Top Scripture Verses for Parish Renewal - Part 4

All Scripture is inspired or God breathed, but some verses inspire us more than others. When it comes to parish renewal and revival, I think there are some verses that are absolutely more important than others. These are some verses and passages of Scripture we must internalize in our leadership. So far in this series, we have looked at Matthew 28:18-19, Acts 6:1-7, and Ephesians 4:11-13. You can read them in my previous blogs.

One common theme of the passages is inviting other people into the work of ministry. This theme continues in the passage we are looking at in today’s blog. Exodus 18 tells us the story of Moses and a visit he receives from his father-in-law Jethro. After the nation of Israel escapes slavery in Egypt and crosses the Red Sea, Jethro comes to see Moses. Moses shares all that God has done, and Jethro celebrates with him.

The next day, Moses goes to work. All day long, the people of Israel bring their problems to Moses. This happens from sunrise to sunset. After Moses finishes his work for the day, Jethro approaches Moses and asks what he has been doing all day long. Moses explains that when the people have a disagreement, he settles the disputes. He is doing what needs to be done.

Jethro responds:

“What you are doing is not wise, you will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. The task is too heavy for you; you cannot do this alone.” (Exodus 18:17-18)

Jethro tells Moses he is headed for burnout. He also tells him he is not really serving his people by doing all the work. He is wearing the people out as well. If he keeps going in the same direction, he will get frustrated with the people, and the people will get frustrated with him.

Moses needs to learn to delegate. If Moses chooses to appoint some leaders and delegate authority to them, it will be for his good and the good of the people. Jethro goes on to say,

“If you do this, and God so commands you, you will be able to stand the strain, and all the people, too, will go home content.” (Exodus 18:23)

We delegate to elevate. When we delegate, we elevate our ministries. They become more effective. When we delegate, we elevate others and give them opportunities to lead. When we delegate, we elevate ourselves as we can get on top of our own work instead of always feeling buried under it.

However, you must go beyond simply delegating tasks to delegating responsibility and leadership to others. When you delegate a task, you take just one thing off your plate. When you delegate responsibility and leadership, you take a whole bunch of things off your plate, and you give others an opportunity to use the gifts God has given them. You are not the only one with leadership abilities in your parish. God has provided other leaders, and you need to share your leadership with them.

Here’s what Exodus tells us:

“Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. He picked out able men from all of Israel and put them in charge of the people as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” (Exodus 18:24-25)

Moses built layers of leaders. Moses delegated leadership into units, which lifted his workload emotionally; this also freed up his time, allowing him to better serve the people.

If you want to better serve your people, delegate not just tasks but leadership. Lift up and encourage staff and people in your pews to step up into leadership. At Rebuilt, we call this “building layers of leaders.” What does this look like if you are a pastor or parish staff worker, or major volunteer in your parish? Below are a couple of thoughts and ideas.

One, change your mindset to consider giving away major areas of responsibility. This can be scary because, of course, you need to trust in the competency and character of other people. Start with the easy ones, the responsibilities you have that you know you don’t do well or only do with mediocrity. Admit that to yourself. Write a job description for the position you are giving away. Pray for God to send the right person and then being talking to candidates.

Two, break down your ministries into units. At Nativity, we break down our ministries into different teams. We have teams that create the hospitality on Sunday morning. One of those is our greeter team. We have delegated leadership to volunteers who co-lead the whole ministry. We have leaders at each of our four weekend Masses so there are eight more leaders. Underneath them are the volunteers that serve at those Masses. This is the application of the principle from Exodus 18: breaking people into smaller units so they can have the care and leadership they deserve.

Delegating tasks is good. Delegating leadership and authority is even better. It will lighten your load and allow your parish to make a greater impact.

If you would like to go deeper in building layers of leaders in your ministries, we cover this in greater depth in a session of our  “Every Member a Minister” equip course. (You can find it at rebuiltparish.com/courses)

Rooting for you,
Tom