Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “kingdom leaders”

16 Sep 2013
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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!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , ,
09 Sep 2013

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!

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , ,
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 , , , , , , , ,
19 Aug 2013

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

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , ,
05 Aug 2013
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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 , , , , , , , ,
29 Jul 2013
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The Life-long Learner

Nothing so stifles a leader as an attitude of, “I already know that” or “Yes, I mastered that some time ago.”  This attitude of “I’ve arrived” has its roots in pride and destroys one’s ability lead effectively.

God does not take the sin of arrogance lightly.  Three times (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5) He says that He opposes (actively works against) the proud person.  We will learn humility, either by humbling ourselves or having God humble us.  The choice is ours as to the means.

The learning leader is humble enough to admit that one never arrives.  Yes, we may gain altitude in some areas, but it’s all relative.  Altitude compared to what or whom is what’s important.  Comparing ourselves to others often leaves us feeling good about ourselves.  But comparing ourselves to Christ should quickly remind us of how far we have to go.  Look up, not around!

Good leaders are learners.  They are not learned in the eyes of the world necessarily (Luke 10:21, 1 Corinthians 1:26), but they are ever striving to develop in areas of character, skills, and abilities; seeking to maximize their potential impact and  for Christ.  They set the pace for others in their personal pursuit of God and their service for Him, always sensing how far they need to go, not how far they’ve come.

From where do leaders learn?  There are multiple sources, but let me suggest two.  One primary source for learning is from those who are older.  Job 8:8-9 says, “Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing.”  From what older person are you mining their years of experience and wisdom?

A second important source for a leader’s learning is from observing what goes on around us.  In Proverbs 24:32 we read, “I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw.”  Rushing from one thing to the next greatly hinders the learning one can do from observing.  We must take the time to stop, think and reflect.  When was the last time you just took some extended time to think about life, your family, your ministry or some other important issue?

Learning leaders are also passing on what they learn to others.  Jesus and Paul modeled this well.   Jesus learned and passed it on to his friends, “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).  Paul says to Timothy, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others”( 2 Timothy 2:2).  Are you passing along what you are learning?  Who looks to you for coaching, mentoring or discipling help?

Maintaining a learning mode throughout life continually increases our effectiveness for Christ as leaders.  But what we learn is not for us only.  We can use it to help others.  Let others benefit from the things God is teaching you.  Perhaps we should begin by sharing more with our friends, spouses, and children.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , ,
15 Jul 2013

Leading Like Jesus

It’s hard to critique a leader of whom others said “he does all things well.”  How do you select out what made Jesus great?  He was perfect!  Everything about Him is great!

Yet, when I think of Jesus’ leadership, what impresses me most are two things.  He was a leader who brought value to those who interacted with Him.  And he was a leader who developed other leaders to the point where they were able to lead in His place.

Jesus did many things in His ministry:  redemption, the founding of a new movement, selection and development of leaders for this movement, a compassion ministry to felt needs, etc.  But one thing seems to be consistent in all;  Jesus brought added value to the lives of those He touched.  He left people feeling grateful for His presence or interaction with them, whether a brief encounter or a ministry to them of several years.

I want my leadership be one where those impacted feel that there is added value because of my intervention in their lives.  As a leader, I am called to add value (i.e. vision, motivation, encouragement, assessment, counsel, resources, development, etc.) to the lives of those I am leading.  I want to leave those with whom I interact being desirous of more time together, rather than feeling grateful that I’m finally gone.  They will want more if there is a sense that I add value to their lives.

Secondly, Jesus selected and developed other leaders to continue on past His life on earth.  All leaders have a ‘life span’ of power and influence.  This will quickly pass.  What is it that will last when our leadership is finished?  I desire to leave behind a new generation of leaders who will carry on long after I have left the scene.

Some call this “leading with a developmental bias.”  We always lead with a eye on the next generation, seeking to identify those whom God has gifted to lead the work for that  generation.  We then begin to build into their lives, helping to develop them to their potential in Christ, so that they are well prepared to lead when we are gone.

