LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP – PART FIVE
“RUNNING ON EMPTY”
GENESIS 18:13-26
©Larry L. Thompson (2003)
“The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. [14] When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
[15] Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. [16] Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and laws."
[17] Moses’ father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. [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. [19] Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. [20] Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. [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. [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. [23] If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
[24] Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. [25] He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. [26] They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.”
INTRODUCTION:
It was sometime in 1984 that I made this statement from the pulpit, “I just want all of you to know that I am available to you 24 hours a day.” Shortly after the service Fred Bostian, a saintly gentleman with beautiful white hair asked if he could speak with me in private. We stepped into an office and he said, “So you’re going to be available to me 24 hours a day?” I smiled with a pious and contented grin while humbly shaking my head in the affirmative. There was a long pause followed by, “Then I have but one question for you. If you are available to me and all the other people in our church 24 hours a day then WHEN DO YOU EVER HAVE TIME TO MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE TO GOD? TO CYNTHIA? TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? If you are running 24 hours a day then you stop to be refilled and we all know that it is impossible to run on empty. If you fail to make yourself available in those areas then you will be no value to me even if I can reach you 24 hours a day. It was a great sound bite from the pulpit but that is all it was, a sound bite spoken for the sake of your own pride and not for the people.”
Today’s Lesson in Leadership comes from the life of Moses and we are able to see that he was actually attempting to be available, “all the time to all the people.” His father in law came to town and then he equipped Moses with a leadership principle that sounds so easy but it is the one area in which so many leaders fail. It is the principle of delegation…one of the absolute keys to building a solid foundation.
The secular world calls it The “PYRAMID PARADIGM.” The definition is “no organization can grow effectively beyond the solid foundation of equipped and engaged leaders.” Let’s examine today’s steps in building the principles of delegation: READ TEXT: The process of delegation begins with…
I. EVALUATION (EXODUS 18:13-16)
“The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. [14] When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?" [15] Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. [16] Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and laws."
A solid evaluation of any life or organization requires that you ask the right questions. Here is the focus of the questions Jethro directed to Moses in evaluating his leadership.
a. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES? "What is this you are doing for the people?” By asking this question Jethro immediately forced Moses to evaluate his personal priorities. The question of priorities centered on the fact that Moses must evaluate and re-examine his call from God. Was Moses called to judge God’s people or teach and lead God’s people? While Moses obviously had a keen sense of responsibility he made one of the most common mistakes in leadership. The mistake that separates good leaders from great leaders. He appeared to believe he was indispensable. “Unless I do this judging it won’t get done.” This is the reason some in leadership are labeled, ‘control freaks.’ They feel they have to have their finger on everything and no one can do the job as effectively as they can. By asking the question Moses was forced to face the truth regarding his priorities. “I want people to know that I am in charge” rather than, “I want people to know God’s truth and live in the fullness of His life.”
ILLUSTRATION: ESSENTIALS OR INCIDENTALS
ONE EFFECTIVE WAY TO EVALUATE YOUR PRIORITIES IS TO IDENTIFY YOUR WORK BY WHAT IS ESSENTIAL AND WHAT IS INCIDENTAL. THE ESSENTIALS OF YOUR WORK ARE THE TASKS THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL TO INSURING THE SUCCESS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR JOB. EVERYTHING ELSE IS INCIDENTIAL. THE INCIDENTALS ARE TASKS THAT YOU MAY ENJOY DOING BUT THEY ARE NOT CENTRAL TO THE SUCCESS OF YOUR PARTICULAR RESPONSIBILITY.
b. WHAT ARE YOUR PROBLEMS? “Why do…all these people stand around you from morning till evening?" The second question “Why do all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” Now Jethro intends to have Moses focus on the problems associated with the misplaced priorities in his leadership. Richard Jackson once told me, “The problem with most leaders in ministry is that the people give them God hats…and the real tragedy is when the spiritual leaders actually try to wear them.” The answer that Moses gave indicated that he felt HE ALONE was qualified to do this job. Sounds self-serving but in reality it is organizationally destructive. Moses leadership style presented three serious problems:
i. HE WAS FAILING HIS FAMILY
Moses was failing his family in that he was on a course to burn out in his ministry. When I first entered ministry there was a coined phrase that many preachers would use in conferences to distinguish the difference between a liberal who didn’t have a heart or conviction to build a ministry and a conservative that would never stop working. The phrase was, “I’d rather burn out than rust out.” It sounded great and it always elicited the response from the crowd until someone realized that it doesn’t matter if you burn out or rust out…either way you’re out. Moses was working “morning till evening” and the evaluation from Jethro is, “…you will only wear yourselves out.”
Moses was failing his family in that he never had time for them. He had already sent them home with Jethro one time and now he continues in the same cycle, somehow justifying his neglect of family by rationalizing the importance of his position. There has never been a dying man or woman who said on their death bed, “I regret I didn’t spend more time in the office.”
