The Next Leaders...

Joshua fought the battle of Jericho but where did he get the know-how? Well, I imagine he watched his predecessor, Moses, follow God into some sticky situations and walk by faith instead of sight. When the time came, he knew how to trust courageously. 

Elisha, the prophet, begged Elijah for a double portion of the Spirit that was upon him before he was whisked away to heaven in a chariot of fire. What made him ask? I imagine he watched some of Elijah's bold prophecies come to pass and observed the wisdom that Elijah maintained in the face of a dark and evil generation. 

The disciples followed Jesus for the bulk of three years, observing His lifestyle, His miracles, His tears, His prayers, and the very essence of His heart. When He ascended up to glory, He sent His beloved followers an overwhelming portion of His Spirit. 

As I survey the three accounts above, I get a pretty good picture of what it takes to be a good leader. 

1) Following and serving well 

2) Being appointed to a position in due time

3) Being filled with the Spirit and walking in dependence on God

I would venture to say that every single person, above the age of infancy, is a leader to some degree. We lead others by example if nothing else. Even the quietest person in the room affects the atmosphere by their demeanor, actions, words or lack thereof. And so, we all lead. Of course, some people are called to lead much larger groups of people and in much more prominent ways than others, but the question remains, How can we be good leaders?

And so, the topic of mentoring comes up. All three of the above leaders walked for some time with the leader who preceded them, before stepping up to the plate themselves. It is clear to see, that people in leadership positions such as mothers, fathers, teachers, pastors, older siblings, elderly grandparents, etc etc. have a strong responsibility to pass skills, wisdom, and guidance on to the people following their footsteps. Someday, we will die and go on to our reward and someone will fill our place. Not only that, many young people are full of energy and simply waiting for something to do with it. What better way to help them (and God's kingdom) than to invite them into our work. Allow them to observe, learn from our mistakes, walk with us, so that they can begin preparing for the day they will carry on our position. Allow them to ask difficult questions and to wrestle with them. Aid them in their search for answers but always make sure they have their own mind too. It is a weak Christian whose entire life is based on the conviction of others. 

It is obvious that a leadership position must be prepared for. Many of us want to do great things without doing the work required to get there. We hope God will miraculously call us out of our pit of self-indulgence and laziness to do some great eye-catching work for Him. I believe there is a reason God often calls the unassuming and "background" sorts of people to be His strongest instruments. They have learned how to be faithful when no one is watching and to stick to the hardest tasks when it would be easiest to quit. They will be the most humble and loyal leaders because they remember where they came from and the miracle of grace that called them. 

In conclusion, if you want to be a leader, find good people to shadow. Mentoring is important. Don't be afraid to ask the right people to speak into your life and by all means dig into the opportunities that are in front of you. He who is faithful in that which is least will be faithful also in much. Those tiny things you attend to now will enhance your larger space someday. Develop your mind according to God's word. Wrestle with difficult passages and seek God's heart. Good leaders must be able to hear God's voice clearly. Become a person of principle and discipline. Above all, follow God's will for your life diligently. He will call you to the place He has for you and only in His perfect will can you ever hope to accomplish the full potential your life has. After all, it never was about you or me. Only about the One who has called us adopted, a peculiar people, chosen, anointed, saints, and His children. We owe our lives as a sacrifice - whether in the trenches, at the ironing board, or on the stage. 

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How Can We Stop Being Afraid of Each Other?

This question was posed at one of our youth discussions in reference to being open and honest with others versus carefully guarded about all things personal. 

I've done some thinking on it since, and it seems to me there are a number of factors that play into this dilemma. One, as I've mentioned on a previous blog post, Will You Be That Place?, is people who gossip and are not trustworthy. These types of people cannot and should not be trusted with anyone's personal life.

A second factor is the playing of the victim card. I have met people who believe everyone is out to get them and they are constantly feeling criticism that doesn't exist. Sometimes this is because they are overly critical themselves and expect the same in return. Other times it is caused by harsh treatment in the past where they were significantly belittled or falsely accused. Fear results, and they continue to live out of that wound of rejection. 

Then a third factor that I have come upon is the way we as humans judge. If we go back to the Pharisees and Jesus, it is quite easy to see a vast difference in the way they viewed and handled people. 

The Pharisees were quick to trample and criticize anyone who was even mildly different than their strict interpretation of the law. There were no grounds for mercy if an action went against what they had deemed to be correct. They watched with horror as Jesus came into a picture:

#1.He loved a woman caught in blatant adultery. 

#2. He healed lepers. 

#3. He asked a Gentile woman for a drink of water.

#4. He spoke to a searching ruler at night. 

Now let us view these activities through the eyes of the deeply religious. 

#1. The woman should clearly have been brutally stoned. 

#2. The lepers were desperately unclean and to be avoided at all costs.

#3. The Gentiles were absolutely untouchable and despised and women in that time period were typically seen as having a lower status than men. Any self-respecting Jewish man would never have stooped low enough, other than spitting, to associate with anyone in that category.

#4. This man was beginning to stray from his proper upbringing. He should have been severely reprimanded and brought back into the correct way. No time for questions when things were already clearly figured out.

And so, I'd like to point out that the Pharisees judged everything through their own hearts and eyes. They saw things from the outside and made judgement calls based on their own understanding. Jesus, on the other hand did not. Of course, He had the extra advantage of being God and being able to see into people's hearts, but it is clear that His entire method of viewing people was completely different than the religious leaders. He valued people for who God had made them. Not by what they did or didn't do but instead for who they could be. 

I wonder what would happen if we would all begin to view people with Jesus' mindset. I believe we would listen a little better, speak a little gentler, and offer a lot more kindness. Perhaps we would all begin to feel safer and more confident, and our churches would become places of healing instead of hurting. ❤️