As our community continues to grow, one of the things that will grow together with it is the need for additional leadership. When a congregation is healthy and happy, as ours is, there is a temptation to sit back and let whoever is running the show to continue to the run the show.
But this overlooks two things. One is that quantitative growth presents real challenges to any leadership team, however competent they might be. This is why Jethro had to admonish Moses—a competent leader if ever there was one—about how he was overloading himself. Here is what Jethro said: “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:” (Ex. 18:21). Notice that leadership is exercised at every level. There is not simply a command center at the top—no, authority is found with rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. And this is a testing ground. Those who are faithful with little will be entrusted with much (Luke 19:17).
The second thing it overlooks is the mortality of the current leadership. Though Moses lived a long time, and his eye was not dim, and his strength was not abated, nevertheless a time still came when the Lord took him. He was prepared—Joshua followed him. And Joshua had a wonderful leadership team—the people stayed faithful as long as they were alive. But things broke down after that (Judg. 1:7).
In the times of the new covenant, we are charged to do better than that.
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).
So the exhortation is this. If you have ever thought about leadership outside your home, we have training and opportunities available. If you think that you might be qualified to do something like that down the road, check it out now. If you think your current leadership attempts are in too much disarray . . . then perhaps this will help. Wanting to learn how to be a better leader, even if it is “over tens,” is in no way self-promotion, but rather the opposite.
Could you give some more information about the training you have available?
Another one of our ministers, Mike Lawyer, leads monthly meetings for interested men in the congregation. If you wanted more details about the “curriculum,” you could contact him via the Christ Church office.
So we need a way for the interested to access this by correspondence.
Y’all could come out for this: http://www.cbcmoscow.com/training/counseling-in-a-week/. I don’t know if Mike covers any of the same material in the leadership course, but it’s certainly useful material for leaders. And you can pick Mike’s brain while you’re here. ;^)
From halfway around the world? It better be good! :)
Ha! I don’t know where you are. ;^)
Jethro’s advice to Moses resulted in the need for 78,600 rulers. If you apply that same math to a congregation of a thousand, 40 rulers would be required.
How are you geting 40?
I am assuming that the ratio of adult men to the congregation of a thousand is about the same as it was for the people of Israel (600,000 to 2,000,000) or 30%. So the math is done using 300.