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Mastering the Art of Leading the Few - Part 1
April 19, 2024 · 35 min
Uncover the essentials of effective leadership with a focus on managing small groups, drawing insights from Exodus 18.
Series Mastering the Art of Leading a Few April 19, 2024 · 35 min · Mastering the Art of Leading a Few
Uncover the essentials of effective leadership with a focus on managing small groups, drawing insights from Exodus 18. ...more Show the full description Show less Uncover the essentials of effective leadership with a focus on managing small groups, drawing insights from Exodus 18.
Series Mastering the Art of Leading a Few
Mastering the Art of Leading the Few 0:00 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering, church? Hallelujah. What a joy and privilege for us to study the word of God together. I'm starting a miniseries called leadership essentials.0:13 Today, it's part 1 of this message I'm titling, Mastering the Art of Leading the Few. I'm gonna take you to a familiar text in the Old Testament, Exodus chapter 180:25 from verse 13 to verse 26, and deal with the subject. What does it take to be a good leader of a few? The reason why you and I need to0:36 focus on being a good leader of a few is because whether you are the president of a country or prime minister of the land, all you're ever going to lead is your senate or your cabinet.0:49 If you're cabinet of ministers and you learn to lead this few well, you will lead the entire country well. Same thing applies in the church world and in any organization where you're part1:00 of. So in this message, we're gonna focus on the first part. I'm gonna give you 3 points in this sermon. There's a total of 7 points. And in part 2, I will cover the 41:13 rest of the points. Now let me establish the fundamental question. Who is a leader? There are 4 things in my definition of who is a leader. Let me give it to you 1 by 1.1:25 A leader is a person with God given capacity. That's the first thing. That person has a God given capacity. Secondly, with God1:36 given responsibility to influence. They have been given a responsibility to influence. Thirdly, a specific1:48 group of God's people. In other words, they are not only given God given capacity. They are not only given God given responsibility to influence, but it is for a specific2:00 group of God's people. And number 4, toward God's purposes for the group. So can I repeat that whole thing again? And I want you to read it together with me. So who is2:12 a leader? A leader is a person with God given capacity, with God given responsibility to influence a specific group of God's people towards2:24 God's purposes for the group. Hallelujah. It doesn't matter whether you're leading 10 people or whether you're leading hundred people or whether you're leading thousands of2:36 people, the principle is the same. It is God given capacity. It is God given responsibility to influence a specific2:48 group of people, whether it's hundred, whether it's thousand, whether it's 10 people towards god's god's purposes for that group. Now that's how I define3:00 the word leader. Now what does it take to be a good leader of a few? I wanna take you to Exodus chapter 18 and look at verse 133:12 to verse 20 first. Let's read it. The next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.3:24 When Moses's father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, what is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone?3:36 Circle that word alone. And all the people stand around you from morning till evening. And Moses said to his father-in-law, because the people come to me to inquire of3:48 God. When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between 1 person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his loss.4:00 Moses' father-in-law said to him, what you're doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out. In other words, you will burn yourself4:12 out for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice. I will give you advice, and God be with4:24 you. You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, And you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws and make them know the way in which they must4:36 walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from among the people, men who fear God and who are trustworthy and4:48 hate a bribe. And such and place such men over the people as chiefs. In other words, of leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties,5:00 and leaders of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, and any small matter they shall decide themselves.5:13 So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this right, God will direct you. You will be able to endure, and all5:25 the people also will go to their place in peace. So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able5:36 men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times. Any5:48 hard case, they brought to Moses, but any small matter, they decided themselves. Praise be to God. This is the first time the Bible6:00 addresses the issue of leadership and management of a community. Listen to me carefully. What a beautiful picture In fact,6:12 most, secular books when they talk about delegation, not how to do delegation right, because you can do dirty delegation or you can do the delegation6:23 right. The principles for good delegation and good leadership principles are gleaned from this particular text. So I wanna ask this fundamental question, how6:35 does 1 become a good leader of a few? I wanna read verse 21 to verse 23 again, but this time in the message6:47 translation. Because the message translation actually gives it to you in today's language. And this is what it says in verse 21. And then you need to keep a6:59 sharp eye. You keep a sharp eye out for competent men. Men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible, and7:11 appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by 50, and by 10. They will be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They