Chaplain Moses is a book written by Kenneth Cook, a retired Army chaplain. He sees lessons for chaplains in the biblical account of Moses. I would personally not be surprised if a hundred other professions have found parallels with this great champion of God and produced similar books.
Pastors perhaps more than anyone else can find parallels from the life and times of Moses. Since four of the first five books of the Old Testament, called the Torah or Pentateuch, give us story after story involving this man, enterprising ministers and students will have no trouble unearthing a hundred or more lessons for their guidance.
Some of the more obvious lessons–that have furnished material for ten thousand sermons and almost that many books–include delegating work so you don’t try to do it all yourself, organizational guidance, prayer lessons, working with carnal, bull-headed associates, and such.
Here are a few of mine that seem to fit pastors so perfectly…
One. Let the pastor make sure of his call. That’s Exodus chapter 3. Until that is settled, you ain’t going nowhere.
Two. Until God says otherwise, the pastor is stuck with these people, no matter how much they try his soul and get on his nerves. Reading Moses’ story, primarily in Exodus and Numbers, one is struck by how the Israelis drove him batty. And yet, Moses kept at it. He was an amazing role model, to be sure.
I’ve known of pastors belly-aching to God about the people, wondering “how much more can I take?” and “Lord, the church over at Bigtown has come open and they pay a decent salary” or maybe “Lord, the unemployment rate in this dying town means we cannot pay salaries to stay competitive with bigger churches.” And in case after case, the Lord says, “Stay where you are. I’ll let you know when it’s time to move.”