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The Bible reveals consistently that God chooses to delegate. We discussed in Part 1 of this series about what God delegates, which can encompass mission, authority, roles etc. We further argued that God delegates both the natural and supernatural authority and anointing. In effect, God delegates in many different ways, to many kinds of people.
The key question is, “Why does God delegate?” God did not delegate because He had no options. Nor because He was forced too. But because He wanted to. God must have very strong reasons to choose to delegate to the way and the extent He does. In Part 2 of this series, we consider these reasons to discover more about God’s heart and what its implications are to us.
DELEGATE TO MULTIPLY
Effective delegation will lead to multiplication of disciples.
Moses was told he ought to teach, demonstrate and train the people. And a key way to achieve this is through effective delegation. Effective delegation will lead to multiplication of disciples. Delegation properly executed will eventually lead to the nurturing of a mass of people to fulfil the purposes of God.
Here we will discover some reasons why God delegates as He does. Hopefully we can also learn about the power of effective delegation.
Delegate to learn
Exodus 18:20a (NIV) “Teach them his decrees and instructions…
A key performance index for Moses was to teach the Israelites God’s decrees and laws. When it is tied to delegation, it lifts the learning experience to a whole new realm. The appointed judges will learn faster about the decrees and laws because they have to use it and guide others.
Often the desire to learn is increased by a sense of relevance. People tend to learn faster and more when it is relevant to what they have to do. While I was growing up I had little incentive to learn how to cook. But once it was determined that I would study overseas, I knew that I would have to learn to cook for myself because I would not be able to afford eating out on my limited budget. That begun my journey of first learning to cook from my mother. Survival is highly relevant and a great motivator.
We learn so much more from experience than simply from theory alone. That is why surgeons have to have many hundreds of hours of surgical experience. Nobody accredits a surgeon on the basis that they have read hundreds of books on surgery and watched hundreds of Youtube videos on surgical procedure. The more I progress in spiritual leadership, I find that I better understand God’s principles because I must grapple with its implications all the time. I discover I learn how to better apply it in a wiser and more balanced way.
God delegates so we may learn more deeply. We should grab hold of the opportunity! We ought to do likewise to help others learn faster and more deeply.
Delegate to grow
Nothing grows a person more than responsibility.
Exodus 18:20b (NIV) “show them the way they are to live…”
Nothing grows a person more than responsibility. When we delegate a person to take a responsibility, they will often grow faster as a result of the responsibility. The furnace of responsibility challenges us to grow in our knowledge, skills and character. Jacob grew as a person when he began to take on responsibilities in Gen 28-30. Prior to that time, he probably had things easier in his parents home.
My father’s side of the family has had some tragic episodes. When my grandfather left the family for another woman, my father and his brother had to start working in their teens to support the family. This helped mature my father rather quickly.
God wants to grow us into godly people. By delegating to us, God is stirring us to grow into maturity in a more well-rounded way. How can God’s people ever capture more of God’s heart for the lost, for making disciples? When we have been delegated the responsibility and we begin to grapple more and more deeply with the enormity of the challenges. When we begin to grow in our burden for the lost and the lack of maturity of the saints, etc. Through all these, our hearts begin to resonate more with God’s heart. In effect, we grow more towards Christ.
That is why I believe in delegation in the family, we should intentionally give our children responsibilities gradually and appropriately to help them grow up. Over-sheltering our children will be to their detriment. The same applies in all areas of life and ministry. If you wish to see others grow in certain areas of their life, they need to be given some responsibilities in those areas, to motivate them and expose them to growth opportunities.
Delegate to undertake
Exodus 18:20c (NIV) “and how they are to behave.”
I believe the ESV puts it more accurately as “…and what they must do.” With reference to these judges, what they must do is surely what the 2019 version of NIV better puts it, “…duties they are to perform.”
We often hear the phrase, “grow into their job” to mean that time is needed for a person to grow in their understanding and competence of their responsibility. Usually, a person’s ability to do a good job increases as they gain more experience with the job. This is the whole idea behind being an apprentice. That is why prophet Elijah mentored Elisha. Apostle Paul mentored Timothy.
It was recorded in Luke 10:1, 9 (NIV) 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'
When Jesus delegated the ministry of healing and deliverance to his 72 followers, not only were they able to reach many more people much more quickly, but Jesus’ disciples were getting practical, hands-on training for when they would become the Apostles of Christ’s first Church!
When God puts certain responsibilities upon you, take it as a challenge. You will learn more, grow more, and be more proficient in your responsibility eventually. You will be surprised how much you grow in your proficiency!
