by Tom Blackaby
There are a lot of great things we do at church, but not all of them are beneficial to the overall direction and program of our ministry. We can be so busy putting out fires, preparing for the next meeting, salvaging damaged relationships within the body, and visiting the needy that we actually neglect the fundamental priorities of ministry.
Some pastors focus on caring for the sheep, making sure they are all well protected and well fed to the neglect of the infrastructure that facilitates church programs and ministries. Others focus so much on the programs, the goals, and the direction that often the individual sheep feel neglected and disenfranchised.
Moses was so caught up in the details of his ministry to the people that he forgot the big picture. He was getting worn out as a leader and though he was doing a lot of good things, everyone was frustrated; the people, the community leaders, and Moses himself. It took a wise elder (Jethro, his father-in-law) to devise a workable solution for managing ministry and to preserve Moses as a leader. You can read about the infrastructure implemented by Jethro’s plan in Exodus 18-13-23, but I want you to look specifically at one verse in particular that may revolutionize your ministry.
“And you shall teach them ordinances and laws, and shall make them know the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do” Exodus 18:20.
Here we see three components, three priorities for ministry, each of which are integral to a successful ministry.
- Teach them the ordinances and laws
- make them know the way in which they must walk
- make them know the work they must do
Let’s flesh this out in practical terms.
1. You shall teach them the ordinances and laws
- Statutes – khoke an enactment; an appointment, commandment, decree, law, measure, ordinance, task. These would pertain to the rules for worship, for how to treat others and how to care for animals. They outlined exactly what God expected of His people. The statutes set out the parameters for what was acceptable in society and how each person was to live in relationship to others.
- Laws –to-raw’; a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch. We know these as the Ten Commandments or the first five books of the OT written by Moses. He was establishing a community and a society out of a bunch of runaway slaves. They had no system of government, no legal system, no police or judges, no structure or infrastructure to guide daily life. So this was what Moses was asked to present to the people.
Moses was probably one of a handful of people who could even read and the only one who knew all that God expected for His people. He could not be the only repository of information. They people needed to have God’s laws in their mind and written on their hearts. He had to “get the word out”. They needed the INFORMATION in order to make wise choices with their resources, time and talent.
It seems that in the church today, that the Word of God is not nearly as important as other things. The amount of money spent on design, entertainment, productions, mission trips, good works, and buildings versus the amount spent on helping people know and understand the word of God is hardly comparable. What percentage of your members are involved in Sunday school, home Bible Studies or personal Bible study? How many of your people bring their Bibles to church on Sunday? How many people turn in their Bibles to follow along with the pastor in his sermons?
2. shall make them know the way in which they must walk,
Philippians 3:17 “Join together in imitating me, brothers, and pay close attention to those who live by the example we have given you.”
Way – deh’-rek a road (as trodden); a course of life or mode of action, journey
Walk – haw-lak’ to walk, behave, follow
I think it is nice to preach good sermons about how to live the Christian life. I think it is great to lead good Bible studies that talk about how to live the Christian life. I think it is great to read devotional books about how to live the Christian life. But I think it is far better to walk with someone and SHOW them how to live the Christian life. People need the APPLICATION of scripture in their daily life. They need to know how to implement it in their real – life circumstances for it to have any real meaning for them personally. After to TELL them what they need to know, you must SHOW them how to use it daily in their relationships, in their workplace, in their worship, and in their attitudes.
As a pastor, I have made it my goal to get into every business of my church members. That means going to the cafeterias at the oil companies, taking a pizza to the automotive shop were another deacon works, visiting in the staff room at the schools, checking in at the X-ray department at the hospital, sitting with a member in the corporate office, even riding along with a bus driver. This way I know the context of where my church people live out their Christianity. .
- Are there teenagers who could use some one to walk with them and show them how to live out the Christian life? Many teenagers are without fathers in the home right now and the only examples of fathers they see are in the movies or on TV. Some have godly coaches to will take time with them. Many don’t have anyone.
- Are there single dads who struggle to have relationships with their children who need someone to walk with them?
- Are there young men trying to make a go of it with a new company and a young family who need someone to walk with them and show them how to honour God in their businesses and family?
3. And the work that they must do.
Do – aw-saw’ A primitive root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application: – accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth,
Every person wants to accomplish something of significance with their life. God has planned long ago very important and special things for each of His people to do with His power and with His guidance. It is not enough to have INFORMATION and APPLICATION – we must give our people IMPLEMENTATION. In other words, 1. tell them what they need to know, 2. show them how to use their new-found knowledge and truth in their daily life, 3. then provide them with ways to use this in ministry through the church.
Ephes 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.
It is not enough to be saved as a Christian; that is only part of the equation for eternal life. When our people are well fed and well taught, they need to get off their sofa and put it into practise by impacting other people’s lives.
- Teach them what God expects from them. Give them the information they need from the Scriptures to live a productive, meaningful Christian life.
- Walk with them, or have your deacons, elders, home group leaders, Sunday school teachers, mentors and coaches walk with them to demonstrate how to use their information and truth.
- Put them to work. Give them a job to do. Involve them in a ministry, a mission, a means to impact other people’s lives.
I guarantee that you will see a transformation in the lives of those sitting in front of you week after week if you use this 3-fold strategy in your ministry. You can do all the work yourself at church, or you can multiply your army of ministry personnel and see your church flourish so that your community will never be the same inside and outside the church.