Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “development”

02 Sep 2013

Leaders and Commitment

William Borden came from a family whose success in the dairy business was well known.  As a high school graduation gift, William’s parents sent him and a chaperone on an around the world trip to help prepare him for college at Yale.  They gave him a Bible to read on the journey and somewhere in Asia he was struck by the enormity of the task of reaching the world for Christ and how he must give his all to helping to reach those without Christ.  He penned two words in the first page of his Bible, “No Reserves.”

After entering Yale to study business, he became friends with a mission’s zealot named Samuel Zwemmer whose passion for reaching Muslims soon infected William.  He sensed God’s calling him personally to help bring the gospel to the Muslim peoples of western China.  After explaining to his parents that he would not take over the family dairy business after graduation, he wrote two more words in the front of his Bible, “No Retreats.”

Having finished some Biblical studies, he sailed for Egypt to study Arabic before moving on to China.  After only six months of language study, William contracted cerebral meningitis and died.  His mother sailed from New York to Cairo to collect his personal belongings, among which was his Bible.  After opening it, she read two more words that William had added to the front page, “No Regrets.”

“No Reserves!”  “No Retreats!”  “No Regrets!”  That total commitment to Christ drove Borden of Yale to give his life for world evangelism.

The highest good in the Christian life is not becoming a missionary or a vocational Christian worker.  Rather, it is discovering God’s will for your life and doing it with this type of total commitment.  The days demand it.  The King deserves it.  Why not make that commitment today!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , ,
26 Aug 2013

Modeling Balance & Margin 2

Yes, I’m still on a break….when was the last time you took one?

This blog will begin again on 2 September 2013.

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.
Theodore Roosevelt

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.
Theodore Roosevelt

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
05 Aug 2013
2 Comments

Leaders and Hard Work

God is a God who works.  In the very first verse of the Bible, we find God at work—creating.  Jesus, being God in the flesh, also modeled a life of work and had a lot to say about it.  He said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34).  He added, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17) and “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4).

Work is part of our God-given design.  Because we are created in the image of God, and because God is a God of work, we too will work.  Adam was given work to do while in the Garden, even before the Fall (Genesis 2:15).  Only after the Fall did work become difficult (Genesis 3:17-19).

Leaders work hard and put in long hours.  A leader’s work is never done.  Expect it.  Count on the fact that the easy work is done by others; it’s only the hard work that ends up on your desk or in your inbox.  And because leaders work hard, that sense of calling is so important.  I must know that God has asked me to assume this leadership in order to embrace the increased demands.

I find the example of Wesley very challenging:  “John Wesley averaged three sermons a day for fifty-four years preaching all told more than 44,000 times.  In doing this he traveled by horseback and carriage more than 200,000 miles or about 5,000 miles a year.

His published words include a four-volume commentary on the whole bible, a dictionary of the English language, a five-volume work on natural philosophy, a four-volume work on church history; histories of England and Rome; grammars on the Hebrew, Latin, Greek, French and English languages; three works on medicine, six volumes of church music; and seven volumes of sermons and controversial papers.  He also edited a library of fifty volumes know as “The Christian Library.”

His daily schedule was as follows.  He arose at 4:00 am and worked solidly through to 10:00 pm, allowing brief periods for meals.  In the midst of all this work he declared, “I have more hours of private retirement than any man in England.”

At age 83, he was piqued to discover that he could not write more than 15 hours a day without hurting his eyes; and at the age of 86 he was ashamed to admit that he could not preach more than twice a day.  In his 86th year, he preached to almost every shire in England and Wales and often rode thirty to fifty miles a day” (Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations by Paul Lee Tan).

Let’s work hard so that at the end of our lives we can say, along with Jesus, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
17 Jun 2013

Becoming a Wise Leader – #2

Some time ago I did a study on the great, bold prayers of the bible.  Two prayers stood out to me.  The first request was Solomon’s prayer for wisdom ( 1 Kings 3:1-15).  As Solomon began his reign as king, he soon realized that the demands upon him were beyond his ability.  When God spoke to him in a dream, he was given permission to ask for anything (3:5).  How would you like to have that permission given you from God Himself?  What would you have asked for?  Now Solomon was already a wise young man (see David, his father’s comment in 1 Kings 2:9), but he knew enough to realize that wisdom was the secret to life and success for him as a leader, and so he asked for a wise and discerning heart (3:6-12).  Note that God was “pleased that Solomon asked for this” (3:10), and granted his request and in addition granted him much more as a result of his wisdom (3:12-14).  What a wise young man!