will bring7:22 the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases, they will be the judges. They will share your Lord, and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you will7:34 have the strength to carry out whatever god commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also. What a beautiful picture.7:47 Let's ask this fundamental question. What does it take to be a good leader of a few? The reason why I wanna emphasize being a good leader of a few, because we all know7:58 this, great churches are built by people. Now great churches are not built on the gifts of a few, but great churches are8:10 built upon the sacrifices of many. In other words, when you think of a great church, that means this church is healthy, it's flourishing, it's continuing to add, and God is adding more and more8:22 people to the church. That church is not just built by a leader of thousand, but but it is built by many leaders of few.8:35 Now when you think like this, many times people will say, well, I'm not a leader of thousand. I'm not a leader of hundred. I'm only a leader of 10.8:47 As though it is somewhat, you know, being a leader of 10 is a put down. It's like a lower level on hierarchy and lead leader of hundred and leader of thousand. Can I humbly say this?8:59 From the text that you just saw, it actually says that all levels of leadership requires the same characteristics. In other words, they were looking for9:11 competent men, men of integrity, men who are trustworthy, men who fear God, men who are incorruptible. In other words, they are able to put aside their own selfish ambition,9:23 their personal ambition, their perceived rights, and they want to serve for the common good. In other words, all the characteristics that are required for level of 10, leader of 10, leader of hundred, or leader of9:34 thousand is the same. So the key question is not whether you're a leader of hundred or thousand or 10. The key question is, do you know how to lead even the9:46 10 very well? Can I give you a principle? Your leadership capacity is proven when you lead a few. In other words, how you lead the few will determine9:58 your leadership capacity. If you lead the 10 well, imagine this, you're doing the leadership of 10 very well, and all these 10 are flourishing under10:10 you. Then when you are promoted to lead hundred, you're still only leading 10. There's a group of 10. There's a leader for a10:22 group of 10, and you are the leader of the group of 10. When you are promoted to being a group of hundred, a leader of hundred, you're actually only leading 10 people. And each of those10:34 10 people are leading 10 people under them. Do you see this math? In the same way, if you're a leader of thousand, you are actually leading only 10 people. And each of them10:46 under you, that each individual is leading another 10 people who are leading 10 people. In other words, at every level of leadership, you gotta master the10:57 art of leading the few. So what does it take? Let me let me let me give it to you. Number 1, a good leader of a few understands the11:09 importance of their role. In other words, in verse 21 of Exodus 18, it says, you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men who11:21 fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible, and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by11:33 50, and by 10. In other words, the whole community is now organized in tens, in fifties, in hundreds, and in thousands.11:46 That means even when you're looking after 10, that matters. You are a leader who matters. That's why a good leader of a few recognizes11:58 that he or she is important. Not that he or she is important, that there is self importance, but the role that they play in leading the 1012:10 matters. Because that 10, when they do it well, can rise up and walk in the fullest potential that God has for them. Like I12:22 said earlier, whether you are the prime minister of the country, you're only still leading a few people in your cabinet, and you're learning to lead them well. Then you lead the whole country12:34 well. In other words, you do you see that there is potential in the few that God has placed under your care? You know, many times people want to be leaders of thousands,12:46 but they don't even know how to take care of the 10 that God has given to you. Why? Because they look at 10 and they look at all the dysfunction. They look at all the drama. They look at all the all the12:58 personality egos and and all that stuff that happens. And they they say, but, you know, all this, I'm not sure. Can I humbly say this? If you know how to take care of the 10,13:10 you will know how to take care of thousand. Why? Because it's the same principles. Do you see the potential that is in the few? For that, can I give you a principle? Recognize13:22 that leadership is more about impact, influence, and inspiration than titles. Don't be a person who is driven by titles. You know, I'm only an assistant13:33 leader. Oh, I'm only a person who is just good enough. Can I humbly say this? No. Consider your role as important. So even if you are just an assistant teacher to a13:45 small group of kids in the kids church, or whether you are the core 1 of the leaders in 1 of the small groups taking care of our young people, Your role matters.13:58 How? Because when you see the potential in that 1, that 2, that few, and you not only spend time with them, you invest your life in them, and you're able to bring out that treasure that14:10 is hidden in there. You're able to to bring out the strength in that person. You're able to draw out God's purposes in that person. You're able to14:22 awaken that dream that God has laid in their heart. Something magical happens in the kingdom. Listen to me carefully. You have the ability. That's why it begins by you recognizing14:34 whether I'm a leader of thousand or hundred or leader of 10, it doesn't matter. My role is important because what I do will help14:46 build the organization. So great churches are