Dear Salvation Army – “Leadership, The Art of Delegation”

“What you are doing is not good.  You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” Exodus 18:17-18

Moses was trying to lead as best he could.
The problem was THIS wasn’t “the best”.
He tried to take on the mantel of leadership all on his own.
I don’t think it was pride, I think it was determination to see this mission through.
Moses was trying, he really was…but he was trying too hard.
You know the phrase “think smarter not harder”?  This is where we find Moses.
He was doing a good thing, but he wasn’t doing the best thing.

How often do we get caught in this trap too?
How often do we take on the mantel of leadership and fail because we face burnout and discouragement?   If I were to venture a guess it is because we try too hard and we reap little by way of reward for our efforts.  Could it be that we have failed to include others within our mission?  Could it be that we have become so consumed by our work that we have made it all about us instead of God?  Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t supposed to be this way, nor was it our intentioned to make it that way, but in our efforts we have lost focus and we are experiencing tunnel-vision.

Dear Salvation Army,
we call it micromanaging…but we just assume it only happens within leadership and with “those officers and people at DHQ or THQ or even IHQ”.   We assume wrong.  We too are often guilty of micromanaging and failing to include others into the mission by delegating responsibilities to others.  When we fail to delegate, we actually rob others of the opportunity to serve and to experience ministry.  Think about it for a second, when we step up on the platform on Sunday and lead everything – who is getting edified by leading? The answer is –just you.  Who could benefit from stepping up to lead?  Who would be available to help?

The Screening Process:
Identify others.
Pick people who can support you in leadership and who will strengthen your mission.
Don’t pick people to help and then never use them.
Help to equip them to lead.
Be mindful that not everyone will be “on the same page” as you when it comes to our mission.
This is why we need to be careful who we select to help us lead.
On the flipside of the coin, don’t be too stringent on your selection process to the point that no one qualifies.

Replace Yourself:
Remember that the process of discipleship – true, authentic, real-tangible discipleship is all about leading others to replace you.  You cannot carry this mantel of leadership all on your own or indefinitely.  Don’t be so prideful to think that you can “hold on” forever.  This is especially true in The Salvation Army when Officers move around from appointment to appointment.  Are our corps set up to disciple people to pick up the mantel of leadership beyond just the Corps Officer?  Is there an intentional leadership plan to develop people and move them into active roles?  Are we preparing younger generations to model and become the leaders that we so desperately need?

Discipleship isn’t just about delegating roles we’d rather not do.  This is a deeply spiritual thing to do.  What happens when we allow discipleship to occur is that we allow that person access to us –we become vulnerable to that person.  We grant these would be disciples the keys to the door instead of just peering through the window of our lives.   In the process, the mantel of leadership is shared, the burden can be lightened, the joys, victories and sorrows equally experienced.

Dear Salvation Army,
We are sometimes guilty of monopolizing leadership opportunities…
-Sometimes it’s because we feel no one else is capable.
-Sometimes it’s because we’ve always done it THAT way.
-Sometimes it’s a matter of pride and even arrogance.
-Sometimes it’s because the pressure to succeed is so high.
-Sometimes it’s because replicating and delegating seems to takes so much time and effort.

Moses was carrying this mantle, this burden of leadership on his own.
He was worn out, burnt out and spent.  He needed someone like Jethro to remind him that he couldn’t “handle it alone”.

Dear Salvation Army, do you need this reminder today?
Are you burnt out, spent and worn?
Have you shirked discipleship and the gift of delegation because it requires more effort?
I’ve been there too…sometimes I’m still there.
Perhaps this is your wake up call.
Perhaps this is your reminder.

Perhaps today we should take these words to heart and do something about it –
“What you are doing is not good.  You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” Exodus 18:17-18

Something more to ponder today.