Page 22 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

Chapter 3: The Servant's Guidance

Connect…

Every Christmas, people watch a movie in America entitled “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Have you ever watched it?
It is about a man who feels his life is worthless, so he considers taking his own life to help his family with his life
insurance money. He felt he was worth more money if he were dead than alive. An angel shows him what life
would be like in his little town if he were never born throughout the movie. He discovered that his life
influenced several hundred people who were blessed because he lived.

In the last chapter, we learned that leadership is influence. Therefore, if your life connects in any way with
another person, you are an influencer. In a careful study of leadership, we will discover that our influence is
not equal with all people. John Maxwell describes four stages of influence that can be found in this study of
influence. Remember, influence is not given instantaneously and usually is given in stages. Let’s learn about
this…

The Lesson ...

Nehemiah 2:1-10 The Servant’s Guidance
In the last chapter, I said that leadership is influence. Therefore, if your life connects in any way with another
person, you are an influencer. In a careful study of leadership, we will discover that our influence is not equal
with all people. John Maxwell describes four stages of influence that can be found in this study of influence.
Remember, influence is not given instantaneously and usually is given in stages.

Level 1: Modeling
“People are influenced by what they see. You can be a model to the masses, but to go to the higher levels of
influence, you have to work with individuals.” It is vital to remember that we all start on this first level.
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Everyone is watching our every move to determine if we are genuine or if we are hypocritical. Proper modeling
will give us the authority to move to the next motivating level of influence.

The proverbial statement that actions speak louder than words matters when it comes to leadership. Modeling
becomes a powerful tool in the hands of an authentic and empowering leader. Nehemiah realized that
modeling servant leadership was God's primary tool to help His people get back to the mission and values laid
out in the scriptures. Why did Paul speak so often about following his example if modeling is not important?

I urge you, then, to be imitators of me. (I Cor. 4:16)
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (I Cor. 11:1)
Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine and learn from those who follow our example. (Phil.
3:17)
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: (Phil. 4:9)
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message… (I Thes. 1:6)
For you know that you ought to imitate us. (II Thes. 3:7)

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