The following article is reprinted from the July 2003 issue of Tri-State Voice.

The Joshua Paradox
Establishing a Meaningful Mentorship Model

A pastor from a major city serves faithfully for over forty years, plants a church that becomes a respected institution with several thousand members, raises up scores of leaders who would go on to shape ministry in the city for decades, and retires the pastorate to serve as president of a Bible College.

Most leaders would read this profile and aspire to something like it. It contains the elements of a great story: longevity, fruitfulness, influence, and legacy. The only thing missing is the details.

Ah, the details. That's where the devil lurks, isn't it?

Beneath the surface lies the murkiness that makes this story a bit more complicated. For all the leaders this pastor groomed, an all too common trait emerged. Rather than embrace his protégés and commission them, as Christ did, to do greater works than he, he seemed threatened by their rise and intimidated by their gifts. Too often, this perceived threat grew into an unhealthy estrangement between teacher and student. When the pastor resigned, he left his church in chaos. No clear successor or team of successors created a leadership vacuum that sent the church into a tailspin. Nearly two decades later, the church survives, but only after years of unnecessary hardship and struggle.

Called different things in different contexts - poor succession planning, power tripping, paranoia, bad discipleship, generation gap, ignorance - this scenario is not uncommon, nor is it reserved for the pastorate. It plays itself out all over the country in countless contexts. Yet a new generation of leaders needs mentors, role models, fathers, and spiritual disciple-makers - people who will invest in their lives, not because of what they can get, but for what they can give.

The Moses-Joshua relationship embodies this. Appointed by God to deliver His people from slavery, Moses understood early on that someone else would lead them into freedom. He recognized the need to "commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for [Joshua] will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land." (Deut. 3:27)

As a result, Moses brought Joshua everywhere, exposed him to the deeper truths, introduced him to intimacy with God, empowered growth, and supported him through difficulty. When Moses visited with God on Mount Sinai, the only other person permitted on the mountain was Joshua. (Ex. 24:13) At the Tent of Meeting, where Moses and God spoke "face to face," he brought Joshua. (Ex. 33:11) After deputizing Joshua to lead a militia against a band of dessert raiders, Moses provided spiritual cover from a nearby hilltop. As long as his hands remained upraised, Joshua prevailed. When he tired and dropped his arms, Joshua lost ground. (Ex. 17:9-14) When it came time to preview the Promised Land, Moses sent Joshua and just eleven others. (Num. 13) When Joshua overstepped his bounds, Moses provided correction. (Num. 11:26-30) After investing in Joshua for forty years, Moses could confidently expect him to fulfill his destiny and lead the people out of the wilderness that Moses himself could not escape.

Sadly, Joshua is a paradoxical figure. For as much benefit as he received from his mentor, Joshua failed to reproduce the investment. He got along great with his peers. Men like Caleb and the other community elders served with Joshua as a great team, and even provided leadership for the people after his death. But Joshua's spiritual legacy did not survive a single generation. The book of Judges opens with one of the most distressing cautionary tails that too few contemporary leaders seem to understand. "After [Joshua's] generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil ... [and] forsook the Lord." (Judges 2:10-12)

Today, as a new generation of young people is beginning to understand the plans and purposes God has for them, many of them are crying out for mentors. Will they find a Moses to embrace them, guide them, and encourage them to greatness? Or will they find a Joshua, someone too busy fulfilling his own destiny to invest in someone else's?

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Additional articles by Jeremy available online:

Why I Support the Billy Graham Crusade (and Pray You Do Too) (March 2005)
Things We Don't Talk About (February 2005)
X Factor: Redefining a Generation for Xmas (December 2004)
An Embarrassment of Riches: Economic Injustice and the Church (November 2004)
Wake Up from Slumber: Civic Hypocrisy and Voter Dysfunction (October 2004)
A Letter to My Son on Father's Day (June 2004)
Fight of the Fatherless (May 2004)
Let's Talk about Sex (April 2004)
Beyond Passion: Living a Crucified Life (March 2004)
Losing Races: A Dream Deferred (February 2004)
From Irrelevant to Revolutionary: A 21st Century Continental Congress (November 2003)
Crisis of Zeroes: Engaging NYC Public Schools (September 2003)
WWJD (What Would Jay-Z Do): Engaging Youth Culture (August 2003)
Young People are NOT the Future: Embracing the YW8? (Why Wait?)™ Generation (June 2003)
Thanks to Heroes (September 2002)
A View from Ground Zero (September 2001)
By Any Means Necessary: Free Hot Dogs and Youth Evangelism (July 2001)
Ground Zero Photos (Photography)

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