Introduction

During the American War for Independence, there was a group of soldiers that were really struggling to get a heavy beam raised up into the right position. The corporal who was overseeing the work kept shouting words of encouragement, but they couldn't manage to do it. Right about that time a man rode up on a horse and asked the corporal why he didn't join in to help the crew. He realized that all it would take was one more person to get that beam in place. Well, the corporal quickly replied, "Do you realize that I am a corporal?" The man replied, "I beg your pardon, Mr. Corporal." And then the man dismounted and went to work with the soldiers until the beam was put in place. When he was done, he came back to the corporal and said, "If you should need help again, call on Washington, your commander in chief, and I will come."¹ Talk about embarrassing. But I think Washington was a good example of what leadership should look like. It's not leadership from afar; it's an involved leadership.

A true leader is a servant leader, not a person who barks orders and knows exactly what everyone else should do. Servant leadership is defined by Jesus this way, "...whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28)

You could not get a higher position of leadership than Jesus had. Yet he was the greatest servant - giving his life for his sheep. He was constantly serving, and this set a high bar for those who followed to enthusiastically want to be like Jesus - to want to serve. A desire for preeminence is the exact opposite of Biblical leadership. Leaders get elevated to leadership because they have already shown themselves to be the best followers, the best workers, and the best servants in the very areas that they intend to lead. Leadership is more about proven competence, proven character, and proven service than it is about getting a position.

Well, in these last verses of chapter 19 we see that Joshua was a model leader. Obviously, these verses don't tell us everything we need to know about Biblical leadership. I've got a leadership conference series on the web² that introduces you to that subject in much more depth than I will do this morning. But these verses give some foundational principles.

And lest you think that a sermon on leadership does not apply to you, let me assure you that most of you already lead in some capacity or another, and so you can learn from these principles. Fathers, you are leading your wives and children - either poorly or well. Mothers, you are leading throughout most of the day when dad is gone. Some of you children are already leading informally. Certainly, you do not have authority, but you still do have an influence upon others. That's a kind of leadership. Some of you children lead others into mischief. That's a kind of leadership, but not the kind that Joshua models. Some of you children have been leading your peers in excellent ways. And Gary and I notice, and we appreciate it. So I assure you that the principles of this chapter can apply to all of us.

There are only going to be two main points this morning: that leaders look to the welfare of those that they lead and that all of us should honor and look to the welfare of our leaders. In the olden days parents taught their children how to give tangible signs of respect and honor, and older children were given increasing responsibilities over younger children to test their leadership. Leadership qualities need to be tested; they need to be constantly tested and evaluated. You don’t put a person into leadership until every aspect of leadership has been thoroughly tested. So test and evaluate your children on these leadership principles.

Good leaders look to the welfare of those that they lead (vv. 49-50)

And we will start with the first main point - that good leaders look to the welfare of those that they lead. I have four sub-points to develop.

Good leaders sacrifice and put their own interests last (v. 49)

The first sub-point is that servant leaders put the needs of others before their own. In other words, leaders are in the habit of going last. Verse 29 says,

When they had made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance according to their borders, the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun.

Notice the first clause "When they had made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance..." Everyone else had gotten their inheritance. Joshua made sure that everyone's needs were taken care of before his own needs were taken care of. He had needs, and we will see that those needs were taken care of. But his passion as a leader was to make sure that no one was neglected. That's a simple principle, but do we live it out?

Some of you children need to aspire to leadership by letting others go first. Believe it or not, pastor Gary and I are always watching and evaluating what kind of character the children in this church are manifesting to see if any leadership traits are being developed by the parents. We are looking to the next generation. And we are noticing some children really rise like cream to the top of the milk. Those are the children who notice needs, and quickly jump to fill a need without being asked. They just notice needs and take care of them. They have eyes of service. That's one of many qualifications for being a leader. And if your children aren't being trained to do this, it reflects poorly on the parent's leadership. But Gary and I are very impressed by some of you children. We can tell that you aren't doing service to impress others. And we praise God for you. We can tell that you just have an eye that looks for opportunities to serve. May all of our children aspire to do that.

