Leadership lessons, connected with faith and wisdom.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 13: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 13 – What To Do When You’ve Messed Up)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 13, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, this one is about navigating restoration when you have messed up. Here is the transcript of the podcast.

In this series, we are diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying them to the practice of leadership. The purpose of the series, and of the website as a whole, is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that will help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. That starts with realizing that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it, and He has a part for us in this purpose.

We then spent 3 weeks laying the groundwork for effective leadership, using the analogy of the starting blocks in a race, when all the runners line up and get into position, and the starter yells, “On your mark, get set, go!” The first command, “On Your Mark,” was all about getting to the starting line and in the right place by getting yourself into the right frame of mind and equipping yourself for what is coming. Aligning yourself with truth by seeking and knowing God and knowing where He has placed you, and by establishing your foundational beliefs and values, gives you the capability to lead. The second command, “Get Set,” was all about getting into position in the right form, so that you are best prepared to start well. Performing the actions that set you up to be followed and trusted involves living your life so that your actions and behaviors reflect those beliefs, and that gives you the credibility to lead. The final command, “Go,” is when the starter’s pistol goes off and you start running. That’s when your work begins as you start leading your people and your organization toward your mission, vision, or change. This is hard work and therefore requires someone who is both capable and credible, and that’s why this step must follow the other two. But with those things in place, the race is underway, and what follows are the things you do to maintain your pace and your race. We have already talked about the importance of the ability to see the big picture, giving people a voice in the process and then motivating them, facing obstacles and opposition, the importance of celebrating, and the process of strategic planning. Today, in the last of these tools before wrapping up the series, we are discussing the topic of restoration, or what to do if things have gone wrong or you have messed up.

In one of my experiences as a head of school, I was also the self-appointed student government advisor. I did that because I wanted to be connected to the student leaders, and through them, the student body. In addition, I had lots of good ideas in my mind from previous school experience that I knew were going to be a great blessing and benefit to the students. So, as we were preparing to plan the first big student event, I came into the planning meeting and immediately dove into my ideas with great gusto and enthusiasm. In my enthusiasm, I failed to think about the fact that I wasn’t listening first, and did not see their faces begin to shut down. When I left the meeting, I was so excited about “our” ideas, but the next day, the board president called me to tell me that I had alienated the students and they were very upset. I had to acknowledge how I had blown it, and then I had to call the students in, humble myself, sincerely apologize, and give them the authority to make the plans for this event. I had messed up, and in the process had damaged relationships, and I had to bring about reconciliation and restoration.

Sometimes you mess up. Sometimes other people mess up and you have to take ownership of it anyway. Sometimes things happen that are nobody’s fault, and you get to deal with the fallout. Regardless, one of your responsibilities as a leader is to take the blame and make it right. Ezra modeled this in Ezra 9 and 10 when he took responsibility for the sin of the people, even though he had not committed that sin. I demonstrated this when I had to take responsibility that was my own fault. I don’t know what your circumstances are, but you need to be ready to do what is necessary to make things right when you, or someone else, have messed up.

There are six steps you need to take to do this:

  1. Own it: take personal responsibility even if it’s not your fault (it starts with you)
  2. Admit it: give a public acknowledgment and statement without casting blame
  3. Address it: determine and identify the change that needs to happen to bring about restoration and healing
  4. Change it: put the change into process (and involve everyone as you do it)
  5. Share it: talk about it to everyone who has or will be affected
  6. Check it: check to make sure the process has been completed and the change has happened

Whether it’s your fault or not, when you are the leader, you need to take charge of the healing process. Jim Collins talks about a leader as someone who is both humble and bold, and this is the humble side. You’ve heard the saying, “The buck stops here,” and in part, that includes taking responsibility when things have gone wrong or aren’t working. The bottom line is that when something has gone wrong or has messed up, or when you’ve done wrong or messed up, you need to take responsibility for it, and then follow a process to repair, restore, reconcile, and heal. When you’ve blown it, own it, and then make it right.

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s In Charge Here? (Part 13, What To Do When You’ve Made A Mistake)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book). This week, in part 13, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, this one is about navigating restoration when you have messed up.

Leading Through Restoration

Sometimes, you mess up. Sometimes things go wrong, you experience loss or defeat, you become overwhelmed by change, or you fall under insurmountable obstacles. Whether it’s your fault or not, it all falls apart, and then you experience shame, chastisement, rejection, and other consequences, and you’re left wondering what you are supposed to do next and questioning everything you’ve been doing. But your greatest question is a difficult yet very important one: What is it that you are supposed to do when something goes wrong?

This is the place where Ezra finds himself when we get to the end of his story, and his response to the cultural failure of his people is an excellent example of navigating restoration. By this point in time, the people had returned to Jerusalem, the temple had been rebuilt, and the statutes of God and the sacrifices had been re-instituted with a large degree of autonomy for the nations of Israel. But then, the bomb was dropped – the leaders (part of Ezra’s own team) brought a significant internal issue to Ezra. In fact, there were two serious issues that were presented: unholiness (they had not separated themselves from those things that were contrary to God and to His holiness) and unfaithfulness (they had committed spiritual adultery by merging with the surrounding culture and in the process, absorbing and accepting ideas, beliefs, and practices that were contradictory to and unfaithful to God).

Essentially, the people had turned away from God (unfaithfulness) and toward worldliness (unholiness). At the realization of the depth of failure in the people he was leading, Ezra immediately took the burden upon himself; he humbled himself before God and began pursuing the steps that would be needed to restore his people. Throughout the remainder of this and the next chapter, this process of restoration is modeled, first by Ezra and then mirrored by the people, and then followed by action steps that were intended to ensure that the change had taken place.

