The Challenge of Persuasion

Scripture — Nehemiah 2:17-18 (NRSV)

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.” I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us start building!” So they committed themselves to the common good.

Devotion

My first full-time church job was as the director of a young adult ministry. Central to my job was teaching a Sunday morning class for people ages 18-25. In my first months on the job, I worked extremely hard to get all of the content just right, drawing from my years studying philosophy and Scripture at Harvard. My Sunday morning lectures were intellectually stimulating and theologically demanding, just the sort of thing I would have appreciated when I was in college. I sought to persuade my students to be committed disciples of Jesus in every part of life.

Unfortunately, my efforts at persuasion were not working. Why not? Because the people in my group were not like me. Many of them had never gone to college. Others were part-time students at local community colleges. Most were bright, interested students of Scripture. But I must confess, my lectures for the most part missed the target. My content would have been fine for a Harvard classroom. But I failed when it came to knowing the hearts, minds, and lives of the young people entrusted to my care.

After a few months of teaching, I sensed that I was not connecting with my students. I asked my intern, Steve, what he thought. He said that my lectures were great for him, an advanced seminary student, but were not right for the people in my group. I remember trying to convince Steve that my content was right.

“They should know these things,” I said passionately.

“I agree,” he responded. “But that’s not where they are today. You need to connect with them. You need to know what they struggle with and what they care about. Only then will you be able to teach them well.”

By God’s grace, I was able to hear what Steve was saying to me. I realized that I needed to pay more attention to the people I was communicating with and not focus mainly on the intellectual content of my message in an effort to persuade with lofty ideas.

Persuading people of something is certainly a relational challenge. This is especially true when we’re trying to get folks to buy into something that is demanding, even life-changing, like following Jesus, for example. Or like getting people to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.

As I noted in yesterday’s Life for Leaders devotion, Nehemiah did not immediately announce his plans when he arrived in Jerusalem. Rather, he took time to survey the difficult task that he had taken on, overseeing the reconstruction of the wall of Jerusalem.

When Nehemiah sensed that it was time to persuade his fellow Jews to join him in the rebuilding process, he spoke to them in a way that connected with their minds and hearts. He talked about “the trouble we are in,” not “you,” but “we.” He joined them in their struggle. Nehemiah mentioned the disgrace that they had felt living in a city with destroyed walls. He showed that he understood and shared their emotional pain. But he also testified to God’s gracious help and power. The Jews would not be building on their own, but with divine strength. Moreover, they had the support of the Persian king, documented in letters Nehemiah could share.

Those to whom Nehemiah spoke had spent decades living in shame and insecurity. We have no reason to believe they ever sought to rebuild the wall and repair their lives. They were a defeated, indeed a disgraced people . . . not the sort of people to take on the daunting task of reconstructing the wall of Jerusalem. They might have easily rejected Nehemiah’s plan, failing to be persuaded by him. But because he made a strong emotional connection with the Jews in Jerusalem, Nehemiah convinced them to participate. “Let us start building!” they said. They “committed themselves to the common good” (2:18).

Whether we’re teaching a Sunday school class of young adults, inspiring a team of wall rebuilders, laying out a new vision for our organization, or innumerable other leadership tasks, we would be wise to follow the example of Nehemiah. Persuasion isn’t only a matter of the right content. It also has everything to do with connecting with people deeply. The more we know the minds and hearts of the people entrusted to our care, the more we will be able to persuade them to do what they might never do on their own. I’m not saying that content doesn’t matter, not at all. But even the best content needs to be communicated in a way that fits the audience. Persuading people to do great things is not just a content challenge or a strategic challenge. It is also a relational challenge, one that compels us to relate deeply to those we are leading.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: The North Wind and the Sun .