Team Moses
“I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me.”
Numbers 11:14
Moses had quite the task. Moses was in charge of six hundred thousand people (no matter how you translate that number of people it was at minimum forty-two thousand and as many as two and half million). That is a lot of people, and these people were not the easiest to lead. They were always complaining. They were always grumbling. They were always wanting to go in the opposite direction of where Moses was supposed to lead them. If I were Moses I would have been tempted to tell these people exactly where they could go and it would not of been the promised land. On numerous occasions Moses despaired at the responsibility of leading “these” people. I don’t think at any point did Moses actually think he could lead all these people on his own accord, but it was at this moment of weariness that Moses tells God again, “I cannot do it on my own; I need help.” It is at this request that God gives Moses some structural support in the form of seventy elders.
Application:
I don’t think there is a leader alive, or for that fact that has ever lived, that has not at some point despaired in the midst of the daunting task of leading people. It is a great weight that has crippled many a would be leader’s back causing them to run into oblivion instead of moving forward in their task of leadership. I know personally too many used-to-be-leaders who burst under the pressure of having to lead.
A leader who thinks they can lead on their own is either in a very dangerous place as a leader and in for some hard lessons or leading way below their full capacity. The sooner a leader realizes that they need help the more successful they will be. In fact, it is the leaders who prior to taking on the mantle of leadership realize they will need help and thus organize and plan help who will be the most successful.
First, leaders need to realize they need God’s help, as “there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). Second, leaders need to realize they need a team to help. Being able to successfully build teams as a leader will exponentially deepen the potential of a leader. If one were to take a quick survey of the most successful leaders throughout history, they would notice that all of them had very skilled and capable teams around them. The more a leader can diversify the roles of their leadership team the more specific and specialized support they will receive.
The most valuable lesson I have learned as a leader is to build strong teams that can help see the vision through. I have been blessed to have many great leaders in my life that have helped to mentor and coach me as an emerging leader. But the most valuable thing about learning how to build teams as a leader is that you begin to release the people on your team’s leadership potential. Great leaders will always have other leaders orbiting around them because good leaders want to be around great leaders. Consequently great leaders are always investing in the next generation of leaders and this comes from being able to build teams as a leader.
So who are you investing in as a leader? Who are you releasing as a leader? Who is on your leadership team? Are you seeking God to help you lead?
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the great mentors and leaders you have put in my life that have helped to shape and mold me as an emerging leader. Lord, help me to invest wisely in other leaders, help me to release their potential to be used for the kingdom of God, and help me to build strong leadership teams. Also Lord, help me to strengthen myself in you, like your servant David did, when I am weary. In Jesus name I pray Amen…
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