The process that was modeled and then mirrored took place in four steps: remorse, acknowledgement, response, and repentance. Ezra walked through these four steps first (in chapter 9). His reaction upon learning of the sin of the people reveals the first step of remorse, a genuine heartbrokenness over what had happened. He immediately followed this with the acknowledgement of the wrong that had been committed as well as an acknowledgement of the grace that God had demonstrated in spite of what had been done. What is really noteworthy, though, is that in this step, Ezra took ownership of the sin that had occurred even though he had not personally committed it. Finally, after remorse and acknowledgement, he responded with a determination to make things different, and repented for the wrong that had occurred. Then his followers walked  through the same process. Ezra didn’t keep the problem to himself, he didn’t try to hide it or cover it up, and he didn’t try to fix it without the awareness of anyone else. Instead, he made it public with his followers, and their reaction was the same as his. They immediately expressed great remorse for what they had done, they acknowledged the wrongfulness of their actions and recognized the grace of God, and they responded with a determination to make things different and with repentance for their sin.

So, then, what about you? How does this reflect your reaction when you mess up? It should begin with remorse, a genuine distress over what has occurred. There should be a willingness to humble yourself and own the problem, acknowledging what has happened and expressing gratitude for God’s grace. There should be a determination and an intentional plan to address the issue. And there should be repentance for wrong that has been done, which brings it all together – recognizing your sin and God’s grace, confessing your sin to God, and then changing your behavior in obedience to him. Ultimately, the change in behavior must be moving toward faithfulness to God, and toward holiness.

There is something else you need to see in Ezra’s story: God did not make the people change all their external behaviors before bringing them back into the land. Rather, He first restored them to the land, and then He brought about change within them (individually and corporately) by confronting their sin, so that they could confess it, remove it, and become more faithful to God and to His statutes. The same is true for you! God doesn’t wait for people (you) to be perfect and have everything in order before He comes looking for you (remember what happened in Genesis, after Adam and Eve sinned? God came looking!). Nor is He interested in saving and/or using people only after they are “holy” and completely righteous. If that were true, none of us would ever be ready to be used by God. No, God wants you to “come as you are,” and He will first save, then change and restoration will begin to happen.

What we have looked at so far helps us work through a problem when we, or those around us, have messed up by doing wrong. However, this process also helps us with a blueprint for leading through change when something has gone wrong, but not necessarily because of wrongdoing. If we apply the same principles when something isn’t working and needs to be changed, I see six steps that should be taken:

  • Own it: take personal responsibility (it starts with you)
  • Admit it: make a public acknowledgment and statement
  • Address it: determine and identify the change that needs to happen
  • Change it: put the change into process (involve everyone)
  • Share it: again, involve everyone and communicate
  • Check it: check to make sure the process has been completed and the change has happened.

If you have blown it, own it. That’s where it starts. Get on your knees before God and take the steps you need to take to bring about restoration. There may still be consequences that have to be faced, but healing can’t happen until you humble yourself, and God is able to do great things as a result (as James 4:10 tells us, “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up”). The grace of God is such that He can and will bring restoration, and He can do it in any circumstances. But it begins with you.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 12: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 12 – Do You Have A Plan?)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 12, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, and this one is the process of strategic planning. Here is the transcript of the podcast.

In this series we are diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying them to the practice of leadership. The purpose of the series, and of the website as a whole, is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that will help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. That starts with realizing that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it, and He has a part for us in this purpose.

We then spent 3 weeks laying the groundwork for effective leadership, using the analogy of the starting blocks in a race, when all the runners line up and get into position, and the starter yells, “On your mark, get set, go!” The first command, “On Your Mark,” was all about getting to the starting line and in the right place by getting yourself into the right frame of mind and equipping yourself for what is coming. Aligning yourself with truth by seeking and knowing God and knowing where He has placed you, and by establishing your foundational beliefs and values, gives you the capability to lead. The second command, “Get Set,” was all about getting into position in the right form, so that you are best prepared to start well. Performing the actions that set you up to be followed and trusted involves living your life so that your actions and behaviors reflect those beliefs, and that gives you the credibility to lead. The final command, “Go,” is when the starter’s pistol goes off and you start running. That’s when your work begins as you start leading your people and your organization toward your mission, vision, or change. This is hard work and therefore requires someone who is both capable and credible, and that’s why this step must follow the other two. But with those things in place, the race is underway, and what follows are the things you do to maintain your pace and your race. We have already talked about the importance of the ability to see the big picture, giving people a voice in the process and then motivating them, facing obstacles and opposition, and the importance of celebrating. Today we are discussing the process of strategic planning.

I have been involved in some sort of strategic planning process numerous times. Each one was a little different, yet they all shared some common characteristics as well. Sometimes I was part of a committee, while other times I primarily had to do it by myself. Sometimes it was for a specific change initiative, while other times it was for a 5-year organizational plan. But whether it involved me standing in a room and putting different-colored 8×10 post-it notes on a wall or assembling committees of parents, employees, and board members to work together, and regardless of what it was for or who I was working with, what didn’t change was that there was an intentional process that produced an intentional plan.

You see, strategic planning is just that: an intentional process intended to produce an intentional plan. There may be many forms that the process can take, and the community of leaders, employees, and customers or stakeholders need to agree on what the outcome should look like. But it still needs to be intentional. Therefore, you need to assess and identify the process that will work best for your organization, and you need to drive the determination of what that goal needs to be. Although not the only process or method that you can use, I love the model that is shown in the book of Ezra that I break down into 3 phases – Prepare, Share, and Dare – with three steps each.

  1. Step one is to Prepare, which is about setting yourself up for success.
    1. First, prepare yourself spiritually and emotionally, to ready yourself for the task ahead of you, and especially humble your heart before God.
    1. Next, identify the right people who need to be part of the process, the issue or vision that needs to be addressed, and the goal that is desired.
    1. Finally, adjust based on the obstacles and opposition that looks like will present itself
  2. Step two is to Share, which is about effectively communicating.
    1. First, Communicate. Talk about the plan, the need that will be met, what will be involved, and why it matters.
    1. Next, Listen to others. Give people an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas, so that they are involved and can take ownership
    1. Finally, Adjust based on the feedback and input you receive. Make sure you really listen and then apply valuable input to make things better.
  3. Step three is to Dare, which is about launching the plan.
    1. First, Establish the process and procedures you will be following.
    1. Next, Implement the plan! Take the first step and start the ball rolling. You don’t need to wait until everything is perfect, because it probably never will be.
    1. That’s why, finally, you can Adjust along the way. Continue to get feedback, pay attention, and modify where necessary.

