Thursday, April 26, 2012

A leadership spirit

"So the LORD said to Moses, 'Gather for me 70 of the elders of Israel... and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself.'"
(Numbers 11:16a, 17)

Moses was feeling overwhelmed by the demands of leader the people of Israel.  So God told him to pick 70 elders among the people to help him.  Then God did something very interesting - he took a portion of the "spirit" that was "on" Moses, and gave it to the 70.

As a leader, I found this fascinating for a couple of reasons:
  1. Our power comes from outside of us... God didn't tell Moses to train the seventy from his "vast experience as an outstanding leader."  No, he took a portion of the leadership spirit that HE had given Moses, and shared it with the new recruits.  So whenever any of us leaders start getting impressed by our own credentials (and press clippings), pay heed.  It's from God.  Not us.
  2. If we want effective & powerful leaders, we need to be praying for God's spirit to fall.  I have quite a few leaders in my church, both men & women.  I don't know if I've ever prayed for God's spirit to fall upon them.  Shame on me.  Time to start!

No comments: