Our message for this evening is entitled “The Echelon Principle.” I am not going to tell you what an echelon is just yet; however, some of you might already know. I will tell you that it has something to do with playing on the same team, and striving together toward a common goal and purpose. Therefore, “make a note to self” that our message deals with working together in building God’s kingdom.
Trying to Do It Alone (vv. 13-16)
13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. 14 So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
We find here that Moses sat in the seat of judge among the people, deciding right from wrong in difficult matters and civil disputes. Moses also served the people by being a spiritual guide, by making known the statutes of God. He had a difficult task to perform, one that took a great deal of time and energy, for there was a large amount of people to watch over. In Exodus 12:37-38, we read the head-count of the great multitude of people for which Moses was responsible. These verses tell us, “Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. A mixed multitude went up with them also.”
The group of Israelites for which Moses was responsible included 600,000 men, probably around 600,000 women, and perhaps that many children as well. We also read that there was a mixed multitude that went up with them. This mixed multitude included people other than the descendants of Abraham, who took advantage of the opportunity to escape their bondage. Moses was looking at somewhere around 2 million people. This was an incredible amount of people to minister to by oneself. It was more than likely that Moses could not reach everyone, and there were probably some things that were neglected and went unattended.
Tired and Worn Out (vv. 17-18)
17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.
Some of us will look at Moses and say, “Wow, what a model for leadership!” But his father-in-law Jethro said, “The thing that you do is not good” (v. 17). What Moses was doing was not very smart, and his father-in-law pointed it out. He said, “This thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself” (v. 18). Jethro was telling Moses that if he tried to do everything by himself that he would wear himself out. There is no way that he could minister to nearly 2 million people all by himself. Yes, Moses was the spiritual leader, but he was only one man. If all the Israelites were going to receive spiritual guidance, then others needed to help Moses with the task.
How many times have you seen individuals within a church who are trying to take on more than one responsibility? For example, someone might be a deacon / administrator / church bus driver / committee member / Sunday school teacher. And when you look at such an individual, you can see that he or she is getting burnt out. It’s not because they don’t like what they are doing, but it’s because a person is not made to take on such an unbearable load. As Jethro was telling Moses, it’s not good to take on too much, for if we do, then we will burn out.
You Can’t Do It Alone (vv. 19-23)
19 Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. 20 And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. 21 Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”
If the body of Christ is to function properly, we can’t just have a few members doing all the ministry by themselves, while the rest of the people sit around watching the show. Jethro told Moses he could decide the most important matters by himself, but that it was necessary for him to appoint others to help him with the lesser matters. How many of you realize that the most important matter within the church is to see people saved? But there are so many smaller and demanding tasks happening, that we sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture and main purpose. The only way this problem can be solved is to have more leaders and volunteers; and then all areas of the church’s ministry can be taken care of effectively.
Moses was, in a sense, the pastor of the largest mega-church in history. He was the head spiritual leader over all the people. Since he couldn’t do the work alone, he had to appoint other leaders under him who would “bear the burden” (v. 22). Appointing help would enable Moses to perform his duties without burning out. In Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 and verse 12, we read, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up . . . Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Each and every person within a church is supposed to be doing more than just warming a pew. We all have to work together to get the job done, and Jesus expects “all of us” to be working. The “job” is winning people to Christ, and this task is commanded of each and every Christian in the Great Commission. Every member of a local church is a minister. The apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:2 and verse 5, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ . . . For each one shall bear his own weight.” Paul basically said, “You need to be pulling your own weight around here,” and that is something that needs to be communicated to many people in our churches today.
Receiving Help from Others (vv. 24-26)
24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.
