Strong and Courageous: Leadership Lessons Inspired by Joshua

By Vinnie Venturella

God commanded Joshua to have strength and courage. Joshua led with strength and courage. And Joshua modeled strength and courage across all realms. From scripture, he shows us by his actions and his words what to do and what not to do. Joshua is a leader worthy of emulation.
I will shed light on some leadership lessons inspired by Joshua from the first few books of the Bible, of course all through the book of Joshua, and the first two chapters of Judges. There are innumerable lessons we can all benefit from. Read and think through the lens of leadership. I will show each reader how Joshua was unquestionably a perfect person to be born, raised, commissioned, and tested in the crucible of leadership to lead Israel into the promised land.
I love the study of leadership, have been doing it for 33+ years, and expect to do it my whole life. Leadership fascinates me and the more I study it the more I validate how critical it is to teams, organizations, our nation, and our church.
My life’s purpose is to Positively Influence Lives. This is done primarily through leadership. My measure of success with this project is expose readers to God’s Word, expose readers to some leadership lessons, and enable readers to build upon their leadership knowledge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728335193

Vinnie Venturella

This is Vinnie’s seventeenth book. Vinnie and his wife Tammie have two daughters, Meaghan and Sophia. They live in Texas. Vinnie was born in Pittsburgh, PA. His Mom Joyce and Dad Frank were a big influence on him, and he has a twin brother, Frank and younger sister, Jill. He graduated Woodsville High School in NH. He has a Bachelor’s in Accounting from Campbell University, NC; and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University. Vinnie retired as a Chief Master Sergeant from the Air Force after 21+ years as a Combat Controller in Air Force Special Operations. Vinnie works in the Personal Finance industry. He has a passion for reading, writing, and physical fitness.

Book preview

© 2019 Vinnie Venturella. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  11/06/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-3515-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-3519-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019918090

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

DEDICATION PAGE

This book is dedicated to Mike LA Lamonica. We met in 1988 and have been great friends, confidants, and teammates ever since. He has unmatched strength and courage across all realms. Like Joshua, he can be counted on no matter what, where, or when.

CONTENTS

Dedication Page

Acknowledgments

Some Notes And Explanations

1.     Introduction

2.     From Promise To Possession – A Brief History

(Genesis & Exodus)

3.     Who Was Joshua?

(Exodus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy)

4.     Proving Grounds

(Exodus 17)

5.     Perception

(Numbers 13 & 14)

6.     The Commissioning

(Numbers 27, Deuteronomy 1, 3, 31, & 34)

7.     Be Strong And Courageous

(Joshua 1)

8.     Mutually Beneficial

(Joshua 2)

9.     Step Out In Faith

(Joshua 3 & 4)

10.   A Transition

(Joshua 5:1-12)

11.   Integrity

(Joshua 5:13-15 & 6)

12.   Accountability

(Joshua 7)

13.   Be Decisive

(Joshua 8)

14.   Ever Seek God’s Guidance

(Joshua 9)

15.   Take Advantage Of Momentum

(Joshua 10)

16.   Be Tireless

(Joshua 11)

17.   Remember Your History

(Joshua 12)

18.   Remember Your Why

(Joshua 13 & 14)

19.   There Can Be Only One #1

(Joshua 15)

20.   Measure Up To Expectations

(Joshua 16 & 17)

21.   Leaders Are Project Managers

(Joshua 18 & 19)

22.   Attention To Detail

(Joshua 20 & 21)

23.   Trust But Verify

(Joshua 22)

24.   The Bottom Line

(Joshua 23)

25.   It’s Not About You

(Joshua 24)

26.   Legacy

(Judges 1 & 2)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to acknowledge all the positive and definitive examples of strength and courage I’ve been around my whole life. The strength and courage of innumerable men and women have left an indelible mark on me, many other people, and across many environments.

Their strength and courage spanned across the physical, moral, intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and social realms. Along with Mike Lamonica and Rex Freriks, these men and women formed the strength and courage image in my mind that focused my research and my writing for this book.

I want to personally thank Connie Freriks and her son Rex for their help in editing this book. Their constant friendship is most appreciated. Their strength and courage across all realms are a positive influence on all whose lives they are a part of.

