1.0 Introduction
Moses, having
led a whole nation (numbering over 2 million in number assuming one wife and
two children to a man) out of Egypt was charged with spiritual and political
oversight for this huge population.
The visit of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law and his advice to him is one event in
scriptures that presents one of the most
profound teachings to ministers of God, both in antiquity and in our
contemporary world.
This paper seeks
to critically examine the implications of this advice to Ministers today. To effectively address this, it will
be expedient to analyse the situation or condition in which Jethro met Moses at
Rephidim, that is, his original style of attending to the people of God and its
implications on the leader (Moses), the led (Israel) and the ministry itself.
Thereafter, the effects of this counsel to
the contemporary church leader will be
discussed.
2.0 The
Antecedents of the Advice -Exodus 18:13-18
1
God’s
choice of Moses as an instrument of deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt
puts a prerogative of being a lawgiver and also a judge amongst them. He
explained the law to them, answered their questions and served as God’s oracle
to determine the will of God. He also settled quarrels and determined variances
people a man and his neighbour. These duties he performed with great zeal,
faithfulness and industry; not even taking the occasion of his father-in-law’s
visit to take time off, he attended to the people from morning till evening the
next day of his arrival (Ex18:13).
Many
contemporary leaders or ministers today, just like Moses, take on their
spiritual calling with utmost dedication and faithfulness devoting their time
and energy to church activities, conducting naming ceremonies, baptism of
members, preaching every Sunday sermon, bible study teaching and leading all
prayer meetings just to ensure that the ‘work’ does not ‘suffer’. Every file or
matter must be go through the Pastor to be redressed, no one else can give
approval or take decisions regarding the church but the Pastor.
However,
a quick situation analysis by Jethro identified the implications of this style
of leadership in three aspects; on Moses, on the people and the ministry itself
(vs.18).
2.1 Antecedent
effects on Moses
Jethro’s
question to Moses and his response ‘….because
the people come to me to enquire of God….’ (Ex. 18:15), reveals his distorted
perception, which was the crux of his ministry style. 1) Moses thought that ‘he’ was the only
one that could reveal the will of God to the people. He had come to see himself
as the only person qualified to rightly judge the people’s disputes 2.
2)
Moses believed that every request for his help made the matter his
responsibility 3) He seemed to assume that because people came to him
personally for help it was his responsibility to help them personally 4) Moses
wrongly reasoned that because his task was to lead the entire nation, he must
do so by dealing with people one at a time 3.
Jethro
noted that it was too much business for Moses to undertake alone, that it would
be a prejudice to his health and too great a fatigue to him; the resultant
effect will be a ‘burn out’ for Moses, a frazzled psychological condition 3 therefore he tells him plainly, it is not good
5.
According to the
Schaeffer Institute, 70 percent of pastors constantly fight depression, and 71 percent are burned out, 80 percent
believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families; and 70
percent say they don’t have a close friend 6.
Dr Richard Krejcir in his article ‘Avoiding Burnouts as Pastors’ alludes to the fact that burnout for pastors is perhaps one of the main reasons why people quit and leave ministry.
This style of ministry where the Pastors does it alone also impact on
time management. Moses attended
to people from morning to evening. The question is when does he have time to
pray, study, or even attend to his immediate family needs, wife and children? The
neglect of these critical needs has resulted in many family crises that have
negatively impacted on the kingdom business and ended in disgrace. But for Jethro’s
intervention, Moses perhaps would have lost communion with God, raised wayward children and made a
shipwreck of his faith.
There
may be over-doing even in well-doing, and therefore our zeal must always be
governed by discretion, that our good may not be evil spoken of. Wisdom is
profitable to direct, that we may neither content ourselves with less than our
duty nor over-task ourselves with that which is beyond our strength5.
2.2 Antecedent
effects on the people
The
one-man show that Moses was running also took a toll on the people he was
called to lead. Even though Moses was a strong man and had the will to work, he
was still a man with limited capacity as he himself declared in Deut 1: 9 that
the burden was much for him. The process was tiresome to the people, who, were
obliged to wait a long time because of the multitude of cases needing
attention. Some of them from morning to night, and yet could not get their
audience with Moses and were obliged to attend next day, and perhaps day after
day 8.
Seeking
audience with a man of God and not being able to see him can spring up several
consequences in the congregation; frustration, neglect, anger, despair,
grumbling and murmuring among others, which are unhealthy for the church (Act
6:1).
Moreover,
the mature ones among the congregation will have developed a mood of inadequacy
and uselessness; thinking that only Moses had something to offer the people.
Many times, when such situations are not properly managed, it results in
rebellion.
2.3 Antecedent
effects on the Ministry
The
scenario that Jethro observed before he gave his advice was that of an
inefficient mode of operation. If Moses were to continue at that rate, some of
the people will never get their confusion about the law resolved because it
would never be their turn till the end of Moses’ lifetime! Lack of delegation
has implication for investing so much and getting very little result because we
can only do so much with our human ability.
