The Maxwell Leadership Reading PlanSample

Being Before Doing

On the basis of King Artaxerxes’ decree, Ezra traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1–10). As a priest, he felt committed to establishing spiritual priorities among the people, especially as it pertained to their new temple. One verse reflects the heart of a leader fully committed to his God: “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (7:10). Do you see the order of priorities in his leadership?

1. Learn it: Ezra studied and discovered the truth himself.
2. Live it: Ezra practiced and applied what he had learned.
3. Loan it: Ezra passed on to others what he had already embraced.

Successful leaders must learn to follow Ezra’s model. Dwight L. Moody suggested the greatest tragedy of his day was that Christian leaders attempted to traffic in unlived truth. It is our tragedy as well. We cannot give away what we don’t incarnate. We must import truth before we export truth. God wants to construct our “being” before our “doing.”