Jethro advised his son-in-law, Moses, on how to administer the disputes brought before him. Moses had to do several things to follow through with Jethro’s counsel. First, he had to make sure that his advice was good in the eyes of the Lord. Then he had to select from all the people those who were able and God-fearing, men of truth who hated covetousness. Those selected were allocated a portion of work according to their ability.
We must not miss the important work Moses had to do before he got the ball rolling. Moses had to teach the statutes and the law, and show them the way in which they had to walk and the work they had to do. Undoubtedly, a few days must have been spent – at least – for Moses to design, execute, monitor, and review the new situation. There might have been tricky turns at the start, but it seemed all went well.
For the new-recruits to do their jobs well, they had to admit when their capacity was reached. If they were getting nowhere with a case, they were to pass it on to another. And then the case might had eventually come to Moses to bring to the presence of God for a clear-cut judgement.
These points could lend as bullet-point reminders to those who are playing in a leading role in the church. Does our church have any objectives for the year or over the term of service? If they do, how does each ministry match with the will of God and the articles faith of the church? Is there concern for the spiritual welfare of the workers? Have any of the workers’ personal commitments changed in any way such that might affect the work they are involved in? Can any of them do more over a set period of time or do any require a decrease in their workload or even a temporal or permanent change of posts? How confident or realistically equipped are the members of a team to perform the work allocated? Do they have a rough idea or will a helping hand be helpful? Do they know what they are doing? Leaders should seek to place an honest response and well-explained support and reflection for each question.
Moses had to see things from an overall perspective as well as from a side-view and front-view. Recruitment is an important work. Sharing the workload is too. Objective training and suitable individuals or groups of workers being sought out is just as important. Failure to do so will be failing not only the Lord, but also to those who have offered their time and parts of their life to God.
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