Category: Equipping

The concluding part of this series on lessons from Jesus’ feeding the 5000 focuses on completion of the task. Mk 6:42-45  And (the people) all ate and were satisfied. And (the disciples) took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. Once the people were fed we have an understanding of the scale of the miracle that has just occurred; ‘..all…were satisfied’. Can you imagine how much food that represents? Suppose there were in fact 10,000 people and each had quarter of a loaf of bread and half a fish. That would mean…

We shall now look at the next administrative 'skill', number 7,  that Jesus demonstrated while feeding the 5000. Mk 6:41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. Not only does this verse demonstrate the exercise of faith, as discussed in the previous posting, but hidden in here is also the important principle of delegation. Delegation may be carried out for several reasons. Maybe the task is too big or time consuming for one person to do alone. Maybe there is the need for particular skills or gifting to carry it out effectively. Both of these,…

We have already considered four administrative skills which Jesus demonstrated when he fed the 5000. We shall now look at two more. 5. Implementation Mk 6:40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. A plan had clearly formed in Jesus’ mind and in order to fulfil it he needed not only to reassert his authority but also to bring order back to the crowd. Feeding 5000 men plus women and children was certainly no picnic! Order brings security to those involved, whether it is order of the crowd, of the recording of finances, or of the allocation and recording of materials and other resources. Having been involved in organising many substantial conferences over nearly 3 decades (e.g. Downs Bible Week, Stoneleigh Bible Week, Newfrontiers Together on a…

Continuing to learn Biblical administration from Jesus’ feeding the 5000 we shall now consider two more aspects. 3. What resources are available? Mk 6:38 And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." In formulating a plan an accurate assessment of existing and needed resources are core to the fulfilment. Resources here are material. But much wider consideration should be given when planning a task – Human (Character and Skills), Finance, Materials, Facilities, Natural (Sun, wind, rain etc), Physical (roads, electricity, water supplies etc), and so on. I have been involved in running many substantial conferences for Terry Virgo and the Newfrontiers family. When assessing a venue for a Bible Week, for instance,…

In previous postings we have looked at the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 as recorded in Mk 6. Now, so much for the narrative. What are the administrative points – the skills and processes – which we can learn from this passage? 1. Jesus was a people person Mk 6:34 .. he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Administration in the church is all about people. Because of our experience in the world, where the faceless bureaucracy of government is often making decisions affecting our lives, we are inclined to dismiss administration as impersonal. However, in the upside down world of the Kingdom of God it is the exact opposite. Administration is about making the environment or activity as conducive as possible to allowing…