Permit me to tell you about a fine young fellow I know named Steve. Steve is the journalism teacher at our local high school, where he leads students in putting out an award-winning student newspaper and yearbook every year. He writes for our local summer magazines and is a wonderful husband and father of two talented kids. Luckily for me, he is a faithful church member. Friends, Steve serves on our Staff Parish Relations Committee, which proves his worth to all who have ever had the (mis)fortune of serving on a Staff Parish Relations Committee. He uses his talents as the keeper of the minutes there. (For the non-Methodists among us, SPRC does the important work of evaluating the pastor and staff, making hiring and firing decisions, and facilitating the relationship between the congregation and the staff. It is a HARD committee, and the committee members have to be some of the most dedicated, patient, and unflappable people in the church.)

Steve is also my volunteer proofreader for my next book, ReLENTless Devotion, which will be available at Amazon in December. This is a book of 40 Lent devotionals. I wouldn’t have the courage to put it out if I didn’t have Steve’s help … his ability to see and fix all my punctuation mistakes is a blessing to me, especially with my misplaced-comma syndrome! (I have officially been diagnosed. It is terminal.) I have come to accept that there is no cure for this disease. That’s why I need a Steve for this book.

I thought about Steve this morning when I read this passage in Deuteronomy. It records the death of Moses and the passing down of leadership to the next generation. Joshua is selected to lead the people because he was filled with wisdom through his connection with Moses.

Deuteronomy 34 (Common English Bible)

⁵ Then Moses, the Lord’s servant, died—right there in the land of Moab, according to the Lord’s command. ⁶ The Lord buried him in a valley in Moabite country across from Beth-peor. Even now, no one knows where Moses’ grave is.

⁷ Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight wasn’t impaired, and his vigor hadn’t diminished a bit.

⁸ Back down in the Moabite plains, the Israelites mourned Moses’ death for thirty days. At that point, the time for weeping and for mourning Moses was over.

⁹ Joshua, Nun’s son, was filled with wisdom because Moses had placed his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to Joshua, and they did exactly what the Lord commanded Moses.

This is the perfect example of what happens when someone mentors and teaches the next generation. When there is a leadership gap, the young mentees are ready and able to step into place and lead. Teachers like Steve do this work every single day of their lives. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.

¹⁰ No prophet like Moses has yet emerged in Israel; Moses knew the Lord face-to-face! ¹¹ That’s not even to mention all those signs and wonders that the Lord sent Moses to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to his entire land— ¹² as well as all the extraordinary power that Moses displayed before Israel’s own eyes!

I have been blessed by my relationship with many teachers, youth leaders, camp counselors, children’s ministry workers, nursery volunteers … all those people who choose to use their talents in shaping and forming the next generation.

Where is God calling you to lead a younger person to a life in Christ? Sometimes all it takes is an invitation to meet for coffee for the relationship to begin. If God has put a burden on your heart to mentor someone, don’t let another day go by. You are shaping tomorrow by where you invest your time today.

To the Next Generation by Michelle Robertson