Leaders Develop Other Leaders (Moses)

Shortly after we started Every Generation Ministries, I was introduced to John Bass.

John was the Executive Director of the Crowell Trust. The Crowell Trust was a foundation launched in 1927 and originally funded by Henry Parsons Crowell and Susan Coleman Crowell. Henry Crowell was the founder of Quaker Oats.

John taught me about the foundation world and probably observed that I was a young leader who was long on Bible, children’s ministry, and cross-cultural work but a little short on leadership, management, finances, human resources, planning and running much of anything 😊!

Apparently, I wasn’t alone. In the early 1990’s I was invited to join about fifteen other young leaders all in the same boat…. and taking on water.

John recruited three other older Christian businessmen to teach and mentor the team. It was tough sledding …… for them. The Crowell Trust funded the leadership development program, and we just had to pay for travel and lodging.

We met three-four times each year and they organized teaching topics, practical breakouts, and real skills training. All the topics not covered in seminary!

Things were bad at the beginning. John and the other mentors organized a whole session on “procedures”. The presenter, another veteran Christian leader began with a question.

They asked if anyone knew what a “procedure” was. I looked around and we all had blank faces, so I jumped in and said, “when they take out your appendix or something like that”!

I can still picture the look on John’s face! Little did we know they were referring to the procedures and policies that an organization needs to have in order to operate smoothly, and …….in a God honoring fashion. Oops!

I was part of that group for over fifteen years and then moved over for someone else to enter and enjoy the INCREDIBLE treasure chest of knowledge.

I likely would have capsized as a leader if it weren’t for that experience.

Those four men taught me how to plan, implement plans, hire and “separate” workers, work with a Board of Directors, read financial reports, manage change, maintain mission focus, manage finances, evaluate staff, develop people, identify, and develop emerging leaders and incorporate spiritual life with Christ into everyday leadership. And these are just the topics that come quickly to mind. 

John and his three compatriots understood that effective leaders identify and develop emerging leaders. They did just that and I will be forever thankful. 

Developing Leaders Through Delegation and Shadowing

Leaders developing emerging leaders is another thread running through the Bible.

One of the earliest examples is Moses and his young aide, Joshua. There are several interesting features to Moses’ relationship with Joshua which we will explore.

Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” (Numbers 11:28)

We read in Numbers that Joshua had served as an aide to Moses from his youth.

We are left wondering about when that relationship developed but it would be reasonable to assert that when Moses returned after the forty-year exile, he took Joshua to be his aide.

Whether he may have met him earlier is unknown. The next mention of Joshua is insightful.

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. (Exodus 17:8-13)

After emerging from the Red Sea experience the Israelites travel into the desert and soon find themselves threatened by the Amalekites.

In response to what was developing as an armed conflict, Moses gives Joshua his first ministry assignment. Moses assigned him two important tasks. First, he was to choose men to fight (vs.9). Then he was to lead the men in battling the Amalekites (vs. 9).

There is no evidence that Joshua was a gifted military leader, but Moses must have seen leadership qualities that would emerge in the assignment.

Not only did Joshua gain invaluable leadership experience, he also learned the importance of God being the ultimate source of victory (vv.11-13).

Whether Moses knew what would be required of Joshua in the conquering of the promised land, this experience proved invaluable to Joshua in developing his skills as a military leader. It also established Joshua as a gifted military leader among the Israelites.

Effective leaders assign leadership tasks to emerging leaders as part of their development. Sometimes the leader learns from a negative experience. This was my case.

The internship had ended, and the church called me to a full-time position overseeing the elementary children’s ministry. One weekend I was asked to lead the pastoral prayer in the church service.

The sanctuary sat about twelve hundred people and when I stepped up on the podium, my throat was dry, and my knees were weak. I began to pray and managed to stumble through to the amen.

Returning to my seat next to my wife I whispered in her ear, “how did I do.” Looking back it was kind of weird to ask for an assessment of a prayer, but I really wanted to succeed. She looked over and then whispered back, “you said 'um' fourteen times."

Two things struck me. First, what a blow it! I had let my nerves get the best of me. Second, my wife had been counting.

That ministry assignment proved providential, and I have worked ever since to avoid, um’s, ah’s, you know’s and other nervous filler materials. As a result, I have, um, been, ah, pretty, you know successful 😊!

Not only do leaders assign ministry tasks to emerging leaders, they also practice what could be called shadowing. We see this in Exodus 24:13.

Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. (Exodus 24:13)

Through the history of United States fifteen Vice Presidents have gone on to serve as President. That represents nearly one-third of all the Presidents that have served.

Some came to office through the death of the President (8) and one through the President’s resignation. The others were elected to the office. These fifteen leaders all shadowed the President with which they served.

In each case they learned firsthand what the job entailed and in many cases were viewed by the electorate, to be the best Presidential candidate.

The practice of “leadership shadowing” is common in the business world and give young leaders and managers familiarity with the skills necessary to serve in a leadership role. The term shadow is used to indicate that the merging young leader is never further than a leaders shadow.

Serving as Moses’ aide, Joshua shadowed Moses in general with the Bible pointing out several critical moments when this happened.

In Exodus, Joshua travels up on the mountain with Moses and is present when Moses has the amazing interactions with God, not the least of which was the giving of the Ten Commandments. Whatever, the proximity, Joshua was privy to Moses’ interactions with God like no other.

Shadowing Moses provided Joshua with untold experience in a wide variety of leadership qualities and skills that would serve him well as he emerged as Israel’s leader.

My blog will be posted the same time every week and I hope you can join us next week as we continue looking at Moses relationship with Joshua. The podcast version is available here!