SERIES: Joshua: Victory through Faith
Follow the Leader
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: The world is made up of leaders and followers. Most of us, if asked to do so, would probably peg ourselves as either a leader or a follower, based upon our personality or our job status or our function in the Church. The fact of the matter is, however, that all of us are both leaders and followers, depending upon which of our relationships is being evaluated. You may be a follower at work and a leader at church; or a leader at home but a follower in the PTA; or a follower politically while a leader in sports.
A common view is that leaders are born, not made. That may be true in some cases, but it is by no means a given. Consider the number of great men and women of the Bible who possessed no obvious natural leadership traits, but who nevertheless became great leaders under God’s tutelage. Perhaps Moses is the paradigm example of the ill-equipped, reluctant, bashful person who was nurtured by God to become a great leader. Others that come to mind are Gideon, Jeremiah, Esther, Timothy, and Barnabas.
If some leaders are made, not born, then the potential for leadership is open to all. That’s why Paul could write to a rather timid young man named Timothy and say, “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” (I Tim. 3:1) Perhaps you have never aspired to leadership because you’re fearful or unsure of yourself. Perhaps you’ve tried it and been burned. Perhaps you’re a leader now but are unsatisfied with the level of your performance. I think you can find encouragement in this first chapter of Joshua. On the other hand, maybe you feel that leadership is totally beyond you, but you want to be a good follower. You can profit from this text as well.
There are a number of models of leadership that are used in our world. There is the autocratic model, the democratic model, the laissez-faire model. These probably all have their place in various aspects of society, but in the Church God’s model for leadership is the shepherd model or the servant model. In Matthew 20:25-26 Jesus addresses His disciples:
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Listen also to 1 Peter 5:1-4:
“To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must (in other words, not because you were drafted), but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”
The Shepherd model offered here involves four aspects: oversight and supervision, leading by example rather than domination, absence of material or monetary motives, enthusiasm and eagerness.
The principle behind this instruction is that since people are very sheep-like, they are more easily led than driven. In fact, throughout the Scriptures the shepherd motif is used to describe God’s care for His people. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, when it is also used to describe the care that church leaders should exercise over their followers.
Joshua is a prime example of the shepherd or servant model of leadership. We see the first hint of this in the ordination or commissioning of Joshua by Moses in Num. 27:15-23:
“Moses said to the LORD, ‘May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.’ So the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the LORD. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.’”
As we saw last Sunday, Joshua was appointed to fill Moses’ shoes, not by accident or by luck, but by God’s choice. And God chose him because he was
a person who knew God,
a person of faith,
a person of action,
a person well-trained,
a person of the Book,
a person of courage.
In addition, however, I want us to see today that Joshua also had some great leadership qualities.
Qualifications for being a good leader
A sense of call. (1-9) Now I’ve put “call” in italics because I know that not every leader receives an audible call to service in the way Joshua received his. God so-to-speak tapped him on the shoulder and said, “I want you.” Far more common, however, is the situation in which a person’s “call” to leadership comes through a wise examination and evaluation of his or her gifts, the circumstances, the timing, and, of course, the willingness of other people to follow.
When I refer to a sense of “call” as a qualification for effective leadership, I am suggesting that the good leader must know he’s where he belongs. Joshua knew that because God appointed him. Back in verse 2 God said to him,
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
There wasn’t much doubt that Joshua was right where he belonged, and that knowledge gave him a strong sense of security. There’s nothing more tragic than an insecure leader. He tends to be defensive, unable to accept criticism, paranoid, and egotistical. Since he’s not really sure he belongs in leadership, he has to generate his own security and then protect it at the expense of those he is trying to lead.
If you’re currently in a position of leadership but are uncomfortable or unsure of yourself in that role, I encourage you to evaluate the situation carefully and seek from the Lord some confirmation of your position. Let me caution you, however, that the mere presence of problems or resistance to your leadership should not, in and of itself, be taken as evidence that you are out of place. Leadership will always have its difficult aspects, and a spirit of courage in the face of problems is essential. A second qualification for effective leadership is …
Clear objectives and decisiveness. (10-11) I’ve put these two issues together because if you have one without the other, you don’t have good leadership. Some people have very clear objectives concerning what needs to be accomplished, but they have enormous difficulty committing themselves to a plan of action. They are indecisive, vacillating, and they leave their followers hanging, always wondering what the next move will be.
