John K. Jenkins Sr - Transitional Leadership

This is a message I gave last year at this time. Not all the same points, but the same passage of Scripture. I want to talk about leading through transition-transitional leadership. That 's what I mean when I talk about transitional leadership: how to lead through a transition. I spoke this one year ago today, but I want to point out some of the points that are the same and some that are not. I want to talk about that. Joshua chapter 1 is the passage that these points come from, so allow me to share what I feel the Lord wants me to say. In Joshua chapter 1, I want to start at verse 2. Actually, maybe I should start at verse 1. Yeah, let me start at verse 1. It says, «After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying…» Here 's what God said to Joshua, Moses' assistant. Here 's what He said in verse 2: «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.» Here 's the first point I want you to see in verse 2. The first point is this: He says, «My servant Moses is dead. Now therefore arise and go over this Jordan.» Here 's what He says: «You and all this people.» And here’s the point that God wants me to talk about for just a moment. The first point is that when you’re leading, you need to move in a posture to try to take all the people. Say «all the people.» I need to discuss this because sometimes leaders have an attitude that can be brash and harsh. If nobody wants to go with you, or if some people don’t want to go with you, just leave them behind-that’s not the heart of God. God’s heart is to do whatever we can to take everybody that we can get to go with us. Now, not everybody may go; I recognize that. Not everyone may join in, embrace it, agree, or like the direction, but let their decision not to go not be based on you. Let it not be based on the fact that you’ve treated them badly, meanly, or that you didn’t inform them. Treat them with love and respect. I have tried as the pastor of this church to treat everybody with love and respect. I have always tried to approach everyone with love and dignity, and I’m trying to take everybody with me as much as possible. Now, not everyone has gone; not everyone has embraced the race; not everyone has stayed. We 've made a lot of transitions and changes. I remember when we moved out of 3311, our old building, to 3600. When we moved from 3311 to 3600 Brightseat Road, not everyone went with us. As a matter of fact, I had some people tell me that they didn’t want us to move to the Hecklinger property. They didn’t want us to go because they felt the anointing was in the building. God doesn’t anoint buildings; He anoints people. A few families didn’t come, and they stayed with the building. When the new church moved in, they eventually realized it wasn’t the same anointing in the building. It 's not in buildings; it’s in people. Eventually, some of those families came back and joined us at 3600 Brightseat Road. My challenge is to leaders: we want to take everybody on the team. I want you to look at your neighbor and say «everybody.» No, y’all didn’t say it right. I said «everybody!» We want to try to take everyone. We want to do whatever we can. We want to make whatever steps are necessary to try to be inclusive. We’re not going to be prejudiced against anybody; we’re not going to treat anyone badly. We 're going to listen and heed the command because, as the Lord spoke to Joshua, He said, «You and all these people.» Somebody say «all these people.» We want to try to take everybody. That 's point one: we want to take everybody. Here’s point two; I’m almost finished. In verse 10, Joshua 1 commanded the officers of the people, saying… He’s talking to the people and giving them a command. Slide down to verse 16. They answered Joshua saying, «All that you command us, we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go.» I like these leaders. He spoke to the officers of the people in verse 10, and they responded to him saying, «All that you command us, we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go.» I like that right there. Just as we heeded Moses in all things, we will heed you, only the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. I love that right there-their attitude, their spirit, their mentality: «We will follow the leader.» My second point is that leaders are submitted to their leader. Y’all missed a great spot to say «Amen!» Leaders are submitted to their leader. Let me spend a few moments discussing this because you cannot have a movement; you can’t have God move and flow and function …