Shared Leadership
The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
2 Timothy 2:2
Every Christian leader has felt the burden of ministry. Some have felt so inadequate for the task that they wished they were dead. Like Moses, they would rather die than be around for their own demise. No matter how well a pastor preaches and teaches, there will always be some who say, “I’m not getting fed around here.” Christian leaders who feel the burden of ministry should keep in mind that the two most powerful Kingdom figures in the Old Testament—Moses and Elijah—both requested to die during their ministry experience (see Numbers 11:15; 1 Kings 19:3-4).
The Lord told Moses, “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people” (Numbers 11:16). God would take of the Spirit that rested on Moses and put it on them, and they would carry the burden of the people. Jethro gave similar advice to Moses in Exodus 18:17-23. Jethro wasn’t suggesting an authoritarian or hierarchical rule. The organizational structure he proposed was designed to relieve Moses’ burden, because Moses had been trying to do it all by himself.
Godly leaders are not micro-managers who have to control everything. They are secure in Christ and aren’t driven by the need to be needed. They are not worried about job security. They are not hirelings who do all the ministry by themselves, though there are some churches members who think they are. They don’t have a “Messiah Complex” and think they are the only ones who can do the ministry.
The purpose of Christian leadership is “to equip [God’s] people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature” (Ephesians 4:12-13). There are not enough pastors and professional counselors to help even five percent of the people, even if that is all they did. If we don’t see the need to equip the layperson to do the work of ministry, it is not going to get done. It takes the whole church to “carry each other’s burdens, and in this way . . . fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Professionalism can actually cripple the church if we believe that only the elite are qualified to help others.
In Numbers 11, when the Spirit rested on the elders they prophesied only once, but Eldad and Medad continued prophesying. Joshua wanted them to stop, but Moses said, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (verse 29).
As Christian leaders, do we want the Spirit of God to rest on others as He does on us? Do we want the Lord’s anointing to be on others as we would have it be on us? Do we get as much delight when others have the spotlight in the kingdom of God as we do when it is our turn? Do we earnestly seek to help all the members of our churches reach their highest potential, even if it means they are able to do some aspects of ministry better than us? Do we rejoice when others bear fruit and get more attention than we do? If we are truly servant leaders, we do.
questions to consider:
In Numbers 11:10-30, what did God instruct Moses to do to ease the burden of his leadership?
Why don’t all Christian leaders recruit and train other leaders, thus sharing their ministry and helping many more?
How it is possible that a “Christian leader” might actually be the one who is keeping others from reaching their highest potential?
Have you ever felt suppressed by “Christian” leaders? Why do you think that happened? Were you a threat to them, were you trying to usurp their role, or were they trying to control you? Note: such self-analysis will help you know how and where to serve in the future.
How can you multiply yourself by equipping reliable people and delegating responsibility to others?