Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Mobility”

22 Sep 2025

Mobility for the King and the Gospel

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee.  He first went to Nazareth, then left and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.  Matthew 4:12-13

Having completed the first year of His public ministry in and around Judea, Jesus’ ministry began to grow.  Many of John the Baptist’s followers became disciples of Jesus (John 3:26).  As His popularity grew, opposition formed as He was viewed as a threat to the Jewish leaders.  This initiated a change of ministry location for Jesus as seen above.  He left Judea and moved north to Galilee (John 4:1-3).  He left His childhood home and moved to Capernaum which would now become His home for the final 2.5 years of His ministry (see Mark 2:1).

Mobility is part of a disciplemaker’s lifestyle as we follow Christ.  Jesus modeled mobility when He left His widowed mother (assumed) and family and moved from Nazareth to Capernaum as He launched year two of His ministry (see Matthew 4:13).  It would seem that this was a strategic move away from forming opposition in Judea and family and friends because they did not accept Him or His ministry (Mark 6:1-6).

Jesus does promise reward for those who leave home for His sake and the gospel (see Mark 10:29-30).  But there is no greater spirituality in moving, nor is it less spiritual to stay in one place for many years.  It is simply a matter of obedience to God’s calling on our life.  Some will stay in one location for many years, and some will move many times.  Some circumstances and seasons of life will necessitate us moving.  And it will seem always seem stretching, especially when God says move at ‘inconvenient times.’  Remember, God asked Joseph and Mary to move to Egypt with a young baby!

We note in the Great Commission passage of Matthew 28:19 that ‘go’ literally means ‘as you go.’  But it also implies an attitude of mobility as we go about our daily serving Christ in our mission.  We do not have to go far away to bear much fruit, but neither should we resist if the Lord asks us to relocate to a different part of the harvest field.  He is the Lord of the harvest and we are His servants.

Listen carefully to Him. And when He says “move,” it’s time to pack!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , ,
06 Mar 2023

Mobility and the Lord’s Servant

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. … Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, … When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Acts 8:4-5, 26-27, 39-40 NIV

Philip, one of the seven chosen to serve the over-looked widows because of he was ‘full of the Spirit and wisdom” (see Acts 6:1-5). After the stoning of Stephen, Philip left Jerusalem, going north to Samaria to proclaim to these people the Good News of Jesus and forgiveness through His name (Acts 8:12). Then, led by the Spirit, he moved south to the road leading up to Jerusalem where he encountered the Ethiopian eunuch and led him to faith in Christ as he had done in Samaria. (Acts 8:26ff). Immediately after this encounter, the Spirit took Philip west to Azotus and then north through the coastal towns until he reached Caesarea. And here Philip’s story takes a long pause.

Note Philip’s mobility for the sake of the Gospel. He went north to Samaria from Jerusalem, then south to meet the Ethiopian, then west to Azotus, and then north again along the coastal road to Caesarea. He was led of the Spirit to this mobile lifestyle. He was ‘deployable’ – able to be moved to a place where he can be used when he is needed. And God blessed his efforts with fruit as he shared the message of Jesus.

We next encounter Philip 20+ years later at the end of Paul’s third missionary tour. Paul and friends stop in Caesarea and there they meet with Philip. In Acts 21:8-9 we read, “Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.” Philip had married, settled down, raised four daughters, and for the past 20+ years had stayed in Caesarea. What to make of this?

There is a time for mobility and there is a time for settling down. Both are good and right. There is a time for singleness and a time for marriage and raising children. We do not conclude that marriage necessarily means the end of mobility, nor do we say that being single means one cannot settle in one place for an extended period. It is all dependent upon the Lord’s direction. Listen carefully to His leading and you will know if it is time to move or time to stay!

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , ,
29 Mar 2021

Kingdom Mobility

Jesus grew up in a small town in Galilee, the son of a carpenter who learned the trade from his father.  No doubt he was expected to stay there and follow the pattern of many who had gone before Him.  But when He began His public ministry at the age of 30, He adapted a new lifestyle, one that modeled mobility for the sake of the Kingdom.

He left Nazareth to be baptized by John the Baptist along the Jordan River.  Immediately afterwards He spent 40 days in the desert in prayer and fasting and was tempted by the devil to abandon His earthly mission.  During the next year of His ministry, the ‘small-town boy’ ministered in and around the big city of Jerusalem in the province of Judea, making short trips through Samaria to Capernaum and engaging in a wedding in Cana.

Somewhere near the beginning of the second year of His ministry, Jesus permanently moved from His hometown of Nazareth to Capernaum.  “Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali…”  (Matthew 4:12-13 ESV)  It was from Capernaum that He would now live and minister for the remainder of His ministry.  He did return to His hometown briefly, but it did not go well.  Many questioned the legitimacy of His ministry and refused to place their faith in Him.  (see Mark 6:1-6)  Capernaum would now be referred to as His “home.” (see Mark 2:1)  For the remaining two and a half years, Jesus would make multiple trips with His disciples throughout Galilee, Judea, Samaria, Phoenicia, Decapolis and Perea, returning to Capernaum in between trips.

Jesus modeled mobility as He carried out the mission for which He had come.  And we who would follow Him are also called to a similar lifestyle.  Now it is not sin to locate in one town or city for an extended period.  But the question to answer is this, “If Jesus asks me to move, am I willing to go wherever He directs?”  Be very careful if you find yourself saying, “I’ll go anywhere, Lord, except …”  Kingdom mobility involves both attitude and action.

Mobility is implicit for His disciples as we read what we ‘leave’ for His sake in Mark 10:29-30 (ESV) – “Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”  (italics added)

Is Jesus asking you to move?  If so, you should start to pack!

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