Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Missional”

29 Apr 2019

Clarify the Mission

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”  And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”    Acts 9:4-6   ESV

Paul was on his way to Damascus to take any Jewish believers back to Jerusalem as prisoners when the Lord Jesus appeared to him on the road outside of the city.  Note the short response from Jesus to his inquiry as to who was speaking, immediately followed by a command to get up, go into the city and wait to be told what to do.

Within the next three days, having been blinded by the vision on the road, Paul is praying and waiting.  Ananias, a local resident of Damascus and a disciple, receives a vision himself to go and pray over Paul so that he may again be able to see.  After some questioning, the Lord assures Ananias of Paul’s mission – “…he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9:15  ESV)  When recounting his conversion years later, Paul recalls, “And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’”  (Acts 22:10  ESV)

Several years after his conversion, while visiting Jerusalem, Paul had another vision in the temple regarding his mission.  The Lord said to him, “‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly… Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.‘”

These are but a few examples of the mission-task assigned to Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews).  The Lord stated and restated the nature of his mission multiple times and in multiple ways.  There was little doubt or ambiguity of what Paul was being asked to do.

The Lord’s assigning of the task to Paul is an excellent example of how to communicate mission.  Good leaders clarify the task for those they are leading.  They state the mission clearly, succinctly and in multiply ways so that there is no doubt about what all are trying to accomplish.

Is your mission clear to you as you fill your days and weeks with much activity?  Is the mission clear for those you are leading?  If not, it is your responsibility to make it clear.

“A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew!”     source unknown

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
30 Apr 2018
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Missional Mindset #3

Our God is a missional God who works. Jesus reminds us that the Father is always at work and that He too is working (see John 5:17).  Because we are created in His image, we too are to have a missional mindset that sets a context for our life and leadership.

In the past two blogs, we have looked at how Jesus communicated His mission-task to those around Him.  For three and one-half years He executed His mission and then, having completed it, returned to His Father.  Below are some of the passages that show the completion of that world-changing mission.

John 13:1  It was just before the Passover Festival.  Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.  Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

John 17:4  I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

John 17:6  “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.  They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

John 17:8  For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.  They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

John 17:14  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

John 19:30  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

It’s not enough to know your God-assigned mission or task.  And it’s not even enough to begin to work at it.  We must complete or finish the mission that we begin.  Paul’s exhortation to Archippus is a great reminder –  Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.”   (Colossians 4:17  NIV  1984)

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , ,
23 Apr 2018

Missional Mindset and Leadership #2

Our God is a missional God who works.  Jesus reminds us that the Father is always at work and that He too is working (see John 5:17).  Because we are created in His image, we too are to have a missional mindset that sets a context for our life and leadership.

Jesus was repeatedly stating that He was sent by His Father to accomplish a mission or task.  Below are some of the passages where Jesus talks about being sent by His Father.

John 4:34  “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

John 5:23-24  …that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

John 5:36  “I have testimony weightier than that of John.  For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.

John 6:38-39  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

John 7:16  Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own.  It comes from the one who sent me.

John 8:29  The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

John 8:42  Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God.  I have not come on my own; God sent me.

John 9:4  As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

John 17:3  Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

John 17:8  For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.  They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

John 17:18  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

John 20:21  Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Are you clear on your purpose or mission?  Are you engaged in carrying out your God-given mission?

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , ,
09 Apr 2018

Missional Mindset and Leadership #1

Our God is a missional God who works.  Jesus reminds us that the Father is always at work and that He too is working (see John 5:17).  Because we are created in His image, we too are to have a missional mindset that sets a context for our life and leadership.

Below are some of the passages where Jesus states the purpose for which He came.  Notice that some statements are clarifying misconceptions on what others thought His purpose was.

Matthew 5:17   “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Matthew 10:34  “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Matthew 10:35  For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

Matthew 9:13  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 1:38  Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Mark 2:17  On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Luke 12:49  “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

Luke 5:32  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

John 5:43  I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.

John 6:38  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

John 8:42  Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God.  I have not come on my own; God sent me.

John 9:39  Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

John 10:10  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 12:46  I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

John 15:22  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

Jesus was very clear about his mission or task given to Him by His Father.  It influenced all His actions and drove His daily choices.

Do you have a similar mindset?  Is you mission or purpose clear?

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

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