Not as I say do...

Sunday in our series "A Brand New Focus" we looked at Joshua 4, specifically verses 1-8. In this chapter we found God instructing Israel to erect a memorial shrine (12 large stones from the dry river bed to be placed at their camp site) that would serve as a reminder of His power, ability and work in their crossing the Jordan river to enter the promised land. God's instructions were not only for the benefit of those who actually crossed but also for the benefit of those generations that would follow and ask what the stones meant. God's majesty would be passed down from generation to generation!

Verse 9, however, points us to something very telling about Joshua, the nation's leader. Verse 9 says, "Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day." Apparently, while the twelve men selected from the twelve tribes were retrieving their stones for the camp-side memorial Joshua was doing some stone stacking of his own in the river bed. Joshua didn't stand on the shore tapping his feet while others did the work he ordered them to do (actually God ordered it but I think you know what I mean). No, Joshua rolled up his sleeves and erected a memory of his own. Not to overshadow the memorial that God had ordered but, I believe, to demonstrate his commitment to his role as Israel's leader. A sort of "Do as I do, not as I say do" moment.

So this post actually has more to do with me than it does with most of you. I am keenly aware that, more often than not, I will not measure up to everyone's expectations of "what a pastor is supposed to be or do." I've embraced that reality and accepted that I can only do and be so much in vocational ministry without failing as a father and a husband. But that doesn't mean that I can't or won't get lazy and fall into the "Do as I say do, not as I do" trap. I am also keenly aware of that reality too. This is where you come in. I'm pretty sure that you want a pastor that demonstrates the kind of commitment to his role as Joshua did in this instance. That's the kind of leader that I want to be too. It will take a lot of work for me to be that kind of leader. It will take a lot of prayer and submission to God's leading. In fact, I doubt that I will be able to do it as consistently as I would like but that's why I need you. I need you to pray for me - daily if possible. I need you to realize that at the end of the day I am just a human being that wants what I want, when I want it and at any cost. I'm figuring that you can relate to that description. But as a follower of Christ, that simply isn't an option. I need you to pray that I will have the sensitivity and passion that Joshua had. I need you to pray that I will have the courage and endurance that Joshua had. I need you to pray that I will, more often than not, exhibit the kind of character and action that says "Do as I do, not as I say do."

Can I count on you to do that?