Delegation: Jesus Shared Both Responsibility and Authority (Luke 9:1-10)

Extracted from The Maxwell Leadership Bible

Jesus sent out His disciples, two by two, for some on-the-job training. Note how He got them ready for this ministry experience:

1. Motivation: He called them together (v. 1).
2. Impartation: He empowered them and gave them authority (v.1).
3. Delegation: He sent them out to do a job (v. 2).
4. Communication: He gave them specific direction (vv. 3-5).
5. Evaluation: He held them accountable when they finished (v. 10).

If we are going to succeed in our mission (and live to tell about it), we must share the workload with a team. Jesus aimed to develop people as as He shared the work. Consider three methods of distributing tasks among a team:

1. Dumping: Leaders unload a task, happy to relieve themselves of the burden. There is little to no preparation; the leaders focus on getting rid of a task. Major damage can be done to the people who receive the work.
2. Delegating: Leaders prepare ahead of time, then plan how to best give work away to the right people. Less damage results, but the leaders still focus on eliminating the task, not building the people.
3. Developing: This is the ultimate way to share work. Leaders prepare the people and the work, then focus on the training of the people. Both the leaders and the workers benefit.