Page 62 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

while I leave it and go down to you? Nehemiah realized that his critics' true intention would be revealed with
time. At this time, leaders need to remind themselves of the many scriptural admonitions that are found in the
scriptures regarding how to deal with criticism. Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven: for the prophets before you are persecuted. (KJV) Notice how our Lord
responded to his critics. 1Peter 2:23 When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He was suffering,
He did not threaten but entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly. (HCSB) Again, I am compelled to
remind you of the advice from one of the most criticized pastors in America. Rick Warren says Life would be a
continual flea hunt if he tried to fight all the criticism and rumors that were being spread about him.

Finally, the true intentions came out when an open letter was sent from Sanballat. His one intent was to create
a question in the minds of the people and the King about Nehemiah's motives. This open letter stated that it is
reported among the nations—and Geshem agrees—that you and the Jews plan to rebel. This is the reason
you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king and have even set up the
prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf: “There is a king in Judah.” But according to Nehemiah's
past character, he responds as he has done in the past. He prays, but now, [my God,] strengthen me. This was
vintage Nehemiah!

Notice how subtle the enemy can be. Sanballat, in essence, was saying to Nehemiah, some rumors are being
spread about you, and we want to help you because the king will hear these rumors. So come, let’s confer
together. Because the criticism was now being publicized in an open letter, Nehemiah was forced to say
something publicly. Sanballat ups the ante by circulating a letter that he intends to be read publicly. This is
something that all spiritual leaders will encounter to a greater degree because of the information age we live in
today. Be careful about backing away, softening, or toning down the gospel message because of these
criticisms. Then I replied to him, “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them
in your own mind.” For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will become discouraged in the
work, and it will never be finished.” But now, [my God,] strengthen me.

He denied the rumors, but he did not start a campaign to discredit the rumors. At this point in the leader's life,
it is critical that "we not allow ourselves to become paranoid and come to the place where we believe everyone
is out to get us. If we don't, we will become immobilized as leaders." 175 Yes, Nehemiah had many critics, and he
was about to discover in the next verses that a dear friend of his had sided with his enemies. But we mustn't
allow fear to cripple our ministry. However, Albert Mohler sounds a warning about the difficulty of developing
leadership credibility in the culture we live in today.

"Leadership may once have been conferred by rank and privilege. (This is more common and acceptable in
Africa, where authoritarian or tribal leadership is practiced.) It may once have been something that was
characterized by a command and control, top-down, do as I say style. But no more. Those days are long gone.
Today, leadership is an aspiration. It is something you have to earn every day because, daily, people choose
whether or not they're going to follow you. It's something you keep trying to achieve and never assume you've
fully attained… The good news is that credibility can be earned. The bad news is that it can also be lost." 176 This
leads us to the third life lesson from this Scripture passage: Nehemiah kept on working despite the danger.

Please do not miss what Nehemiah did after encountering five different attempts to move him off of God’s
agenda. Rather than looking at the mountain of criticisms, he chose to look at the mover of mountains. He once
again looked to the throne of grace and mercies and cried out, but now, [my God,] strengthen me. You can see
that Nehemiah really realized that prayer is the timeless secret of high-impact leaders! (see 1:4, 2:4, 4:4-9, 5:10)
Nehemiah was consistently praying, but he didn’t only pray. He prayed, and he continued to take action by
building.

3. A plot to intimidate him (6:10-14)

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