SOME NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS

I hesitate to articulate time and distance in this book mainly because I am not sure what they precisely are. One may be misled when reading scripture literally on what the time and distance may be compared to the actual events happening. The lesson, however, can be learned regardless of the time and distance of an actual event.

I wrote this book to as nearly as possible follow scripture in the order it’s laid out in the Bible. I especially go through all of Joshua and the first two chapters of Judges start to finish. As you read this book, I made it easy for you to follow along with your Bible if you choose to.

1

INTRODUCTION

Joshua was a faithful follower, leader, warrior, spy, general, believer, and simply a good man. He may be the perfect protagonist for the study of leadership as anyone, regardless where they are in this world either culturally, socioeconomically or geographically, and regardless where they are in their specific environment. Admittedly, Joshua will have more leadership impact on believers.

I have some trepidation writing a book about Leadership Lessons with a backdrop of war and conquest. Joshua was commissioned by God to take the land promised to Abraham (Exodus 12:1-2). Joshua and not Moses was commanded to take a wandering nation into the promised land. Moses was not authorized to lead Israel into the Promised Land (Deu. 34:4). Within this backdrop there are some amazing leadership lessons orchestrated by God using Joshua as His instrument.

My objective is for the reader to gain valuable insights on leadership through Joshua’s experiences. War is an ugly thing. During the conquest and despite the horror and terribleness of the surrounding events, Joshua exhibited some phenomenal leadership skills. Through Joshua’s experiences, I will attempt to articulate leadership lessons we can all benefit from.

God promised the nation of Israel the land of Canaan through Abraham’s descendants. The Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years before their exodus. Because of their disobedience, God made them wander in the desert for forty years. God would not allow Moses to lead Israel into the promised land. But He did commission Joshua with the mantel of leadership to lead Israel through the battles east of the Jordan and throughout the Canaan conquest west of the Jordan.

I will shed light on some leadership lessons inspired by Joshua from the first few books of the Bible, of course all through the book of Joshua, and the first two chapters of Judges. There are innumerable lessons we can all benefit from. Read and think through the lens of leadership and not through the lens of combat. I will show each reader how Joshua was unquestionably a perfect person to be born into, raised within, commissioned, and tested through the crucible of leadership to lead Israel into the promised land.

Joshua was born a slave and died possibly Israel’s greatest general. He was inarguably one its greatest leaders. He loved God and never lost his faith. He was a phenomenal example for all to emulate. Was he perfect? No! No one is. But he was darn good. The lessons he inspired are timeless regardless of your environment. Again, think through the lens of leadership and not combat.

Throughout this project I gained a whole new respect for Joshua and what his mission was, how he achieved it, and how he overcame the numerous obstacles. I revalidated what can happen with an undying faith in our Lord God. I am hopeful you will gain invaluable leadership lessons and nuggets as well as gain new insights by reading God’s Word.

Leadership is fascinating to me and I revalidate everyday how organizations rise and fall because of leadership, or lack thereof. Joshua is a perfect protagonist in the study of leadership. From scripture, he shows us by his actions and his words what to do and what not to do. Joshua is a leader worthy of emulation.

My ask is you keep an open mind when you read the lessons I’ve penned. I also ask you to read the appropriate scripture while reading the lessons. You will gain a lot by simply reading this book, but you will gain so much more reading this book in tandem with the Bible.

2

FROM PROMISE TO POSSESSION – A BRIEF HISTORY

(Genesis & Exodus)

The Exodus, the wandering in the desert, the crossing of the Jordan River, and the taking possession of the Promised Land in Canaan are all very interesting stories in the Bible. They are also very fascinating events in the history of Israel. They can each stand on their own but are all hugely interrelated. They do however have major significance to Christians.

The Lord made Abraham a promise that he would give him a land that the Lord would show him. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Gen. 12:2-3). God did not initially show Abraham this land, Abraham accepted it on faith. Also, Abraham was childless, and his wife Sarah was barren.

When Abraham was 100 years old Sarah bore him a son and they named him Isaac. God further tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice his one and only son