inspected the walls—notice that. Imagine his grief as he stumbled among the ruins of what was once a great and mighty fortress. Then he went on the southern side of Jerusalem, then up the west side to the fountain gate. He came to the King's pool; it was such a mess he couldn't even get by it on his horse. So, he got off and walked ahead of his horse moving up the valley, examining the wall. Finally, he reentered through the Valley Gate. Twice he mentions examining the wall. The Hebrew word, examine, means to look into something very carefully. It was a medical word for probing a wound to see the extent of the laceration or infection. Nehemiah made a careful, conscious, probing examination all along the way. Why? Because, when a good leader has a goal, which he wants to help his team reach, he looks carefully into the circumstances that determine how to reach that goal. He does his research.
B. Great leadership requires formulating a plan in solitude. Why in the world would someone whose goal was to rebuild a wall inspect it in the dark? That is like a doctor saying, “Let’s go into this pitch-black room to examine you.” I think it is because he wanted to formulate his plan in solitude. Nehemiah, as he followed the broken-down wall, must have been conceptualizing his plan. Those of you in the building industry know that various types of jobs require different skills. Some people are able to work with brick and stone and mortar, but they can't do a thing with wood. So, I'm sure that as Nehemiah walked, he was thinking through who could do which jobs. That section required skilled craftsmen but the work in this section starts with pulling out the weeds and moving rubble requiring unskilled labor. We know that he had given thought to how he was going to accomplish this project because at the beginning of chapter 3 he already had a plan.
One of the most critical disciplines of leadership is closing the door on the rest of the world, so that in quiet solitude you can formulate your plan. Nearly any book you read on management will tell you that leaders of organizations must spend quality time with the door closed, the secretary or phone machine taking calls. That's especially true if you're a believer and you're seeking to discern God's leading. Remember how the Lord modeled this principle of retreating. For example, after the feeding of the 5000, we read, Immediately, he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray (Matt 14:22-23).
You can't lead if you don't know where you're going and you can't figure out where you should be going in the midst of chaos. It's my opinion that the number one cause of failed spiritual leadership at home is right here. Very few of us have a plan for how we're going to grow in our marriages or how we're going to meet the deepest needs that shape our children's hearts. You cannot lead effectively without regular times of solitude to think and plan and pray. It doesn't have to be a huge time commitment. It doesn't have to be in the middle of the night like Nehemiah. How about Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening, just to set aside time with your Commander-In-Chief to talk about your mission? God doesn’t usually speak loudly enough for us to hear him in the midst of chaos. His tends to be a still small voice.
C. Great leadership requires motivating your followers. Vs 17. Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” Nehemiah was not a resident of Jerusalem. He could have easily said, “You folks
have gotten yourselves into a bad mess. Don’t you realize it is shameful to God for you to leave that wall in such disrepair? You need to rebuild that wall. I brought you the wood that God provided for it. I suggest that you start building at the Valley gate and continue around clockwise.” But supervising is not leading.
Nehemiah enters into their suffering and their problem. He doesn’t just tell them to fix the wall; he invites them to join him in fixing the wall. Listen to these profound words that distinguish between a position of authority and leadership.
- The boss drives people; the leader coaches them.
- The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.
- The boss says “I”; the leader says “We.”
- The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
- The boss knows how it's done; the leader shows how it's done.
- The boss says “Go!”; the leader says, “Let's go.”
Besides inviting the people to join him, not just do this on their own, Nehemiah employs another form of motivation. There are two categories of motivation, external and internal. When children are young, external rewards and punishments work. External rewards also work temporarily with adults. Nehemiah could have used competition to motivate them. “Whoever gets their portion of the wall finished first, gets three months of NO TAXES.” That might have worked for a while, but it is doubtful that such external motivation would have enabled his people to overcome the fierce opposition that was to come.
