Title: Shared Ministry
Text: Exodus 18:13-27
Date: 5/27/07
Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church
Introduction: Next Sunday we will be electing 3 new Deacons. Deacons serve a very important role here at Sulphur Spring Baptist Church. I consider the Deacons of this church to be my Partners in Ministry as we do our best to serve the Lord by serving and ministering to the members of this church and community.
Some churches mistakenly believe that the Deacons should serve as the Board of Directors for the church and that they should make all of the important decisions. On the other hand, Sulphur Spring Baptist church believes the two main responsibilities of Deacons are: (1) To serve as Spiritual Leaders of the Church and (2) To Assist the Pastor in serving and ministering to the people of this congregation.
I thank God for each of the men who have served as Deacons during the last year, and look forward to what God is going to do through the Deacons who will be serving in the year to come.
One of the most common mistakes that many Pastors make is trying to do everything themselves.
Some Pastors do this because in reality that’s what their church members expect them to do.
For other Pastor’s it is a matter of trust. They find it hard to trust anyone, even their deacons to do the job the way it needs to be done. They fall back on the Philosophy of…. “If you want the job done right, then do it yourself.”
For others it’s a control issue. Unfortunately, some Pastors are control freaks and refuse to allow anyone else to make a decision or do anything without consulting them.
Unfortunately because of these and other misconceptions thousands of Pastors experience what experts call Burnout every year and many of them end up leaving the ministry altogether. I still find this hard to believe but according to an article I read the other day as many as 1,000 ministers leave the ministry every month.
This morning I want us to look at a story out of the book of Exodus in which a man named Jethro warned his Son-In-Law Moses about the danger of trying to do everything himself.
Jethro, who lived in the Land of Midian, made the journey to Mt. Sinai where Moses and the people of Israel were living. Apparently, Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to tell her father Jethro that God had delivered the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. Upon hearing the good news, Jethro decided to accompany his daughter and grandsons back to Mt. Sinai. When he arrived he took time to visit with Moses and observe everything that was going on. Let’s pick up the story in verse 13 and we will read through verse 27.
Jethro gave Moses some very good advice here, advice that applies to the modern day Church as much as it did the nation of Israel. Let’s take a few minutes to look at His advice.
1. The first bit of advice that Jethro had for Moses was TO STOP TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING HIMSELF.
EX 18:17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good.
EX 18:18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.”
One of the things that I appreciated Eric saying last week in His sermon, was that I cannot single handedly make this church grow. There is no way that I can do all the preaching, all the teaching, and all of the ministry that needs to be done, it’s just not humanly possible, and more importantly it’s not the way God intends for the church to operate.
The Apostles learned this lesson when the church in Jerusalem began to grow so rapidly following the Day of Pentecost.
They told the church that it wouldn’t be good for them to neglect their responsibility of teaching and preaching the Word of God, in order to make sure that all of the widows were getting their fair share of the food. In other words they were saying that it would be wrong for them to neglect to pray, study God’s Word, and preach, in order to do something, that someone else could do.
That’s when the Apostles encouraged the church to choose 7 trustworthy men, who were full of the Holy Spirit to oversee the daily distribution of food.
That leads us to Jethro’s second piece of Advice to Moses, which was…
2. TO SHARE THE LOAD.
Look back with me if you will at verses 20-22. He says to Moses,
EX 18:20 Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.
EX 18:21 But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
EX 18:22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
Jethro essentially told Moses to concentrate on Teaching the people about God and to let these other men take care of things like settling minor disputes.
This was good advice. One of the most frustrating things for most Pastors is managing their time well enough to make sure they have adequate time to pray, study, and prepare sermons.
I know there are some things that I need to let someone else do so that I can spend more time praying and studying God’s Word, and preparing to preach, but for one reason or another, I never seem to do it.
3. The Next, thing I want you to notice are the SPECIFIC QUALITIES that Jethro told Moses to look for in the men who would serve along side of him.
(1) He told Moses to select CAPABLE MEN; Men who were not only willing but who were capable of doing the job, and doing it well; Men who possessed the wisdom and knowledge to make good decisions; Men who had proven to be good leaders, both at home and in the community.
But being capable of doing a good job wasn’t in and of itself enough. Jethro also encouraged Moses to look for…
(2) MEN WHO FEARED GOD.
Jethro realized how important it is for a leader to fear God. The Bible tells us that the Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Jethro understood that these men would be called upon to make important decisions; decisions that would affect the entire community. Consequently they needed to be men who not only feared God, but men who loved Him with all of their heart, with all of their soul, and with all of their strength. They needed to be godly men, who had the well being of the entire community in mind.
(3) The Third requirement that Jethro mentions is that these MEN SHOULD BE TRUSTWORTHY. (That they should hate dishonest gain).
In other words these men must be Men of Integrity; Men whose reputations in the community were above reproach; Men who could not be bribed, or influenced in any way to favor one person over another; Men who were not only honest but would be impartial and fair in their judgments.
I don’t know about you, but Jethro’s advice to Moses reminds me of the qualities or requirements that the Apostle Paul gave to Timothy concerning those who should serve as deacons. In 1 Timothy 3:8-12 it says,
“Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.” In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.”
Over the Years Sulphur Spring Baptist Church has been blessed to have many Godly men serve as Deacons. Since this is Memorial Day weekend I want to take a few minutes this morning to remind you of some of the men that have served as Deacons of this great church; Men whose influence and legacy continues to live on despite the fact that they are no longer with us.