Moses let go of any pride he may have had and heeded the advice of his father-in-law. Instead of continuing to do everything by himself, he appointed people to help with the huge task. As we just read from the apostle Paul, we should pull our own weight and thus bear one another’s burdens. I call this the “echelon model of leadership,” or “the echelon principle.” I want to speak with to you about this, but I must first ask, “What is an echelon?” The term “echelon” is defined as, “A formation of troops in which each unit is positioned successively to the left or right of the rear unit to form a step-like line.” It is also defined as, “A level of responsibility or authority in a hierarchy; as in a rank.”(1)
A better understanding of “an echelon” comes from the sport of bicycling. An echelon is when riders on a team form a pace line in order to cut the wind and ride faster. The rider out front slices the wind, while the other riders follow in his slipstream. If the wind comes at the riders from an angle then they form a diagonal line to cut through the wind. After the front rider becomes tired of pulling, he then falls to the back of the line and the next person in line slices the wind for a while. And then when the next person becomes tired, he then he falls to the back of the line, and then the next one becomes the lead rider – and so on, and so forth. The lead rider “pulls his own weight,” and when he becomes tired, someone else takes over and pulls their own weight for a while, thus relieving the burden of the other riders.
An echelon fulfills Paul’s admonition to bear one another’s burdens, and this is a good illustration of how our burdens are relieved when we all work together in achieving a common goal. The common goal for cyclists is for their entire team to win the race, and the common goal for Christians is for the entire church to win by adding souls to the kingdom. This model is such a good illustration because it is the way God has ordered things in His creation. The echelon that a cyclist uses is actually derived from nature.
Have you ever watched a flock of Canadian geese flying overhead? They are in the shape of a “V.” Wild geese form an “echelon” in order to cut through the wind, just as the cyclist does. The goose at the very front of the “V” slices the wind, while the other geese follow in his slipstream. When the goose out front becomes tired, he then falls to the back of the flock, and then another goose takes over cutting the wind.
I want to illustrate this a little further by reading a story I found entitled “The Flying V,” by Angeles Arrien. In this short article, Arrien compares the flight of geese to people working together for a common goal, and I think this story applies to our work in the church. Here is what Arrien says:
This Fall, when you see geese heading south for the winter flying along in V formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation, the whole flock has at least a seventy-one percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. [Likewise] people who share a common direction and sense of common purpose can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
When a goose flies out of formation, it suddenly feels that drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. [Likewise] it is harder to do something alone than together.
When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation, and another goose flies pointed at the head. [Likewise] it is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs. Shared leadership and interdependence give us each a chance to lead as well as opportunities to rest.
The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. What do we say when we honk from behind? We need to make sure our honking is encouraging and not discouraging.
Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick or wounded and falls out of formation, two other geese will fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their flock. [Likewise] if we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by our colleagues and each other in difficult times as well as in good.(2)
The church in general is suffering because not everyone is doing his or her part in sharing about Christ and working to build the kingdom. If we would all work together and bear one another’s burdens, then like these geese that had a seventy-one percent greater flying range, we would have a greater impact for Jesus Christ.
Time of Reflection
We have seen this evening that Moses was worn out because he was trying to do too much on his own. His father-in-law Jethro warned him that he needed to slow down and appoint others to help out with his ministry. Appointing others within the congregation would not only allow Moses to rest, but it would allow people to be ministered to more effectively.
If churches today are going to grow and have an impact for Jesus Christ, then each and every member of a congregation needs to be working, serving, and volunteering. We need to stop overworking the “faithful few,” and stop acting like a “mutinous multitude” criticizing those in leadership. Instead, we must become the “many with a mission,” and work together.
Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase . . . Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:6, 8-9a). We are fellow laborers together, and our primary task is to be planting and watering seeds of the gospel within people’s hearts.
Now, I want to ask you this evening; has someone ever planted a seed within your heart? In the “Parable of the Sower,” in Matthew chapter 13, Jesus identified the seed as “the word of the kingdom” (v. 19). He said that some people will “hear the word and immediately receive it with joy” (v. 20). He also stated that “he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it” (v. 23a). Is the Lord speaking to your heart this evening, and have you understood the word?
In Romans 10:8-10, Paul said, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
NOTES
(1) Taken from Dictionary.com in April 2004 at http://dictionary.reference.com/ search?q=echelon.
(2) Angeles Arrien. “The Flying V,” taken from the Internet in April 2004 at http://www.vaxxine.com/steveb/flyingv.htm.