There are lots of ways to create and carry out a strategic plan. The best one to use can vary, depending on the circumstance and the leader, but it is important to be intentional about having one. What I have shared is only one way to look it, but there are valuable lessons and tools that are found in it. Your job now is to take the lead and start the process. What do you need to address, and how are you going to go about it?

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s In Charge Here? (Part 12, Do You Have a Plan?)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book). This week, in part 12, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, this one is about tools for strategic planning.

Strategic Planning

            I was fairly young and had just become the headmaster of a small Christian school. I knew that the school had been operating with an interim headmaster, that enrollment had drastically declined over the previous couple of years, that they had recently gone through a major shift in identity, that resources were very limited, and that a desired plan for building a new school facility appeared to be stalling out. I felt the emotional mix of excitement about the possibilities and anxiety of feeling overwhelmed and in over my head, but I also knew that God had clearly and specifically directed in my life to put me in this position. I had previous administrative experience, but not as a head of school, and I had had no real training on strategic planning. I simply knew that I had a major project ahead of me, and so I rolled up my sleeves and began to assemble a plan of action.

I wish I could say that I took time to listen to people as I prepared my plan, but I didn’t (this was one of the other important lessons I learned in the process). I did, however, begin an intentional process of trying to determine the current status – resources, people, programs, obstacles, etc. – and identify the direction and goals, followed by prioritizing those goals and deciding what steps would need to be taken to achieve those goals. My simple process involved writing these things (both the current status items, and the goals and needs) on individual, notebook-sized sheets of Post It notes, and placing them on a large empty wall. When they were all up on the wall, I stepped back and began to look at them, individually and together, and then began to sort them into categories and themes and looking for connections, arranging them by groups, priority, and sequential order of process. When I was all done, I had my first official strategic plan.

Strategic planning could be defined as the process of creating and initiating a specific plan to address a determined and identifiable goal or need, and my own process in that school was a very crude (although efficient and effective for me at that time and place in my leadership development) form of strategic planning. In the years since, I have learned from experience, education, and training much more about effective – and ineffective – strategic planning (and about the importance of listening to people and giving them a voice in the process). Therefore, even though I helped to facilitate excellent change and growth – with credit actually going to God much more than me; I was only the instrument He chose to use – I now know a number things I would have done differently, or additionally, in my first attempt at strategic planning.

There is an experience that takes place in the book of Ezra, in chapters 9 and 10, that provides a great source of learning for us on this topic. Ezra had already successfully led a group of leaders back to Jerusalem from their place of captivity. The physical temple had already been reconstructed, and now Ezra had returned to facilitate the restoration of the spiritual temple – the hearts of the people. After he arrived in Jerusalem, he took the time to assess the situation and determined the issues (in this circumstance, they were the issues of unfaithfulness and unholiness), and prepared a strategic plan to address the issues and restore the people and the nation before God. This is the process we see when we focus in on Ezra 10:6-17.

When we analyze the description of this event in these verses, breaking it down into its sequential steps, what we see illustrated is an eight-step process of strategic planning (each of the steps is illustrated in specific ways in these verses). We find a description of the process, from inception to implementation, of a specific and measurable plan to address the issue that they faced. In this process, Ezra led the way by his example and his intentional methods, showing us how we too can undertake the task of strategic planning for our ministries and organizations.

  1. Preparation: Step one in the process is preparation (v. 6). As a leader, you need to enter the process ready, and with the right attitude, taking ownership. Spend some time in reflection and analysis, resolving yourself for the task ahead and building your own enthusiasm and commitment. And as Ezra demonstrated, this includes your spiritual preparation, humbling yourself before God, ensuring that your own heart is clean and submitted to him.
  2. People: Step two is to gather the right people together (vv. 7, 9). Include (a) all those who will be affected, (b) those who will help make the process happen, and (c) representative leadership from among the followers. Provide the appropriate motivation to get the right people to participate.
  3. Need: Step three is to identify the issue or need that must be addressed (v. 10). It falls on us to provide a succinct and understandable statement of the issue, problem, or need that must be addressed, attacked, or resolved. Before you can prepare a plan, you must be able to articulate what it is that needs to happen, or where it is that you need to go, based on where you currently are and what you are currently doing. Identify the issue and state it clearly, and don’t make it complicated.
  4. Goal: Step four is to identify the goal or goals that are to be achieved (v. 11). This implies identifying the means and steps of correcting or resolving the need that has been identified. More specifically, it means determining what will need to be accomplished that, when done, will fulfill the plan. Then you need to follow your identification of the need with the establishment and communication of how that need must be met. You have given the vision and direction; now give the steps it will take to get there.
  5. Listen: Step five is to listen, giving people a voice in the process (vv. 12-13). People need to be given the opportunity to respond to the information that they are hearing. We need to let people have a voice, especially those people who may be impacted or affected and those people who have “ground-floor knowledge.” Then, listen to what they say, and let them know that they have been heard.
  6. Process: Step six is to establish a process for implementing the plan (vv. 13-14) with these four components: (a) d the steps in the process, from start to finish; (b) select leaders to oversee the process of carrying out the plan, and this also helps to provide accountability; (c) create a calendar, schedule, or timeline; and (d) when all is said and done, it needs to be more than just talk, and so the process has to be initiated.
  7. Obstacles: Step seven is to identify and prepare for obstacles and opposition (v. 13). See the obstacles early that will hinder the plan, and expect both opposition and support. There will be obstacles, there will be opposition, there will be support, and you need to develop the ability to “foresee,” learning to identify where these might or will come from so that they can be addressed or responded to.
  8. Implement: Step 8 is the final step, the one of implementation (vv. 16-17). This is the action of implementing the plan and the process. Words and ideas have little value if they are never put into action. Once we have the plan prepared and communicated, put it into action, keeping the end in focus, and identifying when the goals have been reached.

I am sure that there are other tools, strategies, and principles for strategic planning that can help you in your effectiveness as a leader, but these eight that are illustrated through Ezra’s experience provide some basic steps that we can use. Along the way, one of the tasks of a leader is to periodically assess what is happening, in order to confirm that the process is working (so that adjustments can be made, if needed) and to ensure that the goals are being reached. And then, when you arrive at the end, take time to celebrate!

