Leadership (Dt 1:9-18; 3:21-29)

Questions:

1. Do you agree that "you don't need a title to be a leader"? Why or why not?
2. How well do you deal with pressure and stress (Dt 1:12; Num 11:14; Ex 18:18)
3. What is your understanding of delegation (Dt 1:13-15)? From your leader (cf. Mt 20:25; Mk 10:42; Lk 22:25)? To your subordinates? Explain the difference between "gopher delegation" and "stewardship delegation."
4. Have you experienced justice from your leader(s) (Dt 1:16-17; 16:20; 32:4; Ps 9:8; Isa 42:1; Mt 12:18)? Reflect on this quote by Martin Luther King Jr: "It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people."
5. Reflect on Charles Spurgeon's quote regarding the best man ("leader") in the church: “Do not desire to be the principal man in the church. Be lowly. Be humble. The best man in the church is the one who is willing to be a doormat for all to wipe their boots on, the brother who does not mind what happens to him at all, so long as God is glorified.” How might this relate to Jesus as our Leader (Jn 13:14)?

Deuteronomy 1:9-18; Key Verse: Dt 1:13

"Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you."

Sin. In the first lesson, Sin (Dt 1:1-46), Moses explained how sin set them back for 38 years. Instead of entering the land as God had promised (Dt 1:8, 21, 30-31), they rebelled (Dt 1:26, 32). What did they reap as a result (Gal 6:7)? They went around in circles in the wilderness until all the rebels died in the desert! (Dt 2:1, 14-15) It is sobering and wise for us to always consider what sin does (rebellion), why sin happens (unbelief), and how sin is solved (remember God's grace and believe God's promise).

Leadership. In this second lesson, Moses--one of the greatest leaders of all time--shares the secrets of successful leadership. Leadership is always a hot topic because everyone experiences and is affected by leadership, both good and bad. Leadership guru John Maxwell says, "He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk." What can we learn about leadership from Moses? Look at Dt 1:9-18 and Dt 3:21-29.

1. The problem of leadership (Dt 1:9-12): Stress.
2. The solution of leadership (Dt 1:13-15): Delegation.
3. The practice of leadership (Dt 1:16-18): Justice.
4. The character of leadership (Dt 3:23-27): Humility.
5. The success of leadership (Dt 3:21-22, 28-29): Succession.

Jesus, the greatest leader. Jesus experienced all of the above attributes of leadership and he practiced them perfectly as a perfect man.

1. Jesus experienced the greatest unfathomable degree of stress by bearing our sins on his body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24).
2. Jesus delegated his authority to us to go and make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:18-19).
3. Jesus showed no favoritism and proclaimed justice to the nations (Mt 12:18).
4. Jesus displayed humility through his incarnation (Jn 1:14), life and condescension unto death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8).
5. Jesus is the greatest leader of all time with the greatest successors among men and women--both in quantity and quality--for the last 2,000 years and counting.

Ultimately, the greatness of Jesus' leadership is that though he possessed the ultimate authority, power and honor, he gave it all up, so that we might know the depth of his love for us. Indeed, the greatest leader is one who--out of love--gives up his live so that others may live. May God bless you to know the heart of Christ and be a leader of men in the image of Jesus.

Questions:

1. How did Moses express his burden of being a leader (Dt 1:9-12; Ex 18:18; cf. 2 Cor 11:28)?
2. How did Moses practically solve the problem of leadership (Dt 1:13-15; Ex 18:14, 19-26)?
3. How should leaders exercise their leadership (Dt 1:16-18; 16:20; Prov 31:9; Jas 2:1-4)? Why is this not easy (Prov 29:25; Mt 10:28)? What should Christian leadership reveal about God (Gen 18:25; Dt 32:4; Ps 9:8; Isa 42:1; Mt 12:18)?
4. Why is humility a crucial attribute of godly leadership (Dt 3:23-27; Num 12:3)?
5. There is no success without a successor. Do you agree? Why or why not?

References:

1. Sarah Barry's Deuteronomy Daily Bread.
2. Good Leaders Delegate Without Assaulting (Dt 1:9-16).
3. Good Leaders Judge Without Partiality (Dt 1:16-18).
4. Quotes by John_C_Maxwell. John C Maxwell.
5. 100 best quotes on leadership.
6. 10 observations of contemporary leadership.
7. 7 reasons why leaders fail.

Memorable and relatable quotes regarding leadership:

• "Earn your leadership every day." Michael Jordan.
• "You don't need a title to be a leader." Multiple Attributions.
• "You don't lead by hitting people over the head—that's assault, not leadership." Dwight Eisenhower.
• "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." George Patton. (Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.)
• "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership." Colin Powell.
• "A leader is best when people barely know he exists; when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." Lao Tzu.
• A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him. Sidney Greenberg (Rabbi).
• "Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well." Dwight Eisenhower.
• "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." John Maxwell.
• "Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm." Publilius Syrus (Slave, Latin writer).
• "So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work." Peter Drucker.
• "Successful leadership is influence, not authority." Kenneth Blanchard (1 min manager). "(It) comes from passion, not position." John Maxwell.
• "Great leaders genuinely care for and love the people they lead more than they love leading itself. Leadership without love degenerates into self-serving manipulation." Rick Warren.
• "The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly." Jim Rohn (Entrepreneur, business philosopher).
• "A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward." Ovid (Roman poet).
• "Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish." Sam Walton.
• "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent." Douglas MacArthur.
• "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership." John Kenneth Galbraith (Economist).
• "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams.
• "Lead and inspire people. Don't try to manage and manipulate people." Ross Perot.
• "Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them." John C. Maxwell.
• "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent." Abraham Lincoln.
• "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt.
• "A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit." John Maxwell.
• "A cowardly leader is the most dangerous of men." Stephen King.
• "The supreme quality of leadership is integrity." Dwight Eisenhower.