May 2009
KYD [Part 2]
20.05.09 17:16 Filed in: Leadership
If you as a leader are
going to take people to a place you have never been
before, you must at least know where you’re going.
Joshua took the vision that was given to Moses and
put it into action. Take possession of the land. It
was at this point where we see something interesting
happen...
In Exodus 13 Moses lead all of the Israelites out of Egypt to the Red Sea... It was at this point where Moses stepped up, raised his staff and hands and God parted the Sea. Moses didn’t ask for counsel, he didn’t try to win anyone over to this idea, he just did it. This solidified his leadership in the eyes of Israel as the Sea came crashing back onto the pursuing Egyptians. Joshua just took over from Moses and here he finds himself at the crossing of the Jordan River.
Here is where things get interesting... If you remember when God split the Red Sea Moses, stepped up and took action. What does Joshua do? He stepped back and allowed God to shine. The result was the same--the body of water divided and the Israelites walked across the dry land. Joshua did a few things that showed the Israelites a NEW style of leadership that will accomplish the same original goal. Moses stepped up and God used him, Joshua stepped back and God used him. There are a few keys that I want to pull out of this passage for leaders who want to take people to a place they (the leader) have never been before.
1. Joshua sent his leaders to go through the camps and give orders to the people.
2. Joshua then addressed the people to sanctify themselves and get ready for what God is going to do.
Now this last one is the key. If you want to lead people to a place where they have never been before, they need to know that this is God’s plan. The priests stepped into the Jordan River with the Ark of the Covenant (signifying the presence of God) and the River divided.
3. Joshua stepped back and allowed the presence of God to go first.
4. Joshua got the people involved and created a significant moment of honor and remembrance of what God did after they crossed.
I think for most leaders we have a desire for people to follow us. The danger however, is that we have often never been where we are leading. The best thing we can do is keep our distance and allow the presence of God to lead the way.
In Exodus 13 Moses lead all of the Israelites out of Egypt to the Red Sea... It was at this point where Moses stepped up, raised his staff and hands and God parted the Sea. Moses didn’t ask for counsel, he didn’t try to win anyone over to this idea, he just did it. This solidified his leadership in the eyes of Israel as the Sea came crashing back onto the pursuing Egyptians. Joshua just took over from Moses and here he finds himself at the crossing of the Jordan River.
Here is where things get interesting... If you remember when God split the Red Sea Moses, stepped up and took action. What does Joshua do? He stepped back and allowed God to shine. The result was the same--the body of water divided and the Israelites walked across the dry land. Joshua did a few things that showed the Israelites a NEW style of leadership that will accomplish the same original goal. Moses stepped up and God used him, Joshua stepped back and God used him. There are a few keys that I want to pull out of this passage for leaders who want to take people to a place they (the leader) have never been before.
1. Joshua sent his leaders to go through the camps and give orders to the people.
2. Joshua then addressed the people to sanctify themselves and get ready for what God is going to do.
Now this last one is the key. If you want to lead people to a place where they have never been before, they need to know that this is God’s plan. The priests stepped into the Jordan River with the Ark of the Covenant (signifying the presence of God) and the River divided.
3. Joshua stepped back and allowed the presence of God to go first.
4. Joshua got the people involved and created a significant moment of honor and remembrance of what God did after they crossed.
I think for most leaders we have a desire for people to follow us. The danger however, is that we have often never been where we are leading. The best thing we can do is keep our distance and allow the presence of God to lead the way.
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Keep Your Distance
19.05.09 18:12 Filed in: Leadership
As leaders we must
often take people to places they have never been
before. I have heard it said that as a leader I
cannot take people to a place I have not been myself.
(I would suggest that overall this statement is
true.) But what about when it’s not true? I have some
friends that always like to push the line and without
fail if I say something is 99.9% certain, they will
always ask, “Well, what about the 0.1%?” Allow me to
push the leadership line for a second here...
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU AS A LEADER, HAVE TO TAKE PEOPLE TO A PLACE THAT YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE??
I think this is the unspoken challenge of the leader--to take individuals to a place none of us have been to before. Joshua had some very unique challenges he faced as a leader. He had been to the promised land before as a leader underneath Moses. One big problem, it was 40 years ago and he only scouted the land, he never took possession. So what did he do?
Joshua 3:2-5 [MSG]
After 3 days, leaders went through the camp and gave out orders to the people: “When you see the Covenant-Chest of God, your God, carried by the Levitical priests, start moving. Follow it. Make sure you keep a proper distance between you and it, about half a mile - be sure now to keep your distance! - and you’ll see clearly the route to take. You’ve never been on this road before.” Then Joshua addressed the people: “Sanctify yourselves. Tomorrow God will work miracle-wonders among you.”
I think Joshua outlines this instance very clearly and I think there are some truths we as leaders can learn from someone else who had to take people where he had never been before--taking possession of the land. I will be outlining my thoughts over the next few days... In the meantime I would love to hear any of your experiences... leading people to a place you have never been.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU AS A LEADER, HAVE TO TAKE PEOPLE TO A PLACE THAT YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE??
I think this is the unspoken challenge of the leader--to take individuals to a place none of us have been to before. Joshua had some very unique challenges he faced as a leader. He had been to the promised land before as a leader underneath Moses. One big problem, it was 40 years ago and he only scouted the land, he never took possession. So what did he do?
Joshua 3:2-5 [MSG]
After 3 days, leaders went through the camp and gave out orders to the people: “When you see the Covenant-Chest of God, your God, carried by the Levitical priests, start moving. Follow it. Make sure you keep a proper distance between you and it, about half a mile - be sure now to keep your distance! - and you’ll see clearly the route to take. You’ve never been on this road before.” Then Joshua addressed the people: “Sanctify yourselves. Tomorrow God will work miracle-wonders among you.”
I think Joshua outlines this instance very clearly and I think there are some truths we as leaders can learn from someone else who had to take people where he had never been before--taking possession of the land. I will be outlining my thoughts over the next few days... In the meantime I would love to hear any of your experiences... leading people to a place you have never been.