“To make a single chrysanthemum bloom,
the bush warbler must have cried from spring onward…”
The story of how Moses became a mature leader is anything but simple. One does not become a leader the moment a diploma is handed out at a leadership school graduation. Leaders are formed through countless trials and errors. It is precisely through trial and error—failure—that we become better leaders. Of course, this is true only for those who are willing to learn from failure.
Moses was born the son of a Hebrew slave but raised as a prince of Egypt. Exodus 2 describes his birth but tells us almost nothing about his parents except that they were Levites (their names appear later in the genealogy of Exodus 6). Exodus also gives no details about the education Moses received in the Egyptian royal court. His exceptional education is summarized in a single phrase in Acts 7:22a: “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” Perhaps lengthy explanations are necessary when a person’s accomplishments are unimpressive. But when a leader is revered for great achievements, detailed résumés become unnecessary embellishments.
What is striking is that Moses—educated in the royal court of Egypt and described as a powerful leader in words and deeds (Acts 7:22b)—had accomplished nothing of significance by the age of eighty. The Bible’s description of Moses as a very meek man (Numbers 12:3) is therefore no exaggeration. Would it not be strange if someone who had achieved nothing by the age of eighty were arrogant rather than humble and gentle? Yet Moses, who was called at eighty and served until the age of 120, became an extraordinary leader not primarily because of Egypt’s leadership education, but because of the mentoring he received from his father-in-law Jethro in Exodus 18.
John Maxwell explains the stages of leadership development this way. The lowest level of leadership is a position. At this stage, people follow the leader simply because of the title—nothing more, nothing less. When a leader at this level builds good relationships with followers, leadership moves to the second level: permission. People allow the leader to lead because of the relationship. When leaders at this level begin to produce results, they reach the third level: production. At this stage, people follow not because of position or relationship, but because of proven results. This is the peak of leadership for many. Unfortunately, most leaders stop here. Yet the next—and higher—level of leadership is people development. Leaders at this level focus their leadership on developing others who can produce equal or even greater results.
More important than what a leader accomplishes is who the leader develops. A leader’s achievements multiply through the leaders he or she raises. When a mentor’s work expands, deepens, and is passed on to the next generation through mentees, this surpasses production and becomes leadership through reproduction. Moses, mentored by Jethro, went on to mentor Joshua and raise him as a great leader. Naomi mentored Ruth, Elijah mentored Elisha, and Mordecai mentored Esther—each leaving an indelible mark on Old Testament history. Jesus, though He ministered to many, focused on mentoring twelve disciples. As He ascended, He gave this command: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19a). Paul, who became a towering leader of the New Testament church through Barnabas’ mentoring, likewise raised the next generation—Timothy and Titus—through mentoring. He urged Timothy: “My son… what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). John Maxwell exhorts pastors this way: “Do not strive so desperately to build a big church. Instead, build great people, and they will build a great church for you.”
Through Jethro’s mentorship, Moses learned organizational leadership—a radical shift from individual leadership to team leadership. If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. Leadership is not a 100-meter sprint. It requires going together and going far. In the middle of the wilderness, Moses became a true leader through Jethro.
Was team leadership the only thing Moses learned from his father-in-law? When Moses fled Egypt to save his life and escaped to Midian, he married Zipporah, the daughter of a Midianite priest (Exodus 3:1), and established a family. Scripture does not specify which god Jethro served. But who were the Midianites? Midian was one of the sons Abraham had through his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:2). This suggests that the Midianites likely had a heritage of worshiping the true God. The period during which Moses personally encountered God was the time he spent living with his father-in-law. In Exodus 18, when Moses explained to Jethro how the Lord had delivered Israel from Egypt, Jethro praised the Lord, acknowledged that the Lord alone is truly the greatest of all gods, and offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to Him.
If it is true that Jethro was a worshiper of the Lord, then mentoring did not merely shape Moses into a leader—it shaped him into a believer and a man of mission. Any pastor who has not yet entered into mentoring is missing one of the most critical elements of leadership.