Have you ever waited to board an airplane? The gate attendant ask those who need special assistance to board first (nice call). Then preferred seating. Then the business class which is followed by Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3. Unless you fly Southwest. But I’m a Delta man.
Many times I have been standing in a long line waiting patiently to board when the pilot and/or flight crew walks up. The impatient line has no problem allowing these individuals to move to the front of the line and get on the plane. The reason is obvious – unless they board first, none of us are going to get where we need to go.
I was talking with a pilot about this scene recently. He said, “They let us get on and say, ‘Go ahead and get on. You’re important.” To which I say, ‘Yes but only for today.'” What a brilliant insight.
He is not displaying false modesty. His leadership is important. In fact, it is critical and dramatically impacts the quality of everyone’s life. But the airline is not stopping if he cannot fly you back home. The airline will keep moving right along. They will simply put another pilot right that seat and keep moving forward.
Such is the life of a leader. In 1907, Elbert Hubbard said, “The graveyards are full of people the world could not do without.”
Joshua 1:1-2 is a fascinating text of scripture. Moses,the great leader of the Old Testament, the man who spoke to God at a burning bush, parted the Red Sea, and led the exodus of the Jews out of Egypt has just died. You would think there would be a long period of mourning, doubt, discouragement, committee members wanting to recast vision for the future, and going into an overprotective mode of protection.
Not so. God’s purposes just kept moving forward.
The scripture says, “It came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.“
Smart pastors and Christian leaders know when the man of God stops, nothing of God stops.
Your leadership is critical. It is vitally important. But only for today. All leadership is temporary. So steward it well while God has given you the privilege of having it. And may you have many days of leadership.
Click HERE or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook 1869 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2015 Global Leadership Summit, That Church, REACT and Catalyst Conferences. If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!