Kevin Croft shares how Exodus 18 teaches that sharing leadership in the church prevents burnout and raises up gospel workers for growing ministries in London.
It’s always a joy when two passions come together. For me, that’s God’s Word—and Millwall Football Club.
If you look at an early photo of Millwall from the late 1800s, you’ll see a small group: eleven players, a trainer, and perhaps a couple of club officials. Compare that to today, and it’s a completely different picture. A modern football club now has dozens of players and a wide support team—physios, analysts, coaches, media staff, scouts.
It would seem unthinkable to run a professional football club today as if it were still the 1890s.
And yet, in Exodus 18, we find God’s people operating in a very similar way.
One Man Carrying Too Much
Moses has been used powerfully by God. He has led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the wilderness where God continues to provide for them. But despite all this, there’s a growing problem:
“Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.” (Exodus 18:13)
Every dispute, every question, every decision—everything comes to Moses.
His father-in-law Jethro sees what’s happening and asks a simple but searching question:
“Why do you alone sit as judge?” (v.14)
And then comes a blunt but loving diagnosis:
“What you are doing is not good.” (v.17)
This isn’t because Moses is doing the wrong kind of work. Guiding God’s people is right and necessary. The problem is that he is doing it alone.
“You and these people… will only wear yourselves out.” (v.18)
Moses has become a bottleneck. Everything flows through him, and it simply isn’t sustainable.
A Word for Today’s Church
This passage speaks directly into the reality many of us face in gospel ministry today.
It is easy, especially in a large and demanding city like London, for ministry to become concentrated in just a few people.
Leaders carry increasing responsibility as churches grow and needs multiply, but the number of people sharing the load often does not keep pace.
Many will recognise what that feels like. There is the quiet pressure of being stretched too thin, the sense of always being needed, and the difficulty of keeping up with the growing demands of pastoral care and leadership.
Over time, it can feel as though everything depends on one person or a very small team.
Jethro’s words still speak into that situation with clarity and compassion: "This is not good."
