January 27

Discipleship Through Delegation

 

Read today’s texts first: Exodus 17-20; Acts 3

MAXIMize YOUR DAY
Proper delegation can turn whiners into winners.

Several years ago, on this very same day, close to 100 Foursquare pastors across Canada linked up through a conference call for the big announcement:  Barry Buzza, my brother, had been unanimously approved as the next president of the Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada.  One of the reasons Barry was selected was his proven track record for raising up other leaders and delegating authority within Northside Church.  The secret to Northside’s growth has been the hundreds of volunteer leaders who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the pastors to widen the influence of the church throughout the tri-cities.

One of Barry’s favourite texts in teaching others about leadership is Exodus 18.  This is the moment Moses learns about sharing the leadership load from his father-in-law, an unwashed Midianite of all people.  Leading up to this moment, we read of the constant complaining of the Israelites.  Like the bleating of helpless sheep they cried out to their shepherd Moses: “we’re hungry”, “we’re thirsty”, “why have you led us to the wilderness to die – weren’t there enough graves in Egypt?” (I love Jewish sarcasm!)  But Moses was partly to blame for this dysfunctional group.  Delegating responsibility and distributing authority can turn whiners into winners.  Jethro knew that if Moses kept making all the decisions, he would wear out himself and the people (18:18).  He had to learn how to teach, show, and appoint (18:20-21 – a sermon outline for another time) in order to empower his people and prepare them for the battles ahead.

Jesus had done just that in only three and a half years of public ministry: teaching spiritual principles, demonstrating kingdom authority, and appointing representatives to carry on the work.  You can see how successful He was in our Acts reading, as Peter and John, acting on behalf of the name they had denied days earlier, healed a crippled beggar at the temple gate.  Jesus could accomplish so much more through His disciples and their ever-expanding circles of influence than He could as one man.

“Lord so often I am tempted to hoard the ministry, saying with Moses, these people come to me to seek God’s will (18:15).  If You can release kingdom responsibility and authority to me, then surely I can release others.  This is my prayer for me and for all our leaders in Foursquare Canada as we continue to fulfill the Great Commission - discipleship through delegation.”