Instead, Nehemiah appealed to internal motivation—their desire to protect their loved ones, and their love of their homeland. “You see every day how exposed we all are to our enemies. Let’s rebuild the wall to protect our loved ones and the pride of our people—Jerusalem, the City of Zion—which is in disgrace.” James Boice sees a parallel between Nehemiah and Sir Winston Churchill. “Churchill was a superb motivator, yet he seems never to have promised anything external, not prosperity, not leisure, not the return of good times. He offers only the (internal) satisfaction of having done the difficult task well.” Listen to Churchill’s famous words to England when Hitler was bombing the daylight out of them.
"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.
What is our aim? I can answer in one word. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.
We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France. We shall fight in the seas and oceans. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." (Nehemiah: Learning to Lead).
Nehemiah's appeal was similar, though couched in less dramatic language. The challenge to the people to rebuild so that they would no longer be in disgrace. It was an appeal to their nobler instincts of love for God’s holy city Jerusalem and his honor. May I challenge you:
You have been created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. God placed you in your family, in your community, in your career. In that place, your mission is to respond with all your heart to Jesus’ call TO HIM—to enjoy a love relationship with him, the call TO BECOME LIKE HIM—to be transformed into Christ-like character, and the call TO EXERCISE DOMINION FOR HIM, to implement his agenda in your role as husband, father, employee/employer, neighbor, church member, steward of resources, and ambassador of the kingdom, in every sphere of life. And God is glorified by the spiritual fruit that you produce in that setting. Jesus told us, “By this is my father glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8).
D. Great leaders strengthen the faith of their followers. Vs. 18. And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Nehemiah pointed to the evidence that God was leading this project:
- He’d already changed the heart of Artaxerxes.
- He’d provided leave for Nehemiah.
- He’d provided letters to governors and an armed guard for their travel.
- He’d provided all the timber they needed from the king’s own forest to rebuild the wall.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Courage to step out and trust God for the future grows by remembering his past faithfulness. That is why so many Psalms celebrate and rehearse God’s faithfulness to Israel throughout her history. When fear or anxiety seizes our hearts, thinking back to God’s faithfulness to us in crisis after crisis strengthens trust in him for the future. Nehemiah’s intentional reminder that this was God’s project turned out to be important because of the opposition they faced before they even got started.
E. Great leadership is not demoralized by opposition. Vs. 19-20. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim. No matter what project you undertake for God you can be certain you will face opposition. Why? Because of the environment. The place where you are attempting to accomplish that task is Kingdom Earth, a realm in which at present there are spiritual powers of darkness opposing every effort you make to implement Christ agenda of righteousness over the earth. Wise leaders refuse to let Satan discourage them by his opposition. In fact, opposition, though no fun, is a sign that we are on the right path!
G. Great leadership leans on God for his grace. In this episode’s text of Nehemiah, we've seen him in three different situations:
- alone when he inspects the walls verses 11 through 16
- in front of his people verses 17 through 18
- facing his enemies verses 19 through 20.
Notice that at each juncture he refers to the Lord.
- alone verse 12 “I had not told anyone what God had put in my heart to do.”
- with his people verse 18 “I told them that the gracious hand of my God was upon me.”
- with his enemies verse 20, “I answered them saying ‘the God of heaven will give us success we his servants will start building.’”
In all three settings Nehemiah leaned on God and maintained his spiritual perspective. Nehemiah is a reminder of what Jesus taught about impact. He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Spiritual fruitfulness in our lives, i.e. influencing those around us for the honor of Jesus can only happen by abiding in him.
Nehemiah is a great model of leadership to follow!
For Further Prayerful Thought:
1. How would you explain to a friend the difference between authority and leadership?
2. Why do you think it is imperative for leaders to become fully knowledgeable about the factors that impact achieving their goal?
3. What do you think of the statement, “Great leaders formulate their plan in solitude?” If you are married and have a family, how does this principle apply to being he leader at home, for you?
4. What leadership lessons from Nehemiah most stood out to you?
