The reality of aging is dawning on many of the fathers of the faith across the Christian world who have led many believers or churchgoers for decades and have built monuments for worship centres, that how to plan for transition has become a major challenge.

What is the pattern of transition of leadership to follow? Is transition going to be driven by a desire to preserve the huge commercial empire “churches” within the family? Or is it to let the leadership, independent of perceived loss of accumulated “jewels,” be transited to tested shepherds who have laboured together in nourishing the souls for Christ?

What is the will of God in all of this? Handled wrongly this will trigger the falling away of many true believers, the reality being witnessed in the US today with increasing statistics of megachurches shutting down and millions of believers abandoning church going and some reportedly turning atheists and ardent critics of the faith!

There were several heads of the tribes of Israel, who probably saw themselves as contemporaries to Moses, but there was only ONE described as Moses’ minister. What qualified Joshua for such an appellation? Even in the test of the spying the Land, the test of sight versus God’s promise (Numbers 13:30; 14:24-30), there were 12 pretenders to the future leadership of Israel, yet Joshua was called the minster to Moses? Why? Note particularly the word of the Lord in Numbers 14:6,24,30 NKJV

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes… But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it…Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.

A second degree of separation (consecrated service) is shown us from Exodus 33:11, where Joshua the son of Nun remained in the tabernacle of meeting, even after Moses had returned to the camp. As a young aide and servant to Moses, Joshua’s persistent presence in the Tabernacle demonstrated his deep devotion not just to Moses, but intimacy with God and dedication to spiritual preparation. Caleb was definitely not in this realm!

And for a pattern with Christ, the spirit of revelation of who Christ is, put Peter (not his yet to be formed character) ahead of others as recorded in Matthew 16:13-19, a second degree of separation from the lot called in Matthew 4:19.

Oh, fathers of the faith, there are patterns devoid of copycatting the Aaronic priesthood that has no bearing with the New covenant in Christ. May the Holy Spirit the strengthener, give you courage to stand by God’s and word of promise even in the face of all contrary appearances. The souls that Christ died for are at stake. Don’t trigger the falling away in the land. He will hold you accountable. Selah



Pastor Afolabi Oladele