Leading While Following

Week 3 and getting in the rhythm of reading!

Breadcrumbs for the Journey Hope the wilderness wanderings from the Book of Numbers didn’t get you too dizzy. God was teaching His people discipline, trust, and general toughness to prepare them for the battles they would face in Joshua, Judges and beyond. We see stark contrasts of leadership styles in the readings this week – from the God-dependent leadership of Joshua and Deborah to the self- centered, arrogant leadership of Samson and King Saul. Try to put yourself in the shoes of these leaders and learn from them – the good and the bad. Ask yourself: “When I am in a difficult leadership or life situation and all of the factors seem stacked against me, how do I respond when God is all I have?” Hopefully, we can respond along with Joshua, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Tip of the Week

As you read through the book of Judges this week, realize that there is a pattern or cycle of sin that repeats in Israel’s relationship with God. Try to see if you can see this pattern:

As of today, you are almost 20% of the way through the Bible! Way to go! Keep it up!!

Good to Know

Faithfulness is one of the key themes of the book of Ruth. We see Ruth's faithfulness to Naomi, the faithfulness of Boaz to Ruth, and everyone's faithfulness to God. God, in return, rewarded them with great blessings – Ruth took care of Naomi, Naomi took care of Ruth, then Boaz took care of both women.

Activity For the Week

Robert Clinton has studied and written a great deal about leadership. Clinton has come to the conclusion that over 70% of leaders don’t finish well. For Christian leaders, he offers six factors that contribute to leadership failure. See if you can relate to any of these and try to improve in one of these areas this week:

1. Leaders quit learning and growing. Contentment is a killer.

2. Character weakness. (General Schwarzkopf - “Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.”)

3. Leaders stop living according to their convictions.

4. Leaders stop living and leading for the sake of the long-term and settle for the short-term.

5. They forget their influence and purpose.

6. Leaders who end poorly lose their vibrant relationship with God.

Pressing on with you!

Pastor Todd