Exodus 18:13-26 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture as a leader.  You have Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law (who happens to be a priest of Midian), coming to Moses bringing Moses’ wife and two sons to reunite them.  After arriving, Jethro notices a great injustice that is going on.  Moses had been the man to lead the Israelites out of bondage from Egypt.  God had set him up as a leader and intercessor for the people.

One big problem: Moses was doing it all by himself.

In this passage, Jethro gives some great advice about the art of delegation.  He shares with Moses that there is no way that this can go on for the long haul and be effective.  Moses had to train up some men and relinquish some of the duties to others so that he (and the people) wouldn’t be worn out.

I think one big reason that this passage means so much to me is that delegation is something I sometimes struggle with.  I have been blessed to serve in church student ministry since 1998.  I have had student ministries both large and small.  One key element with each of them is that no one person can do it all themselves.  I am often drawn back to the example of Jesus as He poured into 12 men so that the work might reach more.  Even God Himself realized and gave the example that no one human can do the work of God alone.  As leaders, we have been called to multiply ourselves and pass the baton on to others (Ephesians 4:11-12).

If this (training and delegation) is one of the key tasks in ministry, why do so few do it?  I have a couple of ideas…

1. Ignorance. Many leaders have not been shown that they aren’t called to do it all.  In the study of duties of a minister, they look to 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus to give them a description of what leadership is to look like.  They miss this great truth in Ephesians 4 of one of the primary duties of a minister.
2. Pride. Some leaders just have this chip on their shoulder and feel that “others can’t do it as good as I can.”  This is pride, and this kind of pride is sin.  For one who thinks that they are the only one who can do it, I have one question: are you greater than Jesus?  Even Jesus passed the baton of the church (under the direction of the Holy Spirit) to the apostles.
3. Laziness. Let’s face it.  Training others and passing the baton off is hard work.  You have to take much time (and patience) in training someone to do what you do.  Some leaders feel that it would just be a better use of their time to do it themselves rather than invest in others.

In all of these excuses, one can see that all of them fall short of glorifying our Savior and Lord.  Honestly, I have fallen victim to each of these excuses in my time in ministry.  Each time seeing that though some ministry was being done, it was very limited.  What would happen if a leader did take this calling of training and delegating serious?

1. Multiplied ministry. If one person can effectively minister and relate to about 12-15 people, how many people could effectively be reached and ministered to by two? Five? Ten?  The work of ministry is not something just to be left to the “professionals” (pastors, youth pastors, missionaries, etc).  Every believer is called to ministry.  It is just common sense then that the more trained leaders you have, the more ministry can be done.  The more ministry effectively done, the more lives touched and radically changed by God.  The more changed lives by God, the more glory He receives.
2. Healthier Church. I use the term “Church” to refer to the entire body of believers not just a local congregation.  When leaders train and delegate, more saints realize that they are gifted and enabled to be a part of God’s work in this world.  The Church then starts to function as it was intended to – as the Body of Christ (a representation of Him).
3. Healthier lives. When leaders train and delegate, they free their own lives up to take care of their own bodies and families.  A great word of wisdom that was given to me by my father in the ministry went something like this: “don’t lose your family trying to take care of everyone else’s.”  If we do not train and delegate some ministry responsibilities and try to do it all ourselves, then we will be no good to ourselves or our own families.  If you are burnt out from the stress of doing it all yourself, then what good would you be to others?  What good would your ministry be if your family is in shambles because you’re never there.  The last thing I want to hear my wife or children call me is “Bro. Anthony.”

To all the leaders out there, let’s get a grasp of the big picture and fulfill ALL of our calling.  It won’t be easy.  It probably won’t be a quick process, but the results are (I think) what God intended from the beginning.

I have been reading through the book of Exodus in my daily readings for the past couple of days.  This has been a great journey through God’s word for me.  As I came to the familiar passage about God using Moses and Aaron to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery, one thing stood out to me: the mentality of Pharaoh.

Exodus 5-12 accounts how God sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh with many “signs” or “plagues” so that Pharaoh might see that God was calling for a release of His people to worship Him and live in freedom.  Over and over again, we see that Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not allow the release.  Then God brought the ultimate “plague”: the death of the firstborn.  This led to the release of the Israelites to finally live in freedom.

