Leadership lessons from Joshua

Joshua 1:10-11

¹⁰ So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ¹¹ "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own."

Let’s face it…it is impossible to be a leader of any merit if you don’t communicate with your followers. No one is going to follow you anywhere if you are not effective in telling them (1) Where you are going (2) How long will it take to get there and (3) How hard the journey will be. Even dictators have to communicate to the populous. Yes, you can force someone to go in a certain direction with a gun, but you still need to communicate to them in some form if you are going to get the to go in any direction. Communication is paramount for a leader. And, clear communication is essential for a great leader. The same is true for the Kingdom leader as well. Even though the All powerful God of Heaven and earth was with the people of Israel, Joshua still had to verbally communicate God’s will to them. Consider this; God did not supernaturally “drop” His commands into the heart of the people. No, he utilized Joshua, the leader of Israel, to pass His decrees along to the people. Look at vs. 10, 11 “Joshua ordered the officers of the people: "Go through the camp and tell the people…” it is noteworthy that Joshua not only commanded the officers to tell the entire nation God’s will, but he told them how and what to communicate. This point is immense! Communication is not a frivolous thing—especially for the Kingdom leader. It is the responsibility of the Kingdom leader to clearly convey the heart of God so that there are no questions as to what the will of God is. Often leaders tend to think that by default the organizational structure will ensure people will follow. However, nothing can be father from the truth. Even though the org chart brings order, all inspiration and direction comes through the leader. If you are not a good communicator, you are not a good leader. With out clear guidance, no one is going to follow you anywhere—the clearer the communication the better. Even Joshua had God supporting Him with miracles and signs, and he still had to clearly communicate God’s will to the nation of Israel. Since that is the case, how much more does the leader of today have to clearly communicate God’s will to those people whom he or she leads?