built upon leaders who value the few, who input into their life, who build up the potential of people that God has given to14:58 them, and they build good teams. They make the 10 work together and form a solid bond and solid team. And they will run then rise up, and they will lead and build what15:10 god has called them to do. So what does it take to be a good leader of a few? Number 2, a good leader of a few carries an equal share of the weight.15:22 In other words, they are not just there to perform a function. They are there to carry the burden of ministry. Look at this in chapter 18 and verse15:34 22. It says, so it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. The reason why Moses was in instructed to set up15:45 leaders of tens, leaders of hundreds, and leaders of thousands is so that the burden will be shared. The Lord will be shared. In message translation, it says, they15:57 will share your Lord, and that will make it easier for you. 1 of the things that you and I need to understand is leadership is hard. And if you're trying to16:09 carry something by yourself have you ever tried carrying something by yourself? Maybe carry a mattress up the stairs. 1 person cannot. In other words, you need at least a few people16:21 to come and help you carry and spread the Lord and spread the burden. And that's exactly why we have leadership in church. So that they they together, they come together16:33 and they're able to carry the weight of ministry. But sometimes, many people step up to perform a function, but they fail to16:44 carry the burden of ministry. In other words, people might be willing to step up and serve on a team. People might be willing to step up and be on a roster. They might say, hey. I'm16:56 willing to do this task. I'm willing to perform this role, but they may not necessarily carry the the burden of ministry. And when the burden of ministry is only showed17:08 by a few, sometimes it becomes tiring. Listen to me carefully. See, Moses here received the instruction in Exodus 18 to set up leadership,17:21 authority structure. He set it up. But in numbers chapter 11, Moses cries out to God and says, God, I had enough. Look at this in verse 11. Why have you17:33 dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight that you lay the burden of all these people on me? Moses says, I had enough, God. I17:45 can't carry this burden all by myself. Look at verse 14. He says in verse 14, I am not able to carry them. I'm not able to carry all these people alone. The17:57 burden is too heavy for me. I thought in Exodus 18, he already established people who can be leaders of 10, leaders of 50, leaders of hundred, leaders of18:09 thousand, And yet in numbers 11, he says, I'm still carrying the burden alone. In other words, this is the principle I want you to catch. We need18:20 people who are not just willing to perform a function, but we need people who are willing to carry the burden of ministry. In other words, Moses had all these people who can do the work, but they18:32 may be doing just the work, but they don't carry the burden. Have you ever seen people like that in your teams? You know, they they are willing to serve when it's convenient for them. They are18:44 willing to step in only when it suits their needs, only when it suits them, when it doesn't really inconvenience them, only when they are able to give from the leftovers of their time. They step in to do something, but18:57 they don't really carry the weight of ministry. They don't take on the burden of ministry upon themselves. But can I humbly say this? The church is not built on volunteers. The church is built on people who19:09 steward the ministry together. Church is built on people who carry the burden together. Can I humbly say this? Can I invite you to be people who carry the burden and lighten the Lord? Why?19:21 Because that will help serve the next generation well. If this, if the people who are directing the kids church ministry, they're carrying the burden alone, they will feel alone. But when there are19:33 people coming alongside and say, hey, We are here to shoulder the burden together with you. We carry the Lord together with you. They step up together. Then there is such a joy19:45 and and such a as as the word of God says, it will be easier for you. You know, I my prayer is that we will raise up people who carry the weight of ministry19:57 together with all our leaders. And I I I want people who can be able to say, I'm right here with you, and I'm here to carry the Lord with you. Hallelujah. And what we20:09 do together will make a difference. Praise God. So what does it take to be a good leader of a few? Let me give you the third 1. A good leader of a few recognizes20:21 delegated authority. Look at this in verse 22. It says, every great matter they shall bring to you, and any small matter they shall20:33 decide themselves. Look at that in message translation. They will bring the hard cases to you, and they will bring the routine cases20:45 they themselves will judge. In other words, every great matter they shall bring to you, and any small matter they shall decide themselves.20:57 Now 1 of the things that in a in that 1 of the things I see here is a beautiful flow of authority. In other words, Moses is accountable21:09 to all these people that God has committed to him. You know, you gotta understand the difference between someone who is accountable and someone who is responsible. Listen. Let me help you understand21:21 this. You know, in management, there's 1 of the principles in management called the RACI, r a c I principle. In other words, someone who is responsible for a task,21:33 someone who is accountable for that task, and someone who need to be consulted for that task, and someone who needs to be informed about that task. In other words, RACI,21:44 responsible, accountable, consult, and then inform. Now the reason why these 4 things matter is because a worker is responsible for the task to be21:56 done, but the project manager is accountable to the company. Just like