The second prayer request that impressed me was that of Moses in Exodus 33:12-23.  Moses too was in a position of leadership and was stretched beyond his ability, looking for some help in how to make wise decisions.  Note that Moses asked for the ability to understand the ways of God (33:13) in order to continue to find favor with God.  This request also pleased God (33:17) and it was granted to Him.  David comments on this in Psalm 103:7, where he contrasts Moses who knew the ways of God with Israel who knew the deeds of God.  Moses understood why God acted the way He did, but Israel only knew the acts of God.  They did not understand His ways.

As a result of this study, I began to pray and ask God to grant me the same things that these men asked for—that He would grant me wisdom and that I would understand His ways.  I can do this knowing that God does not show favoritism and therefore, will grant me the same as what others asked and knowing that He will be pleased by my asking for these things.  I do so want to please Him with my life, and here’s a simple way to move towards that goal.

Wisdom is the key to a life that is pleasing to God.  We must pursue it and we begin by asking for it.  That request begins the process of the pursuit of wisdom for life’s decisions.  Often, this request arises from our sense of inadequacy on how to handle our current situation (like Solomon and Moses).  But, we don’t have to be a leader of a nation to need wisdom.  We all need it to fulfill our God-given roles; whether it is as an organizational leader or a husband, wife, father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother, in addition to the other demands of life that constantly press upon us, that we may live a life pleasing to Him.

Wisdom is not a product of age or experience.  There are many older people who are very unwise.  One can obtain wisdom at a young age.  Solomon was young when he asked for wisdom and was given it, even while young.  Rather, wisdom is something to be pursued and sought after.  It is a life-long pursuit.  It is my desire to continue to grow in God’s wisdom and knowledge and understanding of the ways of God.  I pray that for myself and for other leaders that I know and mentor.  May it be your pursuit as well!

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
01 Apr 2013
6 Comments

Even the Energizer Bunny Needs Recharging Eventually!

You know that sick feeling when you turn the ignition switch to On and instead of the motor roaring to life all you hear is the “click…click” of a dead battery. Yes, there had been some recent warning signs…the slow turning over of the engine on cold starts, but you had ignored them because it did start eventually. And besides, you had things to do, important things, and many people were depending upon you.

So, you get on with it…placing the “check out the car battery” on the To-Do List and move forward. But now, here you sit, turning the ignition switch again and again, desperately hoping that the battery will find some lost energy reserve to once again move you toward those important items on your plan today. But it’s all to no avail…the battery is totally dead!

Leaders are often like those dying-dead batteries. We run well for long periods of time giving away ourselves to the demands of our role while all the time running lower and lower on our spiritual, emotional, and physical reserves. Until one day, we try to “start our daily engine” and it only responds with a “click…click…click.” It’s time for some attention to that long-ignored “personal reserve” if we are to continue to lead from an overflow.

Here are some suggestions on how to recharge those personal batteries that may be in need of some attention. Not all will be appropriate for your season of life or person, but reflect on these and see if there isn’t something that could put some needed “juice” into your reserves.

Get some time away from your leadership responsibilities – you’re really not that important!
o Plan your daily and weekly schedule with margin for change and interruption. Don’t book each day full with back-to-back appointments.
o Turn off your cell phone! You’re really not that important!
o Let incoming calls go to voice mail so that you can control when you want to talk on the phone.
o Limit the number of times you check your email each day.
o Do you really need to post to Facebook, Tweet, or respond to every text message immediately?

Get a life outside of your leadership!
o Develop friendships with others not directly related to your leadership role.
o Find some recreation and hobbies – know yourself and what ‘fills your tanks.”
o Take a break / vacation – put it into your schedule just as you do your other important appointments.

Push yourself to learn something new!
o Learning something new and different will stimulate long dormant brain cells and/or muscles, bringing a new sense of progress and perspective.

Do something physically stretching!
o “Stretching” is relative given age, physical condition, habits, etc. Don’t feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing just because it fits them. Know yourself!

You only have one body and it must last you for the entire length of the trip–so take good care of it. You don’t want to come to the end and say like David Brainerd (missionary to the Delaware Indians) who died at the age of 29, “God gave me a horse to ride and a message to deliver. Now I have killed the horse and can’t deliver the message.”

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , ,

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