Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Intentional leader development”

30 Jan 2017

Visions, Dreams, and Devotions

While reading through the New Testament recently during my daily devotions I was struck by the number of visions that the Apostle Paul received in his lifetime.    Note the following….

Conversion on road to Damascus  –  Acts 9:1-7

Calling to Macedonia (Europe)  –  Acts 16:6-10

Personal security and courage in Corinth  –  Acts 18:9-11

Guidance to leave Jerusalem  –  Acts 22:12-21

Personal security and courage before Sanhedrin –  Acts 23:11

Personal security and courage on board ship  –  Acts 27:23-26

Revelation of the Gospel  –  Galatians 1:11-12

Revelation of the Body of Christ  –  Ephesians 3:1-6

Vision of Heaven  –  2 Corinthians 12:1-4

It is quite the list, is it not?  Can you see the intimacy between Paul and the Lord Jesus that is illustrated in these?  What a connection!

Now you might be saying to yourself, “Bummer, I’ve never had such an experience.”  “Why was Paul so fortunate and not me?”  And yet, you have the Holy Spirit – God Himself – living within you and you have His Word – the Bible – through which you and He can communicate every moment of every day.  Why do you long for what you don’t have and neglect what you do have?

We can sometimes long for the ‘spectacular’ and take for granted or even disdain the commonplace, not realizing how very special and privileged we truly are.

Should God choose to speak to you through a vision or dream, “good on ya'” as our Aussie friends say.  Or should He choose to speak to you through a passage from His living Word, “be blessed.”  Both are legitimate means of communication for Him, with one being more common (frequently used) – the Bible, yet not to be dismissed in longing for something more unusual.

In fact, Peter, when recalling the spectacular vision of seeing Christ physically transformed into His glory, put it into perspective.  “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  (2 Peter 1:16-19)

Enter into you daily devotions with an expectation of meeting with the Living God, your Lord and Creator.  Don’t overlook the usual and miss the great blessing of the pursuit of Him through the Scriptures.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
02 Jan 2017

The Leader’s Sense of Destiny

A Kingdom leader’s personal sense of purpose and destiny serve to guide their leadership choices and decisions.  It informs the selection of their team members, their leadership priorities, and personal development.  Where does this sense of purpose and destiny come from?

Resting in God and His Promises

The Lord Jesus invites all those who are weary and burdened to take up the yoke that He offers.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Not only do wise Kingdom leaders yoke themselves with Jesus, but they find confidence to rise above the daily circumstances by resting in His promises for them personally and their leadership.  Those personal promises form the basis for their sense of destiny and purpose.  Psalm 138:8 says, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me…”  God’s power and character stand behind His promises, thus a Kingdom leader’s confidence.   Regarding David, Paul reminds us, “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep…”

Purpose and Destiny Revealed

The Lord will guide and direct the Kingdom leader as they seek to follow His purposes.  The Lord will use the Word (Psalm 119:105), the inner voice of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 30:21), and open doors of opportunity (Isaiah 43:18-19; Revelation 3:8).  And who the Lord calls He also equips to accomplish His purposes.

So as we begin a new year and you reflect upon the coming months, how is your sense of purpose and divine destiny?  Are you yoked with Him and in step with Him?  Are you praying over His promises and listening carefully to the voice of the Spirit within you?  What doors of opportunity has He opened for you to trust Him to help you through?

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
12 Dec 2016

Character Counts

Some time ago I found myself in a conversation with a man who was the chief head hunter for a Fortune 100 company.  He and his team hire 2000 new graduates each year.  I thought this was a great opportunity to gain some insights into university students from a new perspective, so I began to ask him some questions.

“What are you finding when you recruit these graduates?” I asked.

“Tom, we can hire those with top GPAs, work experience and internships, and resumes’ that are outstanding.  We offer them top salaries and benefits and place them in stimulating, cutting edge job situations.”

“Well, sounds interesting.  How’s that working for you?” I inquired.

“It’s a disaster!” he replied.  “All they want to know is when is the next holiday or how much vacation they get.  They don’t put in a day’s work for a day’s pay.  They have conflicts with their co-workers and supervisors.  They steal from the company.  They take the great salaries we give them and spend it on addictive behaviors, then we end up paying for counselors for them.

“That sounds pretty depressing.  What are you doing about this?” I said.

“Well, I will tell you what I tell my recruiting team.  We can’t put it in writing for we would be charged with hiring bias or discrimination.  But here’s what I tell the team.  When interviewing on campus, look for students who are leaders in The Navigators and other campus ministries.”

