Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the category “#1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks”

07 Aug 2023

Taking a Pause

After 11 years and over 500 weekly blogs regarding Kingdom leadership, I’m going to take a pause in publishing these blogs until later in the fall.

Should you be interested in reading more of these thoughts, click on the tab at the top titled Tom’s Materials and there you will find a free download of 100 of my most popular blogs titled – A Primer for Kingdom Leaders.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

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31 Jul 2023

The Scope of the Mission – Bifocal Vision

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV

For some Kingdom leaders the immediate and close up can be consuming for all of our attention and screaming for more. But we cannot be true to the Scriptures and only concentrate on our local task and ignoring the masses around the world who have yet to hear. It is not enough to say that God loves them, and He will get them the message of the Gospel with or without my help – as was said to William Carey by the spiritual leaders around him in 1790’s.

No, the Word of God demands that we faithfully execute our leadership locally in light of the Great Commission needs globally. Yes, we begin in our ‘Jerusalem’ but always with a vision to impact the ‘ends of the earth.’ It’s a bifocal vision – act locally but see globally!

So much energy is called for in our local responsibilities that it can be hard to stay current with the progress of world evangelization. That’s why a great website like Joshua Project can be helpful in keeping our heads up and eyes trained on the harvest fields of the world.

The unreached peoples of the world remain to be reached by those who know, give, and go. And though every new biological generation must be re-reached for Christ, some peoples of the world don’t not have easy access to the Gospel.  Many of these unreached peoples are in cultures predominated by Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, belief systems that are strongholds of resistance to the Gospel. In sending new workers into these harvest fields, it will require long-term, sustained presence and effort for lasting impact.

May we all be faithful to execute our local leadership responsibilities, but not neglect those isolated and marginalized from the Gospel message that has been entrusted to us.

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17 Jul 2023

Do Not Hold Back!

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.” Isaiah 54:2-3 NIV

The context of Isaiah 54 is the promised restoration of Zion and the Lord’s people. The Lord encourages His people to prepare the “tent,” make sure that it is large and accommodating, for the Lord has promised to fill it with many people. Why would He have to exhort them so? What would cause them to think too small, build too small, and be short-sighted in their preparations for the Lord’s actions?

In observing Kingdom leaders’ actions, I would suggest the following reasons as to why we don’t believe God and thus, don’t prepare well for God’s promised blessings:

1. Lack of faith and trust – God is talking about a future that is known and assured for Him. But for us, it is unknown and looks very insecure. We now have a choice to make. Do we trust God, His promises in His Book which are backed by His character and His power? Or do we choose to trust in what we can see, know, experience and trust in our own logic? And all the while we frame it under the argument of being ‘prudent’ or ‘realistic.’

Now certainly God does not want us to ‘throw away’ our minds or ignore sound thinking when we lead others (see Proverbs 3:5-6). But, having done our due diligence, where do we place weight in our decision-making? Are we trusting in ourselves or in God?

2. Fear that limits risk taking – Notice how many times in the Scriptures the Lord says, “Don’t be afraid…” Yet fear is a normal response to a perceived threat. It can be lifesaving in some situations. But we are called to faith, trust, and courage in response to threats. The issue is what controls our actions – our fear that can paralyze us or faith that acknowledges the threat, but chooses to act in faith.

Note what God promises in the passages that follow the above in Isaiah 54:4-5:

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. For your Maker is your husband–the LORD Almighty is his name–the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.”

Will you choose to trust God and prepare for His promised help and blessing? Or will you choose to trust in your ability to see and what your current resources tell you is prudent?

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03 Jul 2023

Trapped in Our Past

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

It has been said, “You can’t drive ahead by focusing your eyes on the rear-view mirror!”

Some Kingdom leaders are so wrapped up in their personal past that they can’t see the new thing that God is doing right in front of them. They are trapped in their past conflicts, hurts, failures, and disappointments and fail to see how God is going before them opening new pathways for them to walk.

Notice God’s admonition above – Forget it! Let it go! Stop spending your emotional energy on it! For the more you dwell upon your past problems it can take root in your life and defile you with bitterness.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:31 NIV

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:15 NIV

God exhorts us to “see” – He is “doing a new thing!” It is springing up right in front of you! Look ahead, not behind! “Don’t you perceive it?”

In what appears to be wilderness or wasteland in front of you, God is already there making a way in the wilderness and creating streams in the wasteland to turn it into a fruitful, productive land. You just have to obey, follow Him, and occupy the land. He has you and your future in hand.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16 NIV

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19 Jun 2023

Beware of Lighting Your Own Fires

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on their God. 11 But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment. Isaiah 50:10-11 NIV

All Kingdom leaders have times when they do not know what to do, how to do it, or when to execute it. When leaders arrive at these pivotal moments they have a choice to make. They can choose to trust in the Lord and rely upon God to show them the way forward or they can trust in their own thinking/logic/experience and reap the consequence.

Those who trust in God and obey Him will not be forsaken or forgotten. He will lead you forward – in His way and in His time. Note what He promises in Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) : Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. He will show you the path to take! Count on it!

But this promise comes with a caution to ‘not depend upon your own understanding.’ The word ‘depend’ or in the NIV it says, ‘lean upon,’ means to place your full weight for support in it. Thus, as we seek the path to take we don’t use our logic/experience alone to find the way forward. Don’t put your full weight upon this for God’s ways are often different for our ways. See Isaiah 55:8-9. Use your mind, but don’t rely solely upon it! Those who do trust in themselves, who ‘walk in the light of their own fires’ will reap the consequences. The law of the harvest cannot be avoided – we reap what we sow.

