The Restoration Herald - Feb 2025
In an environment of an ever-changing workforce, the one thing that can and must remain constant in successful churches and organizations is a winning culture. When it comes to building and maintaining a winning culture, we can look back some 2,500 years ago to a person I call a “culture champion.” That person is Nehemiah. In 586 BC, the Jews were captured and taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II after he conquered Jerusalem. In 539 BC, Cyrus the Persian came to power in Babylon and allowed the Jewish captives to return to Jerusalem. It was about 100 years after that, when Artaxerxes I was in power, that he had a Jewish cupbearer named Nehemiah.
Nehemiah had never lived in Jerusalem but held a special reverence for the famed city of his ancestors. One day, he received the disheartening news that Jerusalem had become a mere shadow of its former self. The city gates had been burned, and the wall around the city had been torn down. This was a tremendous burden to Nehemiah, so much so that he asked King Artaxerxes for permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. The king granted permission and even gave Nehemiah official letters to prove to the territorial governors that he was traveling with the king’s approval. When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he surveyed the task, gave a report to the city fathers, then organized a workforce. However, not everyone wanted to see the wall built. Nehemiah and his team faced fierce opposition from Judah’s enemies. At one point, tensions were so high that Nehemiah required his builders to work with one hand while holding a weapon with the other. Many teams would have folded under such circumstances, but Nehemiah created such a winning culture among his people that no amount of trouble could stop them.
They not only rebuilt the wall but did so in fifty-two days, a fact that is stunning when you consider the wall was almost two miles long and included as many as ten gates and eight towers. People today look at the accomplishment and scratch their heads. It is one of the greatest examples of a winning culture the world has ever known. Throughout the book of Nehemiah, we see timeless principles that produced such a winning, unstoppable culture. They are principles that still work today. Any church or organization that does what Nehemiah and his team did can produce similar outstanding results. Success isn’t about the programs and systems as much as it is about the culture, yet most leaders obsess over the systems and programs while largely ignoring the culture. Nehemiah was a different kind of leader. The following are three timeless principles foundin the book of Nehemiah that can be learned for building and maintaining a winning culture.
Compassion
How you begin matters, but why you begin matters even more. Take parenting for example. If a couple having marital problems decides to have a baby in a last-ditch effort to keep their marriage together, there’s an overwhelming likelihood they will end up divorced with a kid to pass back and forth on weekends. If, on the other hand, a loving couple decides to have a child because they want to build a strong, happy family, there’s every reason to believe they will end up with exactly that.
Today, you can find instructions on how to do just about anything you can think of. Sadly, there’s very little exploration of the why of things, even though the why of anything you do is critically important. Nehemiah’s story is a good example. One day, his brother, Hanani, along with some other men, arrived for a visit. They had been to Jerusalem and knew the city was in great distress with its wall in ruins and gates that had been burned. When they told Nehemiah, he was deeply moved. In Nehemiah 1:4, he tells of his reaction: “So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
This is where we find the why of Nehemiah’s decision to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. It boils down to one word: compassion. Compassion is a feeling of distress or heartbreak over someone else’s dire circumstances, coupled with a desire to help them. During those days of fasting and praying, Nehemiah’s need to do something to help his countrymen grew so strong that he eventually approached the king and asked for a leave of absence so he could travel to Jerusalem and lead a campaign to rebuild the wall. To many in that time, it would have been an insane idea, but Nehemiah wasn’t responding to logic. He was responding to a longing in his heart. We might even call it an obsession. Compassion is one of the most powerful motivators known to man.
About a thousand years ago, a young man named Giovanni Bernadone, who was the son of a wealthy businessman, traveled to Rome. When he reached St. Peter’s Basilica, he was struck by the difference between what he saw inside and what he saw outside. Inside, he saw a level of wealth that took his breath away, while just outside the walls was a level of poverty that was equally as mind-blowing. On an impulse, Giovanni Bernadone persuaded a beggar to exchange clothes with him. For an entire day, he sat outside the gates in rags and begged for alms with the other pitiful, suffering souls. The experience moved him so deeply that he founded a religious order that dedicated itself to helping and ministering to the poor. Today, you and I know Giovanni Bernadone as St. Francis of Assissi.
