PLANNING FOR SUCCESS 

Exodus 18:13-27 

          Moses had been commission by God to bring the people out of Egypt and take them to the Promised Land.  If you are going to take a massive number of people across a great distance requiring many days of traveling you had better have a plan.  In some aspects of the trip Moses had a sure-fire plan.  He knew he would need food and water for the people.  He also knew that there was no way to carry enough food and water for 1 million people for a journey that could take months.  What was Moses’ plan?  It was rely on God.  God fed the people with bread from heaven, quails from the air and water from the earth.  He knew that taking the people through the desert in the heat of the day and pitch blackness of night would be difficult.  Where would he find covering and light for such a massive number of people?  Answer, rely on God.  God gave a cloud to cover the people during the day, and a pillar of fire to light the way by night.  But we see in these verses that Moses had no plan for how to manage this large number of people on an extended trip.  Having no management plan,  

1.     Moses sat alone.  This was not good because

a.      Moses would not be able to meet every bodies needs.  He could not get around to everyone in a days time.  This means that people would have to come back to see him again the next session.  With each session Moses got further and further behind.

b.     Waiting in such long lines and possibly over several days was frustrating and tiring to the people. 

c.     This made Moses a sole dictator.  His voice and his voice alone was the final say.  This allowed the people to look to Moses as their source for everything.

2.     Moses was doing too many jobs.

a.      He was the interface between God and the people.  Whenever they wanted to know the will of God for them personally they came to Moses. 

b.     He was the supreme judge, judging all disputes large or small, settling all matters between individuals.

c.     He was the teacher.  Instructing the people in the Laws and statues of God.  This was not just the 10 Commandments, but laws governing sacrifices, civil laws, religious laws, and penalties for breaking any law.  Teaching this large group of people was a huge job by itself.

Jethro immediately saw a problem with the way Moses was handling the people.  He told Moses, the way you are handling this will cause you to burn out, and the people will get tired and frustrated and start to take matters into their own hands.  Jethro predicted that this management style was destined for failure.  Jethro then helps Moses put in place a system of management that will work for large groups of people.  Jethro told Moses to

1.     Separate duties.  Moses had to realize that he could not be judge, preacher and teacher.  In other words Moses had to realize that he could not alone take on and meet all the needs of the people.

2.     Share responsibility for the large group with some of the group members.  He was to pick out qualified members of the group and give them responsibility for helping to maintain the group.  Now Moses was not to pick just anyone or to accept just any volunteer.  These leaders had to be qualified (verse 21). In order to be leaders they had to fear or reverence God.  They had to hold God, God’s reputation and God’s law above all else.  They had to be honest; men who would do right.  They could not be greedy, or men who would accept bribes.  These men were going to make decisions about the welfare of the people.  They were going to settle disputes and administer judgment.  In order for the system to work, the people had to be assured that the new judges would be fair and honest.

This system Jethro predicted would work because it would leave Moses the time to do the task that only he could do.  It would also keep the people from becoming frustrated with long delays.  This system would allow the people to successfully make it to the Promised Land. 

We also have a New Testament example of this.  Turn to

ACTS 6:1-7

          Here the Gentile Christians were upset because they felt that the gentile widows were not being given the same assistance as the Hebrew widows.  Word got back to Peter and the other disciples that there was a problem in the distribution of communal funds.  One way to quiet this problem was for the disciples to take over the distribution of funds.  However, this would take away from the time that the disciples had to preach and teach the Word of God.  Keep in mind that during this stage of church development, the disciples still had to for the most part provide for their own care.  Peter, who was a tent maker, made tents to help support himself.  It was not like they lay around all day and then went and preached at night.  Time was valuable and the need to preach the Word had to take priority over all else.  The disciples wanted to concentrate on the spiritual needs of the group, not on the carnal needs.  

          Here again we see the leaders delegating responsibilities to others.  In this case 7 men, all of whom happened to have Grecian names, were selected. Once again the men who were selected had to meet certain qualifications.  The men had to be honest, Spirit led and have the wisdom required to do the task.  When the men had been selected the apostles prayed and laid hands on them, not to impart gifts but rather to signify that they authority and blessing of the apostles to carry out the appointed task. 

          What I really want to stress from both of these scriptures is 1) the necessity of group involvement and group leadership, and 2) the need for standards among leaders.  Though God will save anyone in any state, not every one who is saved is ready to be a leader.  In both of these cases the people were being asked to take on more of a leadership role, but not everyone was appointed to a leadership role.  Those who were appointed had to meet certain qualifications and notice that a willingness to volunteer was not one of the qualifications.  Though someone is willing to do a job does not mean that he or she is qualified to do it.  Also though someone is naturally able to do a certain thing does not mean that they are spiritually ready to take on the leadership role in performing that task.  Many times the church today operates with people who are neither spiritually qualified nor naturally gifted to do a task.  People are allowed to take on certain roles because they will volunteer to do them and because the church is short of workers.  

1 TIMOTHY 3:8-13

          Though Paul here speaks of a deacon, this should be applied to all church leaders.  The deacon is to be respectable, not deceitful meaning not saying on thing to one person and something different to another.  He is not to be a heavy drinker, nor is he to be found involved in dishonest financial dealings.  His qualifications as a deacon and as a Christian are to be tried and he is to be blameless in lifestyle.  Though Paul has written this as if only men are to be deacons, I want to point out that in the Greek the same word translated here as deacon is translated as servant when speaking of Phoebe in Romans 16:1.

          My prayer as we move forward is that God will provide Freedom Christian Fellowship with leaders who meet every standard set by God.  I pray that those who are here now and serving is leadership roles will understand the standard set for them by God and will take it upon themselves to meet the challenge. 

ROMANS 12:4-8

          It is also my prayer that as we live up to the standard of God, that he will point out to us the gifts that we already have for use in this body of believers and that he will send us others having gifts were we are lacking. (Go through these gifts briefly.)  In

I Corinthians 12:28 the gift of ruling is called governments, and the gift of ministering is called helps.  All of these gifts are needful to the body and they make the shepherd’s role manageable because others are gifted to take part in leading the body.

          As we move forward, I ask you each to consider your commitment to Christ.  Search out the standard that Christ expects from you as a leader in the Church and commit to living up to that standard.  Also prayer for the gifting of God, suited to the position of leadership God has ordained for you.  Pray for this church, the leaders of the church and your role in the church.  Pray that we will all feel a sense of responsibility for the ministry and that we will all be involved in not only planning for the success of the ministry but also living for the success of the ministry.