Bringing value to the lives of those He led and developing the next generation of leaders is what made Jesus a great leader.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , ,
08 Jul 2013
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Sacrificial Leadership

Sacrifice means, “to give something up for the sake of something of higher value.”  Sacrificial living (and leading) is to give up our own lives for the purpose of following Christ.  Jesus modeled the perfect sacrificial life by giving His very life for the sins of mankind.  It is this type of lifestyle, one that chooses to live for others instead of self, that models real love for people (John 15:12-14).

Sacrificial living is a daily decision, not a one time event.  Paul urges us to, “….offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1).”  We are to continually offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices as an act of worship to God for all He has done for us.  He died for us!  Living for Him is the least we can do!

Jesus reminds us that being His disciple means, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).  To follow Christ means that we must first deny ourselves.  That is, give up all rights to our own plans, desires, dreams and hopes for our lives and let God determine our future.  It is an abandonment of self into the loving hands of God.  Secondly, we must take up our cross daily.  To the first century audience, the picture of a person carrying a cross meant that they were condemned to death by the Roman government.  They had no future – only death.  Jesus uses this picture to illustrate that this death to self is to be daily, not just a one time decision.  Each and every day we must choose to live for Christ and die to self.

Sacrificial living goes against the wisdom of this world.  The world says to seek self-gratification.  “If it feels good do it!”  The implication being, if it doesn’t feel good, then it should not be acted upon.  To choose to deny self in order to gain the opportunity to serve God is something that will be hard for others to understand.

Sacrifice is painful!  It cost God’s Son His life! There are no guarantees we will live a pain-free life.  God does not apologize for asking much of His followers.  It is His right.  He owns us.  He bought us with His own blood.  “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

But God also promises us that whatever cost we are asked to pay in denying self and following Him He will repay multiple times over. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields–and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).  Therefore, whatever has been sacrificed for Christ, when compared with what has been gained in return, will not seem to be too great a cost to pay.

Leaders who model this type of sacrificial leadership entrust themselves and their leadership impact to God.  They will model the same type of leadership that Nehemiah did in Nehemiah 5:14-19:  Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.  But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels[a] of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.  Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall…In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people.

And these type of sacrificing leaders will pray as Nehemiah did, “Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people.”

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , ,
01 Jul 2013
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The Need of the Hour

The world is in crisis today.  It is not a political crisis, though it has political implications.  It is not an economic crisis, though economics are affected.  It is not a social crisis, though all levels of society are impacted.  It is a spiritual crisis brought on by the people of God themselves.  There is a spiritual poverty, a lack of vitality in the believer’s walk and talk that has led to mediocrity in the Christian world today.  This mediocre life of the believer has left the Christian world with a muted  witness and an emasculated impact on society.  What is needed is a transformation in the Christian world.  What is needed is a generation of believers who will live a radical life (radical in the eyes of the world, but not to God); a life that seeks the world to come, not this world.

The word “mediocre” finds its origin in two Latin words meaning “half way” and “mountain.”  Mediocre means to only get half way up the mountain.  A mediocre Christian life is one that begins its journey aiming for the top of the mountain, but then settles for only half way to the summit.  What is needed today is a generation of young people who will decide to reach for the summit in the Christian life and settle for nothing less until they reach it.  There will be no compromise along the way.  There will be opportunities to bow out, to give in to the tide of the world, but this generation will set their face like a flint and go for broke.  They will be satisfied with nothing less than God’s best—serving Him with their whole heart!

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 place the golden fruit in her robe just as 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!”

Living for the World to Come   Copyright 1996 by Thomas R. Yeakley  pg 1

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , ,
24 Jun 2013
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4 Core Qualities for Leadership Success

When our children were born, actually even before they were born, we began to pray for them daily (sometimes it was multiple times a day, especially if they were not having a good day).  We prayed many things for them, but the main thing was that they would come to know Christ at an early age, never experiencing a time of rebellion or walking away from Him, and that they would serve Him with their whole heart in whatever calling He would have for them.  As we got to know them and their personality / temperament, we were also able to add specific prayer requests related to their character needs.

