We’ve seen so far in Exodus 18 that the makings of an ideal leader can be seen in Jethro’s approach to Moses, as well as in his actual words. We’ve seen that Jethro made it a point to make a fair and complete evaluation of all he observed Moses was doing… and he then presented Moses with straight-to-the-point feedback.
And like I said, there’s value in the actual words he gave to Moses. Last time we talked about the conduct of a leader, and how I think both Moses himself and those he would eventually choose would act.
In addition to making fair evaluations and appropriate, relevant feedback, they are to represent themselves and others to the Lord; And we learned that it’s crucial for them to establish and maintain excellent communication for proper representation.
But that isn’t the core, or the foundation. Any other organization can realize this – however, we in the Body of Christ recognize and appreciate that it is the Holy Spirit who is the One who not only leads us to all Truth, but guides us in what to say – We possess the Spirit of God, and He is critical to our communication; not only for representation, but I believe it also applies to evaluation, and in giving feedback.
The Value of a Playbook / Knowledgebase
Jethro continues in Exodus 18:“…and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.”
Now we’ve come a long way to this point, and this is where I really want to focus. I feel the emphasis here was that Jethro was telling Moses that he needed to be so adept and so familiar with ‘the statutes and the laws’, for him to be able to ‘warn’ the people, and to be competent enough to advise them on “the way in which they must walk and what they must do.”
In other words, Moses and those who he would eventually choose would not only find themselves dependent on the Spirit… they also need to be well versed in the statutes and the laws… Or, in other words, Scripture, or the Word.
The writer of the longest Psalm in the Bible says God’s word ‘is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.’ (Psalms 119:105)
Solomon reminds us years later, how not only do the ‘statutes and laws’ help us and others to ‘know the way in which they must walk’, but also where to stay away from: ‘For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.’Proverbs 6:23-24
Finally, in Joseph Prince’s message for this Year 2024 for his congregation, he pulls up Psalm 36:9… A curious verse, considering Nikola Tesla said, “If you knew the magnificence of the three, six and nine, you would have a key to the universe.”:
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light. Psalms 36:9
I shared in a recent article: The Word of the Living Word is Life. Here we see even more regarding the value of Scripture, as we go through it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit – The Word of Christ is not only Life, but it is Light.
Christ’s light gives us light. Christ’s Word gives us light.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:4
I’m fond of saying that Christ is the Living Word that gives us Life as we read the Word, and that He is the Word of Life that reveals His Word in our life. But I suppose we have Light as much as we have Life: Christ is the Light that gives us Light and revelation as we read the Word, just as He is the Word that shines Light and direction in our life.
Christ: The Light Of The Word, The Word Of Light
Earlier I’ve mentioned that any other organization would know or eventually determine the value of communication and representation. Chances are, they would also figure out that you need ‘statutes and laws’ to establish direction. And regarding ‘statutes and laws’, take your pick: They could be playbooks, manuals of operations, knowledgebases, bylaws, resolutions, company policy and/or a mission/vision statement.
What I’m leading to here is that just as we are blessed in the body of Christ to have that additional, rather ETERNAL edge – that is, the Holy Spirit as our living guide to our communication and eventual effective representation; See, we have no less than Christ HIMSELF, serving as the Light and Life to the Scripture we consult, and the Word we meditate on: For not only direction, but revelation.
And see, right there is a wonderful thing. I jumped into this portion of Exodus 18 to present the importance for any church to have exactly that: playbooks, manuals of operations, knowledgebases, bylaws, resolutions, company policy and/or a mission/vision statement. But I find myself pleasantly rebuked, because all of these things are apparently birthed from the Life we have in Christ, and fine-tuned by the Light that comes from Christ.
However, is it to say that we wait on Christ for said directing and revelatory documents? Or are we to write and compose what comes from our minds, with the hopes that it directs to Christ, and reveals Christ? To this I simply answer, ‘Yes’ – For Christ IS our Life and Light that is present, no matter who we think takes the initiative in composing said supporting documents.
In light of all that I’ve had to think about regarding the definition of ‘journaling’ and how at least one person on Instagram thinks that it’s not a masculine thing to do… Well, I’ll say it here and now that it’s something that Christ certainly paid a great price for us to reap some good out of.
How so? Well, in light of all we’ve talked about so far, I’ll say this – It’s either Christ brings us to write, or in writing, we’re brought to yet another aspect to the beauty of Christ, and the goodness of God.
Where We Go From Here
So far we’ve established that as leaders, and as folks who raise leaders, we’re to have fair evaluation skills, as well as the courage and boldness to give relevant, meaningful feedback.
As Christian leaders, we have the Holy Spirit with us, guiding us to communicate and hereby represent ourselves to the Truth, or vice versa.
Here, we’ve also come to the understanding that leaders ought to develop and adhere to proper documentation – and while Christian leaders have an edge with the Word, we have Christ, who Himself is the Living Word – Light and Life for us when we consult the Word, and the Word that serves as Light in our Lives.
We may or may not draw inspiration from Christ to start writing… but rest assured, in the end, we will always move towards Christ. This is something I keep in mind, whether I write for my own personal development, or with the intentions of bringing those within influence together in Christ.
If anything else, from here I’m committing my intentions to continue to write for my personal projects to Christ, just as I’m acknowledging Him in all I intend to write in upcoming collaborations.
From here on out I’m going to split my writing endeavors. There’s still one or two more things I’d like to share from Exodus 18, and from there I intend to move to other parts in Scripture. But I’m definitely going to work on deeper personal projects, and adding value to existing collaborations.
Literally squeezed my brain out here. I’m sorry, I know I could make more sense. But I’m sharing this as it is right now.
Until the next post, God bless us all.
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