Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership

Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp. And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.
(Numbers 31:13-16 ESV)

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In this episode, the 12,000 soldiers return from battle against the Moabite Midianites and they’ve brought back spoils of war, including all the women and children. Moses is angry with them because they did not put to death the women who played a huge part in seducing Israel into Baal worship earlier (under the guide of Baalam). Moses then orders the army to put to death all the women who are not virgins, along with all the boys among the children. While that certainly wouldn’t slip past the UN today (and it would give Starbucks a chance to come up with a tumbler that supports Midianite women and children), the part that hits me today is about who Moses is angered with. He’s angry with (seemingly) only the officers of the army--those who are commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

Moses holds the commanders of the army responsible for the actions of the entire army. It is under their leadership that the army is guided and decisions are made. Leaders are held responsible for those under them. While this particular situation probably doesn’t apply directly to Christian ministry, there is a principle to be taken from it. I’m on full-time staff at a church, in charge of directly leading at least 2 separate ministries within the church. Even though there may be other leaders over certain areas of these ministries, it still is ultimately my responsibility to ensure that these ministries achieve what they are meant to.

Pastor Dave always says that everything in ministry and the church “rises and falls on leadership.” It’s one of those phrases we hear a lot in church staff meetings where everyone nods their heads in agreement (maybe even the occasional, enthusiastic “amen!”), but how much of that phrase do we actually really take seriously? How many leaders in the church actually live and breathe it? How many leaders in church have that phrase written on their hearts, in the core of who they are, rather than on a framed note on their desk? For myself, this is something that I’ve only really been accepting this past year I’ve been on staff.

I mean, I hate to admit it, but leadership has always been one of those things I’ve nodded in agreement with, but never really lived out. I thought leadership was a really great, really true thing, but the gravity of leadership and it’s intense commitment and responsibility has only begun to well up in me for the past twelve months. So for me, one of the things that must take center stage in my life in terms of focus and intentionality is the development of my leadership. Not because I have to, or because it’s the right Christian thing to do, or because I’m on staff at a church; but because it’s who God has crafted me to be, and to not fully step into this role is disobedience and apathy towards God. I want to be who I’m meant to be, because I love the Lord. When you really love someone, you are willing to change for them, even when the change is uncomfortable and painful--because it’s worth it for the greater depth of relationship that can be experienced.