February 1

Day 324: Go Climb a Mountain

There is a proverbial elephant in the room (if my mind is a room.) On one hand, I don't want to think about it. And on the other hand, it's always there, taking up big space. I cannot help but think about it.

At my (still youthful yet) advancing age, I have to think about transition. I know I will not continue in my present assignment/s forever, nor would you want me to. I have to think about and plan for my successor.

So how fitting today that I read Numbers 27, which includes a transition of leadership. God tells the very aged Moses to go climb a mountain. The last mountain he will ever climb.

God says, climb the mountain, and have a look around. See the land promised to the children of Israel. The land Moses would not be permitted to enter himself. His leadership role was ending. So was his earthly life. In that order. On that mountain.

Moses doesn't go climbing alone. He brings the new High Priest, his nephew Eleazar. And he invites Joshua to join them too. Because God has appointed Joshua to be the next leader. The handoff would be at some altitude.

It wasn't that Joshua was the only possible candidate. Caleb had served the Lord in equal and courageous ways. God honored Caleb, but He chose Joshua.

God tells Moses how to pass the leadership baton. It's to be a serious and formal observance. He is to lay his hand on Joshua. Joshua is to be commissioned before the Priest and before Moses and in the sight of all the people.

And, God instructs Moses to "...invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey."

This does not mean Moses is to give Joshua some of his Holy Spirit anointing. God has already said Joshua has that. (It's an obvious requirement for leaders in God's household.) What it does say and mean is that Moses is to give some of his authority.

Which means Moses must give up some of his authority, position, role, control, reach, influence, etc. Moses is thus told to release a good chunk of his leadership position BEFORE he dies; not afterward.

This post is not intended to be some flimsy veneer on an announcement. I have nothing to announce. Well, perhaps just the following...

I intend to do what Moses did. I don't know when the Lord will tell me to go climb a mountain. (Hopefully, it's just a day trip, and not the last day.) But I cannot ignore the call to prepare for transition, and thus prepare for a successor.

I have watched too many seasoned, mature (older) pastors, even here in town, selfishly hang on too long. In fact, many of these have hung on until a toe tag is hung on them.

In so doing, they have left their respective churches floundering to figure out "what next?" Some really bad (panic) hires have happened in response to this very scenario.

That, to me, is not godly leadership. The men God puts in place to lead some of God's people need to know some vital things. 1) a present assignment is not a guarantee of permanence. 2) a godly leader should always be investing in other leaders. 3) a godly leader should always, always be praying for and prepping his church for the next guy.

It's not like Moses was given a choice. He didn't have opportunity to negotiate with God over his remaining lifespan. But, he did ask God "Who?" And God answered with Joshua.

And the choice of Joshua must have made Moses smile. Because Moses had invested in Joshua over a lot of years. Through a lot of shared experiences. Joshua was the right guy to lead the nation forward.

But that couldn't happen until Moses was out of the way. Until Moses obeyed the command to 'Go climb a mountain.'