Nehemiah had completed the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem. He turned his attention to restoring order to the Temple of God. The Temple rebuild was going to need the right kind of people. Nehemiah outlines who he selected and why. “I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah the Levite in charge of the administration of the storehouses; and I appointed Hanan (son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah) as their assistant.
The book of Nehemiah is a wonderful book on leadership and management. In this story, narrated by Nehemiah himself, you can discover practical methods of moving a dream forward in the midst of dimming optimism. Nehemiah became aware of a need in the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was his ancestral home. He had never been there himself, but he was well aware of its history as the city of God.
When I was a kid for many years on my birthday morning my mom would come into my room. She’d nudge me awake and say, “It was (fill in the blank of my current age) years ago today I had a baby boy.” She would then go on to explain what a blessing I was since my arrival on the earth. Well before the ‘experts’ declared it was good to affirm your children she was hard at it. Unfortunately she never got the memo stating your kids can do no wrong. They never were at fault, or that life was supposed to be fair.
It was developed in Japan in the fourteenth Century. It is called kintsugi. “Kintsugi takes broken pieces of pottery and rejoins them using a lacquer with a beautiful gold powder. The word ‘kintsugi’ literally means ‘to join with gold.’” Peter Scazzero in his book, Emotional Healthy Discipleship, makes this observation. “What makes kintsugi art so unique is that it actually emphasizes the broken pieces rather than trying to hide or disguise them, or discarding the object all together.”
It was on July 20, 1969 that Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the surface of the moon. It was an iconic day. For those who were privy to this in real time it is a seared memory. Who would have thought such an achievement could be made? I believe a few did. Fortunately the few who did were not deterred.
We all have a list. It is a list that we believe best encompasses that which makes someone a quality leader. In many cases a list can become obsolete fairly quickly. What makes a good leader in one context many not be so primary in an entirely different situation. The key is to understand what is needed at any particular time.
Most effective/successful people have failed their way to the success and/or effectiveness they may be known for. These are the people who embraced their failures instead of being embarrassed by them. Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Wisdom can be found in unexpected places. One such place for me was an antique store. I was in a small town on the coast of California. Joni and I were with some friends. We were meandering our way through the rooms full of stuff. It was a homage to the line, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
I have been in some sort of pastoral ministry since 1975. I have had pastoral positions in California, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Indiana. In each situation I felt that God did indeed call me to serve in those locations. The sense of call was consistent. The process of discerning that call was not so clear. I have always felt that God’s call was one of clarity. Like a flash of lighting on a clear day. There would be no mistaking it.
I believe most are aware of BOGO. It is primarily used in marketing. You’ve seen the ads and commercials: Buy One, Get One (BOGO). It can be buy one, get on free; buy one, get one half off. You get it. The come on communication to you is that when you take an action, there will be a positive result.
Seth Godin, in one of his blogs, clarifies the difference between a problem and a situation. He writes, “We can also have conversation on whether it’s a problem (problems have solutions) or whether it’s simply a situation, something like gravity that we have to live with.” He writes this in reference to making a plan. The idea being that a problem can be planned for, a situation… not so much.
If you really want to know what people are like you need to listen to and watch them. You must be attentive to their words and aware of their actions. Words express one’s mind. Words are the verbalization of what one thinks, believes, and opines upon. Words give a sense of where someone stands on a topic. It is a person’s perspective at any given time.
