Led into Leadership

Strong and Brave
Joshua 1:1-2:24

"Joshua, be strong and brave! You must lead these people so they can take the land that I promised their fathers I would give them. Be strong and brave. Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything. Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go." (Joshua 1:6-9)

I love this scripture this morning! What a blessing it is to me as I've been praying about the a possible call from God into various leadership positions... in the Graduate Christian Fellowship, ordination in my district, seminary, a possible future in the church. So, it is a great blessing to carefully observe the Lord's advice to Joshua in his new leadership role. He is told to be strong and brave- repeated several times throughout this text. While he must follow the Lord's teachings and study the word in order to follow it faithfully, the theme of being strong and brave is repeated 3 times.

For a woman to take on a leadership role in the church (and I would argue in society in general) is a challenge this day in age. It means contradicting implicit and explicit messages that are thrown at you about the 'appropriate' place for a woman. But with a bit of strength and bravery, I can be a leader like Miriam (Mic. 6:4)- "Have I not sent before thee Moses and Aaron and Miriam to lead thee?" And I do have this strength and bravery at the tips of my fingers, because all I need to remember is that "the Lord will be with me wherever I go." Thank You, God, for giving me strength and bravery... may I always use it to do Your will.

Compassionate
Psalm 41:1-13

"Happy are those who think about the poor. When trouble comes, the Lord will save them. The Lord will protect them and spare their life and will bless them in the land. He will not let their enemies take them. The Lord will give them strength when they are sick. He will make them well again." (Psalm 41:1-3)

Compassion... while this scripture does not explicitly mention compassion as a characteristic of a good leader, it does mention that compassionate souls will be protected and blessed. And anyone who has ever been in a leadership role knows that protection and blessing are two things that leaders can't get enough of. And aren't we all 'leaders' in some circumstance or another?

Of course, when we read that we are to "think about the poor," I'm quite certain that this does not merely mean in contemplation. I remember a Portuguese saying that Pastor Marcos would use: Some people with mansions have "a lot of room to talk about the poor." In thinking about them, we must consider them and consider how the choices we make affect them. It is clear that Jesus associated with poorer people, lived with and among them. And we are blessed for learning from people in different circumstances. Lord, teach me how to deal with the difficulty of appreciating my blessings but also considering those less fortunate than myself and doing what I can to care for them compassionately... leading others to do the same.

Encouraging
Luke 8:26-56

"...While all the people listened, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Jesus said to her, 'Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace.'

"While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue leader and said to him, 'Your daughter is dead. Don't bother the teacher anymore.' When Jesus heard this, he said to Jairus, 'Don't be afraid. Just believe, and your daughter will be well.'" (Luke 8:47-50)

These two accounts in Luke appear to have happened one after the other. Two people reaching out for leadership... and two people encouraged in their belief. This shows some extremely important aspects of leadership.

1) People reach out to true leaders. The woman who was suffering from bleeding actually reached out to Jesus physically, touching His cloak and believing in His power to heal her. In a similar way, when leaders have gained the trust of a group of people, they will come with questions and ask for guidance. This leads to another important point:

2) Leaders should appreciate and invite this and not be 'bothered' by it. When the synagogue 'leaders' suggest that Jairus not "bother" Jesus, Jesus challenges their thinking. He turns to Jairus, encouraging him to believe.

As a writing instructor for English 101/102, I feel like more of an encourager than anything. I believe that people are capable of a great many things of so much more than what they have done. They only need a bit of encouragement to believe what they themselves want to believe- that they can do more, that they can do better. Lord, teach me to believe as faithfully as these humble servants and how to encourage others in their belief... welcoming whoever comes to me searching for You.