Yes, compassion is a powerful motivator. In the case of Nehemiah, it’s what compelled him to travel to Jerusalem and undertake a job no one wanted to touch. Compassion not only motivates our actions, but it also determines how we treat people. You’ll never hear of a compassionate person being a controlling dictator. Anyone who has a heart soft enough to break for a cause will be just as soft-hearted toward the people who are helping to achieve that cause.
Humility
A few years ago, a preacher whose name you would know if I shared it, walked down the concourse of the Orlando convention center. He was attending a religious convention with several thousand other people. What made him so noticeable was that he traveled with an entourage of about twenty people. He had a ring of security personnel all around him, guys that looked like they had just stepped out of a movie about the Secret Service. They all looked ex-military and were eyeing the crowd like they expected someone to try something. There were also a few women walking in his group, but the thing that made this entourage so noticeable was the three or four people who were out in front waving their arms, clearing a path for the entourage. “Step back! Clear the way! Make room, please!” Convention-goers were looking around, wondering what was going on, and then noticed the celebrity preacher and his personal parade coming through.
Do you think people were impressed? Do you think they were excited to catch a glimpse of the face they had seen countless times on television and book covers? Let me assure you, they were not. Keep in mind, this was a crowd that knew the Bible. They knew Jesus’s teachings about humility, especially as it pertained to the Pharisees who loved to parade around, announcing their arrival with trumpets. The celebrity preacher at the convention didn’t employ trumpet players, but he might as well have. He certainly made sure he was noticed. What made his arrogance even worse was the fact that there were other equally well-known preachers at that convention who walked the halls and concourses like normal people: no hoopla, no entourage, no people out front clearing a path.
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he had no entourage. He didn’t have armor-clad security guards to protect him or servants to clear a path for him. Nehemiah 2:11 suggests that he instead kept a very low profile, slipping out after dark to look around and with only a few people accompanying him. He could have chosen to create a stir, especially since he was carrying permission papers signed by the king. However, Nehemiah was a humble man who cared nothing about his own notoriety. He wasn’t there to impress people. He was just there to get a job done.
One of the biggest keys to building a healthy culture in your church or organization is humility. Here are three reasons why this is true.
A Big Ego is Off-putting. Think back to the preacher with the entourage I just described. Do you think the people who were shooed to the edges of the hallway to get out of his way found him relatable? Do you think they saw that huge entourage and thought, “Wow, he’s just like me,” and felt their affection for him grow?
Think of someone you know who has a big ego. Someone who always talks about himself. Someone who name-drops. Someone who wants to show you his awards. Someone who can never admit he’s wrong. Then ask yourself if you feel close to this person. Is he (or she) someone you want to be around? Want to work with? Want to spend time with? It is impossible to create a healthy workplace culture when arrogance is ever present. A Big Ego Leads to Poor Performance. People with big egos think they are the answer that is needed in any situation. Not hard work. Not creative thinking. Not better goal setting. Not more training. Not a healthier culture. Consequently, they don’t focus on those things. Rather, they tend to do a lot of talking (about themselves and their successes and experiences) and challenging people to be more like them. I suspect you would be shocked at how many big-ego leaders bounce from job to job, from company to company, from church to church because of poor results. Then, when you ask them what went wrong, they will criticize the people they were leading as just not having the “right stuff” instead of acknowledging that they (the leader) never really came up with a vision and a plan and failed to motivate people.
In the case of Nehemiah, he could have come in waving his letters from the king and throwing his weight around. He could have made demands of the city fathers. He could have shamed them for letting their city fall into such a sorry state, but he knew such an uppity attitude would be poison for the culture he needed to create to get the wall built in a timely manner. Humility Beaks Down Barriers and Brings People Together. One of my MBA professors, Dr. Melvin Holder, is one of the humblest men I have ever known. The following is a summary of a story he tells that explains so beautifully the power of humility to break down walls and bridge gaps.
