Skip to content Jethro: How to Become a Leader - Part A Aug 24 · 26 min ...more
Jethro: How to Become a Leader - Part A
August 24, 2026 · 26 min
Pastor Skip introduces one of the Bible's greatest leaders by asking an unexpected question: What's your relationship like with your in-laws?
Series Connect with Skip Heitzig Podcast August 24, 2026 · 26 min · Connect with Skip Heitzig Podcast
Pastor Skip introduces one of the Bible's greatest leaders by asking an unexpected question: What's your relationship like with your in-laws? ...more Show the full description Show less Pastor Skip introduces one of the Bible's greatest leaders by asking an unexpected question: What's your relationship like with your in-laws?
Series Connect with Skip Heitzig Podcast Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
565K followers
Skip Heitzig ministers to over 15,000 people as senior pastor of Calvary Church in Albuquerque. He reaches out to thousands across the nation and throughout the
565K followers
0:01 This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. Here at Connect with Skip, we're passionate about helping you understand God's word and apply it to your everyday life through clear, practical0:12 bible teaching. That's why we want to invite you to sign up for pastor Skip's free weekly devotional. You'll receive biblical encouragement, ministry updates, and information about upcoming resources,0:24 all delivered right to your inbox. Sign up today connect with skip dot com. That's connect with skip dot com. Now here's today's message from pastor Skip Heitzig.0:36 We're looking at characters in the Bible that are typically overshadowed by major personalities. Because of that, these are overlooked individuals. So the 1st week, we looked at a guy by the name0:48 of Baruch, who was the scribe of the prophet Jeremiah. Last week, we looked at the unnamed woman named the Shulamite bride. That's what we name her. That's what we call her. But she had an0:59 actual name, the wife of Solomon. And today, we look at somebody in the book of Exodus chapter 18 named Jethro. So turn in your Bibles to the 2nd book of1:11 the Bible. That is the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 18. Now, I always tell people to open your Bibles to whatever we're looking at. That's because this is1:23 not a speech that I'm giving. This is not a talk. I used to have somebody come up to me and go, that was a nice talk. And this is a sermon. And in more particular, it is1:35 a Bible study. And because it's a Bible study, it's always helpful to have a Bible to study. And so we have them available in chairs1:47 in front of you if you did not bring 1. Or you could maybe share with the person you're sitting next to if you don't have 1. But it's always good to follow along. And we're in Exodus chapter 18.2:00 Now, I'm going to guess that you probably don't know anyone personally named Jethro. It's just not a common name. In fact, you may not even know of someone named Jethro unless2:12 you, like me, lived way back in the sixties and seventies. And you remember this band called the Jethro Toll Band from the late sixties and early seventies. Or you2:23 remember the show, the Beverly Hillbillies, and there was Jethro Bodine who called the swimming pool. Do you remember what he called it? The cement pond, the cement2:35 pond. Or you are a football fan and you remember a Jethro Pugh, NFL player for the Dallas Cowboys. You may2:47 remember those Jethros. Other than that, unless you're a Bible student, that's not a familiar name. But we're gonna look at a guy by the name of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses,2:59 who comes and observes his son-in-law Moses in action and gives some advice that will change the leadership style of3:11 Moses from that day forward. The story in Exodus chapter 18 highlights the tendency that some people have to take on too much3:22 responsibility and not delegate that to those around them. They don't spread the load. And I find this a tendency, especially among Christian3:34 workers, because Christians are often driven by guilt or the need to get the approval of others or the meet the3:45 expectations of those around them. So we, as believers, sometimes have a tendency to do too much, take too much3:56 on. And then what we take on, we worry about needlessly. And 1 of my favorite stories about a guy who was like that, he'd always take on too many4:08 responsibilities, and he'd always worry about them. And he'd look like he was burdened. He'd come to work burdened and worried, and everybody knew this guy just lived that way. 1 day he4:20 came to work with a smile on his face. He had no load. He was very light footed. He was very happy. And everybody thought, what's up with this guy? He never is like that. So they4:31 said, so you're different today. What is it? He said, I finally figured it out. I take too much on. I worry about everything. So I decided I'd hire somebody4:43 to worry for me. They said, Really? You hired somebody. And what are you paying this said individual that you have hired? You said, I'm paying him 200000 dollars a4:55 year. But the way I figure it, it's worth it. They said, Okay, but you only make Well, you make