Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “leader development”

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!

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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

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12 Aug 2013

Leaders and Assessment

Is assessment a Kingdom principle?  Does God want His leadership to assess others?  What’s the difference between assessment and judgment?  How can we give assessment to those we lead in a positive, developmental way?

Jesus sent out the Twelve and then upon their return they reported what they had done (Mark 6:30-31).  The parables of the Talents (Matthew 25) and the 10 Minas (Luke 19) teach that we will give an account to God for our stewardship.  Hebrews 13:17 reminds us that leaders will give an account for their leadership.  Paul gave feedback to the churches through his letters.  Assessment is a Kingdom principle.

But we must not cross over from assessment to judgment.  Jesus commands us not to judge others (Matthew 7) and Paul reminds us of the same (1 Corinthians 4).  Judgment is passing a final, negative opinion on another.  It focuses on final results and motives.  It often involves assessing someone’s motives or matters of the heart that we cannot know for certain.  It implies making personal standards normative for others.  Only God can judge!

But as leaders who must give an account to God for our leadership, we are told to know well the condition of our flock.  We must evaluate our flock to know if they are doing well or not.  Assessment of those we lead focuses on their faithfulness to labor, not the results which are determined by God.  Assessment is given to encourage growth and help measure progress and development.  It has a desired positive impact on another with a willingness to be involved in helping to correct any shortcomings.

Assessment is more formal than feedback.  It relates to mutually agreed upon standards or desired outcomes, deals with a process, involves a commitment to help, and provides accountability.  Feedback in informal, does not need mutual goals, deals with an event, does not necessarily involve a commitment to help, and provides perspective.  Leaders assess; facilitators give feedback.

For assessment to be positive, we must begin with agreed upon measuring marks.  The one being assessed must know from the outset what will be evaluated at the end of the process.  The leader bringing the assessment should seek to point out the positive outcomes initially.  Negative assessment should be limited to one or two items at the most, focusing on those areas that are most important.  As a leader you should offer to help them correct these in the future.  Ask how you as a leader can help them succeed in their efforts.  Get involved!  Bring resources to help them become a success.

Remember to assess, not judge.  Seek to apply the Golden Rule of Leadership in your assessment of others, “Lead others the way you want to be led” (Luke 6:31).

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).

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29 Jul 2013
2 Comments

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 , , , , ,
01 Jul 2013
1 Comment

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

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10 Jun 2013

Becoming a Wise Leader – #1

Becoming a leader who is wise is a noble pursuit.  The complexity of leadership demands wisdom from above.  But where to begin?  How will I know if I’ve attained it?

It would seem that the place to begin is with the definition of terms.  As we study the book of Proverbs (the book on the subject of wisdom), it becomes apparent that there are three words used frequently in connection to each other.  These three are:  knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  For a long time I searched for good definitions on these words and their interrelatedness, but was not able to discover it until a few years ago.  Here’s what I currently understand them to mean and how they relate.

Knowledge is the accumulation of facts.  It is the foundation from which understanding and wisdom arise.  There is much knowledge in the world and today, and with the Internet, we have access to amazing resources for accumulating vast amounts of knowledge.  Our challenge is how to keep from being overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge now available and how to search it and categorize it well, so that it becomes useful for us.  Knowledge is helpful (especially for Trivial Pursuit games), but it alone will not help us in leading a life that is pleasing to God.  An example of knowledge (facts) would be:  We know that water is made up of two elements, hydrogen and oxygen.  A water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

Understanding is the ability to see the interconnectedness and relationships between a series of seemingly unrelated facts (knowledge).  Once one has gathered a variety of knowledge, these facts must be connected in our minds to give us understanding of how things work or how they impact each other.  Scientific research seeks to demonstrate this through repeatable experiments that demonstrate the relationship of various elements.  Once this is shown to be repeatable, we arrive at understanding.  For example, when we combine heat and water, we know that the water will boil at 212º F.  By combining the facts we know about water and heat, we understand that by turning on a stove and applying heat to the bottom of the pan of water, it will boil at 212º F, given enough heat and time.

Wisdom is the application of knowledge and understanding to life.  All wisdom is a gift from God that allows humans to live lives that are pleasing to Him.  All humans have the ability to understand wisdom on some level.  There is “common wisdom” and then, “spiritual wisdom.”  All have access to common wisdom, but only those who have the Holy Spirit living within will have the ability to understand the deeper things of God and what I refer to as spiritual wisdom.  This type of wisdom must be pursued, it just doesn’t happen by experience.  We can ask for it (James 1:5) and it will be given to us by God.  This wisdom is the secret to life and is the key to success in the eyes of God (I’m defining success as living a life pleasing to God).  We can always grow in wisdom, for we are learning about God Himself, who is infinite, and therefore we will never exhaust the source of this wisdom.

An example of common wisdom is this, following our example above.  I know and understand that water boils when heated on a stove and also that if I touch it, I will be burned.  Then, if I’m in the kitchen heating some water, I decide not to put my hand in the pan of water when I see it bubbling.  That would be a very wise decision!