“Really?  Why?”  I said.

“We hire these people because they have character.  As we’ve looked at our successful hires, those who do well had this common background.  We can train new hires to do any job that we want them to do in this company.  But we can’t train them in character.  They either have it or they don’t.  Leaders in these campus ministries have what we want, so we look to hire qualified people who were leaders in these campus ministries.  They have character!”

This chief head hunter was not a believer!  But he and his team had figured out that character counts, especially when hiring leaders.  And they had identified a pool of potential leadership hires who had the essential character qualities that they were looking for.

Are you intentionally pursuing your Christlike character development?

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
14 Nov 2016

Living a Committed Life #2

In Luke 14:25-35 Jesus reminds us of the conditions for discipleship.  Before we decide whether we will seek to meet these conditions for discipleship, Jesus encourages us to think things through carefully.  There will be a cost to following Him.  It may not be easy or comfortable.  If the cost seems too much, stop now.  Don’t even begin the journey.  This is serious business.  Billy Graham said, “Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you everything you have.”

Jesus concludes with a parable about salt.  The salt he mentions is not table salt, but a salty mixture of various minerals.  It was used for fertilizer in the fields or in the compost piles to hasten decomposition.  If this mineral mixture became wet, the valuable minerals were leached out with the water, leaving behind a gravel mixture of little use.  Jesus’ intent is to remind us that we are saved to be disciples while we have time on this earth.  If we don’t fulfill our intended purpose, we are not useful.

William Borden graduated from high school in 1904 and for a graduation gift, his father sent him on a trip around the world with a chaperone.  The elder Borden, founder of the Borden milk and dairy business, gave the young man a Bible to read as he traveled, hoping that it would inspire him as he prepared for college.  During his world trip, William heard the call of God to give up his promising business career and preach the gospel.  He wrote two words in the front of his Bible, “ No reserves! ”

William entered Yale University where he was greatly influenced by Samuel Zwemer to think about the Muslim world.  William sensed that God was calling him to work with the Muslims of China.  He told his family that he would not be returning to the family business after Yale, but instead would give his life to reaching Muslims for Christ.  He added two more words to the front of his Bible, “ No retreats! ”

After Yale and seminary, William arrived in Egypt to study Arabic in preparation for his ministry to Muslims.  Within a year after his arrival, he contracted cerebral meningitis and died shortly thereafter at the age of 26.  His mother went to Egypt to collect William’s personal affects, one of which was his Bible.  It was then that she noticed two additional words penned in the front, “ No regrets! ”

No reserves; No retreats; No regrets!  That is the commitment of a disciple of Jesus.

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
24 Oct 2016

Living a Life of Faith #1

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).  “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).  Faith involves the unknown and the unseen.  Living by faith is the normal lifestyle of the believer.  Life begins by believing a promise of eternal life and forgiveness of sin (1 John 2:25) and continues until we see Jesus face to face.  When dealing with the unknown, we naturally are fearful and anxious.  Faith is not the absence of fear and anxiety, but the ability to control these powerful emotions rather than to be controlled by them.

The Apostle Paul faced many stressful and anxious moments during his life.  He writes,  “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia.  We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.  On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.  Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many” (2 Cor. 1:8-11).

Note several important points in this passage.  First of all, God allowed Paul to enter into a time of extreme pressure.  The stress he experienced was far beyond his human ability to endure.  In fact, he had given up hope of living through it!  Secondly, Paul tells us why God allowed this experience.  He says that God wanted to teach him to rely only on Him who raises the dead.  If God can raise the dead all other matters are no problem!  God is seeking to raise up dependent children–children who only depend upon Him.  Paul testifies that God has delivered him from the past peril, He will deliver him from whatever perils he is currently facing, and that He will continue to deliver him in the future from whatever may befall him.  Paul was to recruit prayer for his current trials that when God answered many would give thanks for God’s work.

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
10 Oct 2016

Living a Disciplined Life #1

The disciple of Jesus will find that following Him requires a life of discipline and focus.  Discipline does not mean drudgery, but it does mean saying “no” to good things in order that we might give ourselves to the best.  It is the choice between the good, better, and best that requires a will of steel.  We must focus on the goal for which we are called and dedicate ourselves to reaching that goal.

E. Stanley Jones, the great missionary-statesman to India, said, “Your capacity to say ‘no’ determines your capacity to say ‘yes’ to greater things.”  St. Augustine prayed three things for himself, “A heart of flame towards God, a heart of love towards men, and a heart of steel towards myself.”

