The Changing of the Guard

New seasons are often accompanied by new leadership. Even in sports, when the results of a previous season were less than optimum, new leadership is often appointed. Sometimes leadership changes are simply a natural course of action, a milestone when one era or dispensation has served its purpose and comes to a close and another arises to take its place. Regardless, the Lord’s intention for every divinely ordained and appointed change in leadership is to bring His body, the Church, to greater maturity and fruitfulness in manifesting His kingdom in the earth.

On Yom Kippur of this year, the advent of the Hebrew year 5767, the Body of Christ entered into a new season. With this new season are coming His new leaders. On Yom Kippur of this year, the Lord gave me two prophetic signs that provided insight into the characteristics that this new leadership must exhibit to be successful in bringing the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ to all generations of all nations.

From “Martha” to “Mary”

On the day before Yom Kippur, September 30^th, I found myself at a local middle school, attending a chess tournament that my son was competing in. All the parents were staged in an outdoor courtyard, while the children played chess in the school cafeteria. I settled in a quiet, secluded, shaded spot where I thought I could get some reading done. Shortly thereafter, another man with a guitar decided to camp out a few feet from me. A few minutes after he began playing, another man approached him who also brought his guitar with him. I then realized I wasn’t going to get much reading done with the two of them singing and playing their guitars.

I later noticed that a few feet from me was a hummingbird just sitting on the ground. Its eyes were open, but it was not moving. It sat there for about a half an hour and finally fell over, fluttered its wings one last time and died. At that moment, the two men began singing and playing a popular Christian song whose lyrics are “You are the air I breathe . . . Your holy presence living in me.”

As I later pondered these curious events, I realized that the Lord was speaking through them. The hummingbird, which must exert much effort in flapping its wings to travel, in this case represented vain human effort. The scripture that immediately came to mind was Psalm 127:1.

Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

Much of our efforts in building the house of the Lord lean on human intellect and the arm of the flesh. Our toil or vain labor profits little, bringing greater frustration and despair.

The Lord then spoke to me these words, “My leaders must stop living under pressure and start living in My presence!” Like Martha, who was “distracted with much serving” and “worried and troubled about many things”, we have missed out on the “one thing” that is needful, namely sitting at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:39-42). Like Mary, the Lord is raising up a new breed of leaders, whose priority is His presence. Instead of being distracted, worried and interrupted by the endless, meaningless details and distractions of life, these new leaders will be empowered and transformed by His abiding presence into world changers.

From “Teachers” to “Fathers”

On October 1^st, the eve on Yom Kippur, my wife Kay and I were unexpectedly invited to a Diamondbacks baseball game, which happened to be the last game of the regular season. We had not been to a game in several years, and looked forward to it. This particular game was significant in that the last three players, who were on the World Champion Diamondbacks team of 2001, were playing their last game as Diamondbacks, as their contracts were not being renewed. One of these three players was Craig Counsell. The Diamondbacks lost the game to the San Diego Padres 7-6. After the game, Luiz Gonzales, one of the departing Diamondback players commented on radio that it was an end of one era and the beginning of new era for the Arizona team.

After the game, I sensed that there was some inherent prophetic significance to this game, and that the Lord was speaking to Arizona through it. I noticed that the final score of the game 7-6, reinforced the prophetic sign that the Lord had given me the day before regarding the importance of the Lord’s emerging leadership being perfected in His presence (the number 7 meaning “perfection” or “completion”), instead of laboring in vain (6 representing the number of “man”).

I also noted that the departing player Counsell’s name also means “teacher” or “instructor”, and that Padres is the Spanish word for “fathers”. The scripture that instantly came to mind was I Corinthians 4:15:16.

I Corinthians 4:15,16 “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you, imitate me.”

The Lord is exalting a new generation of leaders that have the heart of a father. These leaders will be mentors and servants, more focused on the maturation and empowerment of their spiritual children, than the promotion of their own ministries. Nevertheless, for these leaders to emerge, prophets must arise and boldly preach a message of repentance from the self-promotion and ambition that has caused a generation of leaders to minister mainly to impress the minds of men, instead of reconciling the estranged and abandoned hearts of men.

Malachi 4:5, 6 “Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he (i.e. Elijah) will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers.”

The five fold ministry gifts were given by the Lord, not only to edify the Body of Christ, but also to “perfect” (represented by the number 7) and equip the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11,12).

From “Lone Rangers” to “Team Players”

A new generation of Arizona Diamondbacks is emerging, led by a young All-Star pitcher by the name of Brandon Webb. Prophetically speaking, a “web” represents unity and networking. God is raising a standard of accountability and unity that is not only phasing out the “lone ranger” ministry mentality of the old guard, but also setting in new leaders that are accountable, selfless “team players”.

Ephesians 4:13 “till we come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a “perfect” man (represented by the number 7), to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

In these last days, it is going to take a company of apostles, prophets and pastors to win cities for Christ. One church or one ministry simply cannot do it all. When unbelievers see Christians from different streams walking and working together as one, Jesus said that the world would believe in Him (John 17:21).

From “Broadcasters” to “Netcasters”

After the game, there was a brief ceremony in which the three departing Diamondbacks were honored. During the ceremony, the 2001 World Series trophy was on display. Although we can all be encouraged by recalling previous victories, we must not get caught up in romanticizing and reliving our past accomplishments. This can lead to self-exaltation, pride and complacency.

Proverbs 20:6 “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?”

We must remain faithful to the call, always looking forward to new territory we are to possess in expanding the kingdom of God.

In contrast, the new generation of leadership, represented by Brandon Webb, walks in humility. Webb’s best pitch is not a rising fastball (i.e. pride), but a sinker (i.e. humility) that drops out of sight.

Luke 14:11 “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Lord is raising up a nameless, faceless generation of leaders, who are more concerned about winning the lost to Jesus than making a name for themselves. Not unlike the fictitious hero character Zorro, the Lord wants us to leave our mark, but not let anyone know our name.

Webb also speaks of the net of evangelism. The Lord is saying, “Neither glory in the victories, nor grieve over the failures of the past, but pull out your worn-torn nets and go fishing for the souls of men, for harvest time is here.” Jesus’ last command must be our first concern. We must go and preach this gospel of the kingdom in all the earth, and then the end will come (Mark 16:15).

Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Yom Kippur is a solemn day of repentance, fasting and rest, also known as the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32). For Jews, it is a divine opportunity to “get right with God” and to begin again with a clean conscious before Him. May the Lord grant us repentance to the acknowledging of the truths that He is bringing forth, that we might become participants in and advocates of this new leadership, this new guard that is emerging for His glory.