The lists grew longer as time passed and I began to re-think what I was praying for each of the kids.  What was it that was really important for me to pray into their life?  What were the essentials that would see them through life’s trials and challenges?  After much thought and reflection, I boiled it down to just four things that were needed.  Yes, there were (are) still other things that I prayed (and still pray) for each of them, but these four things are the foundation stones that I (we) have prayed into their lives for many years.  Now, these four qualities have also become core qualities for myself as a leader and for other emerging leaders that I coach.   I remember them with the acronym, “PEWC” (rhymes with ‘hurl’).  🙂

“P” stands for Purity of Life.  Many have made shipwrecks of their lives by failing in this area.  Certainly the challenges of moral purity are greater today than when I was younger.  For young men in particular, with the pervasiveness of pornography on the Internet and other media, sexual purity is a growing challenge.  But, purity of life is more than just sexual holiness.

Purity relates to our heart and what grips it.  It means we are wholly devoted to one Master.  It relates to integrity, being a person of our word who can be counted on to do what we say.  It means we are transparent in our life, not playing games with our relationships or wearing masks that hide who we truly are.  What you see is what you get.

“E” stands for Eternal Values.  There is much pressure, especially in the American culture, to become a massive consumer and accumulate all we can.  The mantra seems to be, “He who dies with the most toys wins.”  While I’m not one who would feel guilty for being born and now living in a prosperous culture, I do have a sense of stewardship of whatever resources God places under my care.  We already have much compared to others.  And, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

Having eternal values ultimately means that we are living for a world to come, not this present one.  These values direct our daily choices, lifestyles, spending, consuming, giving, investing, etc.  Our lives are lived in the context of eternity, knowing that we will have to give an account one day of what we did with the resources God entrusted to us.  Our lives are lived out knowing that 70 years will come and go quickly, and we are but a vapor that soon disappears.  And when we exit this planet, we will leave all we have accumulated to others, taking nothing with us.

“W” stands for Wisdom.  Here is the secret to much of the challenge of parenting and leading.  God entrusts children and people to us without an instruction manual on how to raise or lead them.  Yes, we have the Bible with great principles (Proverbs is especially helpful) and we have our own upbringing (which can have it’s strengths and weaknesses).  What our children and those we lead need is “instant” wisdom that enables them to make wise choices that honor God.

When our children were young and disobedient we would correct them.  One of the statements that we would say again and again was, “That was not a wise thing to do.”  Or when we would talk about a decision or someone’s  decision and the consequences, we would point out wise choices and not so wise ones, labeling it as such.  The point was to reinforce in many ways that a goal in life was to become wise.  To obey God and your parents was a wise thing for them as a child and brought reward.  But, to disobey God and your parents was an unwise (foolish) thing and it brought punishment and pain.  Ouch!

“C” stands for Courage.  If our children and we as leaders are to apply the above three things, Purity, Eternal Values, and Wisdom, then that would mean that we would not be following the norms of the day.  We would be swimming against that cultural tide and standing out as different from the crowd.  There would be much pressure brought to bear on us to conform to the norms of the day, especially by our friends and peers.  Knowing this pressure, it will take great courage to stand for what is pure, eternal, and wise in God’s eyes, and not simply go along with the crowd and do what’s easy, instead of what’s right.

Courage, moral backbone, to say and do what’s right is never easy.  Sometimes there are real consequences for standing up for right.  Some have even had to pay with their lives for this kind of stand.  I pray that we would never have to make that kind of choice, but should it come, may we have the courage to stand, knowing that eternity waits.

These four areas have formed that foundation of what I (we) have prayed for our children since they were very young.  I have also made them a foundation of qualities that I have prayed for myself as a leader.  I’m pleased to say that we have seen these areas demonstrated in our children’s lives over and over again.  God has been and continues to be faithful to build these things into my life as well as theirs.  And now there is the next generation—our grandchildren.  They too are now coming under this prayer covering of PEWC.

But for myself and those emerging leaders who I coach and mentor these core qualities are also the foundation of my prayers.  I pray that we will grow and mature as leaders who demonstrate these qualities in our personal lives, families, and leadership.  For if we do, we will be change agents who the Lord will use to bring hope and help to many.

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

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