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 11: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 11 – Celebrate!)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 11, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, and this one is celebrations and why they matter. Here is the transcript of the podcast.

In this series we are diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying them to the practice of leadership. The purpose of the series, and of the website as a whole, is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that will help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. That starts with realizing that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it, and He has a part for us in this purpose.

We then spent 3 weeks laying the groundwork for effective leadership, using the analogy of the starting blocks in a race, when all the runners line up and get into position, and the starter yells, “On your mark, get set, go!” The first command, “On Your Mark,” was all about getting to the starting line and in the right place by getting yourself into the right frame of mind and equipping yourself for what is coming. Aligning yourself with truth by seeking and knowing God and knowing where He has placed you, and by establishing your foundational beliefs and values, gives you the capability to lead. The second command, “Get Set,” was all about getting into position in the right form, so that you are best prepared to start well. Performing the actions that set you up to be followed and trusted involves living your life so that your actions and behaviors reflect those beliefs, and that gives you the credibility to lead. The final command, “Go,” is when the starter’s pistol goes off and you start running. That’s when your work begins as you start leading your people and your organization toward your mission, vision, or change. This is hard work and therefore requires someone who is both capable and credible, and that’s why this step must follow the other two. But with those things in place, the race is underway, and what follows are the things you do to maintain your pace and your race. We have already talked about the importance of the ability to see the big picture, giving people a voice in the process and then motivating them, and about facing obstacles and opposition. Today we are discussing celebrations.

As someone with an introverted nature, I don’t think I have ever really enjoyed parties. I love the food that’s usually there, but the whole idea of loud interaction with other people is not really what I enjoy. But that’s not the same thing as a celebration. Celebrations serve the specific purpose of, well, celebrating something. The focus is not so much in the “party-ness” as it is on what and why something is being celebrated. One of my first memories of a celebration happened when I was a young child, about 8 or 9 years old. We went to a family gathering on my dad’s side of the family (he was one of 9 children, so it was a large family), and I remember all the storytelling and laughter that I kept hearing in the conversations among my aunts and uncles. They would stand together and share some memory and laugh, and that would lead to another memory and more laughter. I found myself wanting to be nearby so that I could hear the stories and enjoy the laughter myself. In fact, when we left, I remember telling my parents, “We should do that again, that was a lot of fun!” Oh, did I mention that this event was my grandmother’s funeral? It was. You see, my dad’s large family was characterized by two things – joy and Jesus. So my grandmother’s funeral was a time for them to celebrate her life and that she was now rejoicing with Jesus. All the stories were the many wonderful memories they shared about how meaningful she was in their lives, and in celebrating, they were honoring her life and her legacy.

Don’t think me morbid when I tell this story, because as an adult, I am very aware of the emotions and sadness that come with loss, and I know that my dad and my aunts and uncles were experiencing that grief at the time of my Grandma Mac’s passing, but because they knew she was with the Lord, they also celebrated who she was and how she had shaped them. It wasn’t a party, it was a celebration, a way to recognize and honor her life, milestones, and impact.

You see, this celebration of life was in actuality a beautiful way to mark an important milestone; in this case, a milestone in the lives of Grandma Mac’s children. Yes, there was grieving and loss, but her children turned the time of loss into a time of honor, marking and remembering the value of her life. Celebrations that honor something are important to people but celebrations are also important to organizations. That is because of the purpose they serve – to honor a milestone, an accomplishment, a completion, an impact. They bring joy, and sometimes closure, and they are a means of capturing the magnitude of a moment. Therefore, celebrations ought to be intentionally incorporated into the timeline of organizations.   

How does that apply to you? Simply that you need to identify moments, events, and people to celebrate, and then make it a priority to do so. When you are undertaking a big and important project, celebrate the start, celebrate the finish, and find milestones in between to celebrate too! When someone is leaving the company and they have made an impact, celebrate them before they leave. When someone new is added, celebrate the arrival. When a significant recognition is awarded, celebrate. You get the idea – look for ways to celebrate meaningful things.

There is great benefit in celebrating. It’s good for the organization, it’s good for the people in the organization, and it also keeps God at the forefront of all that is happening. Celebrations build positive culture, and build value into people, and those are things that should characterize effective Christian leaders. So, look for opportunities to celebrate, and make them a part of the life of your organization. Celebrate.

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s In Charge Here? (Part 11, Celebrate!)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book). This week, in part 11, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, this one is about the importance of taking opportunities to celebrate.

We celebrate many things. When we grow another year older, we celebrate. When we add another year to the length of our marriage, we celebrate. When our favorite team wins a championship, we celebrate. When we graduate – from kindergarten, from high school, from college – we celebrate. When our child is born, we celebrate. When we get a promotion, we celebrate. When we retire from our career, we celebrate. Clearly, we find and take many opportunities in life to celebrate victories, achievements, milestones, and joyous moments.

I have a few personal celebrations that really stand out to me, and I am sure you do as well. Some of my marriage anniversaries loom larger in my mind than others: my fourth, which I remember as the first time in our young marriage that I was able to do something really nice for my wife; my tenth, which we celebrated at a Disney resort; our twentieth, when we again celebrated at a Disney resort; and our twenty-fifth, when we celebrated with a New England Cruise, which had been a dream of my wife’s. I remember the day we celebrated that my wife was one year cancer-free, and even though her cancer returned, we continue to celebrate that anniversary every year, marking another year that we have together. I also remember the celebrations that we had for each of our children when they turned thirteen, which were special events that we planned out, to mark their entry into adulthood, complete with dinner at a restaurant, pictures, a promise ring, and a framed letter and certificate.

I believe that celebrations are important, giving us a way to mark those meaningful occasions and reminding us of the moments that really matter. However, while we include them in our personal lives, I also think that they can play an important role in our jobs and our organizations, but we often miss valuable opportunities to celebrate in those settings. In my reading through the book of Ezra, I see descriptions of at least two celebrations, and I believe that there are several valuable lessons we can learn from them that can be very applicable to the activity of leadership. The first of those celebrations is described in Ezra 3:10-13, when the people of Israel had begun to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and the second is described in Ezra 6:16-22, after the people of Israel had completed the construction. In these two passages, I find lessons and examples that give us a blueprint for celebrating, showing us when we celebrate, how we celebrate, and why we celebrate.

