Change Style with Role

 

We all grow in many areas of life with time. Our roles and responsibilities also change. We hear about people who started at the bottom of an organization and grew up to become top-level executives. In some cases, the changes are based on people’s desires, and circumstances and situations sometimes force them to transition to a different role.

We have different seasons in spiritual life and ministry, and we may not always be given the same assignment. There will be changes and movements, and our role may change. I taught Sunday School for many years in different churches, and it is now more than ten years since I have taken a Sunday School class regularly. My first job was as a teacher. In a few years, I moved on to programming and, after some time, moved to another role.

One area we see the change of role is leadership. Many people do not spend time training or equipping themselves as they transition to a new position and struggle, and they do not change their approach and style when moving to a different role. When I say style, I mean “a manner of doing something.”

In the Bible, we see many people transitioning to different roles with time and based on need. Nehemiah served the king in the palace, but he picked up the burden of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem when he was made aware of the situation. He becomes a builder and then governor. In every situation, he functioned as needed. He identified a need and then came up with a solution. He also delegated the responsibility. He not only motivated people but also worked with people.

Nehemiah was a leader who combined prayer and planning. He operated as the situation demanded, but one thing consistent was his prayer life. He encountered his burden and challenges with prayer. As God gives us different assignments or responsibilities, we need to adapt to the situation, but one thing which needs to be consistent to see success is prayer.  

Yes, we may have to change our style of operation based on the situation and the role we are assigned, but we need to remember that to be successful as Christian leaders, we need to be prayerful. One style that should not change or get impacted as our responsibilities change is our prayer style. It should improve or increase but not go down as we progress in life.