Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “kingdom leaders”

J.O. Sanders

J.O. Sanders spoke to The Navigators’ Indonesian staff at our annual conference in September 1986 in Central Java.  I had the privilege of accompanying him afterwards across Java to insure that he arrived at his next destination in good order.  This time at the conference and the personal time with him afterwards was one of the highlights of my entire 11 years in Indonesia.

Here are some of the notes I gathered as a result of that time together:

  1. You must pay for a spiritual ministry.  It is paid for a little at a time throughout life.  When you stop paying, the ministry stops.
  2. Leadership trials all leaders face:  appetite, avarice (desire for things), and ambition
  3. God prepares the ministry for the person and the person for the ministry.
  4. The Lord does not always explain Himself.    John 13:7
  5. The word “leader” is only used 6x’s in New Testament.
  6. To see if you are a leader check and see who is following.
  7. Spirituality alone does not make a good leader.
  8. A leader leads in vision and faith.  Joshua got the vision for Jericho, but had to communicate the vision and faith to the people of Israel.
  9. Leaders set the tone by their example.
  10. Watch your life and doctrine closely – notice the order!   1 Timothy 4:11-16
  11. Maturity is the fullness of Christ.    Ephesians 4:13
  12. Becoming mature (Matthew 5:48) as the Father is ‘perfect’ is used in a relative sense.  That is, we are to be mature for our stage of spiritual growth, not mature in an absolute sense.
  13. We are as close to God as we choose to be.     Exodus 33:13,17
  14. Maturity is measured by the fruit of the Spirit, not the gifts of the Spirit.
  15. Gifts can be counterfeited, but fruit can’t.
  16. Tests of a Person’s Maturity
  • Seeks the glory of God more than their own glory or advancement
  • Prefer holiness instead of happiness
  • Desire solid food, not milk from the Word
  • Prefer serving others rather than being served
  • Prefer giving rather than receiving
  • Will be fruitful rather than barren (fruitful in character and in service)
  • Will be joyous rather than gloomy
  • Will accept rather than refuse the discipline of God
  • Will accept responsibility in the service of God

Use the Word!

I can remember going to the house of my mentor as a young staff, lifting up the phone cradle (now you know this is a dated reference), and seeing these words taped onto the phone base: “Use the Word!”

As I reflect on the numerous phone calls with this person over the years that reminder has become a lifestyle – not only for him but also for me.  The ministry of the Word of God to me and others was never an afterthought or a superfluous appendix to our conversations.  Rather, it was an integral, woven, natural part of our friendship.  We shared the Word with each other and integrated it into our life and ministry together.

The following is some more elaboration a Kingdom leader’s ministry of the Word.

  • People that have Word gifts (a designation from Dr. Bobby Clinton – teaching, exhortation, prophecy, etc.) have the ability to use the Word in such a way that it impacts people strongly.  Though each uses the Word in a slightly different way, the impact upon people is strongly evident.  It is evident to me, just from watching how people listen when gifted people speak, who has these gifts and who has developed their gifts.

Regardless of your giftedness, all leaders are communicators and primary communicators of the mission and vision.  Be intentional about developing your communication skills, especially your ministry of the Word!

  • We all need to develop our giftedness for maximum impact for Christ.  We should look to take opportunities to minister the Word to various audiences on various topics.  Besides gaining much experience, always ask someone to critique your ministry of the Word at any opportunity.  Even young people can be valuable sources of feedback, if you limit and focus their critique.  For example, ask them to give you feedback on the introduction only – did it get their attention, was it clear where you wanted to go in the message, how was your appearance, diction, word choice, any weird mannerisms, etc.  Every time you speak try and get better in one particular area.
  • The ministry of the Word can take other forms besides speaking – writing is another way to use Word gifts.  Why not try and write some materials.  Start a blog, develop a bible study, pamphlet, or write an article on a topic you are excited about and share it.
  • Bring the Word to bear whenever you are leading:  1-2-1 times, team meetings, phone conversations, etc.  You will see God blessing your ministry.  It is the Word that the Sower sows that produces much fruit in its season.
  • In addition to more experience and critique, some purposeful development in this area can be a help.  Here are some ideas:  find someone who is a gifted communicator and ask them for some tips or ask them to train you if you have access to them long term; when you’re in meetings pick the brains of the speaker on how they minister the Word; read books on preaching, communication, public speaking, or teaching; sign up for a homiletics course at your local bible college or seminary; take the local homiletics professor in a seminary to lunch and pick their brain for ideas and resources.
  • Pray and ask God to use you with power as you minister the Word.  I read the biography of D.L. Moody some time ago and noted that he prayed for power as he ministered the Word.  Suddenly his ministry changed and God enabled him to speak in such a way as never before.  You can do the same.
  • Charles Spurgeon said, “Set yourself on fire and people will come and watch you burn.”  You will have to saturate your life with the Word so that it ‘oozes out your pores’ as you lead.  This takes a disciplined effort to get time alone with God and His Word.  It will not be easy and others will have no idea of the price you pay to get deep in the Word.  They will only be blessed by your ministry as you draw from the deep well you dig in the Word.  Jesus sees and He will reward.