  • When should we celebrate? It should happen throughout the process. In other words, celebrations ought to take place at both the beginning and the end of projects, tasks, and missions and at important milestones along the way. The celebration in Ezra 3 took place at the very start of the construction, initiating the project, and it served to build support and community early in the process. The second major celebration, in Ezra 6, took place at the end of the construction, and this time it served to bring satisfaction and joy in the celebration of victory and completion. As a leader, when you take the time to celebrate at the beginning, it enables you to provide motivation and to build momentum; when you celebrate at the end, not only it is it a victory celebration, it also provides an opportunity to recognize collective and individual accomplishments, giving value to people (and when you celebrate milestones along the way, it helps you to maintain momentum by reinvigorating people, and by keeping the end in view and reminding them of the steps that have been reached).
  • How should we celebrate? First, it ought to be a ceremony, an official celebration. Illustrated in Ezra, we see that the Israelites included the sacrifices and rituals that were officially part of the ceremonial law and celebrated the national ceremony of the Passover. Second, it ought to be public. Make it visible, so that everyone is aware, and everyone can participate. This is illustrated when the Israelites all came together and the priests conducted a public ceremony and the sacrifices for the benefit of everyone present. And third, it should take place within the community and should involve the community, both those who directly participated in the work and those who were affected it. This is also evident in the fact that the Israelites celebrated as a nation. It was not just the leaders or priests, or only those who had done the work, or those who were specifically called and tasked for the mission, but, rather, all the Israelites who were there celebrated, and did so with great joy. These same three components ought to characterize the celebrations that take place within our organizations. The celebrations that we have at the beginning, middle, and end should be official, public ceremonies, which involve everyone.
  • Why should we celebrate? First and foremost, and more important than any other reasons, celebrations are opportunities to give credit and praise to God. Both of the celebrations in Ezra clearly focused on giving praise to God, and later in the book, Ezra individually modeled the same thing, when he gave praise to God for a significant milestone. Every Christian leader ought to recognize God’s sovereign activity in all circumstances, and therefore ought to make praise and acknowledgment to God an integral part of each celebration. Second, celebrations should be opportunities to remember, serving as reminders of the accomplishments that have been achieved, the obstacles that have been overcome, and the progress that has been made. Third, celebrations provide a forum and a platform to express gratitude and to give appreciation and recognition, both individually and collectively. People need to be valued, and expressing gratitude (and doing it publicly) provides a way to do so.

The bottom line is, there is great benefit in celebrating. It’s good for the organization, it’s good for the people in the organization, and it keeps God at the forefront of all that is happening. Celebrations build positive culture, and build value into people, and those are things that should characterize effective Christian leaders. So, look for opportunities to celebrate, and make them a part of the life of your organization. Celebrate.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 10: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 10 – What Is In Your Way?)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 10, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, and this one is about how to handle obstacles and opposition. Here is the transcript of the podcast.

In this series we are diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying them to the practice of leadership. The purpose of the series, and of the website as a whole, is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that will help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. That starts with realizing that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it, and He has a part for us in this purpose.

We then spent 3 weeks laying the groundwork for effective leadership, using the analogy of the starting blocks in a race, when all the runners line up and get into position, and the starter yells, “On your mark, get set, go!” The first command, “On Your Mark,” was all about getting to the starting line and in the right place by getting yourself into the right frame of mind and equipping yourself for what is coming. Aligning yourself with truth by seeking and knowing God and knowing where He has placed you, and by establishing your foundational beliefs and values, gives you the capability to lead. The second command, “Get Set,” was all about getting into position in the right form, so that you are best prepared to start well. Performing the actions that set you up to be followed and trusted involves living your life so that your actions and behaviors reflect those beliefs, and that gives you the credibility to lead. The final command, “Go,” is when the starter’s pistol goes off and you start running. That’s when your work begins as you start leading your people and your organization toward your mission, vision, or change. This is hard work and therefore requires someone who is both capable and credible, and that’s why this step must follow the other two. But with those things in place, the race is underway, and what follows are the things you do to maintain your pace and your race. We have already talked about the importance of the ability to see the big picture and giving people a voice in the process, and about motivating them. Today we are discussing how to handle obstacles and opposition when they threaten to mess up your plans.

Have you ever had your plans derailed, or things fall apart, because something unexpected emerged that ruined things, or because someone interfered and stopped it from happening. I think for a lot of people, the COVID-19 virus n 2020 played that role. When the virus began to spread and steps were taken by federal and state governments to mitigate the spread, it seemed like the world changed. As the head of a school, for me that meant that students all had to stay home for some length of time, and we had to figure out how we were going to educate all of our students virtually. And by the next school year, we were having to wrestle with whether or how we were going to be bringing students back on campus.  We had parents on both ends of the spectrum, some who thought we needed to be incredibly restrictive and hold all of our families to those restrictions, and others who thought we needed absolutely no restrictions or procedures, and that all the other families needed to recognize and accept that. And these were families who loved the school, loved each other, and loved God, yet couldn’t agree with each other. So we had great obstacles in the form of the virus and the necessary procedures around it, and we had great opposition in the form of parents with completely opposing views on this issue trying to force our response. In full transparency, that was one of the most difficult seasons I ever found myself in school leadership. I believe we navigated it very well, but there were still repercussions that I had to manage or deal with for quite some time afterward.

You must accept the reality that you will face both obstacles and opposition in your leadership journey, often from unexpected places and from people you care about. Obstacles can come from anywhere, and could take the form of circumstances, events, or people, and can be both expected and unexpected. Opposition tends to come directly from people, but we often forget that it can come from inside an organization just as much as it can come from outside. Because they will be unavoidable, the best thing you can do is develop coping strategies, so that you are ready to handle it.