But every one of us can actually keep improving on this principle. For example, try once in a while waiting till others have had an opportunity to go through the dinner line. I tend to notice the ones who always dash to the front of the line, and sometimes cut in front of others to make sure they get the best pieces. Don't always be the first children to go through the line. You don't have to be last all the time (I'm not saying that). There may be times when you may need to go through early in order to help a guest feel comfortable going through. That’s great.

Another example, when you are engaging in hospitality at home, try once in a while giving up your best seat up to the visitors or to those who are older than you. It used to be a given that younger children were trained to defer to older children, and older children would defer to adults, and adults would defer to each other.

Here's another example: Children, once in a while try to anticipate the things that need to be picked up from the floor at home without being told by your parents that this is now your chore. Just seek to be helpful. What an incredible blessing it would be to parents to have children who are assigned a task, only to find that the child has already anticipated that task and has completed it, and completed it well, and is now ready for another task that the parent might assign. What a blessing that would be! That is imitating Joshua; and more importantly, it is imitating Jesus, whom Joshua was a symbolic type of. You may remember that the name Joshua was the Hebrew form of the name Jesus, and Joshua was a type who symbolically foreshadowed what Jesus would do. The book of Hebrews is clear on that.

In any case, back to our point - if you have a hard time putting yourself last, ask Jesus to change your heart and to put more of His life and His leadership character into you. Jesus washed His disciples feet and called them to follow His example. What was that example? It was humility, noticing the needs of others, and putting others first. Let me read a passage from Mark 10 that illustrates the exact opposite of Joshua. Beginning to read at Mark 10:35.

Mark 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” [And Matthew says that their mom chimed in and said the same thing. She too wanted her children to be first. Verse 38] 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.”

Why were they not ready for leadership? You've got to remember that during those three years they were being trained by Jesus for their leadership roles. But they were not ready yet because they were seeking to be first. And don't think that the rest of the disciples didn't have the same attitude. They did. The very next verse says,

And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.

Why were they displeased? Was it because they wanted to be last? No. It was because they were jockeying for the position of being first rather than jockeying to see who could serve the best. So Jesus (the greater Joshua) gave them instruction on what good leadership looked like. He said,

42 ...“You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Jesus put Himself last. He washed the disciples feet. He modeled self-sacrificing service. He was the greatest leader of all, but He modeled being the greatest servant of all.

Parents, one of your main roles in life is not to have fun with your friends and see your children's interruptions of your great conversations at the table as being an irritation. See every interruption as an opportunity to train your children to be good leaders. But they can only lay hold of that principle if they see that you have their best interests in mind. And their best interests is not to let them do what they want to do. That's not the point. It is to be cognizant of their sinful inclinations and to disciple them out of those things. But doing that is going to take your own sacrifice of time, attention, emotional well-being, and breaking off a cool conversation to train misbehaving children into model leaders. Parents who put themselves last are in the best position to to train their children to put themselves last. It is an essential component of Biblical leadership.

I read an interesting story of a business manager who modeled this kind of leadership. This is probably an extreme example of this principle, but I found it very interesting.

Ernest “Bud” Miller was the president of Arvida, which was one of the biggest real estate and development companies in the USA. But it looked like it was about to go bankrupt if something drastic didn't happen. So Mr. Miller closed regional offices, reorganized departments, and laid off half of his work force, which meant 1300 people lost their jobs. That may have seemed unkind to those 1300 employees, but by doing this he was being kind to the 1300 people who kept their jobs. It was having a bigger perspective. If the company went bankrupt, everyone would lose their jobs. By making these radical adjustments he turned the company around from being a money-losing operation into being a money-making and very successful operation. I discovered this past week that it was so successful that it got bought out. So it will be interesting to see if the same good leadership continues, or if it goes downhill. But back to the story:

The president (Mr. Martin) realized that in the best interests of the company, he needed to give up his own job. It was a job that was not needed. He realized that you don’t put people into leadership just because they are available and want to be there. And he applied the same principle to himself. He was now geared to thinking about the best interests of the company, not just his own best interests. He said this:

I couldn’t justify me to me. I couldn’t look at the people I let go and say that I applied a different standard to me. Every fiber of my person wanted to stay. But professionally this was the decision that had to be made.

