A Vision for God-inspired Change
We all encounter situations that rock us to the core of our souls. As leaders, we know the weightiness that comes when our church, mission or business goes through a crisis or needed change. When those difficult seasons come, we can keep joy and thrive if we have a vision for God-inspired change.
We have served together on the national leadership team of The Navigators for more than a decade. Through success and failure, we have learned lessons about facing healthy change. We will each share insights on lessons we have learned along the way.
Doug:
Nehemiah’s story reveals the power in a change initiative that springs from God’s heart.
It has been said, “necessity is the mother of invention.” But, as believers, we lead from more than human invention! God, his purposes, and his love for people inspire our efforts.
The character of God and the account of Nehemiah’s Jerusalem rebuilding project can inspire us when facing challenging leadership. Nehemiah’s story reveals the power in a change initiative that springs from God’s heart. Here are three principles that undergird God-inspired change.
Principle 1: Creative God
Lindy:
Scripture reveals that God’s motto is not, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” As unsettling as it can be for us, he is constantly on the move, creating new pathways.
We do stand in faith that two things never change – God and his Word. This truth undergirds our confidence in life and leadership in a distressed world needing stability only God provides.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)
Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matt. 24:35)
As Christ-followers, no matter where challenges show up, we are comforted when we stand in the unchanging nature of God and his Word.
That said, God does not settle for the status quo. Isaiah 43:16-19 says, “This is what the LORD says… “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
All the leaders we see in the Scriptures, including Jesus’ disciples, knew God’s purposes involve change – of context, behavior, systems, or methods. It is unsettling! Consider how the Jews of the first century were upended by the changes God was making through his Son, Jesus!
Our Change Journey
In 2004, the Lord made clear my husband, Vic, and I were to leave our home of 21 years and move to Colorado Springs, to take on increased responsibility in Navigator work. I did not welcome this change and it was hard for us and our family. What I couldn’t see then was all God had in store for me, to equip me for increased fruitfulness. That required being uprooted so that courage, skill, and faith could grow.
We can have confidence and hope when we remember: the changes God asks of us and uses us to initiate are rooted in bringing him glory and fulfilling his earthly purposes, for the good of his people and a broken world.
Principle 2: Captured Heart
Doug:
What do we first notice in Nehemiah’s efforts to bring evidence of God’s glory back to Jerusalem? He was captured by God’s purposes and love for his people. Nehemiah hears that Jerusalem, and its wall, are in shambles and God’s people are “in great trouble and disgrace.” (Neh. 1:1-3)
Nehemiah’s heart response is compelling: “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said: ‘O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel.’” (Neh. 1:4-6)
In 2021, I moved out of my president role at The Navigators. After decades of opportunity in church and parachurch leadership roles, it has been a disorienting time. Through prayer and interaction with younger leaders, God opened my eyes to the unsettling challenges faced by the rising generation of leaders in the body of Christ. Some, serving as church and mission leaders, were barely holding on and others were leaving vocational ministry roles. The shortage of candidates for many of these roles and the burdens current leaders are carrying has broken my heart.
A New Personal Vision
One night, awakened and unable to return to sleep, I grabbed some decaf tea, and opened God’s Word. I read 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Through that passage, God inspired me towards a new personal vision: providing presence, experience, and mentoring to a new generation of leaders among God’s people. That vision gave birth to “7872 Leaders.” It has been thrilling.
God-inspired change begins with the purposes and call of God.
God-inspired change begins with the purposes and call of God. How will the important changes we are considering bring blessing to God’s people and advance his purposes? That kind of vision must undergird our change initiatives, even when they are as mundane and practical as rebuilding a wall!
Principle 3: Casting Vision, Catching Hearts
Lindy:
Healthy change often begins with urgency borne from practical crisis and need, but also from the heart of God. When that purpose is clear and heart-engaging, it ripples out from the leaders responsible for the change to others. Through that vision, God brings the people and resources needed to accomplish his plans.
In Nehemiah, we first see him engage King Artaxerxes, the king of Persia (Nehemiah 2). Despite fear of what the king’s response might be, Nehemiah trusted God, and the king became the primary sponsor and resource for Nehemiah’s leadership – providing authority, protection, funding, and timber for the wall!
Doug:
Nehemiah’s vision casting did not end there. Once reaching Jerusalem, he won the hearts of a local band of leaders who joined him in the work to reestablish God’s glory in Jerusalem.
“I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem… Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” (Neh. 2:11,17)
As leaders, when we engage in God-inspired change, it falls to us to cast a compelling vision of God’s purposes, catching the hearts of others to enlist their gifts and contribution!
Epilogue
No matter what change initiatives we engage in, whether personal or missional, we should not be naïve. There will be opposition and people who fear the new things God is doing. Count on it. But if we enter each change initiative with these three principles in mind, we can lead through them with confidence!
- Stay inspired and led by our creative God who initiates new things.
- Root your initiatives in the heart and purposes of God – and the blessing it will be to his people and those yet to know him!
- Cast the vision and see God bring others to join you each step of the way.
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Dr. Doug Nuenke is US President Emeritus at The Navigators and Founder of 7872Leaders (7872leaders.com), mentoring executive leaders and teams. He has served as a trusted nonprofit leader in church and ministry settings for over 40 years. Reach him at doug@7872leaders.com. Lindy Black serves as a resource and coach to leaders, after 45 years of service with The Navigators. She is a sought-after speaker and mentor for those developing vision and skill as kingdom leaders. Reach her at lindy.black@navigators.org.
Listen to Dr. Doug Nuenke on The Flourishing Culture Podcast as he discusses “Healthy Habits for Long-Term Leadership.”
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