Pass it On-DD 9/13/2010

"Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens." Ex 18:25

Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, once gave him some very sound advice. He observed that Moses was (figuratively) killing himself by taking on so much of the duties involved in taking care of God's people and handling their disputes.

Today, many of our leaders are leaving the ministry due to things like burnout and stress. In an effort to give the most and best to the Lord, they often work hard rather than smart. Surely this can be avoided by fully embracing the instructions of the Lord and the example of our fathers in the faith.

You will recall that the apostles assigned the work of providing for the day to day needs of the Hellenistic widows to men full of the Holy Spirit in Acts 6. This allowed the apostles to continue to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Additionally, Paul told Timothy to commit the things he had taught him to faithful men who would be able to teach others also.

Beloved it is important that our leaders conduct themselves in a manner that allow them to endure. There must always be a development program for future leaders and a sharing of the work. Failure to do so can cause a congregation to become dependant on man rather than God. When the leader(s) pass from the scene, the sheep can potentially become scattered and lost without someone able to provide continuity. This, indeed, would be a tragedy.

Let us remember that this Christian race is a relay. We must always have an eye toward passing the baton to the next generation as has been done to us.

In Revival,

Lee