Monitoring and transforming the culture of teams

Monitoring and transforming the culture of teams
10 I also discovered that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers who performed the service had gone away, each to his own field.11 So I reprimanded the officials and said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" Then I gathered them together and restored them to their posts.12
Neh 13:10-12 (NASB)



15 In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food.16 Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem.17 Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day?18 "Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath."
Neh 13:15-18 (NASB)



O - Every culture returns to its root nature if not guided and lead until true transformation has occurred. Here Nehemiah who had gone back for a period of time to serve Artaxerxes in Babylon, returns to Jerusalem to find that the culture was sliding back to it's sinful nature that had brought it into exile in the first place. We see here that he first focuses on the temple and servants of God who had been neglected. It occurred because the Levites relied on the offerings of the people to support them, so they could do the work of the ministry. Instead what was happening is one high priest was storing up treasures for himself. As a result the temple was being neglected (he used rooms in the temple to store his treasure) and the Levites neglected, resulting in the Levites slowly going back home to get their own provision going. Then Nehemiah observed that in all of Judah, the sabbath was being ignored, yet another indication of a backsliding culture who had only so recently repented, been restored.



A - The application for me, especially with regard to project management and leadership is to recognize some basic principles of leading during times of transformation of culture, as well as basic principles of God's kingdom.



1. Take care of those who are serving the core culture preservation

When it comes time to change or correct culture there will be a key core people you need to take care of to ensure they are well provided for, so as to ensure their focus never has to turn to their fundamental needs, but can instead focus on transforming and maintaining the culture that is trying to be set. For me personally this applies to trying to transform the culture of the project with regard to Project Management Fundamental principles. My role is to make sure the provision for the APS's, CTE's, PEPM, ZM's is there for them to successfully focus on disciplining the entire team to principles and culture we are trying to set. I am to make sure I am not storing up treasures for myself that can be utilized for their support; I am to be sure the entire command is supporting there physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs, from there they will have

2. Ensure there is rest, and reflection by the body as to what culture we are trying to set

The sabbath is a fundamental principle that when violated can crumble a culture. In order to have the strength to transform culture and be disciplined to Godly principles the principle of sabbath rest and reflection is essential to follow. It allows for a time to recover your energy, recover your perspective, and look forward to where you need to go. Those teams that violate the principle, begin to burnout, never see themselves going off course, and ultimate end up back to the culture they had determined they needed to get away from. For me on project teams, I see this in the transforming of the culture.



P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for today's devotion may it be sealed to my heart. I pray Lord that you would continue to reveal your kingdom principles, and transform my ways as a leader so that I might effectively lead the teams you have placed me on, and might transform the culture to one that glorifies you, and proves that your grace, love, and strength are sufficient to support, and transform any group of people, if they would follow your principles of worship and sabbath. I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.