less than 100000 dollars a year. How are you going to pay him? He said, Well, that's his 1st worry.5:07 That's what he's being paid for. You might say Moses had a lot to worry about. He had a tall job order, big job5:18 description. He was the leader of, conservatively, a group of about 2000000 people, the children of Israel who had left Egypt. They're going through the desert.5:30 So he's leading a band of people on a 40 year road trip, a camping trip. And this group of people complained a lot,5:43 Make it much harder for him. I've often wondered if Moses had a theme song, what would it be? It might be on the road again because he was on the road every day5:55 just going from place to place or the long and winding road perhaps. Or maybe more appropriately, I can't get no satisfaction by the Rolling Stones because this6:06 boy had a rough. Now, in chapter 18, where I've asked you to turn, Israel has just won their 1st battle against an enemy group called the Amalekites. They've won that6:18 battle. They're in full swing of getting God's provisions on a daily basis. He's providing manna from heaven, like panera bread fresh baked every day at their doorstep when they6:30 walked outside. Chapter 18, though, is a family reunion. His wife has been with her father during Moses delivering the6:42 children of Israel out initially. So Moses' wife and 2 kids have been with her father, his father-in-law. I'm going to take it at verse 6 where we begin our6:54 study. Now he had said to Moses, I, your father-in-law, Jethro, am coming to you with your7:05 wife and her 2 sons with her. So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the7:17 tent. And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that7:29 had come upon them on the way and how the Lord had delivered them. Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom7:41 he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, blessed be the Lord who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, out of the hand7:52 of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. I don't know what your relationship is like with your in8:04 laws. They may be your outlaws as well as your in laws. But this is the case where Moses has a very solid, good relationship8:16 with his father-in-law. Question is, who is Jethro? Well, we didn't read it. But in verse 1 of chapter 18, he's a Midianite. He's a priest of8:28 Midian. Now, you may remember you might not, but you may remember that the Midianites were related to the Israelites. In that, Abraham8:40 and his 1st wife Sarah had Isaac, hence the children of Israel. But she died, and he married a 2nd wife by the name of Keturah. And they had children. And 1 of the8:52 children's name was Midian. And the Midianites come from Abraham and Keturah. So there's a blood relation between the children of Israel and these people, the9:04 Midianites. That is Jethro. Now Jethro comes to Moses in the wilderness, brings his family with him. They have a reunion. And the next day, we're about to read it in verse 13, where9:16 we're really going to start the story. And Jethro observes. He's a silent observer of everything that Moses is9:28 going to do. I wonder what it would be like if you had somebody tag along on your daily activities, watch how you do9:40 your job, and give advice to you of how you could do it better. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes can see things that people who are9:52 doing those things can't see. That is the case here. This is the section on leadership. This is whether you10:03 are an executive, you're a boss, you're a manager, you run a family, you're a college student, you're a mother. This is about how to become a leader, or shall we say a10:15 better leader, or even how to survive leadership. So I'm going to give you 5 quick little tips on that that come from the text. These are things10:27 that in the observation Jethro makes a suggestion to Moses. Here's the 1st. Change your approach. Change your approach. The way Moses has been doing10:39 things up to this point, Jethro can see are not optimal. So look at verse 13. And so it was on the next day10:51 that Moses sat to judge the people. And the people stood before Moses just get this picture. They stood before Moses from morning11:03 until evening. Stop there. Jethro can tell just by looking at 1st blush. This is a very inefficient way to do business.11:15 Moses, my son-in-law, has become nothing more than a problem shuffler. People are standing in line, waiting to have an audience with Moses, the leader, And11:27 this bothers11:29 Jethro. You're listening to connect with Skip Heitzig. Every day, friends like you help connect people around the world to the life changing truth of God's word through clear verse by verse bible teaching. And11:41 this month, we'd like to thank you with a practical resource designed for the challenges of everyday life. When you give, you'll receive biblical wisdom for everyday living, a collection of 4 lifestyle11:53 booklets from pastor Skip Heitzig. Through pray this way, Technicolor Joy, Unforgiveness, Forgiveness versus Sweet Revenge, and Standing Firm in Unsettling Times, you'll discover12:05 biblical wisdom for prayer, joy, forgiveness, and