Lead Like Nashon

For the past two decades, organizations have been grasping for ways to deal with the alarming rate of change they are experiencing, both internally and in the marketplace. We have developed countless methods for managing change and, despite a completely abysmal record of results, we continue to see that the issue is not one of method but of mindset (choice). Gil Rendle offers a biblical character, Nashon, son of Amminidab, as an example of required leadership:

The Midrash, scholars that give details beyond Hebrew biblical text, tell the story of leaders of the tribes of Israel who gathered at the water’s edge, sat down, and argued with one another about who would go into the Red Sea first. Action was needed, but the leaders did what they knew how to do and had a committee meeting instead. No decision was forthcoming, and anxiety and fear grew and grew. Waiting for a decision no longer, Nashon, son of Amminidab, simply remembered why they were there and the promise that brought them there, so he stood up and began to walk into the water. As the story is told, he walked into the water up to his ankles and the waters did not part. He walked into the water up to his waist and the waters did not part. Up to his shoulders, up to his chin, and the waters did not part. He continued. As he took the step that would have put his nose underwater, the waters parted.

Nashon made a choice that was in his self-interest and did not seem rational, yet necessary to show his trust in God's promises. He made this choice one step at a time based on a vision of the future. His faith and trust in God’s economy, the promised land, is foundational to legacy giving. Thus, the goal is to persuade your leadership who commonly talks about making significant changes and forging unfamiliar territory should make incremental decisions to reach their “promised land.”