Men like J.J. Jepson, Robert Wingo, Leslie Cushenberry, Frank Baird, Ennis Blewett, Clarence Evans, Jimmy Hatter, and Claypool Kinnaird.
It was 1931, The Great Depression had taken its toll on businesses, churches and families. Times were hard and money was difficult to come by. But Mr. J.J. Jepson and Mr. Clarence Evans who were serving as Deacons at the time felt like it was time for the church to build some rooms for Sunday School. At that particular time, everyone was still meeting here in the Sanctuary. Even though money was tight these two great men of God led the church to “Walk by Faith and not by sight,” and to trust that God would provide the money, material and labor that was needed to construct the new addition. The church voted in January of 1931 to build the new addition and by May of that same year 6 large Sunday School rooms were constructed and being used for the glory of God.
These men were not only respected in the church but were also well respected in the community. One of our members related the following story to me on Friday afternoon. It seems that a group of men were sitting around playing cards in a store in Franklin one afternoon. The owner of the store noticed Mr. Clarence Evans walking toward the door and quickly told the men to put their money in their pockets because Mr. Clarence was getting ready to walk through the door. Obviously Mr. Evans was a man of Character and principle, who would not have approved of gambling, or as the scripture says “the pursuit of dishonest gain.”
Mr. Evans was also a dedicated student of the Bible and would spend at least one hour every night reading his Bible and studying to prepare to teach His Sunday School lesson on Sunday. He took the Apostle Paul’s advice to study and show himself approved seriously and consequently he was a great Sunday School teacher.
Mr. Robert Wingo, the Husband of Edna Wingo, and father of Jackie & David was another one of the great men of God that served as a Deacon of this Church. Like Mr. Evans he taught Sunday School and also taught RA’s for a while. He believed in tithing and if the Lord put it on his heart he might just give a little more to a family in need or to a Missionary who happened to come by and share with the Church what God was doing through his ministry. Not only did Mr. Wingo believe in tithing but he took his responsibility as the Spiritual leader of his home seriously. He made sure that Jackie and David were in Sunday School and Church, but even beyond that He made sure the family had a devotion together every night before going to bed.
Jimmy Hatter liked to refer to himself as the “Mad Hatter,” and liked to introduce himself as Micheal Jordan’s father-in-law. Jimmy loved life, and he enjoyed having a good time, but he took the responsibility of serving as a Deacon very seriously. He was a man of prayer, who prayed for the pastor and his family on a daily basis. He supported me as your pastor and told me shortly after coming here that if I ever needed someone to talk to in confidence that He was a good listener and that He would never tell anyone, including Betty Ruth what I said. I don’t know about your previous Pastor’s but I know how much that meant to me.
Jimmy loved the Lord and wasn’t afraid to invite someone to church or share his faith. In 1999, he and Betty Ruth, and several others from our church went to New England on a Mission Trip. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go because I was in the hospital. But Linda Brigance reminded me on Wednesday night, that everywhere he went on that trip, Jimmy was passing out tracks and talking to people about the Lord.
Last year, on June 4, 2006, Claypool Kinnaird was sitting over in this section when he suffered what we thought was a stroke. Later we found out it was a seizure caused by a tumor that was putting pressure on his brain. Claypool was an ordained Deacon and served in that capacity several times throughout the years. One of the things that I will always appreciate about Claypool is his love and faithfulness to the church. It didn’t matter if he was here or in Florida, if it was Sunday he was going to be in Church. After Claypool died last year, Betty Jo told me about the time when she went into labor with their son Kevin. Unfortunately it wasn’t an easy delivery and in fact act one point she and Kevin’s lives were both in danger, but thankfully the Lord intervened and everything turned out alright. The next morning, when Betty Jo woke up she saw Claypool getting dressed and she asked him what he was doing. He responded by saying, “It’s Sunday, and I’m getting ready to go to church because after all, I think we’ve got a lot to be thankful for today.”
CONCLUSION: WOW, IT’S NO WONDER THAT GOD HAS BLESSED THIS CHURCH SO MUCH THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
PERHAPS NOW, MORE THAN EVERY BEFORE WE NEED DEACONS WHO LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL OF THEIR HEART, WITH ALL OF THEIR SOUL, AND WITH ALL OF THEIR MINDS.
WE NEED DEACONS WHO ARE WELL RESPECTED IN THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS IN THE CHURCH.
WE NEED DEACONS WHO CAN NOT ONLY TALK THE TALK, BUT CAN ALSO WALK THE WALK.”
WE NEED DEACONS WHO KNOW AND LOVE GOD’S WORD AND ARE NOT AFRAID TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERS.
WE NEED DEACONS WHO ARE GOOD STEWARDS OF THEIR TIME, THEIR TALENTS, AND THEIR FINANCES.
WE NEED DEACONS WHO ARE CAPABLE LEADERS, WHO CAN NOT ONLY GET THE JOB DONE, BUT GET IT DONE RIGHT.
WE NEED DEACONS WHO FEAR GOD, AND ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT THEM THAN THEY ARE ABOUT WHAT THE PERSON SITTING ON THE PEW BEHIND THEM THINKS.
WE NEED DEACONS WHO ARE TRUSTWORTHY, WHOSE CHARACTER AND REPUTATIONS ARE ABOVE REPROACH.
FINALLY, WE NEED DEACONS WHO WILL PRAY FOR AND SUPPORT THEIR PASTOR AND COME ALONG BESIDE ME AND DO WHATEVER THEY CAN TO LIGHTEN MY LOAD AND HELP ME MINISTER TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS CHURCH AND COMMUNITY.
