I sometimes find it helpful to think in pictures. Pictures and images can serve as footholds which allow our simple minds to not slip down the slopes of abstraction and theoretical complexity. Pictures can be simple touchstones to come back to when the difficulty of a task or concept can blur the clarity we once enjoyed. 

I came across a useful foothold picture like this while in my regular devotion time the other day. I was reading the famous text in Joshua 3 which chronicles the people of Israel crossing the Jordan into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua. 

But first … a disclaimer.

I am deeply aware that the image that I will talk about is not the primary or foremost meaning of the text, and yet I couldn’t get the image out of my head. There is clear and acknowledged discontinuity between the role of the Levitical priesthood and the roles described for church leaders in the New Testament, especially as we are recipients of the superior priesthood of Jesus Christ (see all of Hebrews for reference.) And yet, there is also the continuity of the dignity of the role in the life of all believers who are now referred to as a “royal priesthood.” So while there is no longer the necessity for leaders to offer atonement in any way for their people, there is still the dignity of priestly presence in the people of God, and it is able to be displayed not just by an ordained few, but by all who desire to join in the work of the ministry of the church in any way.

So what’s the image and how does it prove helpful in church leadership?
It is the image of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord into the Jordan river, and staying there until all the people had crossed over. I see five clear leadership principles for all who desire leadership of any sort in and amongst God’s people. Whether you are a pastor, deacon, team lead, Sunday School teacher, small group leader, or whatever particular role you might play, these apply to all who seek to lead others to flourishing in the people of God.

Leaders Go First

The feet of the priests had to hit the water before it would stop flowing. They had to go first into the unknown of the work of God. Leaders do that.

So, if you lead anything in a church from an entire congregation to a small group of volunteers, you must go first in the direction that you want others to go.

Be first to repent, first to hope, first to forgive, first to pray, first to display faith, first to obey. Sometimes all our people need is an example of a bit of courage. Don’t expect your people to show courage where you haven’t done it first,

Leaders Handle the Holy Things of God With Reverence

The priests were called to stand in the waters with the ark of the Lord’s covenant. Their job wasn’t to come up with holy things, but rather to hold what they already had with humility and reverence.

We are given supernaturally powerful tools as leaders in God’s church and our job is to hold them humbly in the sight of all the people. Scripture, prayer, communion, baptism, confession … these are holy things that we hold. Hold them with humility.

Leaders Stand on Dry Ground In the Midst of the Tumultuous Work of God

They were called to stand firm on dry ground while the miraculous happened all around them. Have you noticed how God’s work in people’s lives is often tumultuous? When He steps into the middle of someone’s story, things get stirred up, and people can easily become afraid and back away from His work.

Leaders stand firm on the solid ground of God’s promises while He does the tumultuous work of saving people and rescuing them and changing them and keeping them.

Maybe the boldest thing you can do as a leader is to stand firm on dry ground while others stare in fear at walls of water that look like they might close in at any second.

Leaders Help Others Move Towards All That God Has For Them

The leaders didn’t need to take the people across. They simply needed to open a pathway of dried ground for the people to be able to step into all that God had for them.

Sometimes I wonder if we try to do too much in helping people become who God wants them to be. We can’t make people obey, we can’t give them the eyes of faith. All we can do is to consistently point to the dry path that leads to the good land that God has for them. He doesn’t actually ask us to do more.

Leaders Lay Stones of Remembrance for the Future

At the start of chapter 4, the leaders in the congregation were commanded to grab stones from the midst of the Jordan and to pile them up as a multi-generational remembrance of God’s deliverance. 

While it feels like a lot of the leadership task is looking forward into an unknown future, perhaps that can only be done by those who are able to regularly point back into God’s work in the past. People need to be reminded of how good God has been to them throughout their lives. This thankful looking back enables people to have a more confident look forward to whatever lies ahead. I have found that it is more difficult to be anxious about the future when I remember to be thankful for God’s faithfulness in the past. Leaders help people look back and forward.

Next time you are feeling overwhelmed by the leadership role and responsibility that God has given you in the church, and next time you aren’t sure about what it is that God has called you to do in that role, it might be helpful to remember this simple image. In and amongst the many complexities of leadership lies the simplicity of a picture of those who were faithful enough to stand firm in the middle of a river.

Stand in the Jordan, and enjoy watching the tumultuous work of God.