I confess – this has been a tough week for me losing both Dolly Parton and Tim Curry but Dolly in particular continues to haunt me in a good way, but nevertheless she is occupying a lot of mind space for me this week.
I think I know why – we are starting a sermon 
series on leadership and I really believe Dolly was a servant leader whose leadership in many areas – songwriting, singing, her values, her philanthropy, her business skills – came from a deep place of faith. Of rooted relationship with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit.
It is the type of faith I witnessed in my parents – born in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and Virginia – both in poverty but neither knowing it. Born and raised in a holler and a coal mining town, they knew what it was to love your neighbor. And to lead like you knew it.
That kind of faith – rooted in reverence and awe of God, of trust in God’s promises even when it feels like everything is going wrong – provides a foundation for good leadership.
Now what do we mean by leadership – I think we can take some cues from the ways in which our Session did so at their last meeting. They described leadership and the characteristics of a leader as having a spirit of humility which allowed for empathy. Leaders needed to be active listeners, which required one to be vulnerable. Leaders needed to be reflective, thoughtful, project confidence and not ever ask someone to do something they themselves weren’t willing to do. Leaders needed to lead by example.
All of that as I wrote in the pastor’s message this week, defines servant leadership – a style of leadership that is Christ-centered, empathetic, humble, engages in active listening and where it is known that everyone has worth and value. It is leadership that is rooted in reverence of God. It is leadership that flows from the heart of God as that heart relationship grows in us.
I think that is why we see a lot of people from all walks of life and even different faith traditions speak so well of Dolly Parton. Of her generosity that many times was not public, of her love and inclusivity for people too often cast to the margins, of courage she held onto, and for her willingness to speak and sing about her faith – not to puff herself up, but to explain why she cared so much.
Do we do that? Speak about our faith from a place of servant leadership? Are we Christ-centered, empathetic, humble, active listeners, know everyone is a beloved child of God.
Some might think – well if we are this way, we are going to be a doormat or the reverse – we will become abusive as we lead. But that isn’t the case. Servant leadership doesn’t mean being a doormat or abusive.
But as we move into this leadership series – we are going to deal with some uncomfortable topics that many servant leaders prefer to avoid. Things like power, conflict, acceptance which could also be called yielding to the heart of God, and grace. Today we deal with courage – a needed characteristic of leadership because some situations require us to be strong and courageous.
Joshua is a good example of someone finding courage. Tapped by the Lord to be the leader of this wilderness people after the death of Moses (after being Moses’ right-hand man for a generation), Joshua is the one who leads the people into the Promised Land.
An important side note – while the book of Joshua outlines militaristic conquests, there is no historical or archaeological evidence that the kinds of conquests which honestly amount to genocide actually occurred. Scholars believe the people assimilated and that possibly the major threat to these wilderness/now Promise Land people would be to abandon their covenant with God in favor of the religion practiced by the Canaanites.
Staying in covenant with God and with God’s teachings – think the last verse read from Proverbs this morning: Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Being taught about God as Moses taught Joshua as then Joshua taught others is good, but leading from that teaching sets an example for the people to follow.
Insightful instruction that is righteous, just and full of integrity moves us to live as we are instructed, does it not? Does this wisdom instruction help us be rooted in reverence so that we can lead from the heart of God?
I think in our world today, as “leaders” here at FPC Bethlehem (and aren’t we all leaders in some way, shape or form), it is important to hear the words from the Lord to Joshua over and over again. Three times, the Lord tells Joshua to be strong and courageous always acting from God’s laws, God’s covenant, God’s way, God’s word, God’s love.
Laws that gave structure and security to the people but also gave us the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5): Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, as well as this command – to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18). Remember how well Jesus knew his Hebrew scriptures.
Leadership requires us to be strong and courageous especially when we are leading at a time of opposition to the mission and values we hold dear. Hear again our mission statement: To welcome an inclusive and joyful community of Christ’s followers into actively exploring how God’s gracious love gives meaning to our lives and faith, and inspires us to address the needs of our changing world. Through our learning, service, and grateful worship, God fills us with purpose, compassion, courage, and love.
Courage! Can you hear the Lord telling us to be strong and courageous? To step out rooted in reverence of our relationship with God which gives us the courage to lead from the heart of God. A heart that is loving, inclusive, full of grace and mercy and compassion and forgiveness.
Joshua faced the great task of leading an entire people into a hostile land. Yet he did so always from that rooted reverence of God. That anchored faith in God’s covenant that extended back generations. Indeed, at the end of Joshua’s life in Chapter 24, he asks the people to choose who they will follow – after reminding them of all that God had done for them.
Hear verses 14 and 15: “Now, therefore, revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the Lord.15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua – always choosing to serve the Lord, to be instructed in wisdom and in the laws of God, to meditate on them day and night and to root his own leadership in that covenant, in that faithfulness. And, hearing the Lord’s encouragement to be strong and courageous that is rooted in that faithfulness.
We face a journey that has some unknowns ahead – can we remind ourselves of God’s words of encouragement to all of us – to be strong and courageous. To think of ourselves as leaders who have that strength and courage but most of all desire to grow in our relationship with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit? Are we those leaders?
Through our learning, service, and grateful worship, God fills us with purpose, compassion, courage, and love. That sounds a lot like Joshua’s experience of God. Sounds like Dolly’s experience of God too. Learning, serving, worshiping, focused on God and being filled with purpose, compassion, love and courage! Be strong and courageous – choose God. Root yourselves in reverence to God and in any way you lead, lead from the heart of God. May it be so. Amen.