For Men On Father’s Day

So the Lord said to Moses “Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.” — Numbers 27:18

The Bible makes it clear that men are to be leaders. Leaders in their families, leaders in their communities and leaders in their church.

Leading is usually not a comfortable place to be. It’s much safer to lay back in the crowd, take time to survey the landscape, let someone else set the direction and then judge the reaction to it. If it works, then fall in step. If it gets criticized, distance yourself from it.

This is precisely the way politics works. For example, several of the people running for state and national office in Alabama are trying very hard to become connected with Donald Trump, while doing their best to distance themselves from any hint of being liberal. That’s the safe path to election in this state.

But Christianity is not politics. In fact, it’s the opposite. Politics is the art of being popular, which necessitates drawing attention to oneself. By contrast, Christianity emphasizes humility and service to others. Surrendering self to follow Jesus and his teachings. Politicians lay back, see which way the wind is blowing, and then jump on the bandwagon.

The Bible tells the story of the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. Moses had sent out a group of twelve scouts to see if conquering the promised land was doable. Most of them came back wanting to play it safe. The natives were too big, too strong, too numerous, they reported. There’s no way the Jews could defeat them. Only Joshua and Caleb came back with confidence that, with God’s guidance, they could accomplish anything.

That’s leadership. That’s what it looks like. Not playing it safe, not laying back in the crowd to see what works, what’s popular. Trusting God to lead you in directions that you may not be comfortable with, but are destined to travel. As Moses neared the end of his time on earth, God told him to make Joshua the new leader. The Lord knew Joshua would choose the obedient path, a path that could make him very unpopular with the crowd, based on the negative reports of the other scouts. In fact, at one point the Jews wanted to stone him.

Being a leader makes you vulnerable. Leaders get criticized. People expect them to have all the answers. They expect leaders to be fair, though their own perception of fairness is often skewed toward themselves. Leaders get pressure to succeed. In the business world, an unsuccessful leader gets fired. Who needs all of that?

We do. There has never been a more urgent need for men to step up and stand out, both by word and by example. It’s not a subjugation of women. It’s a complement to them. With God, being an unsuccessful leader is impossible. Even if you don’t please people, you are running the race for which you were created. Pleasing people is not the goal.

It is particularly critical for the men of our senior generation, of which I am a part, to set this tone for our younger observers. They need to see men of conviction, unafraid to proclaim the word of Christ, unafraid to be the first in line for ministry and prayer, unafraid to trust in God’s providence with our finances.

We’ve raised our families. We’ve shown them how to work hard and provide. We’ve shown them how to love and forgive. Now let’s show them how to lead.

It’s a man thing.