University Presbyterian Church - Chapel Hill, NC

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Sunday, August 30, 2009, University Presbyterian Church

As the voice of Paul Raber, from Talk of the Nation, came across National Public Radio introducing his show on Friday, August 28, he had the listener thinking about all the things they are trying to do right now. Most people guilty of doing several things at one time where they are under the impression they are being much more productive than the single-task oriented people.

Raber’s guest on Friday was Dr. Clifford Nass, from Stanford University. Dr. Nass had recently completed a study that suggested that multi-taskers, although one might think they are accomplishing more, are actually accomplishing less. Not only did his study reveal that multi-tasking is actually less productive, it is also harmful to our health.

With the increased streams of media under a variety of categories our brains are barraged by more and more temptations to do more than one thing at a time. How many times have we caught ourselves listening to the radio, cooking dinner, reading a book, whatever… all at one time? Dr. Nass claims that all this multi-tasking is causing major problems in regard to our cognitive abilities. People are having a harder time paying attention due to this habit of doing so many things at once.

And most people find a way to justify this behavior as a positive trait not knowing that it is actually slowing the individual down and making the person more forgetful, becoming easily distracted, and slower at switching from one task to another. All those multiple tabs and windows opened up on our computers at one time is not proving our capacity to juggle things successfully, but rather, harming our abilities to do any one thing really well.

Nass claims it has not always been this way. With the growth of multiple media streams, this behavior has grown rapidly over the past 10 years. He actually suggests that a side effect of this multi-tasking behavior is a lack of deep thought.

I am sure you are all thinking either I am guilty of this behavioral pattern or the person next to me sure is… How do we move from this incessant flaw, to a more powerful way of living that will actually cause us to be more productive? Not only is this a good lesson for our college students returning to class, I think it is a good lesson for all of us young or old--- regardless of whatever cognitive impairment we may already have.

This article was forwarded to me this past week and I could not help but think of our text today from Exodus. It is rather funny. I picture Jethro catching up with the sojourning people of Israel and bringing back Moses’ family. You know, just when it is safe and Egypt’s army is digging itself out of the mud. The following day after the reuniting of the family, Jethro is watching Moses govern the people of Israel. After watching the exhaustive routine Jethro responds to Moses, “What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you. You cannot do it alone.” I love that Jethro mentions both how this is exhausting to Moses AND the people. This unhealthy one-man-governing-show, is not only unhealthy for Moses, it is about to ruin these people as well.

Moses has completed the exodus from Egypt; he has led the people down the Sinai Peninsula; and now is trying to be faithful to God’s call to lead God’s people to a land of promise. But was ALL of this God’s call? All the leadership and overseeing ALL the issues and problems? Was God calling Moses to do EVERYTHING? Surely not. Thankfully God sends Jethro, Moses’ his father-in-law, to give him a lesson in shared leadership. “You are about to wear yourself and these people out. You can not do this alone.”

Moses must have been overwhelmed trying to hear all of the peoples’ complaints. How in the world could one person oversee all of these people? But during this moment that could have broken Moses come words of guidance and a lesson in surrounding yourself with other good and capable leaders.

Last weekend I was at Lake Norman with our Leadership Team from Presbyterian Campus Ministry. After a couple of chili dogs I had the bright idea of jumping off the top of the dock to the water 10 feet below and swimming across the inlet and back. After I got over the initial shock of a Nathan’s all-beef dog being disrupted from its necessary digestive order, I started swimming. Just a disclaimer to make you feel better, or maybe not, I was not alone. Two other L-team members chose to swim with me.

The dock on the other side of the inlet was about a good 3-iron away. I made it to the dock and took a little break and started to swim back. As I started to get a little tired I began to swim on my back. It was dark and calm, but now my ears were below the water and there was an added silence to my journey where all I could hear was the beating of my own heart. Before, I was just looking across the water to my destination, but now I was looking straight up on a clear summer night. And the stars were all over the night sky -stars everywhere that almost overwhelmed me with the immensity of the universe. But instead of a full-on panic setting in, I felt an amazing sense of calm. I was a piece, yes important, but only a piece in the big puzzle.  

I feel that Moses was at a critical point in his leadership. It was a time where he appeared to be quite competent and definitely in control. But at any moment, from the vantage point of Jethro, a break was coming if he continued to govern like this. Just like my swim the other night, I could have easily been overwhelmed and felt infinitely small, but rather I felt a peace and I was going to be okay.