What choices are you facing today? What light do you have from the Lord? Are you obediently following?

What light are you creating by setting your own torches ablaze? Are you willing to forsake your own self-created light and repent in order to follow Him?

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05 Jun 2023

“I Am” All You Need

The Lord is continually seeking to remind us to depend upon Him. He states and restates that “I am” all that you need in life and leadership. Trust in me!

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” Exodus 3:13-14 ESV

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 ESV

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58 ESV

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11 ESV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live… John 11:25 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV

So, how is your dependence on the great “I Am?”

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29 May 2023

The Names of God: Know Who You Serve

“Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory [is] above the earth and heaven.” Psalm 148:13  NIV

·  El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty; All-Sufficient One)  –  Genesis 17:1

·  El Elyon (The Most High God)  –  Genesis 14:18-22

·  Adonai (Lord, Master)  –  Deuteronomy 10:17

·  Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah)  –  Exodus 3:13-14

·  Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)  –  Exodus 17:15

·  Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)  –  Psalm 23:1

·  Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)  –  Exodus 15:26

·  Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)  –  Ezekiel 48:35

·  Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)  –  Jeremiah 23:6

·  Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Makes Holy)  –  Exodus 31:13

·  El Olam (The Everlasting God; The God of Eternity)  –  Isaiah 26:4

·  Elohim (God; Creator)  –  Genesis 1:1

·  Qanna (Jealous)  –  Exodus 34:14

·  Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)  –  Genesis 22:14

·  Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)  –  Judges 6:24

·  Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)  –  Isaiah 6:5

Know the One whom you serve!

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08 May 2023

Dealing with Leadership Pressure

Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him. “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” 1 Samuel 13:7-14 NIV

The situation for Saul was deteriorating rapidly. His troops were “quaking with fear.” His appointment with his mentor, Samuel, was delayed indefinitely. Some among his followers began to desert him. He needed to act – or so he thought. What to do with all this pressure? And so, he took matters into his own hands and decided to make an offering to the Lord and just as he finished his mentor arrived. Note Samuel’s question, “What have you done?”

Saul replies with an explanation of his reasoning for the decision to do something he knew was wrong. His three reasons were: 1) the men were deserting him, 2) Samuel was late in coming, and 3) he feared an attack without having God’s favor. Thus, he “felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” He caved to the pressure of the moment and deliberately disobeyed the Word of God. It was a reasoned decision, not taken without forethought. But Samuel describes his decision as “a foolish thing… you have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you.”

No matter how well reasoned our actions, regardless of the pressure of the moment, we are to obey the Word of God and not give in to outside pressure or our own logic. Trust God and obey! He has your back!

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. Isaiah 50:7 NIV

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03 Apr 2023

When It Doesn’t Seem Fair

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. … The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Acts 12:1-3; 6-7 NIV

King Herod was out to quell an uprising among the Jews. This new ‘sect’ called the Way was causing all sorts of difficulties for him. So, he began to persecute the leaders of the Nazarene sect in the hopes to putting an end to this. He arrested James, brother of John, one of the three executive leaders and had him beheaded. Seeing a positive response to this draconian action, he moved on to arrest Peter – the second of the three leaders.

Peter was imprisoned and awaiting his trial before Herod with the foregone sentencing of death for leading an insurrection. His fate would be the same as his leadership teammate, James. But God had different plans! The night before the trial (interesting timing isn’t it?), God sent an angel to Peter’s prison cell. The chains the bound him came off Peter’s wrists and he was led by the angel outside of the prison. He was miraculously set free from the prison, the pending trial, and escaped the certain death sentence.

Now put yourself in John’s shoes. John had seen his brother, James arrested and beheaded. Yet now his teammate was delivered by God from the same fate. Why had God allowed James to die and set Peter free? It seems so unfair! Was God ‘playing favorites?’ Did He love Peter more than James? It would be so easy for John to become embittered towards God.

When God’s actions don’t make sense; when we are tempted to question His ‘fairness’ or His love; it’s time to remember that He is God and we are not! Take a chill pill! Who are we to question God’s wisdom, justice, sovereignty? Who are we to think we are wiser than God? It sounds a lot like Job!

I am not suggesting a type of Christian fatalism in our attitudes. But I am calling into question any leadership thinking that puts our thoughts above God’s. He is the potter and we are the clay. He has the right to make out of His clay anything He desires. He can choose His timing that best fits His purposes. We humbly fall before Him and agree with Him when He says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

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20 Mar 2023

Communicating the Message

At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. … 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. … 7 where they continued to preach the gospel. … 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. … 21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. … 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. Acts 14 NIV

It is interesting to look at the variety of ways the Gospel and salvation are described in this one chapter of Acts 14.

Note the following from the above passage:

… Jews and Gentiles believed – something to believe

… the message of his grace – a message to communicate and receive

… preach the gospel – the ‘good news’ to be shared with others

… good news – important, life changing information to be listened to and received

… turn… to the living God – a change in life direction towards the one, true living God

… the faith – something to be believed

… the Lord, in whom they had put their trust – a trust-based personal relationship with the Lord Jesus

… the door of faith – something to walk through

As you reflect on and share the Good News with others, may it be the full embodiment of all that is included in putting our faith, trust, and hope in the living God and His Son, Jesus our Savior.

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