finding peace when life feels uncertain. We'll send this special collection as our thanks when you give 30 dollars or more to support12:16 Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 8 0 0 9 2 2 18 88 or visit connect with skip dot com slash offer. Now let's return to today's teaching.12:28 So all day long, he notices that Moses is trying to meet the needs of so many people listening to their problems, social problems, family problems. I don't know what Moses heard everything from12:40 he stole my sheep to my husband snores so loud or wakes the people up in the next tent to whatever. Now, I know you're not Moses, but if you have a job in12:52 an HR department or you are a customer service representative, or you work for a hotline or a helpline where people call in and they voice their13:04 complaints, you listen to this stuff all day long. You can relate. Not an exciting job. So verse 14, so when13:15 Moses father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, What is this thing that you are doing for the people?13:28 Why do you alone sit and all the people stand before you from morning till evening? Very good question. What are you doing?13:40 2 questions, actually. 1st is a question about your priorities. 2nd is a question about your personnel. What are you doing? What are you up to? And why are you doing this all13:52 alone? Why are you making yourself the center that everything else in the camp has to revolve around? That's your approach. You need to14:04 change your approach. So look at Moses, how he answers this. Verse 15, Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to inquire of God.14:16 He feels pretty important. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between 1 and another. I make known the statutes of God14:28 and His laws. Good answer, fair answer, honest answer. But this is unsustainable. Might have worked for you in the past, but this is not going to14:39 work for you going forward. It is unsustainable to have 2000000 people and have them line up, those with issues, those with problems, to meet 1 person.14:52 Leadership can never be about 1 person because as soon as it's about 1 person, what happens when that 1 person is gone? Everything caves in. Also, just an15:03 FYI, settling petty disputes is not the best use of time for any leader. Any leader, anyone in leadership15:15 who will spend his or her time doing this stuff day in and day out, there's no wisdom in that. They tried to do that with Jesus. You may remember in the Gospel of Luke in15:27 chapter 12, there was a large group following Jesus. He's out teaching. Somebody in the crowd shouts out completely out of context, actually says, 1 from the crowd15:39 said to him, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus said, man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over15:50 you? What I like about that is you have a guy giving Jesus a pretty basic question or issue, pretty easy to16:02 settle the dispute, not a complicated case. I have a brother who's not sharing the inheritance with me, not dividing the inheritance. Jesus could have easily said something to16:14 those 2 brothers. He didn't even enter into the discussion. He said, who made me to be a judge or an arbitrator? In other words, that's going16:26 to take away from my mission. I am not here for that. I'm here for something much greater than that. So we continue. Verse 17, so Moses' father-in-law said to him I love this the16:38 thing that you do is not good. I'm sure Moses did not expect that. I'm guessing Moses expected his father-in-law to put his arm on his shoulder and say,16:49 son, I am so proud of you. You are so awesome. You are such an awesome workaholic. You work so hard for these people, taking this burden all17:01 on yourself. He just said, this is not good. He speaks truth to power, and that takes courage to do that. Moses indeed was God's chosen17:13 representative. Moses brings that up. Father-in-law says, not good. Not a good approach. You might have something in your mind that you17:24 think it would be really smart if the president of the United States heard my opinion. I've got something that would help him and change his trajectory if I could only stand in17:36 front of him. Well, let's just say you could go to the White House, and there you are giving him your advice. For you to do that would take courage. It might be the best advice he17:48 gets, but it would take courage for you to do that. My mind goes back to an older individual that is now in heaven. But he used to be on my board of directors.18:01 And he would meet with me regularly, and he would ask me some pretty tough questions over lunch. He would ask me some personal issues. He would ask me organizational issues. And at 1st, I kind of got nervous18:13 whenever I'd have lunch with him. But later on, I came to relish those times when he would just. Speak with me and give me very courageous, on his18:24 part, advice. So verse 17, he says, The thing that you are doing is not good. Now notice his rationale. Both18:36 you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you, you are not able to perform it by18:48 yourself. Key phrase right there. You can do it. You just can't do it alone. You're going to wear out. You're going to wear them out. Here's the principle. 