“And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10).
TEXT — Judges 2:6-10
Message
Success in leadership is measured by the ability of the leader to produce an effective and reliable successor who is able to carry on with the vision and even exceed the achievements of the predecessor. Many giant business networks have collapsed after a few years following the death of the founder. Many churches and ministries have deviated from their original stand while some have packed up because there were no leaders capable to carry on the vision received by the founder.
Our verses today record the end of Joshua’s leadership ministry and the beginning of apostasy in Israel. The ministry of Joshua and his immediate successors can be said to have been successful as the people under their leadership served the Lord all through their lifetimes. However, another generation arose which did not know the Lord nor His works in Israel. What followed was a cycle of falling and rising that characterised the remaining history of the nation.
Continuity can only be ensured when a present generation is careful, deliberate and very thorough in passing their values to the next generation. As parents and leaders in the church, we owe it as a very sacred duty to teach our children the ways of the Lord thoroughly and see to it that they are strong enough to carry on after we have gone.
Parents must also ensure they demonstrate these values through personal examples and lifestyles. Today’s generation owes the next a duty to ensure that a sound spiritual legacy is handed over to them that will help them continue in the Lord and raise sound succeeding generations.
Thought for the day
Building an enduring legacy comes through preparing the next generation today.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