If we are to follow hard after Christ; if we are to be used by Christ, we must prepare ourselves.  This preparation and training can be rigorous and stressful.  No champion athlete wins without rigorous training, and no champion for Christ will make an impact without paying the price of preparation.  It will mean disciplining our desires and bringing our bodies under control.  It will mean long hours of time alone with God and His Word.  The disciplined life will say to self, “Others may, I cannot.”  It will sense a destiny that requires the best we have to give.

Hudson Taylor surrendered himself to God’s will as a young man, and God impressed upon his heart that his life would be spent for China.  “From that moment life was unified in one great purpose and prayer.  For Hudson Taylor was ‘not disobedient to the heavenly vision,’ and to him obedience to the will of God was a very practical matter.

“At once he began to prepare, as well as he could, for a life that would call for physical endurance.  He took more exercise in the open air, exchanged his feather bed for a hard mattress and was watchful not to be self-indulgent at table.  Instead of going to church twice on Sunday, he gave up the evening to visiting in the poorest parts of town, distributing tracts and holding cottage meetings.  In crowded lodging-house kitchens he became a welcome figure, and even on the race course his bright face and kindly words opened the way for many a straight message.  All this led to more Bible study and prayer, for he soon found that there is One and One alone who can make us ‘fishers of men.’ [i]

[i]  Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret  by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor, Moody Press  Chicago, Illinois   p. 22-26

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
22 Aug 2016

Living with Eternal Values #1

What will it take to find a generation of God’s people who will live for the summit of God’s best?  It will begin with individual believers who base their lives on eternal rather than temporal values.  It will take believers who are so convinced about the reality of life in heaven that this world’s pleasures will not be able to grip their lives.  It will begin with an eternal value system in the believer’s life.

Both the seen and unseen world has values.  Individuals adopt these values and life’s choices are based upon them.  This world places value on such things as youth and physical beauty, intelligence and education, the accumulation of money and physical goods, personal power and position, and self-gratification.

The world to come says that this world and its values will soon pass away.  In the world to come we will all be given new bodies that don’t age or deteriorate (1 Cor. 15:35-58), we will know even as we are known (1 Cor. 13:9-12), there will be rewards for faithful service (1 Cor. 3:5-15), and we will reign with Christ forever (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 22:1-5).

Those believers with an eternal value system will have a pilgrim’s mentality.  They will view this life as temporary, a brief interlude on the way to eternity forever with Jesus.  They are only passing through this world on the way to a better life.  The time given for this temporal life will be used for God’s glory, always with the eternal end in view.  Decisions in this life will reflect the reality of the eternal life we await.

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country–a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”      (Hebrews 11:13-16)

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
15 Aug 2016

The Need of the Hour #2

Hippolomy was a mythical, Greek young man who was in love with the beautiful Atlanta.  Atlanta, in addition to her striking beauty, was also a gifted runner, but she had a cruel, sadistic character.  Many young men became infatuated with her beauty and desired to marry her.  These men were challenged to a foot race with two conditions.  If the man won the race, he could marry Atlanta.  But if he lost, he would pay with his life.  Many a man tried and paid the ultimate price for his second place finish.

Hippolomy also became mesmerized by Atlanta’s beauty and challenged her to a race.  Shortly after the race began he fell behind.  Reaching into his tunic, he withdrew a golden apple and threw it in front of the streaking Atlanta.  The flash of gold caught her eye and she stopped to pick up the golden fruit as Hippolomy raced by.  She soon recovered and again moved ahead of him.  Hippolomy pulled a second golden apple from his tunic and threw it in front of Atlanta who once again stopped to pick it up.  As Hippolomy passed the crouching Atlanta, she realized that the race was nearing the finish, and she recovered soon enough to regain a comfortable lead with a short distance to go.

Hippolomy retrieved the last of his golden apples from his tunic and threw it ahead of Atlanta as she approached the finish.  Atlanta was in a quandary; should she stop and pick up the apple or press for the finish line  She reasoned that she certainly could do both, so she stopped to placed the golden fruit in her robe just a Hippolomy raced passed her towards the finish.  She recovered, but now with such a short distance to the finish line, she was not able to beat him.  Hippolomy had won!

