Acts 6:3-5a
Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
This proposal pleased the whole group.
This conversation and decision was the result of the Greek Jews in Jerusalem complaining to the Apostles that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. The Apostles realized that they didn't have the time to manage and focus energy on overseeing this ministry, so they wisely gathered all the disciples together and told them to appoint men to oversee this ministry. The Apostles recognized they couldn't do everything themselves and they needed to stay focused on what was most important. They needed to be doing the things that only they could do.
This is leadership. You can't do everything yourself. If you try to, eventually people are going to be unhappy because of everything that is getting missed, or done poorly. You just don't have enough hours in a day to do everything yourself. Even if you did, why would you want to? How does your organization grow, and how do your people grow if you are doing everything yourself, all the time?
Also, look at what the Apostles did. They didn't just turn this responsibility over to whomever was available to do it. They put men in charge of it who were known to be capable and qualified to oversee it. Actually, the Apostles didn't do the appointing. They told the assembly to choose the men. So the people who were complaining about the problem got to be the ones to decide who would be in charge of fixing it.
That's another key point of leadership. Let the people who are complaining about problems be the ones to come with the solutions to the problem. You don't help people grow by solving all of their problems for them. The Apostles simply listened to the complaint and them gave some guidance on how to solve the problem.
I want you to take notice of one more thing from the passage above: What was the qualifications that all seven men had?
They were full of the Spirit and wisdom. All seven men were know to be full of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual maturity was the #1 qualifier with wisdom #2. It almost goes without saying that men who are full of the Spirit also have wisdom. After all, true wisdom is a fruit of the Spirit. This is important to note because the qualifications for these men had nothing to do with their technical skills. Food Distribution experience was not a qualification that was even considered. That wasn't really important.
What do you look at when you're looking to hire someone or add them to your team? Are you too focused on technical skills? If you tend to go through a lot of people in a relatively short period of time, you are way too focused on technical skills. You need to learn from the Apostles of the early church. The important "skills" are intangibles: wisdom, leadership, people skills, problem solving ability, conflict resolution skills, etc. People with these skills can learn and acquire the needed technical skills. People with high technical skills can learn these intangibles, but they likely won't if you don't have a leadership development program in place. Most people will not seek out leadership development on their own.
The Apostles took this leadership approach because they wisely understood their mission. Their top priorities were prayer and taking care of themselves spiritually, and preaching the Word. Their main job was to proclaim the gospel of Jesus to the world. They recognized their ministry wasn't about them, it was all about Jesus.
I encourage you to do the same. Stay focused on your mission. Don't get caught in the trap of always having to be "the guy". Empower your people to do what they need to do so you can stay focused on doing the things only you can do. Learn this lesson well. It is what leadership truly is.
God bless
Jason Fredrick
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