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Entrepreneur 4 lessons on change from a leader in the middle of a crisis | www.biblicalleadership.com |Image courtesy: istock
If your church is not changing, it’s not growing. I heard someone once say, “Don’t be afraid of change. You might lose something good, but you’ll gain something better.” However, bringing change in a church is often difficult. One of the greatest leaders of all time, Nehemiah, effected change in the setting that surrounded 1:19). the building of the wall around Jerusalem. He modeled for leaders three essentials necessary to bring change. His hands: he did something.
mind…. In other words, he paused long enough to get a clear picture of things before he acted. James reminds of this. “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James
In Nehemiah 5, after Nehemiah faced opposition from without (criticism from his adversaries) and opposition from within (discouraged people), he faced a new crisis. Wealthy Jews were exploiting the poor by charging excessive interest rates. As a result, the poor faced hunger, crippling debt, and even slavery because some had to sell their children into slavery to pay off the debts.
Finally, he took action by taking these four steps. You can do the same:
His head: he carefully thought.
Nehemiah wisely managed change by using his heart, his head and his hands to affect that change.
Define reality by clearly defining the change you want to bring (the rich were exploiting the poor and that needed to stop). Bring the right people to the table(v. 7-12). He had to engage the right people to solve the problem. So, he confronted the guilty party and informed the rest of the people what he had In the midst of that crisis, Nehemiah engaged three essentials discovered. that resulted in the guilty party changing. The rich repented of their abuse and paid back the money they had taken from the Secure commitment (v. 12). He held the guilty accountable by poor. asking them to take an oath that they would give back what they had taken. He engaged these three parts of himself to bring that change. Set a good example (v. 14-16).Nehemiah didn’t simply expect His heart: he engaged his passion. others to change. He, too, took responsibility by setting a good example. He sacrificed by refusing the king’s food allotment In verse 6 he writes,When I heard their outcry and these charges, usually given to governors like himself. He committed to never I was very angry.In other words, this issue gripped his heart. It exploiting the people as former leaders had. He committed to stirred his passion and emotions that motivated him to action. being a different kind of leader.
Rather than reacting to the situation and letting his emotion override good judgment, verse 7 says, I pondered them in my
TT 151 | May 10th - May 16th| 2022
