Leading or Managing?

“Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.” Nehemiah 2:17–18

When the Apollo 13 spacecraft malfunctioned, NASA was thrown into chaos. The astronauts’ lives depended on finding a solution to a problem that had no manual. A group of engineers dumped a box of odds and ends onto a table and were told, “We’ve got to make this square filter fit into this round hole using nothing but this.” That moment wasn’t about management—it was about leadership. Managers keep the routine going, but leaders innovate, inspire, and move people to act when the mission itself is at stake.

Ministry is not assembling furniture with a manual; it’s leading people without one. As John Maxwell says, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”Leadership is contagious! When a leader catches fire with vision, others around him are ignited. That’s why Nehemiah stands out—not because he managed broken walls, but because he led broken people.

1. Managers Maintain; Leaders Multiply

Paul told Timothy, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). Management keeps things running; leadership multiplies influence through others.

Nehemiah refused to be the lone worker. In chapter 3, he delegated the wall’s rebuilding to priests, rulers, goldsmiths, merchants, and even families. By multiplying leaders, he ensured the work would not only be done but would spread ownership among the people. Adrian Rogers once said, “Success without a successor is failure.” Nehemiah’s success was that he didn’t just build a wall; he built a team of builders.

2. Managers Direct Tasks; Leaders Develop People

Nehemiah didn’t just tell people what to do; he told them who they were and what they could become. “Ye see the distress that we are in… come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach” (Nehemiah 2:17).

Managers give assignments; leaders instill identity and purpose. Howard Hendricks remarked, “The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve him, but the number of people he serves.” Nehemiah served his people by calling out their potential when all they could see was rubble. Leaders develop people, not just direct them.

3. Managers Work Within Systems; Leaders Challenge the Status Quo

Jesus stated in Matthew 10:16:“But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”

Leaders break the mold, refusing to settle for “the way things have always been.” Nehemiah confronted the nobles who were oppressing the poor in chapter 5. A manager would have shrugged and kept the system moving. Nehemiah challenged it, demanding justice and restoring dignity to the people. Vance Havner captured this spirit when he said, “The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs. Nehemiah stepped up, not to preserve a broken system but to lead people to something better.

4. Managers Focus on Procedures; Leaders Focus on Purpose

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” (Matthew 28:19). The Great Commission isn’t about method but mission. Leaders know that the “why” always trumps the “how.”

When Sanballat and Tobiah tried to drag Nehemiah into endless meetings and negotiations, he said, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down” (Nehemiah 6:3). That is leadership focus; staying fixed on purpose while ignoring distractions.

5. Managers Seek Control; Leaders Cultivate Trust

Jesus warned, “The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep” (John 10:13). A manager often seeks control because of fear; a leader builds trust so others gladly join the mission.

Nehemiah didn’t hover over every worker. He entrusted entire sections of the wall to families, priests, and leaders. He empowered them to own the work, and the result was strength through trust. John Wooden observed, “The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.” Nehemiah’s life proved trustworthy, and the people followed.

6. Managers Preserve the Present; Leaders Prepare for the Future

Joseph was set over Egypt “to gather food in the good years for the years of famine” (Genesis 41:33–36). True leaders think beyond the present moment.

Nehemiah wasn’t content with a wall; he reestablished worship, restored the teaching of the Law, and led the people in renewing their covenant (Nehemiah 8–10). He looked beyond brick and mortar to spiritual legacy. John Maxwell said, “A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others see.” Nehemiah saw God’s future for His people and prepared them to live in it.

7. Managers Fulfill Roles; Leaders Fulfill Vision

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” - Proverbs 29:18

Managers fill slots; leaders pursue God-given vision. Nehemiah’s vision was not simply to put stones on top of one another. It was to remove reproach, restore testimony, and renew hope: “That we be no more a reproach” (Nehemiah 2:17). Oswald Sanders captured it: “Eyes that look are common. Eyes that see are rare.” Nehemiah saw what others could not, and that vision lifted the people from despair to determination.

Leadership in God’s work is not about managing materials; it is about leading people. Managers keep things neat; leaders keep things moving. Managers hold the past together; leaders open the future before us.

And when he spoke, the people responded: “Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work” (Nehemiah 2:18). That is the power of leadership; it is contagious.

The question is simple: are we merely managing, or are we leading? God’s church needs a plethora of Nehemiahs today; not just supervisors of systems but shepherds of souls who will rise up and build.