On the other hand, there are some people who are very decisive; in fact, they are making snap decisions all the time, but little thought goes into many of those decisions. They lack clear objectives and goals. An effective leader must have both of these qualities. Joshua did, as exhibited in Joshua 1:10-11. Immediately after the Lord’s commissioning of Joshua we read:
“So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp and tell the people, “Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.”'”
The decisiveness is obvious, but so are the clear objectives. No vagueness, no vacillation, no focus groups to discuss river crossings, no action without goals or goals without action. When Joshua spoke, the people knew that he was speaking for God and they knew what was expected of them. That’s one of the marks of a good leader.
Now there are times when even the most gifted leader doesn’t know what to do or even where to aim. When that’s the case, he will wisely admit his ignorance. But he won’t quit leading; he will continue to practice biblical principles as he seeks to fulfill the responsibilities God has made clear.
At an Elder/Deacon forum two weeks ago several people asked for clarification of our goals and our plans for the future as we consider a major facilities expansion. I commented that for myself I have never had much interest in 5-year plans or 10-year plans; rather I have simply tried to be faithful to minister the Word to the people that God saw fit to bring to First Free and leave the results to Him.
Afterwards one of our Elders offered me a little motto that is opposite to what you normally hear, but I liked it: “We don’t know where we’re going, but we do know how we’re going to get there.” In other words, we don’t know what God’s ultimate purpose is through this church, that is, we don’t know how big it will get, we don’t know how many churches we will be called upon to plant, we don’t know how many missionaries we will send out, we don’t know yet whether we will eventually have a Christian school or a lay institute. But we do know that wherever God takes us we’re going to go there as people of the Book, with worship as our priority, with the needs of people as our focus, with theological balance as our goal. Our goals and objectives are spiritual, not numerical.
Now a third leadership quality Joshua exhibited early on is …
Willingness to delegate duty. (11) A great leader of people is invariably a good delegator. He is wise enough to know that he can’t do everything himself and that if he tries, he will fail to release the leadership potential in those under him. There’s just a hint of this in our text in verses 10-11, where Joshua tells the officers of the people: “Go through the camp and tell the people.” Now some leaders would have said, “Gather the people on the banks of the Jordan, I have a speech I want to give.” They thrive on being the one up front, the one who breaks the news, the one who gets the credit.
Joshua preferred to work through others. In this he had a good teacher. Do you remember the story of how Moses nearly suffered a nervous breakdown. It’s found in Exodus 18, where his father-in-law Jethro arrived from Midian for a visit, delighting to see and hear all the good things the Lord was doing for Israel. But then we read in Exodus 18:13‑23:
“The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father‑in‑law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?’
Moses answered him, ‘Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and laws.’
Moses’ father‑in‑law replied, ‘What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people‑‑men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain‑‑and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.’”
Several benefits accrued to Moses through following Jethro’s advice. (1) He was able to concentrate on the higher responsibilities of his office. (2) The latent talents of many of his subordinates were discovered and developed. (3) Peace in the camp was enhanced in that these gifted individuals, who might have become his critics had he continued to keep things in his own hands, now became his staunch allies. (4) The legal process was speeded up, which undoubtedly had a positive effect on those who were waiting for hours or days for a court date. (5) By developing this leadership team Moses also put in place a structure for the survival of the nation after his death.
God assumes full responsibility for enabling His people to fulfill every task to which He has appointed them. However, there are some self-imposed tasks which others should be doing, and we should relinquish them—a severe test for the perfectionist! Moses could doubtless have done the task better than any of the seventy men whom he selected, but had he persisted in doing so, he would soon have been only a memory. Dwight Moody once said he would rather put a thousand men to work than do the work of a thousand men.
We have some excellent delegators on our staff. Paul Stolwyk is a master at it. When he takes on an assignment, the first thing that enters his mind is, “Who can I find to take this over?” Now it’s possible he’s just lazy, but I don’t think so. He has recruited and trained people in every area of his ministry responsibility. Individuals he has poured his life into are now teaching FreeLife. Couples who attended his model small group are now themselves leading small groups. When he goes to the hospital, he generally takes someone with him to show them how to minister to those who are hurting. That’s the sign of a good leader.