Finally, remember Mike Treneer’s exhortation to us all:  Lead from the Word and into the Word!  May you sow the Good Seed as you lead!

God Give Us Men

The American Civil War was looming on the immediate horizon and everywhere one looked there were problems with no easy solutions.  Opinions were polarized and there was no apparent means for compromise.  Leaders were stepping back instead of stepping up due to fear and the overwhelming size of the challenges.

It was in this environment that the following was penned.  May it be true of you and me as we go forward to face the challenges of our own day.

The Day’s Demand 

GOD, give us men! A time like this demands

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;

Men whom the lust of office does not kill;

Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;

Men who possess opinions and a will;

Men who have honor; men who will not lie;

Men who can stand before a demagogue

And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!

Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog

In public duty, and in private thinking;

For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,

Their large professions and their little deeds,

Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,

Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.

 

Josiah Gilbert Holland              Circa 1860

5 Ridiculous Prayer Requests

I once did a study on what I titled the ‘ridiculous prayers’ of the bible.  These were prayer requests that from a human viewpoint may seem outlandish or over the top, but God saw fit to say ‘yes’ to.

This study included Moses asking to see God’s face, Solomon asking for wisdom, and Jabez asking for God’s blessing among others.  After I’d finished the study I was humbled when I thought of my own prayer life and my meager requests before the Lord.  I was also challenged to consider what could I possibly ask that may seem foolish or ridiculous, but that was not out of the realm of possibility from God’s perspective.

The result was the following list of five prayer items that I have been asking of the Lord for many years now.  You will see after each of these some references for others who either requested the same or perhaps are promises that I’m praying over related to this request.

1.       Power of the Holy Spirit when Preaching and Teaching

  1 Samuel 10:6; 1 Peter 4:11

2.       God’s Blessing on My Life and Ministry

  1 Chronicles 4:10; Isaiah 45:2-3

3.       Teach me Your Ways Lord – Knowing Why God Does What He Does

          Exodus 33:13

4.       See God’s Glory

  Exodus 33:18

5.       Wisdom for Life and Leadership

 1 Kings 3:9

What ‘ridiculous things’ are you asking Him for?

Leaders and Pressure

Leadership and life itself is full of pressure.  The pressure comes from within and from without.  Some stresses are self-imposed and some are unexpectedly born.  Regardless of the source, we chafe under pressure, wanting to throw off the strains that sap our life blood and divert our attention.

In Isaiah 5 we find a metaphor of the vineyard referring to God’s people.  God is described and planting the choicest vines in His vineyard and building a hedge of protection and a watchtower in the midst of it.

But God also builds a winepress in the middle of His vineyard, for it is only through the use of this press that the desired results can be obtained.  Grapes are grown to be pressed in order to release the juice stored within them.  Without the pressing of the grapes no wine will be produced.  And so too are we pressed to shape us into the desired image of Christ.

God’s press comes in multiple forms.  It can be relationship stresses, financial pressures, external threats to the mission or task, health issues–the list is seemingly endless.  All are used by God to drive us out of our self-reliance and into dependence upon Him.

In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 we read of Paul’s press that God was using in his own life and how he was responding to it.

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 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.”

Note that the pressure Paul describes was far beyond what he thought he could handle, even to the point of wanting to give up and die.  He summarizes it all by saying that the purpose was to force him to rely on God, not himself.  In closing he makes this conclusion – the Lord has delivered in the past, He will deliver them from their current difficulties, and will also continue to deliver them when they face more challenges in the future.

God wants dependent children, not independent ones.  Lean into and embrace the press that you are under.  Don’t run from it.  Rely on Him and let Him accomplish all that He intends through this in and through you.

Leaders and Faithfulness

Dr. Francis Dixon – a well known evangelist in Australia and NZ, revivals / crusades – but led a church in England told the following story:

One Sunday night Dixon asked a man, Peter, in his church to share his testimony.  Peter said, “This is how I was saved… I was in the Royal Navy stationed in Sydney, Australia and one night I was walking down George St. and out of nowhere stepped this little grey-haired old man.  He said, ‘Excuse me sir, but may I ask you a question?  I hope you won’t be offended but if you were to die today, do you know where you would spend eternity?  The Bible says it will either be in hell or it will be in heaven.  Will you think about that?  Thank you.  God bless you.’  And he left.  I had never been asked that question before and I could not get it out of my mind.  When I got back to England, I sought out a pastor and was converted to Christ.”

Several weeks later a revival team came to Dr. Dixon’s church and on a Wednesday night he asked one of the team members (Noel) to share how he had been saved.  The guy stood stood up and said,  “I was stationed with the Royal Navy stationed in Sydney, Australia and one night I was walking down George Street and out of no where stepped this little grey-haired old man.  He said, ‘Excuse me sir, but may I ask you a question?  I hope you won’t be offended but if you were to die today, do you know where you would spend eternity?  The Bible says it will either be in hell or it will be in heaven.  Will you think about that.  Thank you.  God bless you.’  Noel said I couldn’t  get that out of my mind.  When I got back to England I sought out a Christian businessman and I came to know Christ as my Savior and Lord.”

