Are you equipping your team members? (72-2)
We don’t have a tremendous amount of information about the 70 elders God called to assist Moses with the leadership responsibilities for the Hebrew nation. We don’t know their names or tribal affiliation. We do know they were among the rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens selected in Exodus 18:25. We also know that they were a direct answer to Moses cry for help when he hit the point of leadership overload and burnout. Read Numbers 11:11-30.
Equipping your team to lead and serve is God’s idea-not man’s idea. Effective leaders know those on their team, identify potential leaders, prepare these potential leaders for more responsibility and release them to do the work. The model God gave to Moses gives some principles concerning the needs of the leadership team:
- Choose your leadership team carefully (v. 16: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.”)
- Choose individuals with a vision match and a heart match to your heart (v. 17: “…I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and put the Spirit upon them.”)
- Choose people that have the ability to accept more responsibility (v. 17: “…They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.”)
Most leaders are like Moses in as much as they need to get to a desperate situation before they see the need for help. Truly effective leaders who live by principles established by God in His word can avoid the desperate situation Moses got into if they will learn from Moses’ experience rather than repeat it.
When is the last time you intentionally equipped a team member for leadership?
Tags: Developing Others, Leadership, Responsibility, Vision
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Comments (2)
Don, sounds like an accurate statement from your pastor friend. Probably what isn’t said is that many with leadership ability outside the church simply are not using their gifts inside the church. The positions of follower, worker and leader has a lot to do with Christian maturity and desire to use the gifts God has given. Understanding which position we hold is really only a starting point to effectively using the gifts God gave us.
I was told by a Pastor friend that our churches are made up of followers, workers and leaders. Knowing which position we hold can create successes for us and equip us to move to another position.