Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A Leader's Legacy

I was still thinking about "legacy" from yesterday's post, so I turned to John Maxwell's writings for a few more thoughts on what it means to create a legacy - in the present tense.

The most strategic expression of Moses' leadership had to be his training of Joshua. Through that training, Joshua became a key element in Moses' legacy.

Joshua finished the task that Moses started: leading the people from Egypt into the Promised Land. This was definitely a joint effort: Moses' example and equipping AND Joshua's hunger and giftedness.

Notice the way Moses passed along his legacy:

  1. Moses empowered Joshua and have him authority (Num.27:20)
  2. Moses gave Joshua experience and opportunities for application (Num. 27:21-22)
  3. Moses gave Joshua encouragement and affirmation (Num. 27:23)

Because Moses spent the time necessary to equip Joshua, his dream of Israel entering the Promised Land came to pass even though he did not personally see it happen.

Now that's a lesson in legacy building! How are you going to put it into practice?

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