Lead

Using Empathy: How to Help Members Return to Church

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As churches look to recover from the separation caused by the pandemic, many pastors have lamented their poor church attendance. I’ve heard pastors say things like “we’re back open but we only have a few people each week.” Some have said “our members won’t come to church but I see them everywhere else.” I’ve considered … Read more

Communicating In A Crisis

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The final point in my sermon this week was “Communicate Everything”. During that point, I explained how Nehemiah made communication a priority during a crisis. There’s a story I wanted to share but the Lord didn’t lead me to share it at that time. So I’ve decided to share it now to emphasize the value … Read more

Four Communication Principles for Leaders

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The best leaders communicate well with their teams. The Apostle Paul, writer of 13 books of the New Testament, used letters to keep followers on track spiritually and connected to his ministry. I’d like to share some communication principles from Paul’s example that every leader can apply for immediate results. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians … Read more

Keep learning to follow. 

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Thanks for reading these posts from Hosea 4. If you’ve missed any of them, please refer to previous posts. As we continue in this passage in Hosea, God is still speaking to the spiritual leaders of his people and reveals he’s rejecting those leaders because they stopped following God. “My people are destroyed for lack … Read more

Put People First

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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” (Nehemiah 1:1-3 NKJV)

Before setting out to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah’s chief concern was for the people in Jerusalem at that time. His passion was for the “great distress and reproach” and the wall just happened to be “also broken down”. This may come as a surprise but the book of Nehemiah isn’t about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. It’s actually more about making reforms in the lives of the Israelites. 

More than half the book is dedicated to chronicling Nehemiah’s efforts to restore a God centered culture among the people. The rebuilding of the walls was necessary to create a controlled environment where deep change and transformation could take place. As a leader, Nehemiah put people and their greatest needs first. Leaders today must do the same in order to be successful. 
 
The people we lead may be team members, family, employees and staff, or customers and clients. Regardless of where we lead them or the personal goals we have for leading them, we must remind ourselves to put them first. We may have a goal to grow a ministry through our leadership but the people we lead also have a goal to fulfill their spiritual purpose in our ministries. We may want to increase sales for products and services at our businesses, but we can’t forget the customers and clients make purchases to fulfill their own needs. The focus must always remain on the people, not profits. 

We have a responsibility to lead those on our teams to opportunities for success and fulfillment. We can lead customers and clients to helpful products, services, and solutions. Our programs and strategies are only vehicles designed to carry people to the place where their needs can be met. Once they reach their goals through our leadership, they will help us fulfill our goals. 

Time and Planning

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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, (Nehemiah 1:1 NKJV)

And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. (Nehemiah 2:1 NKJV)

It Takes Time to Plan Well
In the Jewish month Chislev Nehemiah heard about the conditions in Jerusalem. He fasted, prayed, and planned. Four months later in the month Nisan he stood before the king, shared his plan in detail, and received what he needed to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. Let that sink in. He took four months to plan a strategy that allowed him to lead the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in a miraculous 52 days with ancient construction methods and mostly unskilled labor. 

The level of success we experience in our projects, events, and initiatives is directly proportional to the amount of time we spend in quality planning. Last minute, knee jerk, rapid fire planning causes us to lean more on talent than excellence. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to rely on talent alone because deep down inside I know I’m just not that talented. Quality, strategic planning gives us the ability to position people and resources to make up for our flaws as well as take advantage of opportunities. 

What are some other advantages of time and planning?

Be Great Followers

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Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. (Ephesians 6:5-8 NKJV)

One of my favorite coaches is Bill Parcels. He is a great leader who has turned around several NFL teams. He has enjoyed the personal success of winning two Super Bowls and was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But more impressive is the success of his followers. Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, and Sean Payton all served under Parcels and were all given opportunities to be head coaches. All three of these coaches have gone on to win Super Bowls: Belichick (3), Coughlin (2), and Payton (1). Good followers like these coaches embrace the instruction and molding provided by their leaders.

In Ephesians 6 Paul stresses the importance of servants following well. He reveals how following well, even when the leader isn’t around, is representative of our service to Christ. In our world of managers and employees or leaders and staff members, the ability to follow well is an indicator of leadership potential. Great leaders are first great followers.

People who follow well exhibit respect for authority and buy-in to the leader’s vision. Leaders know they can trust these followers and may exercise that trust by delegating greater responsibilities to them. This benefits the leader because it increases their overall reach and influence. It benefits the follower by giving them tangible experiences. As the leader experiences more success, those who follow well will be given their own opportunities to lead.

Paul says “knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.” (Ephesians 6:8 NKJV) If we serve well, we will in turn be served well. If we support our leaders and make our teams successful, the same will happen for us when it’s our time to lead. If we follow our leaders well, we will find our efforts will make both the leader and ourselves successful.

How can following your leader contribute to your personal success?