Seize the Moment – Day 603
Succession of Authority
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 10.
It can be difficult for a young pastor to follow a beloved pastor who had been at the church for a long time. In fact, most denominations don’t even try it; they put an interim pastor in the position to help the congregation work through their grief. But in the best of situations, the outgoing pastor works with the congregation ahead of time to develop a succession plan.
Moses recognized that it was time for his congregation to start putting a succession plan in place so that he could help oversee the transition of his leadership role to a new leader who would carry out the mission and care for the people.
Listen to Moses and God develop the succession plan together in Numbers 27:15-20,
Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. You shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him.”
Moses wasn’t the only leader in the Bible to create a succession plan! Jesus trained and empowered the Apostles who succeeded Him, but also gives the Holy Spirit to train and empower all who follow Him today.
Seize the moment and plan your succession; it is never too early to start passing on to the next generation what was given to you (2 Timothy 2:2).