Can you imagine what Joshua must have felt like when Moses died?  Can you imagine succeeding Moses who led the people out of slavery in Egypt, who met with God in person, who handed down the law of God, who transitioned Israel from a slave people into a true nation?  Joshua had a lot to live up to!  And I am sure he had a lot of questions he wanted to ask Moses!  His task was to take the people and cross the Jordan River and establish them in the land, driving out all of the wicked peoples who lived there.  This task took years.  I can just imagine all the times he yearned just to ask Moses what he should do next.  And I am sure that he simply missed Moses (more on Moses and Joshua in a moment).

I think I can relate.  From August 2009 to August 2010, I have shed more tears than in all my prior years combined due to the loss of four important people in my life.  Not only people that I was close to, but spiritual mentors.   I think I feel a bit like the way Sheldon Vanauken describes his life in “A Severe Mercy.“  I feel the mercy and grace of God, but life has been hard because it’s been so full of the loss of these valued loved ones.

The first and greatest loss was my mother.  Ann Vining passed into the arms of Christ August 21, 2009.  Oh I miss her so!  Mom was not just a mom to me. She was also a spiritual mentor.  She taught me to be a witness for Christ.  She taught me to revere and read God’s Word and pray fervently, something that I found her doing every morning when I got up.  She taught me to seek after spiritual, not just material things.  Man did she march to the beat of a different drummer!!  Mom’s drummer was God!  She taught me, too, to march to the beat of God and not the drumbeat of this world.  And she was my and everyone’s encourager and champion.  She always told me that I was the absolute best in the world at whatever I was doing!  And wow was she humble.  Though 36 years my senior, she would often call me on Saturday nights and ask my opinion about a certain point in her Bible lesson she was teaching the next morning.  We would talk for hours about these issues over the phone, or when I was at her house.  She made me believe that I was really knowledgeable about God’s Word and that I could teach others (she was often very wrong!).  And she put people first above all else. If having people at her house or in her pool was an inconvenience to her, she completely ignored it. Toys were not placed out of sight - they were put where kids could play with them!  Zip lines, soap box cars, balls, volleyball nets, club houses and more filled the back yard.  And coffee cups and food filled the cupboards, ready for the next visitor or neighbour who came by.  And come they did!  She ignored the social customs and taboos of her culture to do what was best for people. To spend time with them, to serve them, to make them feel welcome and loved.  And they loved her for it. If you were talking to her, she acted as if she were completely absorbed in what you were saying, because she was.  And if any person needed anything, she would give it to them.  She was a servant like few I have ever seen.   I don’t know how she could have mentored me any better.

Mom was not the only loss that has stung.  A month ago, another one of the great mentors and influences in my life, Dr. Avery Willis, died from leukemia. The weekend prior to his passing, I was supposed to stay in his home. Instead, he fell ill and went home to be with Christ.  I had so looked forward to talking about Christ and His Kingdom over a coffee with this man. I had so many questions!  Much of what I believe and practice in missions, discipleship, prayer and Chronological Bible Storying to disciple and win people to Christ, came from his tutelage.  He was the author of MasterLife, which is the most-used discipleship tool every published and used to train people in churches, seminaries and missionary training centers, as well as On Mission with God with Henry Blackaby, as well as many other books.  I was so blessed to know him and to learn from him.

Dr. Willis’ death followed the death of two godly mentors who lived on my block growing up and who played a large role in my life.  Col. Jack King died June 12.  I spent years in the home of Colonel and Mary King growing up. My first job, my first business, my first Bible - all came from them.  Col. King and Mary inspired me with a passion to reach other people - especially internationals - with the Gospel.  Col. King also introduced me to serious Bible study and preaching.  And through the years, they have been a constant support in prayer, encouragement, physical help, as well as financial supporters of my mission endeavours.  Last year when I was there we discussed the book of Romans and he gave me a commentary on Romans to help me as I preached through this great book.  It was so sad to lose him, but it is heaven’s gain.

Much the same can be said for my next-door neighbour growing up, Dr. Raymond Coppenger.  He died last year at the ripe old age of 100.  He was a chaplain in the US Navy before coming to my hometown to teach Bible at Ouachita Baptist University (my alma mater).  It was a great thing to grow up next to him and his believing family.  Oh how blessed I have been!  Five years ago when I lived near him, I looked in on him every day for his family.  During those times, I got a chance to sit at his table every day and talk about life, ministry, preaching, and Jesus.  Now, he is gone.

Now, they are all gone.  I am left with much fewer mentors and encouragers.  I feel a bit out there on my own.  Joshua must have felt like this when Moses died.  I am sure he had a lot of questions for Moses!

So, what are we to do with the passing of those whose counsel we value?  How are we to lead when our leaders are gone?  Joshua was about to embark on a dangerous mission. But he couldn’t ask Moses, because his mentor was gone.  Why did God do it this way? I think the answer is simple really.  Until Moses was gone, Joshua could not become the fully mature leader God intended him to be. As long as Moses was around, Joshua would not learn to lead first-hand.  More importantly, Joshua would depend on advice from Moses instead of learning to hear God’s voice himself.  Once Moses was gone, Joshua became one of the greatest leaders Israel ever had.  Israel conquered the land, and many miracles were performed.  They built their new homeland and secured the borders.  Joshua became a leader, like Moses, that heard the voice of God, and in turn, the person who others came to for advice.

I guess that is where I sit today, a bit like Joshua at the death of Moses.  I am sure that when Moses died, the people all cried, but it was Joshua who cried the hardest.  This year for me has been a year of many tears.  Not just for the loss of these great godly people in my life, but for my concern for those that I lead - my church, my family and others - that I be able to lead them without the help of these wise counsellors. Many of the people I have turned to for advice in my life are gone forever.  I am the age that many of them were when I started asking them questions!   So I guess now it is my turn to take the reins.  It is my time to help others to experience God and build His Kingdom.  But, like them, and like all leaders, it is God who really does the work, and He promises to “never leave [me] or forsake [me] (Matt. 28:20).”  But it is still a bit scary. I feel too young, too inexperienced sometimes.  And I still have questions I’d like to ask my mom, Dr. Willis, Dr. Coppenger and Colonel King.  But I cannot.  I can only take what they taught me, and depend on God for the rest.  But that is not such a bad place to be in.  He is the same God who taught Ann, Avery, Jack, Raymond and Joshua by His Word, His People and His Spirit.  Each of them came to a place where their mentors were gone, and they had to rely on God alone, and they not only coped, but they flourished.  It is my prayer that God in His grace will allow me to do the same. I am assured that His presence will be with me every step of the way.

Joshua 1:5, 8-9:  ”No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. … Do not let My Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.””

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