It had to be made in the best interests of the company because he realized that removing his position would make the company better. So he gave up what he calls an “upper six figure salary package.” In other words, his salary was more than half a million dollars a year. He didn't say how much he made, but it was under a million and much more than half a million. But he did it because he wanted what was best for the team as a whole. He put himself last. Brothers and sisters, I think a lot of us can grow in imitating Joshua and Jesus by putting ourselves last and looking to the longterm interests of your family as a whole, or your the church as a whole, or your business as a whole.³

Good leaders are more concerned about God's will than their own will (v. 50a)

The second point is that good leaders are more concerned about God's will than they are about their own will or their own desires. Verse 50 begins with "According to the word of the LORD..." His inheritance was not simply about his will or getting his way done. If the Lord rewarded him, he was OK with it, and if the Lord did not, he was OK with that. He knew God's calling, and he sought to be faithful to that calling no matter how difficult it might be.

When I first came to Omaha, it was definitely not for the reward. Several people in Canada (including the pastor of my home church - who was acting just like Mr. Miller - I very much respect pastor Doug Codling) begged me to come back to Canada (where I had come from) and to become the senior pastor, and offered me a beginning salary of $65,000. I turned that down and I turned down another high-paying salary (at least for 1987 it was high paying), and I accepted a $27,000 salary at my previous church in Omaha purely because I knew this was God's call in my life. I had friends who thought I was crazy. And this was doubly so since I already knew that I was going into a stressful situation. So I could understand their perspective. It was not nearly as good of a job, and it was most definitely not as good of a salary. The salary stayed at $27,000 for the next decade without any raises, but our family prospered in other ways. Why? Because we were following God's calling. It was God's will, not my will that we were about. I was perusing my mission statement during those years - a statement that I still hold to. And I want to read the whole mission statement to you. It says,

I want to live out my callings as husband, father, pastor, writer, teacher and reformer with a constant dependence upon God’s authority, presence and power and with an eye to pleasing Him rather than man. I want every facet of my ministry to be characterized by the overflow of the Spirit’s power. I want to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection in all that I am and do.

I want to model what it means to love and lead my family in the Lord. I want to enable my whole family to feel that they share in my ministry and to find satisfaction in the sacrifices that they make. I want to prepare my children to find God’s purpose for their own lives. I want my wife and I to provide an inheritance of spiritual values, skills and resources that will enable them to stand on our shoulders and go beyond what we will be able to achieve in our life times. I desire to pass on a heritage to my children’s children.

I also dedicate myself to extending the kingdom of God through the local church in outreach, discipleship, teaching, writing and equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. Beyond the work of the local church, God has also given me a burning passion to pray and work towards seeing the whole bride of Jesus Christ strengthened, united and better resourced for the culture-transforming work of discipling the nations (Matthew 28). When God brings such revival upon the world that nations (as nations) are discipled, I want to be used by God to help in the process of teaching them to observe God's biblical blueprints (Matt. 28:18-20).

That has been my calling since 1987. You have your own calling, and there will be financial shortfalls, discouragements, and difficulties that might make you want to give up that calling. And I would encourage you to look to God's will through the Scriptures (and I can show you how to do a Masterplanning Personal Timeline in order to discern that), and to pursue God's will as a follower.

