Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “leadership thinking”

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 , , , , , , , ,
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

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does 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
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).

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
22 Jul 2013

Lust, Immorality, and Leaders

Perhaps, like me, you have been amazed at the number of gifted leaders who have fallen into moral collapse.  I ask myself how could this happen?  Could this happen to me?  I’m sure that, like me, you desire to finish the race well.  How can we avoid this trap that has entangled so many?

Below are two summaries on the process of lust and immorality as seen from the man’s and woman’s perspective.  The process for the man was outlined in an article by Phil Parshall titled, The Tiger of Lust – The Downward Path of Moral Ruin.  The process for women was contributed by a missionary wife, Mrs. Fran Love.  Study them and then do some self examination.

A Man’s Path of Moral Ruin

1.             Enjoyment of another woman’s company

2.             Appreciation of her body

3.             Thoughts of physical lust

4.             Emotional desire

5.             Initiation of casual encounters

6.             Mutual arrangement for frequent meetings

7.             The first lustful touch

8.             Total deceit with one’s wife

9.             Intimacy without full sex

10.          The physical act of adultery

A Woman’s Path of Moral Ruin

1.             Enjoyment of another man’s personality

2.           Attraction towards his status (he’s a leader, popular, etc.) and his looks (manly, sexy, etc.)

3.             Trying to attract his attention by whatever means is considered appropriate (nothing overt, all done very smoothly and imperceptibly)

4.             Flattered by his reciprocating interest

5.             Development and expansion of a fantasy thought life  –  emotional desire

6.             Initiation of casual encounters with great pains taken to ensure that you are made-up and dressed up as attractively as possible

7.              Romantic desire  –  no physical touch even necessary;  the “romance” of it all is stimulating enough

8.             Total deceit with one’s husband

9.             Intimacy without full sex

10.          The physical act of adultery

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.    Proverbs 27:12

May we learn from the mistakes of others and avoid the pitfall of immorality that has ruined many!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , ,
29 Apr 2013
1 Comment

Are Leaders Born or Made?

One of the common questions asked regarding leadership is this, “Are leaders born or made?”  And the answer is, “Yes!”  Here’s my expanded answer to this challenging question — The 3 B’s of Making Leaders!

Born  –   Some people are hard-wired with God-given temperaments, intellects, and natural abilities that will give them the ability to influence others more easily as leaders.  While this God-given ability does allow for easier influence, it does not necessarily mean that the quality of their leadership is better than others who are not so naturally endowed.  These “natural leaders” will also need to grow in their leadership skills in order to utilize these natural strengths to their optimum.

Born Again  –  Some followers of Christ have the God-given spiritual gift of leadership.  In Romans 12:6-8 we have Paul listing several of the spiritual gifts given for serving others in the Body of Christ.  He says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.  ‎ If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;  ‎ if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

It is my understanding that all believers in Christ are given at least one spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit.  These gifts are given to us that we might serve others (1 Peter 4:10).  Those ‘gifted leaders’ who have the spiritual gift of leadership will have ability and capacity to lead in other ways than those not gifted will.  But these ‘gifted leaders’  also must develop this leadership gift through careful attention to becoming the best leader they can be for Jesus’ sake.  Note Paul’s reminder to Timothy, ” For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands ” (2 Timothy 1:6).

Built  –  There are certain leadership competencies or skills that can be learned and developed by everyone.  Through practice, feedback, and application everyone can learn to lead to some extent.  Husbands can learn to lead their families, parents can learn to lead their children, and employers can learn to lead their employees.  Though all can learn to lead, the quality of one’s leadership will depend upon our attention to this development.  When compared with others who are the natural or gifted leaders one’s leadership capacity may be less or one may have to work harder to grow in leadership competencies, but you can learn to lead.  In fact, your leadership may surpass those natural or gifted leaders who do not develop themselves.

So….are leaders born or made?  The answer is, “Yes!”  Some are born, some are born again, and some are built!  Are you taking your development as a leader seriously?  Are you seeking to “fan it into a flame?”

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks and tagged , , ,
01 Apr 2013
6 Comments

Even the Energizer Bunny Needs Recharging Eventually!

You know that sick feeling when you turn the ignition switch to On and instead of the motor roaring to life all you hear is the “click…click” of a dead battery. Yes, there had been some recent warning signs…the slow turning over of the engine on cold starts, but you had ignored them because it did start eventually. And besides, you had things to do, important things, and many people were depending upon you.

So, you get on with it…placing the “check out the car battery” on the To-Do List and move forward. But now, here you sit, turning the ignition switch again and again, desperately hoping that the battery will find some lost energy reserve to once again move you toward those important items on your plan today. But it’s all to no avail…the battery is totally dead!

Leaders are often like those dying-dead batteries. We run well for long periods of time giving away ourselves to the demands of our role while all the time running lower and lower on our spiritual, emotional, and physical reserves. Until one day, we try to “start our daily engine” and it only responds with a “click…click…click.” It’s time for some attention to that long-ignored “personal reserve” if we are to continue to lead from an overflow.

Here are some suggestions on how to recharge those personal batteries that may be in need of some attention. Not all will be appropriate for your season of life or person, but reflect on these and see if there isn’t something that could put some needed “juice” into your reserves.

Get some time away from your leadership responsibilities – you’re really not that important!
o Plan your daily and weekly schedule with margin for change and interruption. Don’t book each day full with back-to-back appointments.
o Turn off your cell phone! You’re really not that important!
o Let incoming calls go to voice mail so that you can control when you want to talk on the phone.
o Limit the number of times you check your email each day.
o Do you really need to post to Facebook, Tweet, or respond to every text message immediately?

Get a life outside of your leadership!
o Develop friendships with others not directly related to your leadership role.
o Find some recreation and hobbies – know yourself and what ‘fills your tanks.”
o Take a break / vacation – put it into your schedule just as you do your other important appointments.

Push yourself to learn something new!
o Learning something new and different will stimulate long dormant brain cells and/or muscles, bringing a new sense of progress and perspective.

Do something physically stretching!
o “Stretching” is relative given age, physical condition, habits, etc. Don’t feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing just because it fits them. Know yourself!

You only have one body and it must last you for the entire length of the trip–so take good care of it. You don’t want to come to the end and say like David Brainerd (missionary to the Delaware Indians) who died at the age of 29, “God gave me a horse to ride and a message to deliver. Now I have killed the horse and can’t deliver the message.”

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , ,

Post Navigation

Newer Entries →