“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2).

In the world, we work hard to get ahead, and sometimes work even harder to stay ahead. But being a leader in the church is not a fight to stay on top, or at least it’s not supposed to be. Besides preaching the gospel, our greatest most holy task is to work really hard to work ourselves out of a job. We must be on the constant look out for those in our churches who come early and stay late, those who are just as happy to clean the floor as they are to stand in front of the pulpit. And when we find these individuals (it’s like finding gold!), we must give them as much attention as our schedules will allow, pouring our lives into them, longing and praying that they will be the ones who will not only replace us, but also bear far more fruit for the kingdom than we have. God forbid that we should grow old still holding on to all the keys!

“May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep which have no shepherd” (Num 27:16-17).

But being a leader in the church is not a fight to stay on top, or at least it’s not supposed to be.