in a company, the department head could be responsible for the performance of the department,22:09 but the CEO of the company is accountable for overall performance of the company, including that of the project manager and the project. So I want you to listen to me carefully. So there are people, there are22:21 levels of responsibility and accountability. Here there's a beautiful play on leadership. It's like God has given Moses the accountability. The the the22:32 accountability lies upon Moses, but then Moses take that accountability, and then he breaks it down to leaders of 10, leaders of hundred, and leaders of thousands, and he gives them delegated authority.22:45 In other words, they are responsible for 10. They're responsible for hundred. They're responsible for thousand. And what a beautiful picture here. The reason why I want to emphasize this is because a good leader22:56 of a few understands leadership. That means leadership is given to me. I'm a leader of hundred. I'm a leader of 10. But even though I'm leader of 10, that 10 doesn't23:08 belong to me. I'm operating on a delegated authority. In other words, these 10 belong to pastor Moses. So pastor Moses cannot23:20 do this. And because pastor Moses cannot go down there and do this well, he has entrusted this 10 under my care. Therefore, I give my best.23:32 Not only for the Lord, not only for this 10, but I give my best because I'm here under authority, delegated authority. The reason why this matters is because23:44 as a church consultant, I have walked with so many pastors, pastors who have gone through painful situations at church. And the painful situations usually happen23:56 because people who have been who have been given responsibility for a group, maybe it's a group of 10, maybe it's a group of hundred, or maybe even a group of thousand, they24:08 rather than doing it like they stewarding what has been given to them, they kind of steal it and make people follow them, make people fall in love with them. And it it's24:20 all about their what they want to do. The language changes sometimes. I've observed people who are like that, very selfish and very possessive. They are possessive of their24:32 group. They call it, this is my sheep. They are my disciples. This is my group. Can I humbly say this? It has been given to you for you to steward.24:44 You are not the owner. In other words, God has given that respond that accountability to a pastor, maybe the senior pastor in your church, or maybe it is the pastoral leader that gave you the that24:56 delegated authority. You gotta be responsible. Now this happens when there is a clash of preferences. This happens when the leader decides the leader of 10 decides,25:08 oh, I want to do my own thing with my group. They forget who appointed them as leaders, whose group this belongs to. They forget all this and they say this is my group. I want to do my own thing. So when the25:20 group leader is disconnected from the leadership, they hijack the entire group. This we have seen in many places, isn't it? It25:31 is so sad. And the reason why it happens is because they are not a good leader of a few. If they cannot be entrusted with just 10, imagine if you had given them hundred. Imagine if you had given them thousand to25:43 look after. Wow. In other words, if you cannot be faithful stewards in a little, how would you be entrusted with much? That's what the word of God says. In other words, we gotta understand25:55 the good leader of a few understands delegated authority, and they know how to manage it. That's why in this house, we always say, there's only 126:07 vision in this house, and we serve it through the various ministries. In other words, there is no separate vision for the kids church. There's no separate vision for this leader26:19 who's leading the youth group or this leader who's leading a life group. No. No. No. There's no separate vision. There's only 1 vision. And every leader who has been given a responsibility, whether they are26:31 leader of tens or leader of hundred or leader of thousands, they take the responsibility and they own the vision as their own vision. There can never be true26:43 vision in a house. 2 vision is division. There will always be only 1 vision, and that 1 vision comes from what the Lord has laid upon the leadership26:54 team in the heart of the leader. And there, that vision is then outward through the various ministries in the house. So that's why a good leader of a few, he27:06 learns to know how to play as a team player, how to build teams, how to work together in the teams, how to really take the vision that it comes down and it flows down.27:19 I want you to listen to me carefully. That's the good leader of a few. 1 of the principles that I have followed and has served me well and which we followed IDMC is this.27:31 We don't enlist a leader to serve. We empower a servant to lead. In other words, we look for people who are already serving, people who are already27:43 showing that commitment to the house, people who are already engaged meaningfully in serving the vision. They are learning the vision and they're adopting this vision as their own, and they have been plugged27:55 in, and they can't wait to be part of the action. We empower those servants to lead. Hallelujah. Why the reason why we do this is because leadership28:06 is a dangerous terrain. Listen to me carefully. We would never know the heart of a person until you give them 2 things. Give them privilege28:18 and give them responsibility. You will never know the heart of the person until you give them leadership because now you're giving them power to make decisions or28:30 power to have influence. That's when the true heart will come up. So when you give them a privilege and when you give them power, that's when your real heart appears.28:43 So that's why don't be so quick to promote. Wait. Wait. Let them show themselves faithful in little things because that's what the Bible says. He who28:54 is faithful in little will be faithful in much. But if you cannot