What stood out to me was the repeated instances of Pharaoh saying one thing then doing another (Exodus 8:8-15, 8:25-32, 9:27-35, 10:16-20).  Over and over again, God showed His great power and victory over the false gods of the Egyptians.  Over and over again, Pharaoh made a “deal” with God to obey.  When Pharaoh saw that everything was good again, he reneged on his promise and faced something worse.

How many times does this reflect our hearts?  God allows things in our life to crumble or get uncomfortable, and we make a “deal” with God only to renege on our part.  God is not interested in our “deals”.  He is more interested in our hearts and obedience to Him as a loving Father.  Let us make a “deal” with ourselves today: stop making “deals” with God and just be obedient to Him.

A couple of weeks ago, our student ministry started a new series called “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.” This series is an overview of end time events as the Bible talks about them. This has been a fun series to prepare and do. Reading different thoughts and study notes from a range of folks has caused me to really get in to it and try to get my mind somewhat aroud these events.

It always amazes me just how interested students are in the end of the world. Think about it. Teenagers do have this subconscious thought of lasting forever, but still they want to know how it all comes to an end.

One really cool thing that happened this week is that I got a text message from a parent saying that their student had some questions and was a little confused about these end time events. At first, I wondered if I had confused this student by teaching wrong. Then, God reminded me that this is why I am on staff at our church in the role of student pastor. I am called to come alongside and help parents spiritually train their child (not do it all for them). I gave the parent a timeline of events and my study notes with the invitation to help find more resources if needed.

As this series plays out, I’m anxious to see what God is going to do. One thing that I do hope for is that a passion and longing for Jesus’ return would be ignited in our students’ lives.

The latest book that I have been reading from the Thomas Nelson book reviewer deal has been Dr. John Townsend’s “Where Is God?” It has been a pretty good read. It was pretty much what I thought it would be: a Christian psychologist talking about how people ask this question during rough times.

I thought that Dr. Townsend did a good job of bringing both psychological and biblical suggestions to different situations that might cause one to ask “Where Is God?” It did sometimes feel like you were talking to a psychologist and in a session.

Overall: I might recommend this book to someone who might be asking this tough question. I did like how Dr. Townsend gave some suggested works to check out on this subject at the end of the book. I felt that his intention wasn’t to publish another book, but to truly help hurting people find the answer to the question, “Where Is God?”

I’ve been following this story of David Rhodes and family who have been trying to adopt a young boy from Haiti named Frankie.  Well, the Lord has brought Frankie to his new home!  Check it out by clicking here.

This was a message that I shared with our students last night at Crossroads.  It was the second message in a series we’re calling “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.”  It discusses what the Judgment Seat of Christ is about.

 

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I currently attend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where I am working on my Masters of Divinity degree.  I came across a great opportunity for those who are looking to attend seminary.  It is called “seminary scholarship“.  It is a scholarship for those attending seminary provided by Logos.  I know that the costs of seminary training can be a drain on the pocket.  When I heard about this great opportunity, I had to jump at it.  I thought that I’d share the opportunity with others who are looking to further their training in biblical studies.  Check out the link above and see if it can benefit you!

This past weekend, our student ministry went to Student Life Ski in Boone, NC.  It was a great time of fun and worship.  The speaker was a guy named David Rhodes.  He did a great job in teaching the Word of God.  He shared a story about his family trying to adopt a little boy from Haiti.  With the recent devastating earthquake that rocked that island, they (like many others) were wondering what was going on with their “son.”

Click the link below to see the way that God chose to show them that little Frankie was in His hands.

An Orphan’s Story

Pray for the Rhodes family as they continue to bring their son home.

“For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.”   ~ Psalm 30:5 NLT

I went with my lovely bride this morning to hear the heartbeat of our second child. It was great. That is always a special time for our family because it was at that moment during our first pregnancy that we found out that we had lost the baby. So when that little machine starts thumping,we get excited because God has chosen to bless us with another life.

Now I can board a van with a bunch of teenagers and head to Boone, NC today. That’s right, it’s time for Student Life Ski. I am so excited about this trip. Please be in prayer for us that we first hear a clear Word from the Lord. Next, pray for our safety as we travel and ski/snowboard. We have a couple of visitors coming on this trip, so pray that we might make an impact on their lives and see them around our student ministry on a more permanent basis.

You gotta check out this funny video about musicians getting older.