God holds leaders accountable as a watchman to warn their team when they drift from God’s standards. Read Ezekiel 33:1-9.

God had established a remnant of Jews from the nation of Judah in Babylon. Even though they were captives exiled in Babylon their lives had been spared and they had been allowed to establish community. Ezekiel was assigned by God as their prophet to bring His words directly to the people.

A leader will attract like minded individuals. Read Ezekiel 16:23-29.

God delivered a strong message of condemnation of the city of Jerusalem through Ezekiel to the Jews exiled in Babylon. It was meant to dash the hopes of those who still had dreams of returning to their homeland and once again living in the glorious city of Jerusalem. Through Ezekiel God explains to the people the many ways those living in the city had broken their covenant with Him and just why Jerusalem would be destroyed. Verses 23-29 show how the attitude of the religious elite in Jerusalem toward honoring the gods of other nations had given rise to construction of images of pagan gods in public areas of the city and had attracted worshipers of the gods from Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon.

An effective leader uses whatever tools are at their disposal to communicate vision to their team. Read Ezekiel 4 and 5.

Ezekiel’s job was clear. Make the Jewish people who were living in captivity in Babylon aware that God had additional punishment in store for their friends and family still living in Jerusalem. He had to dash their hopes of returning and help them understand why all this was happening.

Ezekiel’s unusual actions were probably the talk of the entire population. He communicated God’s message for the future of Jerusalem and a message of what life in Jerusalem would be like under a Babylonian siege through physical actions and demonstrations. When dialog and word pictures fail a leader may have to live out the vision to help communicate it clearly and effectively to their team.

True visionary leaders often see elements that are a bit overwhelming to their teammates. This feeling of weakness generally turns out to be a strength. If the team does not at least initially feel they are in over their heads there may be no spark of excitement, no challenge to push beyond the status quo.

Wise leaders help their team accept the overwhelming vision by answering a few questions:

• Who will ultimately accept responsibility to complete the vision?
• Is there some evidence that the vision is legitimate? You need to help the team overcome their skepticism.
• What is the hope that the project can succeed? People have seen too many projects that simply turned out to be disappointing and embarrassing. People eagerly desire to invest their time and effort in a successful venture.
• Can the team find enough belief in the leader? If there is a track record of one failed over-the-top vision after another it will be difficult to communicate a new vision to the team.
• Will the team’s legitimate concerns be addressed? When a concern requires faith and trust address it with honesty so the team knows what they are getting into.
• Can you give the team a reason to get past their doubts? Allow them to see the ultimate reward.

Wise leaders find ways to communicate vision. Sometimes that is straight forward and other times, as it was with Ezekiel, it may take extraordinary methods.

Christian leaders must have a belief in the love of a sovereign God. This strong belief allows them to demonstrate hope even during the most difficult times. Read the entire book of Lamentations focusing on 3:19-26.

Jeremiah’s home, the city of Jerusalem, had been destroyed by the Babylonians. The temple, the king’s palace, the city gates, the city walls and virtually every home had been destroyed and burned. This setting of total destruction is when the prophet Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations. The book is named after his lament over the tragedy.

Some leaders fail because of their inability to make the tough decisions. Read Jeremiah 42:1-43:13.

In 586 BC after Babylon captured Judah and exiled most of the populous to Babylon the small contingent of Jews left in the land was made up of the poor, those that came back to Judah from neighboring nations and some field commanders and their troops that slipped through the hands of the Babylonian army. Gedaliah, the governor of Judah appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, was assassinated by a rogue Jewish field commander. The other Jewish field commanders hunted down the rogue army but now those remaining in the land had a decision. Do they stay in Judah believing the Babylonians will accept the flight of the rogue field commander and his troops to Amon as justice for the crime or do they migrate to Egypt, where they felt they would be safe from Babylonian reprisal?