be trusted with little, why would God entrust more to you? So listen to me carefully. We need to29:06 see the heart. You know, what can be some of the pitfalls that can happen? Can I humbly say this? When a person doesn't recognize the delegated authority, they usurp the authority.29:19 And when they usurp the authority, they start to clamor around their own personal agenda. So sometimes they are driven by personal agenda. You know, they have a they have a way29:31 to manipulate people, to to find power, and they want to influence people. They wanna do things so that they they draw people to themselves. Selfish agenda. Or they are driven by positions29:42 or titles or power. They want to be in position of influence. They want to be recognized by titles. You know, over the years, I've seen people who who say, I would not serve unless29:54 you call me a director or 1 unless you you give me the title of a pastor. Listen to me carefully. Because sometimes these things matter to certain people. Can I humbly say this?30:06 If a position matters to you, a title matters to you, you will never be a good leader of a few. Listen. A good leader of a few is not wired by selfish30:18 agenda. It's not wired by positions or titles or power. No. They are driven by only 1 thing. They have a godly desire to fulfill the vision in the house, And they want30:29 to be part of the action. They wanna carry the burden together. They wanna stand with the leadership team and they say, let's carry this burden together. I believe this is of the Lord. I wanna give myself so that we can30:41 serve God's purposes and fulfill God's mission and vision in this house together. They are the ones who would say, we are right with you. And what a joy it will be if the church is30:53 filled with so many leaders who carry the burden of ministry together. You know, 1 of the things that I'm so thankful for at IDMC, pastor Iza and I, we've been in this church for 2331:05 years. And not only we have been in this church for 23 years, I've been as the senior leader together with my wife. Both Iza and I, we have the privilege of leading IDMC over the past 11 years. And in that31:17 11 year period, we have seen so many leaders rise up. Many leaders of 10 who have risen up to become leaders of hundreds and become leaders of thousands. Why? Because we have seen31:29 them develop. We have seen them grow. We have seen them rise up. And 1 thing we have noticed is always this, that they are willing to carry the31:40 burden of leadership together. And I'm so thankful to the Lord for such people that are in this house. So today, I wanna conclude here. Even though I only covered 331:52 points, I will take a part 2 next week. And in part 2, I will dwell on 4 more points on how to be a good leader of a few. So today, it's32:04 all about these 3 things. What are the 3 points? Let's revisit. Number 1, a good leader of a few recognizes the importance of32:16 his role. In other words, you recognize that your role matters. Whether you're a leader of 10, leader of hundred, leader of thousand, it doesn't matter. You've been given stewardship of ministry.32:28 Your role matters. Number 2, a good leader of a few carries an equal share of the weight of ministry. In other words, they carry the burden. They32:40 not only step up to just fulfill a function, they learn to carry the burden and lighten the Lord of the leader about them. Praise God. Number 3, a good32:52 leader of a few recognizes delegated authority. At the end of the day, it is pastor Moses that is accountable for the whole congregation before God. He brings the matter33:03 before God. But there are people who have been given delegated authority to be leaders of 10, leaders of hundred, and leaders of thousands, and they know how to function33:16 in the delegated authority and do the dance together with their leader. And they are the ones who know how to play, be a team player, and do leadership together, and33:28 carry the vision and the burden of ministry together. And my prayer is that God will make you a good leader of a few. So don't shy away from leadership. If you can learn how to be a good leader33:40 of a few, you can lead your organization 1 day. You can lead the company where you're working 1 day if you know how to lead and be a good leader of a few. So I pray this 733:52 series becomes a blessing to you. Let's pray. Father, I pray your blessing upon your people. Even as we looked at this text, Exodus 18, there are things you're speaking to us about34:04 our own personal life, about our leadership journey. There are people under the sound of my voice who keep saying that they are not a leader. But, Lord, I pray that you tap on their shoulder today and awaken that34:15 within them that they are meant to rise up and be a good leader of a few. Lord, I pray that there are people who are who are leading a group of few. I pray that they will rise up34:27 to be a good leader of the few. They will be excellent leader of a few. Why? They will learn to master the art of leading a few so that you can continue to entrust more and more additional responsibilities into34:39 their plate. Lord, I pray that you bless them today. I pray for every pastor that's listening to me that there will be people there will be kind of pastors that will raise good leaders of few. And I pray for34:51 every leader in the church and the churches that are watching this. I pray that they will rise up to be a good leader of the few. I pray your blessing upon their ministries. We thank you. We give you glory, praise, and35:02 honor in Jesus' precious name. And the people of God said, amen and amen. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance35:14 and give you shalom. Go in his peace. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. We love you. God bless you.In this video 0:00 Mastering the Art of Leading the FewComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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Paul Jeyachandran
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