One of the most disturbing verses in the Bible is Nehemiah 2:10! SERIOUSLY! Nehemiah has a white hot vision from God…a passion to do something about a problem that many people had probably identified but no one had taken action on. He had raised the resources and established an action plan…
And the Bible clearly says in Nehemiah 2:10 that two guys didn’t like it at all.
What I LOVE about that passage is that all that is said about it was these guys didn’t like it…the very next verse picks up with Nehemiah going ahead with the vision God had placed in his heart…even though with some people it was wildly unpopular (and they let him know this throughout the book.)
(BTW…it is complete foolishness to believe that everyone will be excited and supportive about what you know God has clearly spoken to your heart to accomplish!)
I would almost be willing to bet my last Bible that Nehemiah wasn’t the first person to identify the problem…and I would dare say he wasn’t the first person to try to do something about it. BUT…the ONE THING that set him apart as the guy who did the “impossible” was that he was completely willing to make a decision that was unpopular with some for the good of so many others!
That is what leaders do! I’ve seen SO MANY TIMES a leader identifies the problem but just lacks the stones to pull the trigger and do what needs to be done…and so we see organizations repeating the same mistakes over and over because someone isn’t willing to sacrifice popularity for the sake of progress!
Take our government for example - I had a conversation with a politician the other day and told him that I believe real change will never happen in our country until someone is willing to step up and announce that the emperor has no clothes…and then clearly define what must be done about it. Seriously…it will take a politician that is willing to sacrifice his political career and be hated by special interest groups and lobbyists if he/she is serious about making progress. Unfortunately…to many politicians care more about their careers than the people they represent…and so I fear our country is doomed to cruise in the cul-de-sac of insanity.
This is true in our churches and ministries as well…it takes courage to declare that a program no longer is effective…it takes courage to call out poor performance…it takes courage to admit making a mistake - and it is SO troublesome when SO MUCH potential isn’t achieved because leaders are unwilling to be unpopular…because we care more about “them” than we do “Him!” Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic cannot be considered a win…even though the scene changes the result will be the same if MAJOR adjustments are not made.
When it comes to our country…our churches…our denominations…we aren’t lacking wisdom but rather men and women with COURAGE to declare the obvious…and then DO something about it.
Leaders are willing to make tough decisions…EVEN when those decisions are unpopular…and sacrifice their desire to be loved for a desire to see Jesus known!