Learning and Leading in Ministry: Chapter Eight

Twenty-Four to Two

Learn delegation.

Jesus had two hands. His twelve disciples had twenty-four. Do the math. In terms of sheer human effort, simple calculations reveal that Jesus accomplished twelve times as much by working through his disciples than if he were to have done everything all himself. While He proved his deity by his miracles, sign and wonders, he proved his leadership by sharing his purpose as the incarnate God with twelve selected individuals. By putting his organizational skills to work, Jesus confirmed the value of fundamental leadership principles like delegation, training and teamwork. He recruited disciples, not to create an entourage so as to impress observers of his importance, but to actually carry out his work in the world. Thus, every effective leader must determine that he will not do the work himself, even though he could do it better than his followers.

Every time a leader rolls up his sleeves, pushes underlings aside and plunges into the work himself, he make two colossal blunders: First, he does what he should and could train others to do. Second, he abandons his own job that no one else can do. It makes no sense for a boss to undertake menial tasks himself while his employees lean on their shovels and watch him do the work they were hired to do. Yet, in church circles, many pastors insist on being the carpenter, the painter, the interior decorator and the computer geek. They need to understand that other people can probably do it better than he can and would literally love to have the chance.

Moreover, a general can do a soldier’s work, but a soldier cannot do the general’s work. In the end, the general’s job is far more critical to the success of the total campaign. The leader who relinquishes control over the jobs gives a gargantuan leap forward to his potential productivity and the quality of his output.  Through shared responsibility, a church congregation can grow to a much greater size that it may presently be.

Delegation requires trust. Leaders who do not put implicit trust their followers to do a good job are doomed to operate at low levels. Their future will always look bleak. “If I only had the right people,” they complain. The hang-up is not with the lack of personnel, however, but with the person in charge. Those who have more faith in their own two hands than they do in the multiple hands of their followers will only glean whatever measure of harvest that two hands can reap.