Characteristics of the Fighting Army: #1 – New Godly Leadership

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Posted by rfathers on January 22, 2010

Now that we have finished the series of seven entries on The New Generation of Fight Men, we move on to the Characteristics of the Fight Army. The series on the Fighting Men dealt with the characteristics that each individual man should strive for while the Characteristics of the Fighting Army deals with the institution of the Army and how it helps to prepare each man and the nation.

The first in this new series is New Godly Leadership. The Fighting Army needs New Leadership. That does not necessarily mean that current leadership of men needs to change, but it does mean that some of the approaches and standards can be improved.

Biblical history shows that Israel had at least three changes in leadership that are important to note in relationship to the new generation of fighting men.

The First Change in Leadership

In the early posts on the old generation of fighting men we showed that this generation had its origin and initial development in the post-Joseph era, after he and his brothers had died.

The Second Change in Leadership

Moses assumed the leadership of Israel after 40 years of preparation in the dessert of Midian under the tutelage of his father-in-law, the Midian priest Jethro, and the Holy Spirit.

Moses leadership was first of all spiritual leadership. His role was to oversee the exodus from slavery in Egypt and the transitional phase in the dessert that prepared Israel to enter the Promised Land.

The Second Change in Leadership

Joshua succeeded Moses as the spiritual leader of Israel. Joshua studied for forty years under Moses in the dessert. His role was to lead the people into the Promised Land and then to guide them as they established the nation of Israel in the Promised Land.

New Godly Leadership Today

We want to highlight seven points of necessity for new leadership today. But, first off, new leadership does not mean that today’s leaders need to be replaced. On the contrary, new leadership means new (or improved) approaches – where applicable. It means being led by God in all things.

1. The Leader Follows God (Deuteronomy 34:9) – The Leader is chosen by God, receives the vision from God and is empowered by God. The Leader is submitted to God and makes sure that where he leads the people is where God intends for them to go (Habakkuk 2:1-3). His strength comes from God and not from himself (Joshua 3:7-8).
2. The Leader Is A Godly Man In Public and In Private (Joshua 24:15) – The Godly leader does not have a double-standard, one for himself and one for the people – or one for his public life and one for his private life. If the leader has anything un-Godly hidden in his private life, it must be rooted out (Proverbs 6:27-28).
3. The Leader Goes Before the People (Deuteronomy 3:28) – The Leader leads the people to accomplish what God has said. The Leader does not follow the people. He leads even when what God has said is unpopular with the people (Judges 6:22-34).
4. A Good Leader Motivates and Teaches the People (Joshua 3:9-13) – A leader must teach and motivate, not just lead. In fact, teaching and motivating is part of leading. A leader should not just tell the people what to do, he must explain the vision he received from God and demonstrate to them so that their understanding is constantly improving. It is much easier to lead a knowledgeable people than to drag along a reluctant and uninformed people.
5. The Leader Challenges the People to Be Holy (Joshua 7:16-20) – A Godly leader can not stand by and allow sin to corrupt the people. He must work to root it out by challenging the people to identify corruption amongst themselves and eliminate it.
6. The Godly Leader Bounces Back From Defeat (Joshua 7:11-12; 8:1-2) – Even the best of leaders will fail (or have setbacks) from time-to-time because they are human and imperfect. However, the question is not whether one fails or not – but rather how one deals with defeat. A good leader will bounce back from defeat – not wallow in it.
7. A Leader Has Faith and Conviction (Numbers 14:6-9) – A leader cannot effectively lead unless they believe what the Lord has said and they are steadfast in their attempt to get it done. Halfway measures will not suffice in the face of stiff opposition like what Joshua and Caleb faced when they returned from spying on the Promised Land.

Are you a Godly leader of people or even just in your home or of yourself?

Let us know how this post impacts you. Please give us your comments below.

This is the first of seven post in the series: The Characteristics of the Fighting Army

In our next post in this Characteristics of the Fighting Army series we will continue with #2 – Those Settled Help Those Not Settled.

Please tell others about this important series on God Is Calling for a New Generation of Fighting Men.