A Sense of Timing: A Time to Sow
Issue #203, March 22, 2017 The writer of Ecclesiastes, in the passage on timing, says that there is “a time to plant” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). Farmers know that there is a time for sowing seeds in anticipation of a harvest. Leaders also recognize the value of sowing. Leaders “sow” ideas in their own minds and plant […]
A Sense of Timing: A Time to Share Vision
Issue #200, February 8, 2017 Every leader has a vision for the future but many visions fail because the leader shares them at the wrong time. Some share it too early before it is ready while others wait too long and the opportunity passes by. The best leaders, like Nehemiah, have a sense of timing […]
A Sense of Timing: Time to Plan
Issue #188, August 24, 2016 Leaders are people of action and movement. But wise leaders recognize that there is also a time to plan. Jesus taught the importance of taking time to plan. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if […]
Nehemiah: Visions Require Time
Issue #86, July 18, 2012 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. (Nehemiah 6:15) In less than two months’ time the wall was complete. The recording of this time is significant not only in the fact that it happened quickly but in the reality that it took time before […]
Nehemiah: Visions Demand More Communication
Issue #83, June 6, 2012 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we […]
Nehemiah: Visions Require Planning
Issue #81, May 9, 2012 Leaders love to dream about projects and Nehemiah’s dream was worth dreaming about. But dreams alone don’t turn visions into walls. Visions require plans that chart the course and Nehemiah was a master planner. Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey […]
Shape the Vision
Issue #24, February 3, 2010 In the last issue we looked at the characteristics of the vision Nehemiah saw for the people of Jerusalem. Now, let’s step back a moment to look at how this vision was shaped in the life of Nehemiah. Just prior to Nehemiah’s public announcement we find these insightful words, “The […]
Redeeming Time
Issue #21, December 16, 2009 In the last issue we examined ways that servant leaders view time differently. With that foundation, let’s look at some practical steps every leader can take to better manage time. Paul writes that we are to ‘redeem the time’ (Col. 4:5). To redeem is to buy back or reclaim that […]