Jump Start # 3145

Exodus 18:17 “And Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you are doing is not good.’”

Poor Moses was over his head with work. From sunup to sundown he was dealing with the complaints, disputes and troubles of the nation. Long lines filled with bitter and unhappy people makes the best of days not so good. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, saw all of this. Our verse was his observation. This isn’t working. In fact, “You are not doing good.” And, there was valid reasons to say that. Moses was on a quick trip for a mental meltdown and burn out. And, when testy people have to wait and wait, they become even more testy. Impatient. Grumbling. Jethro saw that something big was about to blow up.

Now, there are some great lessons here for us:

First, not only did Jethro see the problem, he understood and detailed a workable solution. It’s easy to see problems. Just turn on the nightly news, you’ll see a bunch from racism, to the economy, to foreign policy. We see the problems. How do you fix them? Jethro had the solution. It wasn’t a wild idea that wasn’t thought out. It was very doable. Delegate. Train. Oversee.

The same works today in our homes and in the church. We could spend all day talking about the problems. But, how to find workable, doable solutions, now that’s something else. Balancing work, home, church, kids, and a zillion other things is hard to do. Many families feel stretched thin. Another game. Another practice. Tired. Frazzled. Stressed. That’s many homes. I’ve been there. I know the feeling. Sometimes a parent has to say “no.” It’s ok if your child isn’t in every activity. We see the problem, how are we going to fix it?

Second, Moses had the heart to listen to Jethro. It was Moses that God called, not Jethro. This was Moses’ job, not Jethro. And, Jethro was family. That’s all it takes, especially for some of us preachers to say, ‘You don’t know what you are talking about.” Not Moses. He listened. He implemented. Things got better. More people were heard and more people were used and more people were trained. It was a win-win situation. But, if Moses had dug his heels in and decided that he took advice from no one, especially an “in-law”, then he likely would have cracked and came apart. We need to listen to our spouses. We need to listen to our children. We need to listen to the sound advice of those that know.

Third, it’s alarming to me that Israel had that many complaints and problems with one another. And, more than that, they couldn’t solve these problems without going to Moses. None of this speaks well for the nation. None of this looks good. And, sometimes this sad picture, is the image of some congregations. Bumping, bruising, and pushing each other to no end. Fellowship strained and lacking grace and forgiveness, we look for a Moses to tell our problems to. I wonder if Moses ever thought of standing up and shouting, “You each go home and figure this stuff out yourselves.” But, he knew that wouldn’t have done any good. Sometimes the house isn’t big enough and sometimes the church building just isn’t big enough, because we can get into each other’s way and become more of an obstacle than a help.

Fourth, it’s hard to delegate. I know that personally. I’d just as soon do something myself, because I know how I want it to be done. By the time I tell someone, show them and walk them through it, I’d have it done if I was doing it myself. But delegation is important. In Acts 6, the apostles told the church to pick out seven spiritual men to take care of the widows. Couldn’t the apostles do that? Sure. Were they above that and too good for that? Never. But no one else could do what the apostles were assigned to do. Let them do what they can and then let others do what they can. This produces a team spirit and this gives everyone a piece of ownership. They need me because I do this.

The words of Jethro—not being critical, but helpful. Not making things worse, but better.

Roger

Jump Start # 2609

Exodus 18:17 “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you are doing is not good.’”

Recently in a class on “Blurry Vision,” I talked about the problems of flying solo spiritually. Just me and the Lord. I really do not need you and I really do not need the church. Between the Lord and I, we can take care of just about anything that comes my way. That thinking will get a person in trouble. The Lord knows that we need others. We need the church. And, often, the Lord sends help in the form of other people. By isolating myself, I actually cut off much of the help that the Lord provides. That study can be found on our website.

One of the passages that I used in that study is our verse today. Moses. He was flying solo. From morning until evening, he was listening to disputes and directing people according to the law. Morning until evening. Can you imagine? All day long, listening to complaints. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law came for a visit. He saw what Moses was doing. And, here is where he says, “The thing that you are doing is not good.” It wasn’t sinful. But as a father-in-law, he realized that Moses was burning the candle at both ends and in the middle. He was going to burnout very quickly. He was headed for some serious problems. Others could do what Moses was doing.

Now, some lessons.

