When I think of great men, names like Abraham, David, John the Baptist, and Paul come to mind. I doubt this guy named Jethro makes anyone’s list. But he should. Without Jethro, we may have lost the Jews and with them, Jesus! And, if he was alive today he may have written the book “Simple Church” (the one we’ve been pondering the last week) long before Thom Rainer ever thought to.
This obscure fella, Moses’ father-in-law, was…yep, the first “leadership coach”. He understood “keeping it simple”.
Unfortunately, Moses didn’t. He is so admired for his deep faith, humble spirit, and tenacity in keeping a million people together as they wandered aimlessly. But he had a temper. Remember he violently killed that Egyptian, threw those tablets down, and impatiently struck that rock. You know, the one that prevented him from enjoying the milk and honey.
Don’t we all get provoked when things get too overwhelming to think clearly? Exodus 18 provides us the first Biblical lesson on keeping it simple with Moses the student, and Jethro the coach. Moses was rapidly burning out from full time conflict resolution. Jethro asks why he allows this distractions to get in the way of his “compelling call”. Moses answers, “People come to seek God’s will.” Here’s a big blind spot for us all, Moses seemed to believe he was the only one capable of discerning and dispensing it. Wait a minute, what happened to “why me Lord” and “send someone else”. How does this self-importance infiltrate our heart so effortlessly?
Of course Jethro went on to coach Moses to appoint trustworthy men and train them to discern and dispense God’s will to groups of 1000’s,100’s, 50’s, and 10’s. Men passionate to lead, allowing Moses time for his compelling call; staying connected to God and casting His vision. Just like the book “Simple Church” encourages, Moses needed to:
- get clarity
- build momentum
- gain alignment
- keep focused.
Thanks to Jethro, Moses did get clarity on his call. He then built momentum with trustworthy men, trained them to lead and align the masses behind the vision, and kept the group focused on God’s vision.
After Jethro, Moses continued to struggle. Remember, he broke the tablets and struck the rock long after this lesson. So often we buy that lie — only we can do it. We are pulled, or allow the church to be, into roles and commitments outside our calling and then stagger under the complexity. It’s a big deal, no Jethro, no Jesus, no milk and honey.
Considering how hard it is, help us out with how you keep focused.
