LEADERSHIP BY THE BOOK: ASSESSING MOSES’ LEADERSHIP

Moses - A Man of Selfless Dedication/Chapter 14: Why Leaders Crack Up

Charles Swindoll argues that the problem of delegation seems to be the common struggle of leaders across the globe. This problem occurs “when leaders try to do too much on their own, when they neglect to bring others into the job to help them shoulder the load” (218).

Many Christian leaders feel like they must be all they can to all people to assuage lingering guilt or to win someone’s approval (even God). Most times the result of this peril are leaders who become overworked, drained, and exhausted. Following closely comes confusion, vision loss, burnout, and for some, the loss of family.

Exodus 18 is a study in leadership and the fine art of delegating.

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.² After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her ³ and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,^[a] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; ⁴ and the other was named Eliezer,^[b] for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”⁵ Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. ⁶ Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent.

Moses received a surprise visit from his father-in-law, a welcomed surprise. Jethro brought along Moses’ wife and kids. One should be grateful when (1) you can let down your guard and share with another leader/mentor; and (2) you have a good relationship with the in-laws.

Jethro ended the day by leading Moses and company into worship. He was not jealous of Moses’ experiences; he rejoiced for his success. Jethro blessed God for his son-in-law and the work God did through him

 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” ¹² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

It is a blessing to have good relationships with family members and to have the ear of an encouraging mentor/friend.

ü  Leaders need relational support – encouragement and affirmation.

Leadership Assessment

Pleasantries aside, Jethro was given a front row seat to observe Moses’ leadership. This is what he saw:

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?”

Jethro offered an outsider’s perspective. What are you doing Moses? He sees the activity; He notices room for improvement. Maybe, by this time, Moses is so burnt out even he cannot see the operational shortfalls. A few questions come to Jethro’s mind:

1)      What are you doing with your time? Is this the best way to use it?

2)      The people are lined up from morning until evening. Is this the best use of their time? Is there a more efficient way to meet their needs?

3)      Why are you doing this job Moses? Is this the best use of your gifts?

4)      Moses, why are you running the show solo? Do you really need to carry all this load?

Moses gave Jethro a straightforward answer – I am the complaint department and that’s the Job God gave me

 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 instructions.

Jethro responds. While that is a good and straightforward answer, Moses,  I assess we can go about this differently

“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.

Translating the term “wear out” into Hebrew gives you” to be withered with exhaustion; to sink or drop down; to wither and fall.”

Jethro was the voice of reason. It took courage to console and confront Moses – the Great Moses. If you are a leader, do you have this type of counsel? Able to object constructively for goal accomplishment. Jethro perhaps would have said:

“Listen Moses. This is my humble opinion. If you keep this up, there will be nothing left of you. This thing is wearing you out man! If you don’t make a change, and soon, you’re going to get old fast and wrinkled. And so will the people. I believe their needs can be met in a better way then just standing around all day in the sun to hear your counsel. You need to make some changes around here.”

Quick Assessment:

ü  Are you open to others’ advice?

ü  Are you accessible?

ü  Are you even open to the opinion of those who may not be at your level?

ü  Can you take constructive criticism with grace?

ü  Can you even accept what your wife tells you?!

ü  Is there a better way of doing things so that you have more time for yourself and those who care for you?

 

Historical Background (Ref. Hall Dissertation on Leadership)

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

Reference: Swindoll, C. R. (1999). Moses: A man of selfless dedication. Word Publishing, Nashville.