Outsiders’ demands have a tendency to sidetrack a leader from accomplishing the goal. Effective leaders stay focused on the vision and goals rather than giving time to every peripheral demand. Read Nehemiah 6:1-9.

Several regional leaders had enjoyed great favor with the Persian kings and had great wealth and power from the area known as Judah before the Jews had resettled the land after the Babylonian exile. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem were all regional leaders or area governors of Judah and Jerusalem prior to the Jews being allowed to leave exile in Babylon to resettle the land. Every step the Jews made to become self-sufficient and a sovereign nation directly serving the king of Persia threatened their power over them and their ability to tax them. A wall being built around Jerusalem would greatly diminish their ability to intimidate the Jews living there and exacting taxes from this group would be virtually impossible.

Decision making is one of leadership’s core competencies. The ability of a leader to make good decisions in a timely manner differentiates between poor and good, and between good and great leaders. Read Nehemiah 1:1-11.

Nehemiah was faced with a huge challenge. The walls of Jerusalem were in disrepair, and the returned exiles were vulnerable and disheartened. Nehemiah used some elements of decision making that can help any leader facing the next major decision:

Something powerful happens when a Christian leader has a broken heart for the people and prays for guidance. Read Nehemiah 1:1-4.

Nehemiah was a Jewish man who served King Artaxerxes of Persia as a cupbearer. He was not only a personal attendant to Artaxerxes but part of his job was to sample the wine and food placed before Artaxerxes to insure it was not poisoned. It was a job that called for complete trust between the king and Nehemiah. Nehemiah’s job called for his presence in Babylon with the king but Nehemiah’s assignment from God would be to go to Jerusalem to lead God’s people to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem and re-establish a national unity and pride as God’s people.

We live in a world where comic books, movies and cartoons about super heroes have glorified courage and risk taking. Unfortunately, the impression left is that only a few “specially qualified” individuals have what it takes to change the world. Leadership, whether in a family structure, the corporate or ministry world, the military, or in politics, requires courage and risk-taking. Leaders don’t have to be super heroes to demonstrate the courage to take risks if they understand who empowers leadership. Read Ezra 3:1-13.

In 538 BC, the Persian King Cyrus decreed that the exiled Jews could return to their homeland and rebuild the temple. Under the leadership of Jeshua, a priest, and Zerubbabel, from the lineage of David, approximately 50,000 of the one million exiled Jews responded to Cyrus’ offer. Those who did risked all they had to leave a relatively comfortable life in Babylon to endure a difficult journey and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple in a very hostile environment.

Leadership, by its very nature, inspires people to move in directions they would not otherwise have been willing to go. From time to time, good leaders inspire their team to be part of excursions into unexplored territory. This kind of risk taking will draw on a leader’s courage and can challenge their team to accomplish far beyond what they believed was possible.

The same source of courage that empowered Jeshua, Zerubbabel and the team they led from Babylon to Jerusalem in 538 BC is available today for any leader who is willing to look to the source of all power. When faced with a risky decision, the godly leader will look to God in prayer and to God’s revealed Word, the Bible, for the perspective and courage to make the right choice.

What situations are you facing that require courageous leadership and involve taking a risk? It serves a Christian leader well to remember God’s words found in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Effective leaders see a better future for their organization and act upon that vision. They demonstrate courage based on conviction and make the hard decisions needed to bring about change. Read 2 Chronicles 34.

“Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25). Josiah “walked in the ways of his father David, not turning to the right or to the left” (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now that is a legacy every Christian leader would love to have.