Click to hide HTML preview
The Leader as Steward.qxd
And the twelve called together the whole commu-
nity of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we
should neglect the word of God in order to wait on
tables. Therefore, friends, select from among your-
selves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit
and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this
task."
They had these men stand before the apostles, who
prayed and laid their hands on them. The word of
God continued to spread; the number of the disci-
ples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great
I m a g e s o f
many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
L E A D E R S H I P
Acts 6:2-3, 6-7
C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 0 3
L E A D I N G E D G E®
THE CHARACTER OF A MANAGER
2
NEHEMIAH 1:1-2:18
The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev,
in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, 2 one of my brothers,
Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the
Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about
What do you
Jerusalem. 3 They replied, "The survivors there in the province who escaped
learn about
Nehemiah?
captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken
About his
heart?
down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire." 4 When I heard these
words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying
before the God of heaven. 5 I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and
awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love
him and keep his commandments; 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes
open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and
night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the peo-
ple of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have
sinned. 7 We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments,
the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses.
8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, `If you are
unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9but if you return to me and
keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the
farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at
which I have chosen to establish my name.' 10 They are your servants and
your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong
hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and
to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give suc-
cess to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!"
At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.
2:1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when wine was served him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. Now,
I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 So the king said to me, "Why
is your face sad, since you are not sick? This can only be sadness of the
heart." Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, "May the king live
THE CHARACTER OF A MANAGER
3
forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my
ancestors' graves, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
4 Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God
of heaven. 5 Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your ser-
What do you
vant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city
learn about
Nehemiah?
of my ancestors' graves, so that I may rebuild it." 6 The king said to me (the
About his
mind?
queen also was sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone, and when
will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a date.
7 Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to
the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may grant me pas-
sage until I arrive in Judah; 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's
forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the
temple fortress, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall
occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, for the gracious hand of
my God was upon me.
9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River,
and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent officers of the army
and cavalry with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the
Ammonite official heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had
come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12Then I
got up during the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my
God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was
the animal I rode. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate past the Dragon's
Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that
had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool; but there was
no place for the animal I was riding to continue. 15 So I went up by way of
the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I turned back and entered
by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing;
THE CHARACTER OF A MANAGER
4
I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest
that were to do the work. 17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we
are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild
the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace." 18 I told
What helped
them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the
Nehemiah
build owner-
words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, "Let us start build-
ship of the
task?
ing!" So they committed themselves to the common good.
Identify the steps Nehemiah took from complacent in Susa to rallying the
Jews in Jerusalem.
What did he know? Feel? See? Say?
Where was faith necessary?
5
PLANNING CYCLE
DEFINITIONS
The responsibility or capacity to lead. "A leader is a
Management
is a form of
person with God-given capacity and a God-given responsibility who influ-
leadership.
ences a group of people towards God's purposes for that group." (
Robert
Clinton, The Making of a Leader, NavPress.)
Marshalling limited resources to carry forward the
vision in specific ways.
If you don't have
you don't need
to
them.
If you don't have
you don't have
.
ENLISTMENT: marshalling limited resources of
and
. Building ownership of the vision and the plan.
How to build ownership of the vision? The way Nehemiah did it--
through and
.
VISION
EVALUATION
PLANNING
EXECUTION
DELEGATION
PLANNING CYCLE
6
PLANNING is based on:
Vision: determines the
Reality: determines the
Good delega-
tion involves
mutual
submission.
: pitfalls
Delegating responsibility without
:
we still retain decision-making control and are able to yank from
people's leadership any part of the task at any time. When we del-
egate both responsibility and authority, we submit to those to
whom we've delegated.
Micromanagement: when we delegate the
but
not the
Dilbert reprinted by permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc
EXECUTION
The fundamental quality of a steward:
.
A manager's effectiveness is based on his trustworthiness.
Integrity: We say what we do, and we do what we say.
WHAT WE SAY TO PEOPLE
WHAT WE DO
Planning and preparation
Execution: follow through of the plan
Delegation and empowerment
Evaluation: follow through of the delegation
PITFALLS
Failure to trust others: the
syndrome (Elijah in 1 Kings 19:10: "I alone am left")
Failure to count the cost: the
approach (the five foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-10)
Failure to be trustworthy: dropping the ball (the son who said
"Yes" but didn't, Matthew 21:28ff)
Failure to trust God:
of those
not carrying the weight (Martha resenting Mary, Luke 10:39)
PLANNING CYCLE
7
EVALUATION has something to say about the entire process:
Vision: Were we trying to do the right thing?
Planning: How did the process go?
Delegation: Did we build ownership? Did people join in?
Those who
Execution: Did everyone do what they said they'd do? Did it work?
do not learn
Evaluation: Did we learn?
from the past
are doomed
to repeat it.
VISION
EVALUATION
PLANNING
EXECUTION
DELEGATION
The focus is
growth and
gratitude, not grading.
Improvement and
acknowledgement, not justification.
PITFALLS of evaluation:
Not
Not being brutally honest (focus only on the
)
Not acknowledging and thanking contribution (focus only on the
)
Not
THE PLANNING CYCLE
8
YOUR OWN CASE STUDY OF T H E P L A N N I N G P R O C E S S
Those who
do not learn
VISION AND PLANNING:
from the past
Vision - What was it? Goals?
are doomed
to repeat it.
Reality- On what reality did we
base our plans?
DELEGATION :
How did communication work?
Task oriented or vision oriented?
Did we fall into any pitfalls of del-
egation?
EXECUTION :
How did it go?
Did we meet the goals? Did it
accomplish our vision?
Who did what they were sup-
posed to? Who didn't? Why not?
How did partnership work?
What kind of ministry experience
was this for those involved? How
could it be improved?
EVALUATION :
Did we do it? Did we learn from
it?
How can we build evaluation
into our planning cycle?
N AVIGATING THE TENSION BETWEEN
9
What are some of the tensions you feel in your leadership right now?
Chart where in the navigational channel you feel you are.
How you nav-
igate is, in
Depth of relation-
Breadth of outreach
ships
part, a func-
tion of what
extreme you
Investigative Bible
Intimacy and prayer
studies (openness to
in small groups
fear most.
new people.)
Incarnation in the
Prophetic stance
culture
toward the culture
Appreciation for
Ability to think "out-
authority and struc-
side the box" and
ture
take risks
Spontaneity
Planning
Initiative
Responsiveness
Risktaking in leader-
Concern for maturity
ship selection
in leaders
Expansive new initia-
tives
Building as we go
Quality of product
Ownership and
empowerment of
new leaders
Multi-ethnic out-
Ethnic specific out-
reach and reconcilia-
reach and contextu-
tion
alization
Close supervision
and lots of feedback
Empowerment and
delegation
A NSWERS AND RESOURCES
10
PAGE 5
Leadership, management
Limited resources, manage
Vision, management
Commitment, attention
Planning, delegation
PAGE 6
direction of movement, appropriate next steps
delegation, authority, task, vision
integrity, lone-ranger, last minute, resentment
PAGE 7
doing it, positive, negative, learning from it,
FURTHER RESOURCES
Heads, You Win! How the Best Companies Think, Quinn Spitzer and Ron
Evans. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Enlightened Leadership: Getting to the Heart of Change, Ed Oakley and
Doug Krug. New York: Fireside, 1991.
Scriptures taken from New Revised Standard Version of the Bible,
© U.S. Council of Churches. Used by permission.
L E A D I N G E D G E® ©InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 2003
Click to see HTML preview
