Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Leadership development”

26 Sep 2016

Living a Life of Sacrifice #1

Sacrifice means, “to give something up for the sake of something of higher value.”  Sacrificial living 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 not 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.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #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 , , , , , , , , ,
25 Jul 2016

The 4 Alls of the Gospel

It was an early morning flight and being a frequent flyer, I had boarded first and was trying to read my Bible while the rest of the plane filled with passengers.  Sitting in the aisle I was secretly hoping that the center and window seat to my right would not be taken, allowing me to spread out some on the short flight from Colorado Springs to Denver. But, the last person to board threw his backpack into the window seat and proceeded to climb over me into the window seat.

Before the plane pushed back from the gate he leaned over and asked, “Hey, what are you reading?”  “I’m reading the book of Isaiah in the Bible,” I replied.  “Oh, that’s one of my favorite books,” he said.  A short conversation ensued where we exchanged some background information and then I asked, “So, how long have you been a believer?”  A quizzical look came over his face when he answered, “I think since I was born.”

I found out that he was headed for a funeral of his 14-month old son who had recently died of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and he had been reading a Bible to see if he could discover what happens to a person after they die.  I asked for permission to share with him a short summary of the central theme of the Bible, a summary I called the “4 All’s.”

As we leveled out after takeoff, he retrieved a Bible from his backpack and we turned to Romans.  I explained that there are four things that are common to all people – the 4 All’s.  We then proceeded to look at the verses in his Bible:  Romans 3:23 – All have sinned; Romans 5:12 – All will die; Romans 5:18 – Jesus died for all; and Romans 10:9,13 – All must receive Christ.  I checked for his understanding after each verse.  He nodded approvingly as we read each verse.

After reviewing these verses I asked him, “If you were to die tonight are you certain of seeing your son again in heaven?  He replied that he was not certain at all.  I then asked, “Is there any reason why you wouldn’t want to accept Christ right now as your personal Savior?”  “Why no,” he replied, “but how do I do that?”  I then shared a short prayer with him and somewhere over Colorado at 12,000 feet, Rick trusted Christ as his Savior.

When landing we went over a few short passages on assurance of salvation from 1 John and after de-planing he hugged me and said, “Thanks so much for telling me about Christ!  Please pray for me.  I hope I can tell someone else about Him at this funeral.”

 

 

 

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does, #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders and tagged , , , , , , ,
11 Jul 2016

Spending a Half-Day with God #2

Here’s some practical ideas on how best to utilize your extended time alone with God.

The first step in spending a half-day with God is to schedule the time and a place.  The place must be free from distractions and interruptions.  After you have chosen the date, you must protect it from other urgent, pressing needs that will tempt you into canceling or postponing.  Remember that our enemy, the devil, is actively opposing this plan and will seek to get you to cancel or postpone this time with God.  Be mentally ready for a battle!

Take with you a Bible, a notebook and pen, a songbook and perhaps a devotional book that can help you focus on the Lord.

Divide your time into three parts.  During the first part you want to fellowship and worship the Lord.  Read the Bible (especially the Psalms), worship Him with singing, confess known sin in prayer and thank and praise Him for all His goodness and faithfulness.  During this time you also may want to read your devotional book in order to help focus our thoughts on Him.

During the second part of your time alone with God you will want to pray for others.  Remember to pray as specifically as possible.  A poor example would be, “Lord, please bless Joe.”  A better example would be, “Lord, please help Joe live a life that is pleasing to you.  Give Him a heart of obedience and a hunger for your Word.”  Pray for others what you would pray for yourself.

In the third part of your time, you want to especially pray for yourself.  Pray for wisdom and insight from the Lord.  Pray for His perspective on your life and its problems.  Pray that your heart will desire to do His will.  Pray that you may be used to glorify Him through what you do and say.  Pray over your future activities and plans.  If you are facing a problem, ask the Lord to show you the solution or how to overcome it.  Think through your current spiritual condition and make note of any impressions or ideas you may get from the Lord.

Before you finish your time alone with God, it is most helpful if you summarize in writing what things God has spoken to you.  Perhaps it is a decision that you made, a new objective for the future, a task or project that must be started or other important matters.  Don’t look for some mystical experience during this time.  Rather, if you have taken time alone with God, realize that there will be an impact in your daily life, even though you may not have some special feelings.

It is best if you can take this half-day alone with God on a regular basis, about every several months.  This is especially true if you are facing major decisions or stressful times.

Have you scheduled your next half-day alone with God?

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does 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?

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27 Jun 2016

Sharing Your Story #4

OVERCOMING PROBLEMS IN PERSONAL TESTIMONY PREPARATION

  1.  Many people are too cautious when writing the first draft of their story because they are fearful of not doing it correctly.  Your testimony does not need to be perfect on the first.  Write a lot; it is always easier to delete information than to try to add more.
  1.  Some people think too introspectively when writing their testimony.  Remembering life experiences before we trusted Christ, especially bitter or painful memories, can cause depression and the actual writing of the testimony is postponed.  Thank God for His grace and healing and ask Him for His help and strength in finishing this project.
  1.  Often we are so eager to share on spiritual matters that we neglect to share some background concerning other areas of our life.  In the beginning of our testimony, we want to build a bridge of commonality so that our listener can identify with us.
  1.  Some believers are not certain about when they accepted Christ.  Perhaps they grew up in a Christian home and prayed to accept Christ as a child.  Later however, as an adult, they made another decision for Christ, either a re-dedication or perhaps this was really their conversion.  If this is your experience, ask your small group leader or another person who is mature in Christ for some help in outlining your testimony.
  1.  The longer this project is put off, the more difficult it will seem.  You will need several hours to finish this completely.  Postponing it will not make it easier.  The sooner we begin, the sooner we can enjoy the results.