“On a hectic February day, I rushed to a shopping mall before a tax appointment to buy a Valentine’s Day card for my wife. In my haste, I unintentionally cut off another car in the parking lot. Afterward, I found an angry note on my windshield from the other driver, who had children in the car. Although I initially felt defensive, I decided to apologize. When the driver, a young mother, appeared, I sincerely apologized. Her demeanor softened, and we connected over our shared concern for our children. Despite being late for my appointment, I felt relieved, having made a friend instead of an enemy.”
Quaker theologian William Penn said, “Sense shines with double luster when it is set in humility.” He was right. However smart or talented you are, you become twice that in people’s eyes if you clothe yourself in humility. So do it. If you’ve been one to beat your chest, wave your credentials, and emphasize your successes, resolve to stop such behavior. The willingness of your people to follow you will likely depend on it.
Trust
Nehemiah 3 is an interesting chapter. Some would say it’s a boring chapter because it contains no intrigue, no conflict, and no danger. It’s just a recitation of all the people Nehemiah put in charge of rebuilding the various parts of the city wall. I’m sure a lot of people skim over these verses, anxious to get to the more exciting parts of the story that are coming. But I see something very important here. I see loads of trust. Nehemiah was empowering these craftsmen to do important work. He had no intention of babysitting them or looking over their shoulders. He was going to trust them to do the work and do it right. Trust benefits teams and organizations in five key ways. First, it allows people to relax and be themselves, leading to better relationships and performance. Second, trust encourages open communication, enabling people to speak up about issues without fear of retribution. Third, it accelerates progress, as trusted employees can make decisions without unnecessary delays. Fourth, trust deepens connections, fostering genuine friendships and a strong workplace culture. Finally, trust creates loyalty, as people are drawn to those who are honest and supportive, leading to unwavering dedication. Always remember that trust is a two-way street. For trust to happen, you need more than just
someone who is trustworthy; you also need to be willing to give your trust.
Here are four simple suggestions on how to give your trust:
Give trust thoughtfully.
It’s almost always a bad idea to trust someone from the moment you meet them, even if they seem one step down from a biblical prophet in terms of righteousness. In fact, it’s the people who seem perfect that you need to beware of the most. History is filled with horror stories about preachers, elders, police officers, teachers, and coaches—people we almost instinctively want to trust—who have done terrible things.
Never get in a hurry to give your trust.
Heed the advice of friends you already trust. Sometimes your heart is telling you to trust someone, but a trusted friend is in your ear saying, “No, no! Don’t do it!” In a case like this, never trust your heart…always trust the advice of the person who’s been there.
When you do finally give your trust, give it completely.
There’s really no such thing as partial trust. When a person says, “I trust him, but only up to a point,” what he’s really saying is, “I don’t trust him!” Ask yourself how loved you would feel if your spouse said, “I love you, but only up to a point.” In trust as in love, it’s all or nothing.
Revoke your trust if it is ever abused.
Sometimes you make a mistake and trust the wrong person. It happens. Occasionally, however, you trust the right person, but then that person changes and becomes untrustworthy later. Giving and withdrawing trust is something you will do throughout your life as circumstances unfold.
In the organization you are a part of, organizational culture is something that is lived and experienced by everyone. It’s like your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. You can’t see it, but you can’t help but experience it and share it with everyone. Always remember this: the culture that has been established in your church or organization will have a bigger impact on success than anything else!
~RH
(Endnotes)
All Scripture references are from the NKJV.
Travis Jacob is the Executive Director of Advance Center for Ministry Training and the author of the book Ultimate Synergy: Building and Maintaining a Winning Culture in Your Organization. He also serves as a consultant to businesses and churches helping to build strong relationships with a focus on culture.
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