10.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• God is a God of order, and he calls us to live in an orderly way.
• By being organised, you can complete the work that God gives you.
• Because of sin and other reasons, it can be difficult to be organised.
  - To organise the different things in your life, you can use different plans. For example: Bill Lawrence’s TRASH plan and David Murray’s five-card plan.

10.2 Nehemiah 4:6-9, 13-15←⤒🔗

(Nehemiah and his helpers were rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Their enemies were trying to stop the work.)

^4:6 So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height. The people were enthusiastic in their work.

^4:7 (4:1) When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry.

^4:8 All of them conspired together to move with armed forces against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it.

^4:9 So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them both day and night.

…

^4:13 So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places. I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows.

^4:14 When I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord, and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!”

^4:15 It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.

© NET Bible

10.3 Being organised is a good thing←⤒🔗

Nehemiah had a very difficult task. He came to Jerusalem because he heard that the wall of the city was still broken down. He told the Israelites (Jews) that it was time to rebuild the wall. But as soon as they started, there were enemies who tried to stop them.

What did Nehemiah do? He prayed. He encouraged the builders. And lastly: he organised. He made sure that everyone was building their own part of the wall. He put out a guard (policemen) to protect the builders and the people of the city. He “looked things over” (verse 14). This means that he made sure that everything was done correctly.

As a Christian leader, you are not building walls like Nehemiah. But you are a servant in the kingdom of God. There will also be challenges in your work. There will also be enemies (especially Satan, the biggest enemy). They will try to confuse and stop your work. To be a good leader, you must pray and plan.  

God made everything beautiful and orderly. He is “not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). He calls us to live in an ordered way, to his glory.

If Nehemiah did not organise the work so carefully, the wall would never be finished. By being organised, you can complete the work that God gives you. You can have more peace. You can enjoy your work more. When you are organised, people will know that they can trust you. These are some of the reasons why being organised is such a good thing.

10.4 Being organised can be difficult←⤒🔗

Sin always brings disorder. Sometimes it is not your own sin which is the problem. Sometimes it is the sin of other people. Think of Nehemiah. He had plans and he had work to do, but enemies were trying to stop him. Because of this, he needed to change his plans and organise the work in a different way.

There are many other things which can make it difficult for us to be organised. Here are some of them:

Sudden challenges in our lives (for example, getting sick or losing a loved one).

Changes in our lives (for example, moving to a new town or getting a baby).

Poverty (for example, if you have a very small home, you may struggle to find enough space to keep your things and to do your work).

10.5 Some plans to help you←⤒🔗

You may never be perfectly organised. But as a Christian leader, you should always try to be as organised as possible. In Lessons 7 and 9, you have learned some important things about organising your money and your time. Here are some ideas for organising other things in your life:

5.1. Organising papers and computer files←↰⤒🔗

Do you have many papers lying around? Or is your computer full of files that you have never organised? Then you can try Bill Lawrence’s TRASH plan:

T – Throw it away (if you don’t need it anymore).

R – Redirect it. (If you do not need it, but someone else can use it, send it to that person.)

A – Act on it. (If there is still something you need to do with this piece of paper or file, then do it!)

S – Save it (If it is not something to throw away, redirect, or act on, then put it in a place where you will quickly find it again.)

H – Halt it. (If you are always getting letters or emails from the same place and you do not read them, then ask the person to stop sending them.)

5.2. Organising emails←↰⤒🔗

If you use emails, here are some ways in which you can organise them:

Check your emails only once or twice a day.

When you read an email, then do one of these things: 1. Answer it immediately. 2. Decide to answer it later. 3. Send it to someone else to read and answer. 4. Delete it.

Do not waste time. Learn how to type fast and do not write very long emails.

If you are asking questions in your email, it is a good idea to number your questions. Then it is easier for the other person to answer you.

5.3. Organising your ideas and plans←↰⤒🔗

The preacher David Murray always carries five small cards with him. These five cards are for five different things:

1. People to visit
2. Things that I need to discuss with specific people
3. Announcements to make in church
4. Sermon ideas
5. Tasks to do

When he thinks of a new plan or idea, he writes it on one of the cards. Perhaps you can follow his example, to organise your own ideas and plans!

5.4. Church documents←↰⤒🔗

It does not matter if your church’s documents are on a computer, or if they are written with pen and paper. In any case, they should be well organised. Here are some ways to organise church documents:

Have a special book or file for church purchases. When something is bought for the church, it should be written into this book or file. The receipt should also be given to the treasurer.

If your church has a computer, make sure that it is safe. Put a password on it and make copies of all the important documents, so that you do not lose them if the computer breaks.

It is very important to have the information of all the church members (on the computer or hand-written in a file).

If the church has books (such as Bibles or Christian books), find a way to organise these books. Write down which books are borrowed by whom. 

Finally, there should be document with information about the church building. Who is responsible for opening and closing the building, cleaning it, and so on? For what other things can the church building be used, and how can it be booked?