A fourth qualification for good leadership is …
Ability to inspire others. (12-15) The power to inspire others to service and sacrifice is a special gift, especially when you need to get them to do something they don’t particularly want to do. In verses 12-15 we find Joshua addressing the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. These three tribes had decided to settle down in the area which is now Jordan instead of crossing the Jordan River to settle in Canaan. Moses had given permission for this, but Joshua knew that the men of these tribes were needed for the conquest of Canaan. So instead of revoking Moses’ promise, which some leaders might have done, he offered a creative alternative.
He granted them the land they wanted but asked that all their valiant warriors help with the conquering of the Promised Land. Then as soon as the job was done, they could return to the east side of the Jordan to join their wives and children. This provided a great incentive to mop up the Canaanites quickly, and it inspired these three tribes to follow Joshua. It is good leadership to provide creative alternatives.
The qualifications for good leadership we have examined here are not just for leaders of nations, as Joshua was. They also work for parents, for deacons, for employers, for pastors, for managers, for coaches—for anyone whom God has placed in a position of leadership. A sense of call, clear objectives and decisiveness, a willingness to delegate duty and authority, and the ability to inspire others are all tremendous assets in shepherding others.
But not all of us are leaders, and none of us are leaders all the time. Therefore, we also need to learn how to follow well in those cases where God places us under the authority of someone else. Consider, then, some qualifications for being a good follower.
Qualifications for being a good follower
Obedience and submission. Again, we have put these two characteristics together because it is important that both be exercised together. It is possible for someone under authority to obey without submitting. You see it all the time in your children as they grudgingly take out the trash or go to bed only because they’re afraid of what they’ll get if they don’t. The children of Israel were both obedient and submissive to the leadership of Joshua, at least at this point. They willingly stated in verse 16: “Then they answered Joshua, ‘Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.’” That is the proper and profitable attitude toward leadership that has been appointed by God and is going where God is going.
But what if your leader is ungodly or is leading in a direction that may not be God’s direction? Maybe you’re not working for a Joshua but for an Ahab. Well, you’ll recall that Romans 13:1 says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” So, there’s a sense in which anyone who has a position of authority over us is owed obedience and submission.
Of course, that obedience and submission is not absolute. There is a biblical principle which at times overrides the principle of authority and that is the principle that “it is better to obey God rather than man.” If the one who is a leader over you tells you to do something contrary to the Word of God or something that violates your conscience, then you must not obey. But if the authority over you tells you to do something that is simply distasteful or inconvenient, then obedience and submission is the proper response.
Willingness to accept a change in leadership (17). I like this principle, as found in verse 17: “Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we obey you.” That’s a super attitude. These people had experienced the leadership of Israel’s greatest prophet, but now they were willing to accept a change. In contrast, some people are always living in the past, reminiscing about the good old days when so-and-so was their coach, when Brother Smith or Brother Jones was their pastor, or when Tom, Dick or Harry was their boss at work. Instead of making the best of the way things are now and trying to contribute to the efforts of their present leader, they dwell on how good things used to be, often exercising a very selective memory.
I remember with some humor one family back in Wichita that would frequently talk about the great ministry of my predecessor. So, when I was with Pastor Hauser on one occasion at our Free Church National Conference, I said to him, “You know, the so-and-so’s certainly did appreciate your ministry.” “They did?” he asked rather surprised. “When I was there, they were always talking about the good old days with the pastor before me.” We had a good laugh about it, but it does show a rather harmful pattern for a follower. Things can be so much more productive if we will accept change in leadership when God brings it about. (By the way, I discovered a fool-proof way to keep people from talking about one’s predecessor—be a church planter, and then you don’t have one!)
Self-discipline (18). Notice in verse 18 the people themselves tell Joshua, “Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!” The people were saying in effect, “We will watch one another and we will apply sanctions against those who refuse to acknowledge your leadership.” Now these sanctions were rather severe, and I don’t think we’d want to adopt such measures today, but there’s a principle here worth adopting. Followers can help or hinder the effectiveness of their organization by either encouraging or discouraging attitudes of criticalness or rebellion in one another.