Several months after that Dr. Dixon was in Adelaide.  He was doing an evangelistic crusade and said that he just had to share this so he shared about Peter and Noel.  As he was sharing a man stood up in the congregation waving his hands.  Dr. Dixon stopped and asked what was the problem – to which the man replied, “I’m another.  I was in  Sydney, Australia and one night I was walking down George Street and out of no where stepped this little grey-haired old man.  He said, ‘Excuse me sir, but may I ask you a question?  I hope you won’t be offended but if you were to die today, do you know where you would spend eternity?  The Bible says it will either be in hell or it will be in heaven.  Will you think about that.  Thank you.  God bless you.’  Later I was converted to Christ.

When he came back to his church he shared about the crusade experience – specifically about Peter, Noel, and the man in Adelaide.  Afterwards a woman came up to Dr. Dixon and said, “Well, I’m another.  I was visiting Sydney Australia and walking down George Street….  Later I was converted to Christ.”

Shortly after that he was teaching at a convention in Northern England and he was asked to address a group of pastors.  When he started talking he said, “I’ve got to share this,  This is exciting.”  So he told them about Peter, Noel, the man in Adelaide and the woman in his church.  Afterwards a pastor came up to him and said, “I am another. I was in Sydney walking down George St and out of no where came this grey-haired old man…  Later I was converted to Christ.”

A year later Dr. Dixon went on a world tour and he was in India and was asked to speak to a group of missionaries on evangelism.  So he told them the story and afterwards a missionary came up to him and said, “Dr. Dixon, I am another.  I was walking down George St…. Later I was converted to Christ.”

From there he went to Jamaica.  He was in Kingston addressing a group of businessmen at a luncheon.  He shared this story and afterwards a man came up to him and said, “I am another.  I was on a business trip in Sydney, Australia and I was walking down George Street and out of no where stepped this little old man…Later I was converted to Christ.

Where do you think Dr. Dixon Went next?…Sydney, Australia

He went to a Christian businessman there and told him this story and asked, “Do you know who this man is?”

“Sure, that’s Mr. Jenner.  He’s been doing that for 23 years.  But he is very feeble now.  He just got out of the hospital, is confined to his bed and is almost blind.”

Dr. Dixon said, “Would you take me to him?”

The man said, “Of course.”

So they went to this little grey-haired old man’s house.  As they walked into his bedroom, Dr. Dixon introduced himself and began to unravel one of the most incredible witnessing stories ever verified.  As he started to share about how one after another had come to know Christ, the little old grey-haired man started to weep to the point that Dr. Dixon had to stop.  “Excuse me sir, but what is wrong?.”

Mr. Jenner said, “After 23 years, that is the first time I have ever heard of anyone coming to Christ through my testimony.”

23 years of faithfulness…23 years of sowing and never knowing that the seeds had sprouted and born fruit…23 years of serving out of obedience to Christ.  May we be found faithful!

Leaders and Prayer

Someone has said, “Prayer is one of the most talked about and least practiced disciplines of the Christian life.”  As Kingdom leaders we must be praying about the mission and the people on a very regular basis.  I find for my own leadership that it is easy to be busy with the work of the responsibility and neglect this foundation.  If we are not careful to prayerfully lay this foundation for our leadership we can find ourselves building upon the sand instead of the Rock.

O. Hallesby in his wonderful classic simply titled Prayer says this (p. 81),

“One of the things that the Spirit must teach us about prayer as work is this:  to learn to take time to pray.

All work takes time.  When it becomes clear to us that prayer is part of our daily program of work, it will also become clear to us that we must arrange our daily program in such a way that there is time also for this work, just as we set aside time for other necessary things, such as eating and dressing.”

Time is one of a leader’s most precious commodities.  It is in short supply and demands often far exceed the time available.  Prayer can seem to be an addendum to the day’s work, if time is found for it, rather than the primary work to be done today.  Even in writing this I am saddened by the thought of my own inconsistency in this area.  May I/we all be more faithful to do this essential work each day.

Charles Spurgeon adds this in his work, The Secret Power of Prayer,

“The best praying man is the man who is most believingly familiar with the promises of God.  After all, prayer is nothing but taking God’s promises to Him and saying, ‘Do as You have said.’  Prayer is the promise utilized.  Prayer not based on a promise has no true foundation.”  (p. 41)

The work of prayer for our leadership should flow from the Scriptural promises God has given us.  These promises can be prayed back to Him in faith as we trust Him for on-going influence.  These promises prayed over give a sense of destiny and hope for the future outcomes of our life’s work.  As we pray and meditate over them the Lord will speak, confirm, and direct us.

Prayer – may we be doers and not just hearers only!

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!

Modeling Balance and Margin

I am taking a break…perhaps you should too!

This blog will continue again on 2 September 2013.

“When you come to the edge of all the light you have known, and are about to step out into darkness, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen-there will be something to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.”       

Author unknown

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).

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