Excerpts from Leading From Our Knees by Joe Turnham
Foreword
Throughout generations people have combed the Holy Scriptures in search of meaning, purpose, solace and forgiveness. Its words give us new understanding of creation, history, prophecy and revelation: therein, we find the promise of the soul’s salvation.
But my own burden and calling that led me to the writing of this book, Leading From Our Knees, revealed to me that the Holy Scriptures are also the ultimate collection of timeless leadership precepts. From Genesis to Revelation we encounter those many reluctant and imperfect characters that God chose to become leaders for holy tasks. God worked His providence and purpose through each of them and bids you also as a leader in this time to become a partner in building the Kingdom of God.
Leading From Our Knees is a daily roadmap to guide you as you tackle the tasks of leadership that God has given you to do. It will help you identify and understand your own calling more clearly and help you gain confidence from the fact that whatever situation or challenge you are going through in these days, the great saints of the faith experienced also.
Leading From Our Knees lists for you forty-seven categories of the faith experience with their corresponding lessons found within the book. Use this category listing as a resource to assist you in your own special time of need.
Special occasions of the calendar-year are noted and cross-referenced by page number so that you can find inspiration and new meaning for each of those notable dates.
Virtually every leader and supporting character of the Bible is portrayed through the daily lessons and can be located through the character index in the back of the book.
Use this book as a teaching or study guide or as your own personal daily devotional. Use it as a quick desk reference to help you confront and overcome the spiritual burdens that will arise in the course of your own leadership responsibilities.
Each daily lesson has its own title and sub-title that will provoke your spiritual curiosity. Every lesson is anchored in scripture. While the lessons were not written in chronological scriptural order, they are listed in sequence by chapter and verse in the book beginning with Genesis and proceeding through Revelation. This sequential placement of the lessons allows you quick access to your favorite character, story or scripture and gives you a chance to read a leadership lesson from all sixty-six books of the Bible.
Note that for each day’s lesson there is a written featured scripture and a referenced background scripture for you to look up in your own Bible. By reading both the featured scripture and background scripture for each day, you will substantially read through the entire Bible over the course of the year.
The text of each lesson ties the scripture to an appropriate biblical precept and leadership lesson of faith. At the bottom of each page is a suggested prayer that relates to the day’s lesson. Allow this daily prayer to unlock the Holy Spirit’s voice within you as you read it. Each daily devotional can be read in as little as five minutes or when meditated upon and cross-referenced with your own bible, can be completed in about twenty minutes.
The creation of Leading From Our Knees was God’s call to me and was written over the course of six and a half years. Many days I felt as if God was the author, and I was merely His scribe. As I studied and wrote, I could feel God extracting and intertwining the lessons I learned through forty years of Christian lay-study with my own personal leadership experiences. Insights for the lessons were drawn from my own leadership success and failure as well as from my observation of the hundreds of diverse leaders that I have encountered throughout my life.
I feel a kinship with so many of the characters and situations in the book. Some days I am that fallen and repentant leader and other days I am the brave warrior equipped with new hope and confidence. But in every circumstance I am a leader in constant need of Christ’s daily power and special provision.
Often we are called to leadership battles for which we will never see the earthly victory. Yet through it all we have a holy obligation to serve others. And as we serve others faithfully, God affirmatively moves each of us into new roles of providential leadership for Him.
We are all imperfect and fragile. We will fail and make mistakes, even as we disappoint others and fall short of our goals. But we are capable of accomplishing so much more than our human mind can comprehend. For the God who calls us to our task of leadership is awesome, powerful, loving and redeeming. The Trinity of God is active in our life today and can be found in every human event and circumstance.
It is through the actions of leaders of faith, great and small alike, that the holy work of the heavenly purpose is unveiled. And if all that you do in your journey as a leader is grounded in humility, devotion and pure love towards our Savior and His children; then it will surely yield those fruits of eternal success and reward.
I give thanks and praise to God for allowing me to be part of this project. It was a humbling and life-changing experience for me to be the vessel that brings Leading From Our Knees to you today.
It is now my prayer and great hope that something in this work will comfort you, inspire you and lead you towards finding God’s peace in your own life and leadership journey. Let each of us as leaders of faith allow Christ’s love to be manifested in us so that we can shower it upon others through our humble acts of service each day. Remember, that as leaders of faith, we bring our sweetest praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit when we are obediently leading from our knees.