Take a group in which you are a follower. If another person in the group complains about the leader, what do you do? If you agree with their criticism and then add more fuel to the fire, you are undermining the stability of the group and the effectiveness of the leader. If, on the other hand, you urge the person to go to the one being criticized, or if you offer constructive solutions, then you are showing the attitude of a godly follower.
I am not by any means urging here a blind, unconditional following of human authority. Nor, as someone may be surmising, did I come up with this message in order to send a message to those who may disagree with the resolution the Elders have put before the congregation to be voted on May 19. This sermon was well into development before we even decided to have that meeting.
But while I’m at it, let me address the question of what we do with honest disagreements in the church. I am convinced that God speaks not only through leaders; He speaks also through followers. When the Elders lay a proposal before the congregation, they are in effect saying, “Help us discern God’s will in this matter.” We believe in the priesthood of all believers. We think God is able to reveal His will on such matters through the whole Body.
Now if the issue were doctrinal in nature, or disciplinary, or if it were an issue where we believed the spiritual health of the church was at stake, we wouldn’t be voting on it. The Elders would take their responsibility as assigned in the Scriptures and in our constitution to act on behalf of the church. But on issues where there are legitimate differences of opinion and where godly people disagree, we would rather seek consensus. As God’s people vote their consciences, we will get a good answer, and if I know the leaders and the congregation of this church, we will all support the result, no matter which way it goes.
A fourth and final quality of good followership is …
Readiness to encourage the leader. (17-18) Leadership can be a very lonely position. Most leaders I know are in a great need of encouragement. Many of them have not sought leadership; rather they have found themselves in it by virtue of gifts, abilities, and the need of the hour; some have actually been pressed into leadership kicking and screaming. They’d really rather be following because there is much less pressure. They need encouragement.
I like the way the Israelites encouraged Joshua. In verse 17 they respond, “May the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.” And then at the end of verse 18 they echo the words of the Lord to Joshua, “only be strong and courageous.” In essence they were saying to Joshua, “we need you Joshua! Stand firm! You can do it with the Lord’s help.” And I can just see him responding by hitching up his belt and tackling the cause with renewed vigor.
I have personally never felt a lack of encouragement as your pastor. You have been very good to me in that regard, but I see many leaders, some even within our own church, who need more encouragement from us who are followers. And we do ourselves a favor when we respond, because invariably leaders who feel encouraged lead a whole lot more effectively.
Conclusion: There is one final qualification I would like to mention, which applies equally to leaders and followers. And that is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. In Deut. 34:9 we read that “Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses.” Some Bible versions print “Spirit” there with a small “s,” but I’m strongly inclined to think that the reference there is to the Holy Spirit who gives wisdom. Even more clear is Numbers 27:18, where the Lord Himself called Joshua “a man in whom is the spirit.” Again, I think this is a reference to the Holy Spirit.
When we come to the New Testament, we find that this same characteristic was a constant qualification for leadership, plus a common possession of their followers. The book of Acts, an inspired sourcebook for principles of leadership, demonstrates that the central qualification of those who were to occupy even subordinate positions of responsibility over the temporal affairs of the early church was that they be individuals “full of the Holy Spirit,” men and women mastered and controlled by Him. They were to be known for their integrity and wisdom, but even more for their spirituality. Their selection must not be influenced by considerations of worldly wisdom, financial acumen, or social acceptability, but by their walk with the Spirit.
However brilliant a man may be intellectually, however capable an administrator,
without the filling of the Spirit, he is incapable of giving truly spiritual leadership. To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit. Intellect and emotions and will all become available for achieving the purposes of God. Under His control, natural gifts of leadership are sanctified and lifted to their highest power.
You cannot control, of course, whether your leader or your followers are Spirit-filled. But you can decide whether you will be. We are filled with the Spirit as we by faith submit ourselves to His control. And when a Spirit-controlled leader gets hooked up with Spirit-controlled followers, watch out!
DATE: May 5, 1996
Tags:
Leadership
Delegation
Obedience
Submission