First, Jethro had the relationship and love for Moses that he could speak out and speak his mind. Many do not have that relationship. We see that things could be better, but we keep still or worse, we just tell others. On the current pace, Moses was going to make Jethro’s daughter a widow. In, this relationship, Moses respected and listened to Jethro. How easily Moses could have said, “God didn’t appoint you.” “You had no burning bush to talk about.” Or, “I am the chosen leader, not you.” Moses listened. We can learn from others, if we give ourselves and them a chance.

Second, Jethro didn’t just tell Moses that he was taking on too much. Jethro had thought out a plan. He had a solution in his pocket. Involve others. Teach them. Show them. Delegate. Use your abilities for things that others cannot do. That same lesson needs to be applied in the church today. Certainly shepherds can mow the church lawn and paint the walls of the building, but so can others. Let others do that, and you shepherds do what they cannot. You lead. You protect. You shepherd. You do that and you delegate to others what they can do. This gives others the sense of ownership and responsibility.

It’s easy to see what’s wrong. About anyone can do that. But coming up with a plan that will work, a solution, now that’s hard. Jethro did that. So, before he spoke to Moses, he observed and he thought and he planned. Jethro didn’t come in with the common words, “You need to fix this.” Great. How? Who has time to do that? It’s easy to see problems. But coming up with realistic plans that will work, and presenting them in such a way that doesn’t defeat and destroy others is hard. That’s what Jethro did.

Third, involving others is often hard for some of us. I am one of those kind of people. I’d as soon do it myself because I know what it should look like. Stopping and asking for directions is hard for some. Asking for help is hard for some. We like to fly solo. We like independence. But God wired us in such a way that we need each other. We need each other spiritually. We need each other for encouragement, fellowship, examples and support. Solomon in Ecclesiastes painted a sad picture of someone who falls and there is no one to help him up. We’ve seen the commercials on TV where an elderly person falls and they holler out, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” That’s the problem of walking through life solo. Who will encourage you? Who will support you? Who will warn you? Who will guide you?

But in the long run, involving others not only would help Moses but it would equip others. It would allow them to learn and to develop. Would others be as good as Moses? Maybe. Maybe not. But we need to see this as we consider Bible class teachers. Get the same ones all the time, or develop others. Same guys always leading singing, or develop others. When we teach others we are investing in the future. Moses wouldn’t always be around. Who would take care of disputes if Moses never taught anyone?

Finally, even those in leadership roles can learn and take advice from others. The words of Jethro was “The thing you are doing is not good.” Here we had a good man, Moses, and the way he was doing things was not good. Preachers can learn from others. Shepherds can learn from others. Don’t let your role get to your head and believe that you are beyond learning from anyone else. That’s a prideful and dangerous place to be. We need to open our eyes and learn.

Can you imagine how Moses felt about a month later? Wow! What a difference. Others were hearing the disputes. Moses was overseeing them. More could be done and even faster because of the levels of people that were now taught and involved. Moses had to take his fingers off of these things and allow others and trust others to do what he once did.

Great story for us. Helping each other. That’s what the church is.

Roger

Jump Start # 1810

Exodus 18:17 “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘The thing that you are doing is not good.’”

Poor Moses. What a job he had. From morning until evening there was a line of people needing to see him. They had disputes and they wanted Moses to inquire of God about them. All day long. Day after day. Problems. Problems. Problems. Moses was sitting in the world’s first complaint department and there was a lot to complain about.

Our verse today, are the words of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. He saw what was going on and it wasn’t working. He knew both Moses and the people would become weary. He came up with a plan. Teach the people the laws. Then, delegate. From thousands, to hundreds, to fifty, various levels of judicial leaders who can do what Moses was doing. The big stuff, the tough ones, would still go to Moses. Great plan. Great lessons for us.

First, Moses listened to his father-in-law. That stops many of us. We wouldn’t do that. There was a relationship of concern, compassion and friendship. Jethro cared about Moses. Jethro wasn’t trying to undermine Moses, take over Moses’ spot or shine the light on himself.

Second, Jethro, not only saw that the current system wasn’t efficient, he had thought of a plan to make it better. It’s easy to complain. It’s easy to point out problems. Jethro had a solution. He thought it out, presented it well and Moses bought into it.