Both Inspiration and Obstacles
THE MOUNTAIN THAT GIVES US INSPIRATION MAY BECOME OUR OBSTACLE OF FAITH.
Background Scriptures: Psalm 121 and Isaiah 40:1-4
The view of a mountain or snow-covered peak has inspired many a person over time. As we sit and stare at the majesty of God’s creation, we are prompted to cast our thoughts upon the Creator who placed it there. The psalmist tells us that he lifted up his eyes to the mountain and found his help from its Creator. In Scripture we see God’s dwelling place in the holy mountain. Both Abraham and Moses sought God there. Jesus went into a mountain to pray. The mountain can become our inspiration. But the mountain can also become our test of faith and the very obstacle to our next phase of success.
The majesty of a mountain to a leader of faith is symbolic of those things that both inspire us to service and challenge us along the way. We will all face mountains of inspiration and obstacles in leadership. The mountain that inspires us to prayer may suddenly become an insurmountable task and our problem to solve. For example, we see mountains of underserved people in our community and they inspire us to want to help others. But often, we see those who need our help may readily accept us, and the mountaintop experience of service becomes rife with conflict and problems.
The cycle of inspiration to action followed by obstacles to success is God’s process of keeping us in His divine will and dependent on His daily provision. The people in our congregations or organizations whom we love and who inspire us to action can often become our greatest heartaches when they criticize us and undermine our actions. But Jesus tells us that the mountain in front of us can be moved with faith as small as a mustard seed. Let the challenges before us as leaders inspire us to action and make us go to work shoveling the mountain of obstacles away. By confronting the obstacles with the mustard seed of faith, we may inspire others to action. We may become their mountains of inspiration through our courage to tackle seemingly impossible obstacles.
What is your mountain of inspiration? Is it children who have not heard the name of Christ? Is it a church family or institution that has become divided and ineffective because of feuding and lost vision? Whatever mountain inspires you, know that it can become your great obstacle to more in Christ’s name. What inspires us to serve must challenge us to lead boldly. God never gives us a dream or inspiration without giving us the ability to move the obstacles in our way. Keep dreaming but go to work with the faith that God’s mountaintops of inspiration and obstacles are still holy places.
Our Prayer: Lord, I lift my eyes to the mountains from which I know You will answer me. Give me the courage and faith to be both inspired and committed to serving others this day. Help me to move the mountains of obstacles with new faith and zeal this day. I am inspired because You have placed this beautiful opportunity in my view. Let me continually see You, God, in the holy mountains of leadership. Amen.
Speaking Your Truth Clearly
LEADERS OF FAITH WHO KNOW THEIR CALLING SHOULD SPEAK IT CLEARLY.
Background Scripture: John 18:28-37
In all situations Jesus knew who He was and what He was sent to do. Leaders of faith who have heeded the call of God should pray for this same self-assurance of their callings and for the specifics of their mission. Before Pilate, Jesus was not going to deviate from His calling or mission to bear witness to the truth.
The steadfastness of Jesus before Pilate would lead to ridicule by others and ultimately His death. This same steadfastness is the very spine of the miracle of the salvation story. How many times in your leadership journey of faith have you stood before authority figures and ranking officials and been asked about your own mission? Do you morph yourself into an image that they have of you in order to receive a promotion or new assignment? The path of least resistance often includes the denial of our godly calling.
When we come face-to-face with those who doubt our calling or wonder how we survive the rigors of leadership, we must never be tempted to deny our commitment. Those around us should never doubt our steadfastness to our purpose. Jesus set the ultimate example for leaders of faith as he stood before Pilate.
By speaking our truths clearly, people can judge us on the merits of what we do. Our motives will not as likely be questioned, and our peers can more readily hold us accountable if we begin to stray from our calling or mission. We must constantly remain in prayer and communion with God to gain constant reassurance of His guiding hand in our lives.
Speaking our truths clearly and without reservation will also land us in tough situations. People will have unmet expectations. There may be persecution ahead for us. We may lose a chance for promotion or higher office. But to fail to speak the truth clearly and follow our calling to the end is to fail God. We, too, must bear witness to the truth that Jesus came to share with us as the Suffering Servant.
Our Prayer: Dear Jesus, we praise You that You were the witness and bearer of the truth. Even enduring the ridicule of others, You fulfilled Your calling and in the process redeemed us all. Help us as leaders of faith to be bold and speak our truths clearly even in the face of adversity. If You called us to the task, it is a sacred responsibility. Give us the courage to endure for a while longer. Amen.