But let me give you a statistic that illustrates why this is so important. Did you know that more than 70% of seminary-trained ministers quit the ministry after just a handful of years, and the reason is almost always the same. It had nothing to do with competencies. Their have been several studies of this phenomenon, and all of the evaluations of what has been going on show that they had the competencies needed, but they lacked some of the other leadership qualifications that I get into in my leadership training seminar that is on our website.⁴

The point is that God's call upon your life (and let me clarify - as defined by the Bible) must come first. We have seen earlier in Joshua that there were others who had already given up on God's calling. It was too hard for them, so they settled for something less. And in the book of Judges, that something less came back to bite them. When I made my mission statement way back in 1987, I had a key caution to continually warn myself about and I had a key encouragement that I kept encouraging myself with. My key caution was from two verses. In John 15:5 Jesus said, "without me you can do nothing." It was a caution to depend upon Jesus in everything that I did. And I have had to keep growing in that as God introduced more and more impossibilities. And let me tell you, everything God calls us to is impossible without Christ. If you are achieving your goals in your own strength, you are probably not fully embracing the call that God has given to you. My second verse of caution came from 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, which says, "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." But my key encouragement was Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Brothers and sisters, as good leaders, showcase this point to your children and help your children to find all the resources they need in God's Word and in His grace to become great leaders themselves.

Good leaders do not have false humility (v. 50b)

But the next phrase, "the city which he asked for" shows that Joshua did not have false humility. He asked for what he believed God's word would consider right and just. That was one failure that I had during the decade that the previous church underpaid me. The church was filled with wealthy people, but they apparently believed in keeping their pastor poor. But I actually fault myself. I should have asked for a raise. That first year I was being paid a third of what the denomination itself recommended. But I felt that humility required that I be passive about that aspect of my calling. Well, that was a counterfeit humility. And it prevented me from buying the books and other tools needed to accomplish what God had called me to accomplish. We were super-frugal, so we still managed, and God multiplied the loaves and fishes. But I failed to realize that there is nothing righteous about false humility.

And false humility can keep you from pressing into the high calling that God is calling you to. Now I will admit that this is a hard balance to maintain. And figuring out the balance of putting yourself last (which I was good at) and yet pressing for what is appropriate reward is a hard balance to find. But good leaders have the kind of confidence that avoids selfish self-centeredness and avoids the opposite extreme that hurts the family and prevents you from fully achieving your calling. My temptation towards false humility made me not want to bring myself up as an example at all in this sermon. It's rare that I do so, but I believe the Lord led me to do so this morning. I have had to grow in some areas, and I hope to grow in my character till the day I die. But leaders should never stop improving themselves. OK, enough on me and my negative example.

Good leaders never retire from service to God, though they may retire from one kind of service (v. 50c)

The fourth sub-point is that good leaders never retire from service to God, though they may retire from one kind of service. Joshua was no longer needed as a commander in chief of the national army, so he retired from that position. A-OK. But he did not retire from taking dominion. It's OK to retire from your company, but never ever retire from service to God and others.

Let me expand on this. A lot of the Israelites got already-cultivated-land that could be instantly occupied. Not all of them did, but most of them did. But Joshua had his work cut out for him in fixing and cultivating what he asked for. Verse 50 goes on to say,

they gave him the city which he asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim; and he built the city and dwelt in it.

I won't get into the fact that he asked for a city rather than several thousand acres of farmland. There is something that can be learned from that, but I'm going to stick to this point. He was an Ephraimite, so he dwelt within the inheritance of his tribe. But this verse says that he built a city. He didn't need an entire city for himself or even for his immediate descendants. So who did he build the city for? No doubt there was a good chunk of it was developed for his descendants, but I believe he welcomed a lot of the other Ephraimites into his city, and he became the mayor of the city. And that required a lot of work. He had to clear forest, since that was a forested area, he had to repair damage to the city that was apparently destroyed, and he embraced a new job as a mayor. Since Joshua was 85 years old in chapter 14, many commentators guess that he was 90 or more in this chapter. So he started his new work at age 90 and he didn't die till he was 110. And according to Joshua 24, he was buried in the city that he served in. Archaeology believes they have found the huge tomb that honored him. But the point is that he faithfully served for another twenty productive years. Imagine what would have happened if he had retired like most people do when they are at the end of their first career. That was OK as a stepping stone, but he didn't believe in retiring from service to the Lord.