This is not an illustration on how to find a life partner!  Rather, as we race through life, we will find the enemy of our souls rolling “golden apples” of opportunity, compromise, and temptation in our path.  These golden fruits will be attractive, and we will be tempted to believe that they will not impact our life’s race.  We will think that we can have it all and still finish well.  It will only be near the end of our life’s race that we’ll find that we can’t reach the finish, the summit, God’s best, because we chose to stop our race along the way. We thought it was only for a moment, that no one would know or care, but a moment’s compromise will lead to a mediocre, half-way life.

What the world needs today is a new generation of believers who will say “no” to this world’s values and live for the unseen world promised by Christ.  The reality of heaven will so impact the lives of this generation that they will not compromise or settle for anything less that than God’s best for themselves and those around them.  They will give themselves unreservedly to Christ–a generation whose watchword will be, “Anything, anywhere, anytime–for Christ!”

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
01 Aug 2016

The Look of a Mature Disciplemaking Ministry

A Mature Disciplemaking Ministry  –  Luke 6:13-19

Jesus is approximately one year into His 3+ years of public ministry when we read in Luke 6 that He spent the night in prayer.  While it is not unusual for Jesus to spend time alone in prayer with His Father, this prayer time preceded a significant shift in His work.  From here on He would have a leadership team that would consist of future leaders of the movement He would leave behind.  These 12 would now become His top priority in His ministry and we see that He completes this training of the 12 in John 17:1-6.  It is these leaders that ensure that spiritual generations of future leaders will emerge after He departs.

Jesus’ ministry as described in this one paragraph illustrates the three audiences found in a mature disciplemaking ministry and the three different functions that are addressed in these audiences.

The first audience is the Core leaders  –  Luke 6:13-16.  These are emerging leaders who will be the ‘golden thread’ for spiritual generations to come.  We Train these leaders in vision and skill for spiritual reproduction  –  helping them move to maturity and ability to reproduce their lives in others.

The second audience is the Large crowd of Disciples  –  Luke 6:17.  These are those we lead to Christ and those believers we find who want to pursue spiritual growth.   We Teach these disciples principles about being a Kingdom citizen –   helping them know and apply what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

The third audience was the Great number of people attracted to the movement, but lacking any commitment to it  –  Luke 6:17-19.  We  seek to Touch them in the name of Jesus.  Some we will simply contact – maybe a survey or simply testifying before them; while others we will deeply impact, even winning them to faith in Christ.

Three audiences in a mature disciplemaking ministry – Emerging Leaders, Disciples, and Great numbers of people on the journey.  We seek to Train, Teach, and Touch them for the sake of Christ and for His glory.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
04 Jul 2016

Spending a Half-Day with God #1

There are many important things that fill up our personal schedules each day.  These important tasks occupy our time and often other items that are much more important are neglected because of the pressure of the urgent.  Taking time to pray often is considered something good to do, if we have the time, but not something that is a necessity.  It is even more of a struggle, if we desire to take a half-day with the Lord for fellowship and prayer!

What is the purpose and what benefits can we expect if we take an extended time for prayer and fellowship with the Lord?  Listed below are some thoughts related to this question.

  1.  Spending extended time alone with God will deepen our relationship with Him. We will deepen the joy of our relationship with Him as we fellowship and worship Him.  As in all relationships, it takes time to get to know someone.  The Lord promises to especially attend to those who fear and honor Him (Malachi 3:16 and 2 Chronicles 16:9a).
  1. Leaving behind our daily routines and responsibilities will renew our perspective on life.  Especially when facing difficulties, we must get away and focus on the Lord, rather than on our problems.  Our attention is to be on the unseen, not the visible (2 Corinthians 4:18).
  1.  We are often frustrated in not praying enough for others.  Taking an extended time for prayer will enable us to spend quality time praying for the needs and concerns of our friends, relatives, those in authority over us, etc.  The power of prayer is evident as we take the time to intercede for others.  Many things can only be accomplished through prayer.
  1.  The busyness of our daily routines can sometimes cloud our future goals and direction in life.  Taking time alone with God can help us re-evaluate the direction of our lives.  During these times God can give a renewal for our current life path or re-direct.  When facing major decisions, such as career or location changes, we must take the time to seek God’s mind.  What does He want us to do?
  1.  Our busyness can also prevent us from thoroughly thinking through certain projects, goals or problems.  The Lord gave us the ability to think and reason.  Though we are not to depend on our reasoning only (Proverbs 3:5-6), we are still to use it!  Taking the time to think, without distractions, is a necessity as we face the complexities of modern life.

When was the last time you took some extended time with the Lord?  Is it time to put it on your calendar?

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

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