Pastor Simon McIntyre’s newest book is subtitled, “What I learned when no one was watching, and what I did when everyone was.” This short book (less than 140 pages) is based on the life of Joshua and is packed with a lifetime of leadership wisdom, advice, and instruction. Pastor Simon has been involved in every aspect of church leadership and ministry for over forty years and accomplishes more in this volume than most leadership experts do in twice the pages.
Joshua- Lessons in the Wilderness looks at a man who is often left out of discussions on great Biblical and historical leaders. Most of the time we hear or read Biblical leadership lessons on Jesus, Paul, Moses, or Nehemiah when we are studying the subject. Each of those men were brilliant leaders in their own right. Jesus especially provides us with the servant-leader model of leadership that transcends every culture and has never gone out of style. The task that was before Joshua, after the death of Moses, was as daunting as any facing any leader in history. Joshua’s story deserves a closer look.
For this review, I’ll just focus on one of the many great principles that Pastor Simon discusses. The first chapter deals with “Faith and Fear.” Faith is a common topic in the Christian world. The writer to the Hebrews tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please God. For he who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) We are saved by grace through faith, the Apostle reminds us in Ephesians 2:8.
For a leader, however, faith and fear are the two sides of the same coin. Anything worth doing is going to create some measure of fear, worry, and/or anxiety in that leader. Pastor Simon says, “All leaders may be more well-acquainted with fear than any other emotion. Why? Because going somewhere, doing something that God has nudged us in the direction of, is rarely, if ever comfortable, logical, or likely.” (p. 26)
A couple of pages later he says, “Fear itself isn’t the defining issue; everyone is afraid. In fact, fear is probably a sign of authentic faith. It’s what fear does to us that matters. We either allow it to paralyze us or we choose to walk through it.” (p. 28) Joshua was afraid when it came time to lead the Hebrews into the Promised Land. Instead of allowing that fear to paralyze and stop him, however, he pushed through it, allowing his faith in God to guide him as he guided the people. In the first chapter of Joshua, God told him not to be afraid, but instead, to be strong and courageous. Strength and courage are by-products of our faith. Fear caused an entire generation to miss out on the Promised Land. What has fear cost you? Faith, however, allowed the next generation to step into their destiny, with Joshua at the helm.
To go along with Pastor Simon’s insights into Joshua’s life and leadership, he also shares a number of relevant stories and illustrations from his own life and ministry. Hopefully this taste of Joshua- Lessons in the Wilderness will whet your appetite to click on the link and grab your copy!
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