And it is my opinion that good leaders should never retire from service to God. Even if they are wheelchair bound, they can still serve God through conversations, phone calls, letter writing, prayers, counsel, strategic giving, and other work. Unless I am comatose, I don't plan on retiring from service to God until the day that I die. And even then, I plan to serve God throughout eternity with a perfected soul - and (after the resurrection) with a perfected body. The point is, we were made for service through all eternity, not for lounging and anyone who is sanctified should delight in serving God with the gifts and callings that God has placed upon him. Laziness should have no place in our lives or our children's lives. If you have a tendency towards laziness, crucify it. And certainly you need to help your children to crucify their laziness.

I urge you to imitate Joshua and Jesus in these four principles of leadership. Obviously only four principles are articulated here out of many principles that could be learned, but these are foundational principles. I won’t get into God’s call to force yourself to rest once in a while too. But let’s go to the second main point.

Good followers look to the welfare of those who lead them (vv. 49-51)

What about followers? All leaders must also be followers, so don't think that this section doesn't apply to you just because you own a business, are an officer, or are a parent.

Good followers seek to know what pleases their leaders (vv. 49b, 50b)

The first principle that I see is that good followers seek to know what pleases their leaders. This is true if you are a follower in a business. You should aspire to being the best follower that you can be so as to ensure that your leader's business will prosper. Envy should not have any place in our lives.

In verse 49 it says that "the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun." And how did they know what would please him? They made sure he let them know. Verse 50 says, "they gave him the city which he asked for, Timnath Serah..." Number one, he asked for it; but number two, they delighted in giving him this great location.

But knowing how to please your leaders takes some thinking. When you are seeking to please your peers or your parents or someone else that has blessed you, don't assume they will like what you like. Everyone has a different language of love. Do a little thinking and bless them in ways that they will like. Seek to bless your parents in a way that suits their language of love.

But the main principle here is that good followers are alert to what will please their leader - whether that leader is a boss at work, an elder or deacon at church, a parent, a husband, a mother, or some other leader. Good followership is not grudging followership. It is enthusiastic in seeking to bless and prosper those whom they follow.

Good followers are not stingy with their leaders (v. 50c)

The next sub-point is somewhat related. It says, "good followers are not stingy with their leaders." Joshua had been such a devoted servant that they gave him a a big inheritance. Did Joshua need a whole city and the land surrounding it? Probably not, but they gave it to him because they could tell that anything he had he would use well as a stewardship trust. Thus they blessed him in a way that would benefit not only Joshua, but his descendants - and as I read the text, many other Ephraimites.

Good followers don't just receive ministry from those who lead them; they also minister to their leaders. And I think this congregation has actually been splendid in doing that. I think we have some of the best body life of any church I have seen. And this church is super generous in sharing. I love to see the way you bless each other on the Discord trading, selling, and giving away channel. It shows incredible generosity. The banquet at Jarrod and Kayla’s house Friday night was an incredible blessing and a great way of honoring those who lead week by week in the music team. That’s living out this principle. But there are many other ways that this congregation shows that it has a big heart; a generous heart. You have blessed Gary and me, and should we die, we would want you to be a blessing to whatever leader follows in our footsteps - assuming that he is worthy.

Good followers imitate their leaders by taking an interest in the welfare of the whole body (v. 51a)

But verse 51 also shows that good followers imitate their leaders by taking an interest in the welfare of the whole body. Gary and I put in a fair bit of time seven days a week trying to think and act in ways that will benefit the local body and the body at large. We meet with pastors of other churches seeking to bless them, and we know that you as a congregation have been seeking to bless the body of Christ at large. Praise God! Well, that same spirit is hinted at in verse 51. Verse 51 is a summary statement of the whole land distribution process. This is the conclusion of the previous chapters. It says,

These were the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided as an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So they made an end of dividing the country.