There are three things you can do to be prepared:

  1. Be pro-active. Do this by planning ahead for both obstacles and opposition, knowing that they will come from somewhere. My dad used to say, “It’s better to be pro-active than reactive.” It needs to be said that he was talking about parenting and discipline, but it still applies here.  Include as part of your strategic planning process your “disaster preparedness plan.” Just like my family and I always did at the start of hurricane season when we lived in Florida, prepare your plan of response ahead of time.
  2. Be reactive. Even though you want to first be pro-active, you also want to react in the right way when those challenges happen. Be truthful and transparent and reflect godliness and character in how you respond. Even when you are unjustly attacked, show the love of Christ in your boldness and your truth-telling.
  3. Trust God. Remember all that I have talked about regarding God’s plan and purpose, and that He works all things out for His good and ours. Then trust His plan, His timing, and His love.

The work of leadership is never easy, and it’s only made more difficult when obstacles and opposition present themselves in front of you. You can’t avoid them, so don’t try to. Instead, prepare for them, respond in the right way, and trust God’s sovereignty and purpose. If you can do that, you can handle whatever comes your way.

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s In Charge Here? (Part 10, What’s In Your Way?)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book). This week, in part 10, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, this one is about overcoming obstacles and opposition.

Facing Obstacles and Opposition

In the summer right after I graduated from high school, I had the privilege of working for one of my uncles, who was a general contractor and owned a construction company.   During this particular summer, he was building an apartment complex, and I was there to do whatever manual labor he assigned me to do. My first day on the job, he informed me with a smile that I would be the “gopher” – “you know,” he said, “go for this, go for that, go for whatever I need you to get.” I spent that summer before college carrying lumber, operating a jackhammer, driving a forklift, sweeping floors, sanding walls, and running errands.

Toward the end of the summer, when much of the construction had been done and the finish work was in process, I was given the task of installing the air conditioning wall units in each of the apartments. In a space that had been left open in one of the outside walls of each apartment, my task was to insert the units, connect all the wires and lines, test them to make sure they worked properly, and then clean the area so that it looked neat and finished.

However, in one specific apartment, I ran into a problem. I could not get the unit to fit properly, no matter how I tried, and I began to get very frustrated. I was ready to give up when my aunt walked in and asked me how it was going. I told her, “I have a problem,” and explained what was happening, to which she replied, “Jeff, there are no such things as problems, only challenges to solve or overcome.”

The truth is, there will always be challenges. Since the fall of Adam and Eve and the introduction of sin, there have been difficulties, challenges, and conflict, and work has been hard. Therefore, until we are fully sanctified in heaven, we will always have adversities and adversaries that create difficulty. They may be obstacles that get in our way, or they may be people who oppose us, but regardless, they will be challenges that must be overcome.

The Israelites showed us this, when they experienced great challenges in their efforts to rebuild the temple, described in Ezra 4, 5, and 6, This passage provides us with a picture of the types of attacks and hindrances they experienced, as well as their responses. Then, in chapter 8, we see also see a brief description of the danger of the potential obstacles a team could face. Together, these events give us a good idea of the challenges we also may face.

Ezra 4-6 fills in a major portion of the story of the rebuilding of the temple, which took place over many years. It wasn’t long after they had first initiated construction that people began to try to block their efforts, trying a variety of ways to interfere with the work. Eventually, those opposed to the building that was taking place wrote a letter to the king that painted the Israelites in a bad light. The letter contained half-truths, with biased and twisted information, which resulted in an order from the king to stop construction. It wasn’t until years later that the work began again, and once again, almost immediately, others tried to force them to stop, again writing a letter to the king. This time, Scripture tells us, nothing could get in the way of the work they were doing.

Ezra 8 provides a second glimpse into this issue, this time when Ezra himself was preparing to lead the spiritual leaders back to Jerusalem. As they made their preparations, Ezra crafted a plan that would ensure the greatest success, but he also appealed to God for guidance and for protection from the dangers and obstacles they would face on the road. After they arrived (safely) in Jerusalem, Ezra noted in verse 31 that “the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road,” pointing out that these were things that could have happened but didn’t, because of God’s protection. In combination, these two scenarios in chapters 4-6 and 8 show us the types of obstacles and opposition we will be up against.

Obstacles can come from anywhere, and could take the form of circumstances, events, or people, and can be both expected and unexpected. Ezra’s appeal to God taken together with his recognition of God’s protection points this out. In 8:22, Ezra foresaw the potential for danger and prayed to God for protection from the enemy, knowing that they would be embarking on their journey to Jerusalem. Then, as we have already seen, in 8:31 he gave credit to God for the protection he provided for them, “from the hand of the enemy and from ambush.”

We can draw from these verses that obstacles can come in a variety of ways. They can be in the form of known enemies, but they could also be in the form of unknown enemies. They could be visible attacks that we can see coming, or they could be surprise attacks that come as an ambush.  They could be obstacles that we are anticipating (like a speed bump with a sign that warns us it is approaching), or they could be completely unforeseen (like a pothole that comes out of nowhere). The point is, obstacles can come in almost any form, from almost any direction, with or without warning.

Opposition tends to come directly from people, but we often forget that it can come from inside an organization just as much as it can come from outside. This is the picture with which we are presented in Ezra 4, after the Israelites had begun to rebuild. Here we learn that their adversaries had presented themselves as if they were on the same team, with the same values and the same goals. They tried to look like they were part of the same community, but in reality, they were intentionally trying to deceive, and their motives were destructive.

The same thing happens to us. People will try to assimilate themselves into our organization or align themselves with us in order to be accepted, but with the motive of undermining our efforts or corrupting and changing the culture. Jude 4 talks about this, showing it to be a tactic of Satan, and reveals it as a pattern of allowing evil, then accepting evil, and finally rejecting good. This is the pattern that the opposition uses, claiming to be one of us but instead seeking to destroy.

Opposition can also come from outside, which is what we see a couple of verses later in chapter 4, in verses 4 and 5, where we see that the opposition was obvious, clearly the intent to frustrate and oppose the work, and their methods included physical and verbal attack, discouragement, interference and sabotage, and continual harassment.