119:00 person, no matter how gifted, can do the work of ministry alone. Likewise, 1 person, no matter how gifted, can do the work of an organization alone, a family alone, a group19:11 alone takes others. Moses is playing the part of the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive branch. He's wearing all the hats,19:23 clearly in charge. Father-in-law says 2 things are going to happen. You're going to wear out. You're going to come home in the every evening19:35 exhausted. You're to have no time for your family. You're going to be worn out. But number 2, the people are going to grow impatient. You're going to wear them out because they're standing in line all day19:47 long to see you, and they may not be able to see you because the person in front of you takes a long time to unload. By the way,19:59 have you been to an emergency room lately, an urgent care? Isn't it funny that it's called emergency room? And I say that because you know what the average weight in the20:11 United States emergency rooms are? 3.5 hours. Emergency room in Washington, D. C, the average weight is over 5 hours. There's something20:23 terribly inefficient about that system. Jethro can spot that with his son-in-law. He says, you're going to be exhausted. You're going to wear them out.20:35 Funny how some of us have this idea that exhaustion is next to godliness. You know, sort of applaud the Christian20:47 worker who always walks around with stooped shoulders, looking so overworked. It's because I'm so humble. I'm trying to solve all the world's problems.20:59 That's not biblical. The secret, the key is to manage your life by what is important, not what is urgent.21:11 I know you've heard that before. The urgent versus the important. If you've not read this little booklet called The Tyranny of the Urgent, you need to download that or get that little booklet. It's by Charles Hummel.21:24 It's a life changing booklet, The Tyranny of the Urgent. In that little booklet, he encourages us to manage our life, to make our decisions21:36 based upon what is important, Not based upon what is urgent, because there's always urgent things to do, and here's his example. Jesus.21:47 Jesus lived around people who had urgent needs, but he always focused on what is important. So after 3 years of ministry, Jesus could say, I have21:59 finished the work you gave me to do. And in the little booklet, Hummel says, isn't that a strange thing for Jesus to tell his father after 3 years?22:11 I finished the work you've given me to do. Okay. He's healed some people, but there's more people that are not healed. He saved some people. There are many more people who are not22:23 saved. How do you say after 3 years, I finished the work you gave me to do? And he says, well, there's 2 things. Number 1, Jesus got up every morning and spent quality time with his father,22:35 Mark chapter 1, a great while before the day he went to a solitary place, and there he prayed. And then he points out in John chapter 2, here's the filter that Jesus22:47 used in making his decisions. For I always do those things that please him. In other words, I get up every day and I evaluate life based upon what the22:59 Father has given me to do, what my task is, what my primary task is, not what the secondary issues are. So change your approach, Moses. That's the 1st23:11 important key. 2nd is to instruct the people. Instruct the people. Verse 19, he continues. Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and23:22 God will be with you. Stand before God for the people so that you may bring the difficulties to God, and you shall teach them the statutes23:34 and the laws and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Get alone with God, hear His voice, and23:46 then teach people, tell people what the Lord has told you. Teach people, instruct them His truth. That's good leadership. A good leader will never force23:58 people to a bottleneck situation where they have to wait in line 1 at a time to get their needs met by 1 person. Jethro says,24:10 no. As the leader, teach the entire community. Teach the entire community. Here's the principle. As your organization grows, whatever it might be24:21 church, ministry, organization high visibility leadership will still be needed. But that role is limited and becomes more limited because you can only24:33 do so much.24:36 Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God's word with people around the world, bringing biblical truth, encouragement, and24:48 hope to those who need it most. And this month, we'd love to thank you for your gift of 30 dollars or more by sending you Biblical Wisdom for Everyday Living, a collection of 4 lifestyle booklets25:00 from pastor Skip Heitzig, Pray This Way, Technicolor Joy, Forgiveness Versus Sweet Revenge, and Standing Firm in unsettling times. These practical25:12 resources will help you apply God's truth to everyday challenges and grow deeper in your walk with Christ. Give today at connect with gift dot com slash offer or call 809 225:24 2 18 88. See you next time.25:49 Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.