The word "these" refers back to all the allocations we have looked at in the previous chapters. And it is clear from those chapters that this wasn't just an issue of what one family could get. The welfare of the entire nation was being considered by all. And in the book of Judges we see tribes sticking up for each other when their borders were threatened, and neighboring clans helping each other out for the same reason.

And again, I see most of you as being exemplary in seeking each other's welfare and building up the church as a whole. Once again I want to brag on you - that the body-life of this church does my heart good. But I would encourage parents to cast that same vision to each of your children. These patterns of living don't automatically translate to the next generation without conscious planning and effort.

Jarrod was mentioning to me this past week that he would like to be involved in work-day projects at other people's homes. That is one way of seeking the interest of the body at large. It is a sharing of physical labor on projects that are too big for one family to take on, and therefore it gives an opportunity for multiple families to get involved. Now, those work-day projects are not intended to be a welfare program that is helping people who are shirking their responsibility; it is helping out when projects are just too big for one family who is doing its best. We did that sort of thing a lot more in the early years of the church, and Gary and I would be delighted to see that continue. We understand that many of you are super busy. But think of passing on your generous leadership spirit to your kids and involve them in the same kind of selfless ministries that you have been involved in. If you are interested in thinking through what kinds of work-day projects could bless other families in the congregation, talk to Jarrod. And over the next few months the deacons will hopefully be successful in thinking through how to better organize and stimulate such practical ministries within the body and outside of the body.

Good followers also want to see the project brought to its completion (v. 51b with v. 49b)

There is one more point. Good followers also want to see the project brought to its completion. They don't quit until everything is finished. Verse 51 ends, "So they made an end of dividing the country..." But it wasn't just the leaders. As commentators point out, the phrase in verse 49 about "the children of Israel" giving Joshua his inheritance shows that everyone in Israel had a vested interest in making sure these that things happened. But I want to focus on that last phrase, "So they made an end of dividing the country..." The "they" refers to both the leaders and the followers. The word “end” shows that they finished it.

Children, when your parents assign you a task, do you finish half of the project and then quit because you have suddenly lost interest? Let's say your dad asks you to pick up sticks from the yard before he mows. Do you do a thorough job? Or lets say that mom asks you to clean the counter and put all the dishes into the dishwasher. After you have done your job, does she still have to pick up several stray dishes that are scattered here and there that have not yet been put into the dishwasher? Is the counter completely clean?

You see, whenever we have been assigned a job as followers, we need to strive to do an excellent job and not quit till it is really done. And the reason is that we are doing all of our jobs as unto the Lord. We are imitating Jesus, who told the Father, “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). We are imitating Paul, who said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).

When we do our chores as unto the Lord we realize that He sees our labors and He is the one who ultimately blesses us. So, let me ask, what kind of excellence do you put into your work for your employer? It doesn’t matter if your employer is a good leader or not; are you a good employee who reflects the character of Jesus? What kind of excellence do you put into the church jobs that you volunteer for? Is it a half-baked job? And if you do an excellent job, think about transferring some of that passion to your children. You see, parents will need to train their children, and retrain them, and sometimes institute boot camp for them if excellence is not achieved. And if you don’t know what Boot Camp for Children is, talk to Kathy, or me, or Brian, or Kit - or take the parenting class that they will teach in November. These are principles that good leaders pass on to their children because they themselves do their jobs with excellence. Warren Wiersbe wrote a poem on ministry that I think applies to both leaders and followers. And I have put this on the back of your outlines. You can follow along as I read it. It says,

The foundation of ministry is character. The nature of ministry is service. The motive for ministry is love. The measure of ministry is sacrifice. The authority of ministry is submission. The purpose of ministry is the glory of God. The tools of ministry are the Word of God and prayer. The privilege of ministry is growth. The power of ministry is the Holy Spirit, and the model for ministry is Jesus Christ.⁵

I love that! Brothers and sisters, let's ask Jesus to help us to be models to the world and to each other of the fact that we live by the grace of the greater Joshua (Jesus) in everything we do, including leadership and followership. May it be so, Lord Jesus. Amen.