May the Lord use the power of your story to impact many!

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
20 Jun 2016

Sharing Your Story #3

Here’s some practical tips for preparing your salvation story.

ORDER OF PREPARATION FOR YOUR TESTIMONY

  1.  Pray and ask the Lord for wisdom and insight before you begin to write.
  1.  Compile notes on three separate sheets of paper labeled, “Before,” “How” and “After”
  1.  Write the first draft of your testimony based on the three sheets.  Remember the guidelines given for preparing your testimony.  Ideally it will take about 5 minutes to read your testimony draft when finished.
  1.  Edit and improve.  Ask for suggestions from your group leader or fellow group members.
  1.  Finalize your testimony so that you can read it at conversational speed in approximately 3 minutes.
  1. Write an outline of your final testimony on a note card or small piece of paper.  Practice sharing your testimony from this outline.
  1.  Continue to practice your testimony until you can share in under 4 minutes without looking at your outline notes. Remember that this time frame is based upon Paul’s testimony of similar length in Acts 24 and Acts 26.

Your personal salvation story is a powerful way to influence others.  Prepare well and then trust God to give you natural opportunities to share it.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
13 Jun 2016

Sharing Your Story #2

The following are guidelines to remember when compiling your salvation story to share with others.

  1.  Make the testimony sound like natural conversation.  We are preparing this testimony to be shared in a private conversation.  Avoid words or phrases that sound literary that you would not normally use in everyday conversation.  Use informal, every day vocabulary.
  1.  Use the words “I” and “me,” not “you.”  This will make your testimony sound personal and not preachy.  People enjoy listening to first person stories.
  1.  Avoid theological words which may not be generally known or which may illicit an emotional reaction and detract from your main objective.  Use words that are easily understood by most people.
  1.  Try and make your testimony as general as possible so that many people can identify with it.  It is usually best to avoid naming churches, denominations or groups.
  1.  Add humor or human interest points in order to attract your listener’s attention.  If you smile and project a relaxed manner, it will put your listener at ease.
  1.  Share one or two specific word stories to involve your listener in your story.  Don’t say, “I was raised in a large city,”  rather, share a short experience that illustrates life in a big city.
  1.  In the “Before” section be sure to include both positive and negative things about your life before you accepted Christ.  Don’t be hesitant to share non-spiritual matters as well, as this will add interest.
  1.  In the “How” section be sure to make the bible the final authority.  A poor example would be, “Mary said that I needed forgiveness.”  A better example would be, “Mary shared with me that the bible says we all need forgiveness.”
  1.  Remember to share the four points of the gospel in the “How” section.
  1.  In the “After” section, close with two or three benefits that you have experienced since you accepted Christ.
  • Consider that the last benefit could be something like this, “But the greatest benefit of all is that I now know that I have eternal life.”  Your listener will often comment on the last thing mentioned in our testimony.  If our last statement is about eternal life, it may open an opportunity to further explain the gospel.
  1.  Simplify and reduce unnecessary details.  Though the details may have meaning for you, your listener will be distracted and bored if you share too many details.  A poor example would be, “On June 3, 1985 I was going to the third meeting of the week at the First Community Church with Ken, Bill and Jack.”  A better example would be, “Several years ago I went to a church meeting with some close friends.”
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06 Jun 2016

Sharing Your Story #1

Our personal salvation story is designed to be shared with a non-believer.  Our testimony will have its most impact if shared naturally during a personal conversation or in a small group.  It can be used as a “door opener” in order to turn the attention of your listener towards spiritual matters and create an opportunity to share the gospel in a more complete way.  Successful evangelism begins with a well-prepared testimony.

When sharing our testimony we want to explain what Christ has done in our lives, not preach at our listener.  Everyone who has trusted Christ as their personal Savior has a testimony about how God has touched their life.  Certainly this testimony is different for each person; we are not seeking to have our listener imitate our personal experience, rather we want them to personally trust Christ as their Savior.

Your testimony may be dramatic, especially if you trusted Christ as an adult, or it may not be so spectacular, if you trusted Christ as a child.  But, spectacular or not, God can use your testimony to touch the hearts of others.  A disciple of Jesus must be able to tell others how they came to know Christ.

OUTLINE FOR A SALVATION TESTIMONY

PART 1           Before I Trusted Christ

A brief background sketch of what your life was like before you trusted Christ (i.e. family, old way of life).  During this section you may want to share one or two specific instances that would illustrate what your life was like without Christ.  If you share some sinful experience, do not give a lot of details as this can disturb your listener’s concentration and detract from your main point.

PART 2           How I Trusted Christ

Specifically share how you came to know Christ as your personal Savior (i.e.  when, where).  Create a word picture that will attract your listener’s attention.

In this section you must remember to distinctly share the four parts of the gospel  as follows:

  • all people have sinned;
  • all people will be punished with death because of their sin;
  • because God loves us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sin – accepting our punishment;
  • we must each personally acknowledge that we are sinners and place our trust in Jesus as our Savior.

PART 3           After I Trusted Christ

Explain briefly what changes you have seen in your life since you accepted Christ as your Savior (i.e. deep peace because our sins are forgiven, the reality of the new life, assurance of salvation based on the promises of God).

Your objective is to be able share this three-part testimony in approximately four minutes.  If we examine the testimony of Paul as shared in Acts 24 and Acts 26 we find that it was about this length of time.  We can also see that Paul’s testimony easily divides into the three parts listed above, which we use as our model testimony.

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