Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Golden Rule”

28 Jun 2021

Touched

And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. Luke 6:19 ESV

And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. Luke 8:45-47 ESV

Can you imagine having your every waking moment with crowds of people pressing and pushing to try and touch you? It seems that one of the main functions of the Twelve was crowd control for Jesus. They seem to have gotten quite good at this, for Jesus had to correct their zeal to allow the little children to approach Him. “But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.'” Mark 10:14 ESV

Now you don’t have this exact same experience as Jesus, but Kingdom leaders do have many reaching out and trying to ‘touch’ them. Your leadership authority has the power to change the lives of those you touch. You can truly make a difference in the life of an individual or a family by the decisions you make. By hiring new staff, transitioning people into new roles and positions, and asking people/families to uproot and move all have short and long-term consequences. It should be sobering to think of the power to impact lives for good and bad as we execute our leadership responsibilities.

Perhaps you feel as though many are seeking your ‘touch,’ wanting your advice and counsel, pressing you to make some important decision, or create an exception to a policy for them. As the leader, you have the power to do good, to do what is right and bless others because of the positional authority vested in you. The careful exercise of this leadership power should cause us to remember the Golden Rule of Leadership (Luke 6:31) – Lead others the way you want to be led.

Jesus’ touch was used many times for healing. He touched those with leprosy, the blind, the sick, and even the dead. All who were touched were changed for the better. What a legacy of good!

What’s your legacy from those who you have touched through your leadership? Are you leaving a trail of blessing and good in the lives of those you touch?

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
18 Feb 2019

Doing Well

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.     James 2:8   ESV

Last week we looked at Doing Good – especially in the context of Jesus who “went about doing good” (see Acts 10:38).  Doing good is ‘what’ Jesus did.  James draws our attention to the ‘how’ of that which we do.  We can know if we are doing well.

James sets the context for us by addressing the ‘second commandment’ (see Matthew 22:36-40) that sums up all the Law and the Prophets.  The greatest commandment is to love God with all that we have.  The second is to love your neighbor as you love yourself.  James refers to this as the “royal law of Scripture.”  Quite the label, for sure!

Note that we will fulfill this ‘royal law’ if we actually do it.  It’s not enough just to know it, give it intellectual assent and agree with it.  We have to put it into practice.  We are to love others as we love ourselves.  In so doing, we are doing well.  So, what does this look like for Kingdom leaders?

First, it means that our leadership is not focused upon ourselves, but upon others.  It’s not about ‘me, the leader’ but rather, it’s about those we lead.  Yes, I love myself.  But, that is the standard from which to measure my love for others.  To paraphrase the Golden Rule, we lead others the way we would like to be led” (see Luke 6:31).

Secondly, we use our leadership authority and influence to serve and help others in the midst of accomplishing our mission.  Yes, finishing the task is important.  But, we don’t do so at the expense of those we lead or serve with.  Those we lead are not a means to an end (mission accomplished), but they too are an end – in loving and serving them as we complete mission together.

If we lead others well – loving them as we love ourselves – and if we lead others the way we would want someone to lead us – if we use our leadership to serve, not use those we lead, then we are doing well.

As you go about doing good, are you doing well?

 

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,

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