Developing Others as Leaders

3.1 Devotion. Nehemiah Inventorying Strengths, Weaknesses, Prioritizing, and Resourcing

Getting Started

As you might remember from LDR-370, Nehemiah faced numerous challenges when attempting to rebuild the protective gates and wall around Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2–4). In  Nehemiah chapter 2(new tab) , we are told that because of Nehemiah’s honesty, humility, and concern for his people, Artaxerxes, the Babylonian king, was moved to give Nehemiah permission to leave his official post as the king’s cupbearer and provide Nehemiah with the resources needed for the project. The enemies of Israel heard of Nehemiah’s return and began plotting against him. One evening, Nehemiah slipped away to survey the situation and determine what he needed to rebuild the wall. Nehemiah demonstrated that to have proper planning, one must first have an honest look at the situation.

In  Nehemiah chapter 3(new tab) , we learn that Nehemiah was strategic in who he put over certain locations of the wall.  He delegated the work into groups made up of families who lived closest to the sections of the wall they were assigned to rebuild. By assigning the wall sections this way, families were not only closer to the areas where they were rebuilding, but they also took ownership for their sections of the wall. The workers were highly motivated to build their sections of the wall as the work directly impacted their families’ well-being. Also, by breaking the larger job into smaller, more manageable ones, the project moved from a strategic goal to actionable steps.

As Nehemiah and the workers continued, the enemies of Israel tried to attack. Nehemiah and the workers worked with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. Nehemiah grouped the workers so half could work on the wall while the other half protected the rebuilding. At one point, Israel’s enemies asked for Nehemiah to meet with him. His response is recorded in  Nehemiah Chapter 6(new tab) , verse 3, “I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” (English Standard Version). By prioritizing what was most important and praying to God about his plans, Nehemiah led the Israelites to rebuild the wall in a record 52 days. Nehemiah knew he could not rebuild the entire wall by himself so he empowered others so that together, they would succeed. How might Nehemiah’s experience influence you as you look to develop those around you?

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

· Integrate faith perspectives with personal development and professional practice as a leader. 

Background Information

The devotion this week covers Nehemiah 2-6.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.

2. Review the information in the Getting Started section.

3. You may want to refer to your personal Bible for a preferred translation.

4. Write a half-page reflection paper (Word document) that shares your thoughts on Nehemiah’s leadership while rebuilding the wall. What stands out to you most about his leadership and why? Briefly reflect on a personal experience where you were tasked with accomplishing a large goal. How did you respond? Did you use any of the same practices that Nehemiah did?

5. Reflection papers are to be written in accordance with APA Guidelines (7th ed.) including format guidelines. Papers must be logical, well organized, grammatically correct, and have correct spelling and sentence structure.  Write in complete paragraphs.