For Example: Huddles

The Jethro Principle

The last time I spoke we talked about Moses and his father-in-law, Jethro. You all might remember that it was Moses’s custom to carry the bulk of the responsibility for serving the people. In case you don’t remember and for those who missed it, let’s read

exo 18:12-24

Exodus 18:12–24 NIV

12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. 13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” 24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

I think it’s interesting that every agency I’ve ever worked for uses this principle to some degree. The military calls it the chain of command. Your company may call it the organizational structure. In the church, we refer to it as the Jethro Principle.

The Jethro Principle

Now, I’ve heard this topic taught or preached many times and usually, the presentations are boring. It’s like watching those, “How it’s made” shows. And I know some of us have a lot of time on our hands to collect gee-whiz information, but the bulk of us really don’t care how a microwave is made. We just want it to work when we are in a hurry to warm up the coffee we forgot was on the counter.

We all know our cars have engines, we don’t care how it works. I just need my car to start every time I get in it. We all have hearts, lungs, and most of us have brains. And the fact that only a few of us are in the medical field in this room is evident that your major concern is not how a hear transfers blood, nor how lungs filter oxygen. Sometimes, we don’t even use our brains but when we need it, we want all of it to work, don’t we?

The great thing about our home appliances is that we usually only have to push a few buttons to get them to work. And what about our cars? Many of us drive cars with fobs and remote start features. Someone has gone through a lot of trouble to make things we need easier for us to use.

But what I think is awesome is that from the very first living creature that God created, He installed in them a feature called autopilot. Think about it. Your lungs breathe on their own. Your heart beats, your bladder creates urine and you don’t have to turn a single key or press any buttons to make it happen.

I hope I never forget what I saw the day my son was born. My wife had a c-section right in front of my face. I saw it all… They pulled the organs out, placed them on a tray and when they finished, they carelessly stuffed them all back in. I asked, “Shouldn’t you put that part over there?” The doc replied, “The body knows what to do with it.

“Every organ knows where it belongs!”

And as a preacher, that excited me because when I read the scriptures, the apostle Paul reminds us of the best thing we could ever do with our bodies. And it’s not sex. The best thing we can do with our bodies is not spend countless hours in the gym or twerking on social media. In fact Paul pretty much begs us to take a different approach to what pop culture takes.

Rom 12:1-2

Romans 12:1–2 NIV

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

In other words, Paul is saying, there are some things going on right now that you think are okay because you don’t think like God!

And when you don’t think like God, you don’t behave like him. Here’s how it works.

I think pig intestines are gross. Therefore, I don’t eat them. My sisters, however, think they are delicious and will eat them any given day of the week. If they though like me, they wouldn’t do what they do.

Here’s another example. I think reproduction is a sign of both physical and spiritual maturity. Therefore, it is common practice for me to make disciples. Meanwhile, some people think “If you build it, they will come” and so they never put in the work to share their faith or make disciples.

We believe, therefore we do!

So what Paul is telling us is that when our minds are truly transformed and renewed, we will be able to test the things we do, as well as the things other people do and know if these actions are the will of God or not.

In other words,

RIGHT and WRONG are not based on our CURRENT FEELINGS, but GOD’S WILL!

So the question that we have to ask in every decision we make in every area of our lives is

WHAT DOES GOD WANT?

I know what I want, but what does God want. This is an important question to ask because how we answer it reveals who is really Lord over our lives. Who’s really in charge? God or my feelings? God or my wants? God or my own selfish desires? God or my ego? and to this, Paul writes

Rom 12:3

Romans 12:3 NIV

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Can I talk to the lungs for a second? Lungs, I know you play a key role in keeping me alive, but I don’t think you’ll do so well as a bladder. And dear bladder, I thank God for your strength, but please stay in place. Let the heart be the heart. And heart, you are awesome. You pump blood and you transfer oxygen but please don’t, under any circumstances try to do the liver’s job. I need all of you to do what you were made to do, and do it well.

Paul says it better. He puts it this way:

Rom 12:4-8

Romans 12:4–8 NIV

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

If the doctor who delivered my son is right, if every organ knows where it belongs, if the body works the way it was designed, then it will compartmentalize and shift, when it needs to, move when it ought to, and rearrange itself in order to survive. But I wonder if it would do any of that without the head.

I wish I would’ve asked but I think I know intuitively that the brain had something to do with the body knowing where each part belongs. If Christ is the head of the church body, then maybe that’s where we should look for answers as it relates to who we are and what our role is. Where do we belong? Where do I fit in? What function do I serve?

And so Jesus himself, the head of the body showed us a little life hack that I believe has been neglected for far too long. He created huddles.

Mark 6:30-44

Mark 6:30–44 NIV

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Here’s what I need you to see. The disciples were able to make a difference in the lives of five thousand men because they worked with Jesus to feed the masses. And they did it through huddles of fifties and hundreds.

You thought huddles were too much work. Jesus was trying to feed the people. You weren’t satisfied with the group he gave you. You wanted more. You wanted bigger. But can you handle a bigger group? How will God trust you with twenty if he can’t trust you with two?

You thought huddles are about having a good party. Sure, it’s nice to share good food. But it’s even better to share the bread of life. Jesus didn’t make himself responsible over the thousands. He worked with the few who were able to reach the many. But the few have to be willing to do their part as the head gives instructions. The few have to think like God in order to make a godly difference.

THINKING LIKE GOD MAKES A GODLY DIFFERENCE!

So here’s what we’re going to do. We are going to think like God and split up into groups. We are going to deploy the Jethro principle and utilize the Jesus model in order to feed the people who need the bread that only God can supply.