Staying Mission-True: Lessons from Joshua
Joshua’s declaration (Joshua 24:15):
- “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
- Made to prevent drifting and forgetting God.
Reality check:
- In Judges, the next generation “knew neither the Lord nor what He had done.”
- Joshua’s grandchildren forgot their story and turned from God.
Generational drift:
- Passions of the first generation → Preferences of the second → Irrelevance for the third.
- Happens when stories and missions are forgotten.
Organisations that stay mission-true:
- Capture the founder’s intent.
- Preserve and retell the defining stories.
- Leaders act not just as executives but also as chief storytellers.
Application:
- Stories keep the mission alive across generations.
- Example from Hope International: Every staff meeting begins with a core story.
- This practice reinforces the mission and ensures passion carries forward.
Reflection questions:
- What stories are we telling?
- How creatively are we telling them?