Leadership Succession

Sometimes when everything rises and falls upon a particular leader the entire organization can possibly be at risk. Some leaders are “larger than life” in their organization. In some organizations the leader is the founder, CEO, President – he is large and in charge because after all, this was his baby.

Moses, the man who started out in a troublesome way with his life threatened by the King of Egypt to being rescued/adopted by the daughter of the very King who threatened his life. He goes on to flee for his life after killing an Egyptian because the Egyptian was beating one of his countrymen. This guy became the leader of the Israelite nation. He served as a servant leader of the Lord. He was the equivalent of our President, a King, or a Prime Minister. The Lord gave him a heads up that he was about to go up onto a mountain to see the Promised Land, but then he would die. Check this out….

15 Moses said to the Lord, 16 ‘May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community 17 to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.’

18 So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so that the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21 He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by enquiring 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.’ (Numbers 27:15-21 NIV)

This leadership succession was not about Moses or even Joshua – it was about the work of the Lord that was ahead. The Lord God was leading this people and He was building into this man named Joshua. Joshua has “The Spirit of Leadership” which is a gift of the Lord. I believe leadership can be a skill that is taught, but I also believe leadership to be a gift from the Lord. It was not an accident that Joshua had already seen the land that they were about to possess. He was one of the spies who spoke valiantly about how they could take the land some 40 years earlier. I love the fact that Moses did not make this moment about him. He drew attention to the Lord and made this moment about serving the Lord.

I believe all godly leaders have a responsibility not only to the people they lead, but to the Lord Himself. I believe that leaders should not make leadership about them, but about the people they are leading. Leadership is ultimately a servant position is God’s economy. A leader is merely the “lead servant”. The succession of leadership comes down to attitude of service and the call of leadership. I’m thankful for so many leaders in my life that have demonstrated servant leadership. This makes leadership succession so much smoother and it’s the honorable and godly way that leadership succession should happen.

Pressing On!

Dwayne