The Burden of Leadership
Moses was a humble man that did not despise wise counsel. In the book of Exodus Chapter 18, Moses listens and obeys the wise counsel of his father in law, Jethro (Priest of Midian). After the children of Israel had been led out of Egypt by Moses, Jethro brought Moses’ wife and sons to him in the wilderness. The children of Israel were wearing Moses down with their complaining and issues. Jethro saw that Moses’ burden of being the leader of all these people and dealing with their issues from sun up to sun down every day was too much for one man to bear. So, he counseled Moses. He told Moses to take the people’s issues to God, but also to teach them the laws and show them the way they must walk and the work that they must do. In addition, he advised Moses to select leaders that were men of truth that hate covetousness and place them over the people. This established the first system of government for the Israelites. Having wise leaders in place to share the responsibility of governing the people would ease Moses’ burden of leadership. So, the leaders judged small matters, more difficult issues were taken to Moses and Moses communed with God
The need for government in the church
If you have direct access to your Pastor, consider his/her burdens. They have responsibilities to their family, sometimes a job(s) outside of the church, the church, the churches activities and all its members to consider. If you belong to a large church, then you know that you may have to go through a minister or make an appointment before you can talk to your Pastor directly. The reason for this is order. A system of order is not designed to keep you away from your Pastor, it is designed to better serve your needs. Without a system of order (government), the leader will eventually grow weary under the burden of carrying the entire load of all the people all the time.
Sacrifice
Sacrifice comes with the call of the Pastor, but it is also the call of every Christian in the church. We are ALL supposed to sacrifice for the cause of Christ, but sadly, some of us do not want to grow up and take responsibility. We want to continue to be coddled and catered to in our weakness more than we want to grow strong. I beseech you, brethren to try to grow to be leaders that help and support your Pastor instead of complaining children. Everyone has talents and skills to offer the kingdom of God. Whatever you have, offer it.
Humble yourself, pray and seek the face of God to grow strong in the Lord
Remember that you have something the children of Israel did not have – the ability to go boldly before the throne of grace and have a personal relationship with God. You do not have to go through a person to speak to or hear from God. Jesus Christ is your intercessor and the Holy Spirit is your guide. PRAY! If the members of the body strengthened themselves through the word of God and prayer, we could strengthen and encourage other believers in the church, being helpers to the Pastor and the body of Christ in general.
How you can help your Pastor
You can lighten the load of your Pastor by doing your part to be strong in the Lord and setting an example of how to be active participants in the church rather than dependents. We should learn to depend more on God than man for our strength so that we can help do the work of leading lost souls to Christ, discipling and learning how to give wise counsel to our brothers and sisters.
Recognition
Truthfully, most people want to be acknowledged for their good deeds and work, but Christians must remember that God sees your good works and he is the rewarder. Your gifts will make room for you and bring you before great men. Just do what you do with a pure heart and in excellence and give of yourself with unselfish motives and walk confidently through the doors that God opens for you.
How to give wise counsel
How can you be sure that you are giving wise counsel? Always ask yourself, what does the Bible say about this matter? Look for more than one example. Site the scriptures and the circumstances and allow God to minister to you about how it applies to the situation. Teach others how to do this for themselves and we will all be the ministers that God wants us to be.
God’s gifts and their purpose for His church
11And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers. 12His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church),13[That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [[a]full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him. Ephesians 4:11-13 Amplified.
Growing in Christ,
The Prophetic Scribe
