What Type Of Leader Are You? Consider Moses

 Pivoting Towards Leadership Plurality

Leadership challenges related to growth and maturity amongst God’s people are not a novel concept. As far back as 13^th to 14^th BCE, Moses (prophet and leader of the Israelites) concluded, on the advice of his father-in-law (Jethro), that the most effective way of leading his people was through a plurality of leadership. The book of Exodus provides the context of their exchange:

But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. Surely you and these people with you will wear yourselves out because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone. Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves (Exod. 18:17-18, 25-26, BSB).

 

Moses was challenged, and relief was provided in the form of wisdom from an observer. Walvoord and Zuck (1989) posit that Jethro urged a delegation of responsibilities, but Moses was not to abdicate his responsibility to teach the people. Relief would be achieved through a collaborative effort where Moses would “appoint spiritually and morally qualified men as judges to implement the keeping of the Law (Exod. 18:16, 20-21; Walvoord and Zuck, p. 136). Foundry (2018) further describes how collaborative ministry greatly benefited the people of God: Jethro recognized that the current system would fail, as the workload was too heavy for Moses; the result was “the implementation of a multi-tier judicial system of capable leaders with indispensable qualifications” (p. 202).

This historical recount of Moses’ leadership challenge would foreshadow God’s plan for His church. Foundry (2018) refers to this unfolding of God’s divine plan as a “process of leadership diversification or democratization” (p. 203). How is this related to the research problem? In visits and during fellowship with the Bahamian churches, this author observed that many pastors try to do the work themselves despite appointing supporting leaders (often ordained elders and ministers). How does this impact ministry effectiveness? Does the pastoral leadership team feel ill-equipped for the task? Answers to these questions have shaped this study’s RQs and subsequent methodology. 

Keep in mind, Moses was a great leader. Unfortunately, he wore many hats – mediator, miracle worker, warrior, prophet, priest, lawgiver, and architect (Foundry, 2018, p. 203). As Moses’ leadership journey progressed, the opportunity for further assessment of the health of his organization (the people of Israel) manifested in a complaint to his leader (God):

Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have put the burden of all this people on me? I am not able to carry all this people by myself, because it is too burdensome for me (Num. 11: 11, 14; NASB).

 

God’s response:

Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take away some of the Spirit who is upon you and put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it by yourself (Num. 11:16-17; NASB).

 

The reader should note that God explicitly acknowledges His Spirit working in and through Moses. Allen et al. (2017) contends that the elders who would be appointed to share Moses’ burden “would share the same Holy Spirit who animated and empowered Moses” (p. 219). God’s intention, from the beginning, then, was for shared/participative leadership (“and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it by yourself,” Num. 11: 17b, NASB). This serves the best interests of the church, and facilitates healthy risk-taking, trust (allowance of feedback and innovative ministry ideas), and healthy conflict (encouraging the extraction and exploiting of team members’ ideas) [Lencioni, 2002, p. 197-204].

This practice of shared leadership and the use of diverse spiritual gifts would become the hallmark of the Christian church. Foundry (2018) contends that Jesus was engaged in the practice of ministry gifts delegation and leadership diversification (Mat. 10; Lk. 9-10), and a distinct reality in the Book of Acts (6:1-6, 8:4-8; p. 204). The Apostle Paul would expound on this leadership paradigm in his epistolary practice (Eph. 4; Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12). Both historical and current literature point to the principle of shared/participative leadership (1 Cor. 12: 12-26) as the impetus for growth.

Dr. Kevin A. Hall (2023).