Third, Moses was trying to do too much. There are many modern Moses’ today, especially in the church. I’ve been one myself. Delegating is hard. It’s easier, faster just to do things myself. Elders can be burdened with too many trivial tasks that someone else can do. Preachers can fill the day with office work that really isn’t necessary for them to do. From morning until evening, people stood in line. Moses wasn’t getting anything else done. His time was tied up listening to the problems of the people and trying to guide them in the right way. That, too often, sums up the work of shepherds. All day long, listening to disputes and trying to put out the fires caused by them. No time for planning. Little time for shepherding. Disputes. Disputes. Disputes. The work is weary and taxing. Also, by what Moses was doing, it wasn’t equipping others to do what they could. Let go of the reins, and allow others to help out. It will make them feel needed, and it will allow you to do what you ought to. I’ve finally listened to my own sermons on this one. I found a great helper in our congregation who takes care of our Jump Start books. She puts them together. She fills our Jump Start station. She mails them out. I was doing all of that. It’s hard to let go, but one needs to.

Sometimes in the church we feel as if the only folks that can do anything are those with a title. One must be an elder, deacon or preacher to be allowed to touch anything and do anything. The apostles told the church in Jerusalem to find seven trusted men to take care of the widows who were being neglected. They put these seven in charge of that task and the apostles went on to do what they were supposed to do. Here, often lies the problem. We have trouble putting others in charge of a task and walking away from it. We have to oversee them. We have to micro-manage them. We have to keep our fingers involved somehow. When we do this, we have not lessened the work load. We have actually added to it. Now, we find ourselves managing people who were doing what we once did. Get out of their way. Let them do things as they see. Moses didn’t reject Jethro’s idea. It is healthy to create an atmosphere where others can make suggestions and bring in ideas. They see things that we may not. We may be so busy dealing with disputes that there was not time to think about a better system.

Fourth, our ideas are not the only ideas that work. That’s a hard lesson for many of us. How easily it would have been for Moses to say, “What I’m doing is working. We’ll just keep things the way they are.” It wasn’t the best way. It was killing Moses.

Fifth, we need those who recognize when a task is too heavy for one person. Many churches are seeing that now and are using two and three preachers. Decades ago, that was unheard of. Now, people see that the quality of work and the amount to get done is much better with two working side by side rather than just one.

There are some serious considerations that must be looked at before a church brings on a second preacher. Disasters have taken place because little thought was given to this. Hiring a another preacher should be done with the full cooperation of the current preacher. If the two preachers do not gel the work will blow up and both preachers may leave. The current preacher needs to be involved in the selection process. Many meetings and phone calls are necessary to see if the relationship between the two will work. How they feel about one another can prove to be a success or a disaster. Egos, work habits and what is expected needs to be worked through. How well they can work together is important. Are the two gong to be equals or is there a ranking order? What’s the purpose of the second preacher? Is he the future? Are the two preachers similar in age? Lots of things to be ironed out and talked through. When it works, it is beautiful. When it doesn’t, it’s ugly. Hiring another preacher shouldn’t be seen as allowing the other preacher to take off more and relax more. It ought to be seen as the church doing more than what it was before. New ideas. New hands on deck. More help. More people visited. More people classes taught. It’s about doing more.

When we fail to recognize that a task is too great, a person will either get discouraged and quit or break down from burnout. Too great. Too much. Too heavy. Those are the words of distress and the call for help. It shows in people’s eyes. Some will never say anything about it. Moses didn’t. Had it not been for Jethro, Moses may have just broken down. Jethro saved him. We need to see that in others.

The Jethro approach also works well at home. Poor mom feels like Moses. All day long she is loaded with housework, disputes with the kids, often, juggling doctor appointments, kid’s practice schedules and even working outside the home. She cooks. Then she must clean. The kids are off playing. Dad is buried in ESPN. Have the kids help around the house. Little ones can’t do much. But bigger ones can. It’s good for them to learn how to do things. Dad can help too. It’s good for him to do things. Teaching the kids at home, prevents laundry disasters when they go off to college. It helps them when they have their own apartment someday. It also helps mom out. It gives her time to focus upon things only mom can do.

The Jethro approach is something that really works. It all started when Jethro saw something, thought it out and made a suggestion. Be thankful for the Jethros’ in your life. Listen to them. They may be on to something.

Roger