Leadership Under The Mantle

Exodus chapter 18 is a story of pure leadership skills. To get a little bit of context; Moses and the Israelites have crossed the Red Sea and have fought their first battle against the Amalekites and won. They are now at a place called Rephidim, in the Sinai Desert. Here, Moses rejoins his wife, two sons, and Jethro; his father-in-law. Jethro, the next day, sees how Moses is dealing with the people’s problems and advises Moses on his process.

So to begin, who is Jethro? He trained Moses before Moses returned to Egypt to free the people. He was the high priest and an experienced leader of the Midian town. What a lot of people don know is that he had another name which was Reuel. The name Reuel means friend of God.

So what do we learn in Exodus 18 concerning leadership? For starters, God will always mold a leader before that person will become a leader. God, at the beginning, can see something in you as a leader. But it takes molding to get it out of you. God will mold you before giving you a platform. He does this through mentors and leaders older and wiser than you. He did it with many others as well: Moses had Jethro, Joshua had Moses, Samuel had Eli, David had Johnathan, Some kings had advisers, Esther had Mordecai, and Paul had Gamaliel. So if you have a mentor, you're in for an awesome time of learning.

What are "mentors"? well the the word mentor comes from the author Homer, being that he had a character in The Odyssey named Mentor who stayed to watch and guide his son through growth. The simple definition of mentor is “someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person”. Something that is not taught in Churches anymore is that a leader must have a spiritual covering. This is when a younger leader finds a more experienced leader (usually their Pastor or Youth Pastor) and goes “under his (or her) wing” per say.

So Moses listened and acted upon Jethro’s advice. Our generation has vision and strength. But the wisdom \ guidance from the older generation is vital to our process of growth in our calling and anointing. And maybe you may think "well that's Old Testament; what about now?" Well Paul (the elder) told Timothy (the younger) in 2nd Tim. 1:6 to “fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you”. As leaders we must have mentors. Mentors that mold us, push us, and refine us so that at the end we may be ready to do what God has called us to really do. Just like Moses.