Moreover,
the ministry of Moses would have been largely limited to the few lives he could
have touched personally through his one-on-one ministration, he would have left
much grounds uncovered.
Many
times, this same ministry that Pastors or men of God over-work themselves over
eventually becomes a victim of their lack of discretion and wisdom. A Pastor
who dies young as a result of stress paints God as a slave driver to his
congregation; or a leader whose wife leaves him owing from neglect and lack of
care brings disrepute on the very gospel he has been called to preach.
3.0 The
Implications of the Advice on Contemporary Ministers –Ex.18:19-22
The
wise counsel of Jethro to Moses highlights some critical principles which we
find also applied in the New Testament church.
The
first principle Jethro taught Moses is that a leader must take charge and be in
control of his time. It was obvious that Moses was accepting all invitations,
attending to all issues and was not in control of what he spent his time on or
chose to see. To put the matter in
contemporary terms, the higher the level of a corporate executive, the more
difficult it becomes to obtain an appointment with that leader. Our text
implies that Moses was not turning down any appointments. Jethro therefore
urged Moses to exercise leadership by getting in control of his time, and of
the ways in which he would lead the people.3
The
second was prioritization and the third delegation. Moses was
advised to devote himself to intercession for the people (v. 19) and
instruction (v. 20); which were the core of the ministry God called him to. A
leader must prioritize; he must be able to distinguish the major from the minor
and focus his attention and energy on only one thing that is needful (Lk.
10:42). The parallels between Exodus
chapter 18 (including its implementation in Deuteronomy 1:9-18) and Acts 6 are supernatural. Both the
Old and New Testament incidents originated from problems which were the result
of rapid growth, large numbers of people, and too few leaders. Both events
required the leadership to expand, and for those on the highest level of
leadership to devote themselves to their primary calling; the ministry of the
word and prayer, and to delegate the other ministries to highly qualified men.
Delegation
was to be done to enable him share the burden with other like-minded people.
Ministry is not to be run in isolation. Our Lord Jesus Christ also lived by
this principle; he called the twelve to himself to walk together, then he
called the 70 as well and gave them authority to do the same miracles he did.
The
fourth point that must be noted as incorporated in the advice is the need to carefully
select the delegates. They must be godly and faithful, people who have
overcome sin and the flesh (2 Timothy 2:2). This is a failure that is apparent
in the contemporary church of today, where men whose character have not been
tested and tried are given responsibilities in the church to the detriment of
the flock. Jesus understood the implication of this and spent the night praying
before he eventually selected the twelve. Apostle Paul admonishes Timothy to
lay hands on no man suddenly (I Tim. 5:22) and before Jesus sent out His
disciples, He taught them and poured himself into them.
We
also see that for Moses to effectively delegate, he must still have oversight
and leadership over those under him requiring managerial skills. Since
Moses was to appoint judges (leaders of smaller groups), it then means that he
himself was to become a manager of these leaders and as such must develop the
necessary skills. They were to bring great matters that needed intervention to
him because delegation is the exercise of leadership, not the outright
abandonment of it. 9 Ministers today must develop themselves in the
requisite managerial skills for ministry, we see many teachers today who were
not taught, many pastors without pastor. The result is that they lack spiritual
oversight and control and as such become easy preys to the enemy.
Finally,
the attitude of a leader must reflect deep humility, willing to learn and
teachable. Moses exemplified the character of humility by accepting the advice of
Jethro. It is tragic to imagine leaders today who cannot be controlled by older
and more experienced men of God. They blurt out ‘don’t you tell me how to do my job, you are
ordained, I am ordained’. 10
4.0 Conclusion
The
advice of Jethro came timely to Moses and also provides a gold mine of
leadership principles for the contemporary ministers. We can conclude that
Moses’ heeding of the wise counsel must have contributed to his ability to find
time enough to write the Pentateuch; the most revered of all the scriptures by
the Jews today, upon which all the other books of the bible rest. The lessons from
these writings have impacted on the New Testament church and are also for our
example today.
5.0 References
1.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version. New Testament Copyright 1979; Thomas
Nelson, Inc.
3. Bob
Deffinbaugh (2004) The Tyranny of the
Urgent. Available at https://bible.org/seriespage/
4. Biblical Coaching according to
Jethro: An Old Testament Model. Available at: http://reformedbiblicalcoaching.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/biblical-coaching-according-to-jethro-an-old-testament-model/
5. Matthew
Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, PC Study Bible Formatted Electronic
Database Copyright © 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc.
6. Francis
A. Schaeffer (2000). Available at: http://www.churchleadership.org/.
7. Richard
Krejcir (2000). Avoiding Burnouts as
Pastors. Available at: http://www.churchleadership.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=42892&columnid=4607
9. Jethro's Counsel to Moses.
Available at: www.enduringword.com
10. Jethro’s Advice
(2010). Available at :http://grahamculver.wordpress.com/)
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