This is no different from the opposition we will face. It may shock us to realize the extent to which people will go to hurt others (like the feeling of disbelief I remember having when our home was robbed, disbelief that someone would actually do that to another person), but we are in a world marred by sin, and people will oppose the work of God. Often their efforts will be intentional and planned, prepared with guidance and strategy, for the purpose of blocking, hindering, and stopping the work that we do. And when they have an opportunity, they will jump at that opportunity to cause us to.

The obstacles and opposition we face can be overwhelming and disheartening, and therefore we must be ready to handle it. Looking again at these passages, we can see a few things that help us to be ready; specifically, there are three action steps we can take:

  1. Be pro-active, by planning for potential difficulties, like Ezra did in chapter 8 when he went to God for protection and prepared a strategic plan.
  2. Be reactive, by responding in the right way regardless of how we are attacked. This is reflected in Ezra 5:11-13, in the Israelites’ response the second time that charges that were brought to the king against them. In their response, they told the truth, they put the burden on God, and they were unafraid to be bold about their faith.
  3. Consciously and willingly submit all circumstances to God’s plan and timing. The passage from chapter 4, verse 23, through chapter 5, verse 5, show us this picture, revealing God’s intentional timing regarding when He wanted the work on the temple to be completed.

There is no guarantee that doing work for God will be easy; if anything, there is a certainty that there will be difficulty in work (remember that God cursed the work of man when He confronted Adam in the Garden of Eden). We will encounter obstacles and we will face opposition. But if we are prepared, and if we respond in the right way, and if we trust God’s sovereignty, we can handle whatever comes our way.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 9: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 9 – How Do You Light the Fire?)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 9, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, this is about giving people the motivation they need. Here is the transcript of the podcast.

In this series we are diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying them to the practice of leadership. The purpose of the series, and of the website as a whole, is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that will help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. That starts with realizing that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it, and He has a part for us in this purpose.

We then spent 3 weeks laying the groundwork for effective leadership, using the analogy of the starting blocks in a race, when all the runners line up and get into position, and the starter yells, “On your mark, get set, go!” The first command, “On Your Mark,” was all about getting to the starting line and in the right place by getting yourself into the right frame of mind and equipping yourself for what is coming. Aligning yourself with truth by seeking and knowing God and knowing where He has placed you, and by establishing your foundational beliefs and values, gives you the capability to lead. The second command, “Get Set,” was all about getting into position in the right form, so that you are best prepared to start well. Performing the actions that set you up to be followed and trusted involves living your life so that your actions and behaviors reflect those beliefs, and that gives you the credibility to lead. The final command, “Go,” is when the starter’s pistol goes off and you start running. That’s when your work begins as you start leading your people and your organization toward your mission, vision, or change. This is hard work and therefore requires someone who is both capable and credible, and that’s why this step must follow the other two. But with those things in place, the race is underway, and what follows are the things you do to maintain your race. We have already talked about the importance of the ability to see the big picture, and of giving people a voice in the process, and today we are discussing how to motivate your followers.

There is an old cliché that says, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” The point it makes is that you can provide all the right things that someone might need, but ultimately, that person has to decide for himself or herself what they will do. People decide their own actions. That’s the challenge of motivation: You can’t make anyone do anything that they don’t really feel that they need or want to do. Sure, you can force compliance, but it won’t be their best work, it won’t be sustainable, and it will cause them to sabotage, disrupt, or leave. So, then, how do you motivate people?

I shared this same story in this week’s website article, but it’s very appropriate, so I will share it hear as well. For over twenty years, I lived my life in the same (over)weight range, always believing that I needed to lose some weight, but never really doing so. I tried a variety of diets and exercise regimens, but nothing ever moved me out of that range, nor did any of them ever become a long-term lifestyle. I finally convinced myself that I simply had a stocky build, and, in fact, I had developed a sense of pride about my larger size. And I believed that I was much healthier than I actually was. But then I was confronted with the realization that I was very overweight, out of shape, and unhealthy, when my doctor found it necessary to prescribe medications to treat the effects of my poor health, and a family member confronted me on my overeating. I realized that I was endangering not only my own life, but also the care and well-being of my family.

It was then that I embarked on a journey that (literally) changed me into a different person. I changed some of my eating behaviors, incorporated several tools to help me maintain a daily awareness – most helpfully, an app on my phone – and gradually implemented moderate exercise. The results shocked me – I consistently lost several pounds a week, losing a total of 50 pounds in just under four months to reach my goal weight (and I have since maintained my healthier weight and lifestyle). My greatest moment of joy came when I was able to once again wear the leather bomber jacket that my wife had given me at our wedding 26 years earlier.

I had tried to lose weight at other times in my life, but it never went well, nor was it ever sustained. What motivated me to make the change this time, and then keep it off? There were three things that I can point to. First, I was confronted by people who matter to me, in a way that connected to my core values and beliefs. In a conversation about behavior that honors God, one of my children said, “But dad, you don’t seem to have a problem with gluttony, and the Bible calls that a sin.” Ouch. I realized that my child was learning from my behavior, and I had to question whether or not I really did want to honor God. Second, I was equipped with the simple tools I needed. I had been reading a book about leadership, and the book was teaching a valuable lesson by using a weight loss study to make a point about sustainability. The author referenced a study that said people who kept weight off for 6+ years had three things in common: they weighed themselves every morning, they ate breakfast, and they had basic exercise equipment at home. I had and could do those things. Third, I kept myself from discouragement by allowing what I call “micropleasures.” I drank my café con leche every morning. I had a piece of chocolate every night. I made food that tasted good. Because I have a sweet tooth and love the taste of food, I needed to do these things to keep from becoming discouraged. Which means that I did these things to keep encouraging myself to move forward.

The point is that people need motivation, but that’s hard.  Some will respond well to more external motivation, while others will resist that. Some seem to have more internal will power and discipline and need the motivation to be internal, where others struggle. The truth is, all of us struggle in both of those at different times in different ways. Therefore, you need to work at intentionally motivating people well, but in a way that benefits them and sustains the change. How do you do that? With a combination of confrontation, equipping, and encouragement.

The task for you, then, is to find the right balance of those things, in a way that fits your context and your people. Confront them with need and value of change but connect it to what matters to them. Make it easy for them to have access to the tools they need. And then provide continuous encouragement throughout the change process.