Delegate to the right people
Exodus 18:21 (NIV) “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”
Those who have the right heart condition, will benefit more with delegated responsibility.
Here is mentioned that Moses should delegate to the competent, those who have integrity and those who fear God. Delegation must be selective. Delegate to the wrong people and it may fail, or even be a disaster. Delegate to the right people, and there can be success. Those who have the right heart condition, will benefit more with delegated responsibility. For they will mature, they will grow. Those with bad attitudes will misuse the responsibility. Let’s keep our attitudes right, and we will grow the way God intended.
DELEGATE FOR BETTER OUTCOMES
Exodus 18:22–23 (NIV) 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
Jethro helped Moses understand that better outcomes would be achieved with proper delegation. It would spread the load from Moses so that he would not be so strained. It would also serve the people more satisfactorily as they obtain faster dispute resolution and counsel. Delegation properly undertaken leads to better overall outcomes.
Paul delegated to Titus the Island of Crete to finish the work Paul had started. Titus 1:5 (NIV) explains, “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.” By doing so, Paul could effectively continue what he was best at, planting new churches while Titus could consolidate the problematic churches under Paul’s guidance. Titus 1:10 - 11 (NIV) 10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
By delegating to Titus, who then further delegated by appointing overseers in each town, the false teachers and those trying to take advantage of the ignorant new believers could be much more effectively dealt with. Overall, it led to more being achieved for the Kingdom of God.
What about you? Are there things that your leaders are doing that you might be able to offer your assistance in? If your leader is so busy doing the things you can do… imagine if you released them from that, and they can do something else. Overall, more is accomplished for the Kingdom of God! If you wish more to achieve in your areas of responsibilities, part of the solution is also to delegate to others so that more can be achieved overall.
Some of us like myself may have a perfectionist streak where we simply like things done very excellently. However, it can hold us back from delegation because we simply get frustrated by any lack of excellence. But I have learnt that I cannot do things by myself because I am so limited. Even though those whom I delegated to may not do as good a job as I can, yet overall, a team can achieve far more than I could ever hope to by myself. Besides some will grow and even eventually exceed me in some areas. None of these can occur if I don’t start to delegate.
DELEGATION REQUIRES OWNERSHIP
Exodus 18:13–27 (NIV) 24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
Delegation functions best when there is reciprocating ownership of the responsibility.
As Moses delegated various levels of the responsibility to various people, they took ownership of their responsibilities and began to function. Consequently, they were able to deal with the simple cases and only the most difficult cases went to Moses. Delegation functions best when there is reciprocating ownership of the responsibility.
In the Kingdom of God, the purposes of God is more effectively carried out if we rise up to take personal responsibility for whatever the Lord desires to delegate to us. As the Lord offers, we have to faithfully receive and undertake. That is why it is said in Titus 1:7 (NIV) … an overseer is entrusted with God's work …
There are great things that God wants to entrust to His people. God wants to entrust to us portions of His Kingdom. Will we take ownership of the responsibility? After being a Christian a couple of years, I was offered opportunity to mentor a new believer. After about 2 sessions, he ran away. He left church because he wanted to chase a girl. The second person I tried to mentor, I ran out of lessons to teach after the third session, so I stopped! For no one had given me any materials. I had to generate my own. But I did not quit! God delegated to me and I rose up to take ownership to mentor young believers. Soon God delegated to me to co-lead a life group. By faith, I rose to the challenge and took ownership. Gradually, God began to delegate to me greater responsibilities. Each time, I determined to rise up in faith and take ownership of the responsibility.
The more we are proven faithful with what God has delegated to us, the more He will also give to us. Luke 16:10 (NIV) Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
God has delegated to us responsibility for our personal spiritual growth, but will we take ownership for our own spiritual growth? I want to be effective, productive and fruitful in my knowledge of Jesus. If each of us grab hold fully of this responsibility to mature spiritually before God, we would make a great impact upon our community simply because the grace of God would be powerfully upon our lives.
Jesus delegated unto us the Great Commission of making disciples of every nation. If all of us take ownership of that and make sure we can mentor others spiritually, the number of disciples would multiply greatly! We can start right where we are in our churches and with time we will multiply across the nations.
CONCLUSIONS
God delegates because He desires to see His people learn, grow, undertake responsibilities and therefore multiply. God desires us to be able to achieve more as we take personal responsibility for His mission for us. As we better understand these, we too will more intentionally delegate in order that we may see greater multiplication of disciples to fulfil the Great Commission.
Copyright©️2024 by Wilson Lim. All rights reserved. Materials are free to be distributed in whole or part as long as proper acknowledgement is given to the author and not sold for profit.
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