Page 53 - The Bible On Leadership

40 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP

Nehemiah knew that he alone could not accomplish his purpose of
rebuilding the wall; he needed to strengthen the purpose of the entire
team. This he did by reminding them that they were not just rebuilding
a wall, they were rebuilding and defending their families and a nation.
He posted them by families, with their swords, spears, and bows. ‘‘After
I looked things over, I stood up and said to . . . the people, ‘Don’t be
afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and
fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and
your homes.’ ’’ (Neh. 4:14)
Nehemiah was also willing to forgo the corporate ‘‘perks’’ of his day
in order to attain his purpose. Too many of our modern leaders have
been sidetracked from their purpose by the lure of corporate jets and
exorbitant bonuses; even biblical leaders could be distracted by the lure
of increasing their lands or their herds. Not Nehemiah. He stayed ‘‘on
purpose.’’ Out of reverence for the Lord, he did not lord it over others
or acquire large amounts of money, food, or land. ‘‘Instead, I devoted
myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for
the work; we did not acquire any land.’’ (Neh. 5:16) With the help of
a purposeful team, Nehemiah completed the wall in fifty-two days. Not
only did he galvanize the Hebrews, his accomplishment of purpose de-
moralized the competition: ‘‘When all our enemies heard about this, all
the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence. . . .’’
(Neh. 6:16)
Another ‘‘David’’ who rose to challenge the ‘‘Goliaths’’ in its indus-
try is the world’s quirkiest (but probably most ‘‘on purpose’’) ice cream
company, Ben & Jerry’s. At first, all they wanted to do was have fun
and survive (which is extremely difficult when you are selling ice cream
in one of the coldest climates in America, you’re working out of a
converted garage, and you have extremely limited business knowledge).
As they grew, however, they expanded their purpose. In fact, they
expanded it too much; the purpose became diffuse. They found that in
trying to focus on too many areas, they were diluting their overall pur-
pose. Originally, Ben & Jerry’s had four different social agendas: the
environment, agriculture, economic opportunities, and children and
families. They were literally trying to ‘‘save the world.’’ They certainly