Date: June 11, 2023
Moses and Joshua
The Point: Mentor and disciple those who come after you.
Get Into the Study
Use the following after discussing Question #1 and calling attention to The Point.
The news of Tim Keller’s death on Friday, May 19 brought a unified sense of sadness over the loss of such a gentle giant in the evangelical world. Tim Keller was a best-selling author, Christian apologist, and pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in downtown Manhattan. In 1989, Keller moved his wife and three sons to Manhattan where they embarked on what New York magazine hyperbolized as “close to a theological suicide mission — to create a strictly conservative Christian church in the heart of Sodom.” Consistently preaching the truth of the gospel and the hope of the resurrection, Keller saw the church grow and multiply. He became a pioneer in the urban church planting movement.
The journal Christianity Today wrote that “Keller and the staff at Redeemer started helping other people who wanted to plant churches in urban environments. By 2006, Redeemer had 16 daughter congregations within the PCA and helped around 50 other churches from many denominations get started in New York City.” The article went on to say that “Keller also coached urban pastors from Boston and Washington, DC, to London and Amsterdam on how to contextualize the gospel in their cities.” Keller was a mentor to pastors and church planters all over the world, for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth, including “Sodom”—the dark and difficult urban centers of this world.
Mentoring isn’t just for well-known religious leaders, but for every follower of Jesus. Each of us knows someone who can benefit from our example and investment in their lives.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/may/tim-keller-dead-redeemer-new-york-pastor-cancer.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/nyregion/the-rev-tim-keller-dead.html
Get Into the Study [Option from Adult Leader Guide, p. 32]
Play this clip on how different animal species nurture their young, such as a seal teaching its babies how to open a clam or a bird teaching its young how to fly. Afterwards ask your group to identify truths we are called to pass on to the next generation in God’s design.
Study the Bible
Use this after discussing Question 3 (and as a follow-up to what you read earlier in Get Into the Study.
After complications from cancer treatment, Tim Keller returned home to receive hospice care on Thursday, May 18. As soon as the news was made public by Keller’s family, an outpouring of love, respect, and gratitude flooded social media. Pastors, authors, attorneys, news commentators, and many others paid tribute to a man who made an unprecedented impact in a variety of evangelical circles and beyond.
Especially noteworthy was the fact that his influence was cross-cultural and cross-denominational, serving the individual and not just the masses. Samuel D. James, an editor for Crossway, provided a lovely testimonial to Keller’s individual touch in his newsletter, Digital Liturgies. James wrote that even during the height of his battle with cancer, Keller emailed him to encourage his writing and ultimately endorsed James’ book. Not wanting to brag, James kept this interaction to himself until he began “reading the tributes pouring in from people who had received this kind of message from Tim.” James described the gracious mentorship of Tim Keller in this way:
“The testimonies of encounters between Keller and normal, everyday, non-impressive (me especially!) people have rolled in by the bushel. And they are all the same in one way: He really listened. He really cared. He was genuinely kind. People like me had nothing we could “do” for him. There was no upshot to that email or that phone call or that meeting. It happened anyway, and not so someone could record it or tweet about it. It happened because he cared.”
This is what godly mentorship looks like. Tim Keller showed us how to help others follow Jesus.
https://samueldjames.substack.com/p/he-made-me-want-to-be-more-like-jesus
Melinda Wallace lives in Shreveport, Louisiana with her husband Stan. They have two grown children,. Her passion is leveraging her love of language to exalt Jesus and invite others to enjoy Him as He is revealed by the Holy Spirit through Scripture.
Study the Bible [Option from the Daily Discipleship Guide]
As a part of the discussion about discipling and empowering the one you mentor, show one of these videos of a failed baton handoff in a relay race. Emphasize the importance of the transition when passing the baton between runners—it can make or break the team. This video provides an opportunity to address the importance of leadership transition. The way one leader makes the handoff to another leader is critical, just as Moses came alongside Joshua.
Additional Questions
Icebreaker
- What are some things you still do today that were taught to you by someone who mentored you?
- What are some things you admire about the generations before yours?
- How did you learn to enjoy your favorite pastime?
- Why is “coach” a popular image for teaching knowledge and skills?
- Who was a big influence on you growing up?
Numbers 27:12-17
- How might humility aid you to seek God’s direction in who will carry on after you?
- Where do you see people in our world functioning like “sheep without a shepherd”?
- What are specific ways one generation typically passages down knowledge to the next generation?
- What are some attitudes that might keep someone from “passing the torch” to the next generation?
- How can recognizing our own mortality help us as mentors?
- What do we learn from Moses about passing on the mantle of leadership?
Numbers 27:18-20
- What are the advantages of discipleship through experience over discipleship through the classroom?
- How can mentors provide a safety net for those they empower?
- When has someone made it easy for you to step into a role?
- How has someone made it easy for you to step into a role?
- What are some ways others have helped you to know and follow Jesus?
- How did Moses help set up Joshua to lead the people of Israel?
- What are some obstacles that make it difficult to pass on leadership to another?
Numbers 27:21-23
- Why do you think public affirmation of a person is important?
- Why is it important that others see your affirmation of next gen leaders?
- What are some ways we can publicly affirm God’s work in the next generation?
- Who works with you to make you a better leader? Explain.
- What lessons can we learn from Joshua and Moses’s relationship?
For Those in Your Group
Send the following link to your group members as either a teaser before the group meets or as a follow-up thought:
Learning From Those Younger Than Us
Magazine Article
This article complements the study. Share this link with your group members.
- Mature Living – Entrusted with Their Hearts
Podcast
Click here for a 20-minute podcast for both the group member and the leader.
Podcast (adultsleadertraining): Play in new window | Download
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