The bottom line is that motivation done well can help you initiate and maintain change. If it’s done poorly, or forced, the resistance you encounter will derail the change; but even if you can force the change anyway, it won’t last and you will lose people in the process. You need to provide motivation, but the right motivation in the right way. Understand what matters to people, then help them see how the change will benefit what really matters to them, give them the tools they need (don’t make them have to fight for it), and constantly encourage them along the way. Start by practicing on yourself, motivating yourself to make a needed change in your own life, then use that example to help you learn to motivate the people you are leading.

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s In Charge Here? (Part 9, Let’s Get Fired Up!)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book). This week, in part 9, I am discussing one of several lessons on the practice of leadership, and this one is all about motivating your followers.

For over twenty years, I lived my life in the same (over)weight range, always believing that I needed to lose some weight, but never really doing so. I tried a variety of diets and exercise regimens, but nothing ever moved me out of that range, nor did any of them ever become a long-term lifestyle. I finally convinced myself that I simply had a stocky build, and, in fact, I had developed a sense of pride about my larger size. And I believed that I was much healthier than I actually was. But then I was confronted with the realization that I was very overweight, out of shape, and unhealthy, when my doctor found it necessary to prescribe medications to treat the effects of my poor health, and a family member confronted me on my overeating. I realized that I was endangering not only my own life, but also the care and well-being of my family.

It was then that I embarked on a journey that (literally) changed me into a different person. I changed some of my eating behaviors, incorporated several tools to help me maintain a daily awareness – most helpfully, an app on my phone – and gradually implemented moderate exercise. The results shocked me – I consistently lost several pounds a week, losing over 50 pounds in just under four months to reach my goal weight (and I have since maintained my healthier weight and lifestyle). My greatest moment of joy came when I was able to once again wear the leather bomber jacket that my wife had given me at our wedding 26 years earlier.

There were several valuable leadership lessons that I learned from this, but one of the key questions I wrestled with was that of motivation: why had I never been able to get myself to do this before? I had tried so many times but could never seem to light that fire enough to follow through, and I could never seem to find the motivation that would drive me to change. But something was different this time, and I had finally found the discipline and desire to do it. I had discovered the right motivation that worked.

I think this is a question that we all struggle with – how to motivate ourselves, and how to motivate others. There are plenty of theories and ideas about motivation, and I won’t claim to have the corner on an exclusive motivational secret, but I do think we can learn some valuable lessons about it from Ezra. Specifically, Ezra 4:23-5:5 provides us with a scenario that teaches us two important components of motivation.

This passage begins with the halt of the construction on the temple in Jerusalem, when those opposed to the work used the authority of the king to force the Israelites to cease their building. It wasn’t until sometime later, after a new king had come into power, that circumstances led to the restart of the construction. In between, Ezra 5:1 makes the statement that two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, “prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem,” which then prompted the Israelites to begin the rebuilding again.

It seems that whatever it was that Haggai and Zechariah said, it motivated the Israelites to begin the work again, so we need to understand what they said, in order to learn the motivational lesson from their methods. To do this, we need to look at their respective books, Haggai and Zechariah, in which the first few verses of each book introduce that prophet and gives us the context of the messages they each shared. Haggai’s message came first, in the sixth month of the second year of King Darius’ reign (Hag. 1:1), and Zechariah’s message followed two months later (Zech. 1:1). I think that this order matters, because they had different messages that served different purposes. Therefore, it is helpful for us to see what those differences are so that we can learn from their example.

Haggai 1:1-15 provides Haggai’s message, which was one of exhortation, or challenge, in view of the present circumstances and need. In his message from God, he confronted the Israelites for saying that it was not the right time for them to rebuild the temple, and then contrasted the ruin of the temple to the nice homes in which the people were living (vv. 4-5, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!”). When Haggai spoke, he confronted the current culture, presented the need, and challenged the people to respond. His exhortation to them was that it was time to finish the temple; therefore, the temple would need to be completed before God could bless their efforts (v. 4, 8).

Zechariah 1:1-6 provides Zechariah’s message, which was one of encouragement. In his message from God, he contrasted the past failure of the previous generations with the future hope for this generation, reminding them of their future reward and hope (v. 3, Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.). Zechariah encouraged the people with reminders of God’s promise and blessing, to keep the people moving forward. His encouragement was a reminder to them of Gods sovereignty, that He needed the temple, and so it would be built just as He had determined. Therefore, his message reminded and focused on God’s future promise of His presence.

Understanding the messages of these two prophets provides us with two applicable lessons for our own leadership. The first is simply the steps – in this order – of exhortation, then encouragement. People first need to be confronted with the difference between where they are and where they need to be (and the implications of each of those two places; and sometimes – in Christian community – that confrontation needs to be a spiritual confrontation in response to a departure from God). Black and Gregersen talk about this same idea in the book Leading Strategic Change, when they identify the need to “create contrast” as the first step to changing people’s mental maps. Then people need encouragement, to believe that they can do it and that it will be worth it. It is important that encouragement comes after confrontation, in order to lift spirits and inspire confidence, especially if, after the work has begun, people begin to get weary and worn (which often happens).

The second lesson for us is the clear reminder of God’ timing and plan. The context of Ezra 4:23-5:5 paints a picture of God allowing circumstances to carry out His ordained timing, in that the work was stopped until the specific time that God determined He was ready to start it up again. When that happened, nothing could get in the way or prevent it. And on top of that, Haggai 1:14 shows us that God intentionally moved in the hearts of the leaders and the followers at this point in time to begin the work again. Notice, however, that even though God was the one directing the timing, He chose to use men of God to share His message. So, for us, the example of these prophets can remind us that we are instruments in God’s plan; therefore, as we live out His purpose in our lives, we can trust His providence. We still have people to lead and a message to communicate, and we need to make sure that we are communicating His message and not our own, but if we are doing so, we can leave the results in His hands. In that message, we need to confront people with the need for change by providing contrast, but we also need to encourage them with the view of the future that creates a belief in its value. So, do you need motivation? Do you need to motivate others? Combine exhortation with encouragement, and keep your plan aligned with God’s.

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