Moses’ call was to be the visionary of these people. He was called to set the mission and teach the people about God and God’s definition of what it meant to be God’s community. Moses’ call was not to do everything though. Like with Dr. Clifford Nass’ study, if Moses continued down this path he would not only NOT accomplish his mission, but in the process he would do physical harm to himself and Israel.

Thankfully, Moses heeded Jethro’s advice.

In an article on thepresbyterianleader.com, from Cynthia Campbell (president of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago), she offers, “the most effective thing a leader can do to ensure the success of an organization, congregation, or governing body is to bring together a leadership TEAM.”

Leadership is not always about the individual. I know that is hard because often when asked this very question about leadership we talk about the one that leads rather than the group of people with varied gifts leading together. Campbell continues, “but the fact is that most of us do not work entirely by ourselves. We work with others. We need the skill and ability to build teams that will accomplish the work together.”

So what is Moses’ call? It is to lead the people of God to their home. And the only way that is going to happen is to find a way to allow others to use their gifts that can lead God’s people collectively. And in so doing the people WILL go home in PEACE. Otherwise, without Jethro’s suggestion, these people would surely be left trying to find a new leader who can do it all… and that would never happen.

I think this is an interesting text today, after the first week of classes at UNC. I think of the process of getting in- hard for those in-state and very hard for those outside North Carolina to be a member of any one of the four undergraduate classes as well as any of our graduate schools. You had to write with descriptive detail about all your own gifts and things YOU have done. In many ways you had to market yourself to the admissions staff in a way that might suggest you can conquer the world on your own, or bring about world peace by yourself...

A slight exaggeration, yes, but you get my point. But as much as you would like to think about your unilateral competence, you are not good at everything. None of us are. So how do we learn to put all these good gifts together for the benefit of God’s kingdom? And for the benefit of our journey to a homeland?

One of the most valuable lessons Dr. Campbell learned after coming from the parish into academia, is the importance of acknowledging she was not capable of, nor knowledgeable enough to do every task herself.

She refers to this Exodus 18 text, and says that it was a point where Israel was beginning a new life in the wilderness and Moses is trying to figure out how to be a leader to a people in a different context than challenging Pharaoh to “let my people go.” What gave Moses great clarity and peace as he was walking towards his homeland was the realization that he did not have to do everything himself.

Such is the lesson of Israel’s community and our Christian community today. This is our Presbyterian way of doing church, Campbell says. “Leadership is not about individuals exercising authority on their own. It is about individuals selected by congregations as a whole coming together to lead and work together. We gain our authority as a community, together.”

On Thursday night we had our first PCM dinner and fellowship gathering of the year. There was a lot to be done, but on two different occasions that night I was reminded of the importance of owning your gifts and surrounding yourself with others that have unique and capable gifts of their own. Not only was it nice to come in after grilling 120 hamburgers and 60 hotdogs to see everything set up and ready to go, but to trust this team of leaders and returning students to welcome the new students just as well as I could was a huge relief.

During the discussion downstairs in the fellowship hall on “Christian Teambuilding,” I found myself looking out over the students from the ramp. I listened and I watched students who each had a key peace to play in what made us a sign of God’s kingdom on that particular night. I was not the most important person in the room where all its success or failure fell upon me. Even with a large crowd of students I felt a peace that it was not all up to me; and it would be just fine. It actually would be much better. We were working together. We were a team. Much more than a leadership team and a campus minister, we were a body of Christ exhibiting in our own special way the importance of a shared approach to journeying home.

And there was great peace about the gathering that could have been frantic and chaotic.

Far too often we get caught up thinking that we are the ones that will make something happen. It is all up to us and we have to do it all ourselves or it won’t get done and/or it won’t get done the right way. And we wonder why we get exhausted? There is no way to do it all by ourselves. But what freedom we hear in Jethro’s observation as well as in the story of the early Christian community with the choosing of the seven by the disciples, where God has called us to lead together. Christ exhibited this in his own ministry. Shouldn’t we do the same?

 Not only are we a healthier person when we accept this invitation, but we are a better people and community.  

Christ called his disciples not because the 12 would do it all, but rather they would be a model for working together for the benefit of the whole. In the Acts text we hear the disciples saying in our NRSV translation, “it is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.” In another translation we hear a more detailed reason for their asking for help because the task was actually described as “taking care of accounts.” There call is similar to Moses’ wherein they are directing the vision and mission entrusted to them. But they are not called and gifted to take care of the tables, or accounts so-to-speak.  It is not surprising this concept of different gifts and abilities became one of the key theological points to Paul’s ministry and writings.

Thanks be to God, for this time, for our work we will do together, and the gifts that make us a very capable body of Christ when we honor the gifts fashioned in each member.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.