Leaders are NOT exempt from the CONSEQUENCES of breaking the laws of nature as well as the breaking of the laws of God. A failure to delegate will ultimately lead to either the demise of your area of responsibility or physical, emotional and spiritual breakdown. Our bodies were not made to function under the continued intense pressure without finding the breaking point.
ii. HE WAS FAILIING GOD’S FAMILY
Secondly, Moses was failing the family of God. He was not only wearing himself out, he was also wearing out God’s people. (v.18) Anything that was done had to first go through Moses. This was stifling the initiative of the people, breaking their spirit because of the length of time it was taking to get a judgment and also would be a cause to breed resentment.
iii. HE WAS FAILING TO BUILD THE FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE
“Why do you alone sit as judge?” Finally, Moses was failing to effectively build the foundation for the future. Jethro was asking, “What about your Personnel?” By controlling the entire process he was not using the tremendous resources God had provided him through the people he was leading. Their talents and abilities were dormant and new leaders were not being trained and equipped. The end result is the future foundation of the nation would be weak and the success would constantly be suspect. In the 1950’s America was operating under a leadership principle that historians now call “THE BANYAN TREE PRINCIPLE OF LEADERSHIP.” ONE GREAT EFFECTIVE LEADER, dominating everyone else, giving the absolute direction for the organization and like a towering Banyan tree these leaders were huge but nothing was able to grow beneath them. The results were devastating because when the leader died the organization for the most part was also doomed. Moses made the leadership mistake of saying, “It’s easier for me to do the job than to train another to do the job.”
II. RECOMMENDATION (EXODUS 18:17-23)
Once Moses had answered the questions of his father-in-law and the evaluation was complete then Jethro was decisive in making his recommendation. The recommendation regarding delegation of authority was prompt, insightful, and honest and was in the best interest of Moses and the people of God.
Do you know what I love about Jethro? He will not simply say, “Moses you’re making a mess of this organization and you’re killing yourself and the people.” Instead he said that but then also offered a solution to the problem. The recommendation came in two parts:
a. TEACH THE WORD (Exodus 18:19-20)
“Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. [20] Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.”
As a spiritual leader, Moses must represent the people before God (the ministry of intercessory prayer) and must teach the entire counsel of God’s word. The ironic fact is that by praying and preaching he would be much more effective than by trying to please the people sitting outside all day listening to everyone’s complaint.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY: Galatians 1:10
One of the lessons in leadership I learned in my prison was the truth of Gal. 1:10.
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
When it all boils down to one key factor in spiritual leadership it is this: It doesn’t matter how much time I spend with people, listening to problems or counseling if I haven’t spent the time necessary before the Lord and HIS WORD. THE PEOPLE OF GOD WILL FORGIVE THEIR LEADERS OF MUCH BUT THEY WILL NOT FORGIVE THEIR LEADERS FOR FAILING TO HAVE A WORD FROM GOD.
b. TRAIN THE WORKERS (Exodus 18:21-23)
“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. [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. [23] If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
In other words, Moses was now being instructed by Jethro to DELEGATE! Moses would give the incidentals to new leaders who are chosen and equipped to perform the duties and he would return to the ESSENTIALS that God required of him. What is interesting is that the incidentals of Moses now become the Essentials of the new leaders…and thus the future foundation is now being established.
This is the same picture of what we know happened in Acts 6 when the apostles instructed the church…
Acts 6:1-4 (NIV)
“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. [2] So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. [3] Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them [4] and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
III. IMPLIMENTATION (EXODUS 18:24-26)
“Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. [25] He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. [26] They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.”
Moses wisely accepted the counsel of his elder. It is interesting to note that Moses did EXACTLY what Jethro laid out for him.
a. Share the RESPONSIBILITY: Release the work and the authority!
b. Search for REPLACEMENTS
i. Ministry Descriptions: “Have them serve as judges”
ii. Ministry Qualifications
• CAPABLE – Have the ability to accomplish the task
• God-fearing – Strong spiritual center and commitment
• TRUSTWORTHY – History of honesty, character & integrity
• Hate dishonest gain – Priority is people not possessions
iii. Minister’s Responsibility
• Explain the task
• Examine the volunteer to identify, passion, gift, talents and time
• Expectations of the job
• Equip the volunteer to do the job
• Empower the volunteer – Release with Authority
• Evaluate the task – accountability, inspect the work
• Encourage the worker and affirm the work
Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works first! ~John Haggai ~
FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITY A TRUE LEADER MUST HAVE…
• A Humble Heart
• A Teachable Spirit
• Willingness to deny self
• Eagerness to build others
• An attitude that doesn’t care who gets the credit so long as God is glorified and His work accomplished
CONCLUSION:
We must never forget that from a biblical perspective, efficiency in our work is not judged a success simply by what we have accomplished but it also involves what we have released. We must accomplish the essentials and release the incidentals.
Today, this word has acted as a JETHRO in your life. Listen to what God tells you. He loves you and wants only what is best for you. If you could master this one lesson in leadership it could revolutionize your life. Here are some essential steps to take from this lesson in leadership:
(1) Identify a Jethro in your life.
(2) Determine your spiritual gifts. The gifts of which God has made you a steward, and plan how you will best utilize them for God’s kingdom and for His Glory.
(3) Establish goals for your life by recapturing the ESSENTIALS and releasing your INCIDENTALS.
(4) Establish a plan for both your private world and for your public work. Determine not to neglect either.
(5) Determine in advance your priorities and what future tasks you will accept and those you will turn down.
(6) Seek to differentiate between the CRISIS and the CALL in your life. Minimize the CRISIS and maximize the CALL.
(7) Determine to enlist, involve and facilitate others. You can become the Jethro to another.