Spiritual wisdom springs from the knowledge of God, His character, and His Word.  This spiritual knowledge leads to spiritual understanding on how God works – the ways of God.  And spiritual wisdom is the application of our knowledge of God and His ways into our daily decisions.  It is this spiritual wisdom that God gives to Kingdom leaders to help us accomplish His purposes in us and through our leadership.  We will continue this discussion next week.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , ,
27 May 2013
3 Comments

When God Says Wait!

I was twenty-nine years old and married with two (soon it would be three) children when I left a career in veterinary medicine to pursue a calling to world missions.  I was anxious to get on with the plan for our lives, for God had directed us to accept an opportunity to serve in Indonesia with The Navigators.  We moved from Purdue University to Chicago to be involved with several churches while we waited for the visa to move to the country of our destiny.  We anticipated a six-month wait, so we busied ourselves with fundraising and preparation for departure.

Three years later we were still waiting!  People would meet us and ask questions like, “Are your still here?  Are you sure God is leading you to Indonesia?  Maybe this closed-door is His means of directing you to stay in America.  Have you considered that possibility?”  Of course we considered that possibility and many others, but each time we prayed there came a deep assurance from the Lord that He would answer in His perfect timing.  After three years the visa was granted and we moved to Indonesia, staying for the next eleven years until once again the visa was denied and we came home.

During those years of waiting, there were many days of anxiety, questions, and wondering if we would ever get overseas.  As I grew older I wondered about our ability to learn a new language and adjust to a new culture.  But during this time of waiting, God was at work in my life, building into me some life lessons that He knew I needed in order to serve Him well in Indonesia and later in life.  I chafed under the delay in proceeding with this plan we had laid out, but God was gracious to keep us in Chicago rather than rushing us off to the far side of the Pacific.  I came to learn the lesson that what He does in us is often more important than what He does through us.  God’s purposes will be accomplished with us or without us.  [1]

Waiting on God is a quality needed for leaders to experience the touch of God in them and on their leadership.  Are you straining at the end of the leash that the Lord has you on?  Do you want to run ahead and He has told you to sit and wait?  Can you trust Him to do good and give you His best?  He knows the time and when the time is right He will unclip the leash and shout, “Run!”  Until then, wait and watch for Him to do what only He can do.

[1]   Yeakley, Tom  Growing Kingdom Character  NavPress  Colorado Springs, CO  2011  pp. 128-129

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

Who is Responsible for My Development?

The heights of great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upwards in the night.

The Ladder of St. Augustine,  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

My conversation with this 30-year-old leader had come to a point of discussing his ongoing development as a leader.  “But my organization is not even thinking about my development,” he explained in exasperation.  “When will I be developed as a leader so that I can truly make my contribution?”

I’ve reflected on that conversation many times.  Who is responsible for our development as leaders?  I ‘d suggest 3 sources who are very interested in you reaching your potential for influence in the Kingdom.

First of all God Himself is very interested in your leader development.  While both competency and character are needed to lead well, God chooses to focus our development on the character side.  The obvious reason is that He will certainly take care of competency issues through His help as we depend upon Him.  This does not mean that leadership competency is not so important for Kingdom leaders, but God places a priority on character for His leaders.

He is committed to seeing Christlike character shaped within us all, especially His leaders.  He is constantly arranging the circumstances of our life and leadership in order to help us grow into the person He desires.  We can embrace these opportunities for character growth or seek to run from them.  But should we choose to run, He will again raise up new circumstances to once again move us towards Christlikeness.

Our second source of development should be our organization, corporation, business, or workplace.  Businesses and organization that purposefully invest in developing their leadership communities tend to do well over time.  These organizational opportunities can be formal (academic credentialing through study. i.e. secondary degrees in organizational leadership) or semi-formal (certification, continuing education days,  or seminars around areas of leadership competency).  Some workplaces are better than others about providing this type of intentional development.  And even those who are committed to this intentional development of leaders will often greatly cut the budget or staffing for it when there is an overall budget tightening.

The third source of our develop comes from within ourselves.  We must own our own development as leaders.  Rather than waiting or complaining about not being developed, take the responsibility upon yourself to be the best leader you can be.  Seek out opportunities for growth in competency and character.  Pursue it wholeheartedly!  Start today!

One of the most helpful development opportunities is having a mentor for your leadership. Many emerging leaders tell me that they can’t find a mentor willing to meet with them.  Here’s my suggestion.  Find a leader who you think can be of some help.  Approach them with this question, “Could we begin to meet together for me to ask you questions about how I can be a better leader?”  Note that you’re not asking them to mentor you.  Many busy leaders will immediately decline this offer…too many things to do!  But they all have to eat sometime, so invite them to a meal (you pay!) and come with specific questions that they can respond to.  Take good notes and reflect on their answers for your own growth and development.

Be the best leader you can be for Jesus sake and embrace your own development!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders and tagged , , , , , ,

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