Delegate
During my years as a student pastor, I learned that I couldn’t be every place at the same time. As my ministry and influence grew, I realized that I needed to be pouring into other leaders who could then multiply my efforts. The ministry grew and my ability to lead was broadened. The same principle is true in tons of areas of my life today. There are some things that I do differently than others, however many tasks that I do can and probably should be delegated to other skilled members of my staff.
I have a friend who would see me stressed in the past and he would say: “Two, Four, Six, Eight – we must learn to delegate”. Stress happens when I’m trying to more than one thing at a time (which is quite often). If I’m not careful, I’m trying to do too many things well and I end up doing none of them well.
King David had quite a large group of people around him to help manage so many areas of his leadership as King of Israel. I was impressed with how organized he was with assigning people over certain areas. He had people who were in charge of his donkeys and another person in charge of the camels. The list of people who were charged with specific tasks was pretty long. Here are some that were at the end of the list, but still very significant. Check this out…
32 Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni took care of the king’s sons.
33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor.
Hushai the Arkite was the king’s confidant. 34 Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.
Joab was the commander of the royal army. (1 Chronicles 27:32-34 NIV)
David’s position was one of tremendous authority and raw power. He was a warrior, a songwriter, a family man, and a worshipper – just to name a few of his attributes.
I could learn quite a bit from his ability to lead on multiple fronts through the leaders he had delegated to specific tasks. I think it’s very hard for some leaders to delegate responsibilities to others. I would argue that a leader who can’t delegate will always be a leader over a small group.
There are some areas of my life that I simply can’t delegate out. I am a husband to my wife, a Dad to my kids and a son to my parents. I can’t “delegate” any of that to others – those are mine to live out and lead.
I’m still learning how to serve others more and lead others more. I can’t do it all. I can learn to delegate more efficiently which requires training and leadership on my part. If I’m serving well and delegating well, it should feel like my leadership is still strong. This is a tough balancing act for sure.
Pressing On!
Dwayne