Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Motives”

22 Oct 2018

A Healthy Fear of God

This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.       Isaiah 66:2   (NIV 1984)

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.    Hebrews 10:31   (NIV  1984)

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.     Hebrews 13:17   (NIV  1984)

There’s a certain perspective when it comes to accountability for our leadership in the Kingdom.  This perspective knows that our leadership roles and responsibilities are given to us by the Lord.  They are delegated to us for a period of time and then we will be asked to transition them to another.  All roles are temporary and are a privilege, not a right!

When serving in our leadership roles, we are asked to steward the Lord’s resources – people, money, time, opportunities – for His glory.  We are expected to increase Kingdom assets (growth is a Kingdom value) – see the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) and the Parable of the Ten Coins (Luke 19).  And when our leadership is done, we will have to give an account to the One who gave us the responsibility in the first place.

This accounting should be sobering and humbling.  It should inspire and motivate us, as well as help us purify our motives.  It can be an accounting that yields rewards for faithful service.  Or, it can be a time of loss for unfaithfulness and a revealing of impure motives (see I Corinthians 3).

Whose glory am I seeking?  My flesh cries out for attention, credit, and honor from others.  I want to be successful!  But, why?   Is it for the Lord and to advance His Kingdom that I strive so hard?  Or is it for myself?  Whose glory am I really seeking?

Lord – may you purify my impure motives and may any credit that comes my way be rightly reserved for you alone.

What’s motivating you…. really?

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
07 May 2018

The Leader and Authority

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you…    Matthew 20:25-26   (NIV  1984)

Were you to ask many people today under the age of 30 how they view authority, the overwhelming response is negative.  And with good reason.  Throughout their lives those authorities in whom they put their trust have disappointed, hurt, or taken advantage of them.  No wonder some younger leader stated, “I’m trying to learn how to lead without authority.”

Leaders must exercise authority to lead.  Leadership authority is morally neutral – it’s not good, bad, or purple.  It’s how you exercise your authority that makes it beneficial or tyrannical.

A leader has two types of authority – positional and personal.  Positional authority comes with the title or role one has.  It is vested with the responsibility of leading.  It can be used to bless others – making exceptions to rules or policies, providing resources not available to those they lead, creating tone and environment, and solving problems others can’t solve.  Negatively it can be used to dominate (lord it over), micro-manage, control, and stifle initiative of those we lead.

The second type of authority is personal authority.  It is not linked to one’s position and allows great influence in the lives of others, whether we have line responsibility for them or not.  You’ve seen this in action in groups when someone with this type of authority speaks, all turn and pay close attention.  Personal authority is given voluntarily to others based upon their perceived character (particularly wisdom and integrity) and competency in particular areas.

Personal authority allows you to speak truth to others, guide, counsel, mentor, and coach them as they trust your influence.  Negatively it can be used to manipulate others, promote yourself, or seek your purposes instead of what’s best for others.  Personal authority is the greatest authority one can have for it lasts beyond any position one may have.

Positional authority comes instantly when one assumes the title of leader.  Personal authority is built over time as one interacts with others and demonstrates Christlike character and competency.  It’s like making deposits into the personal authority bank account.  Unfortunately, one can also make major withdrawals from this account by demonstrating foolishness, poor choices, or sinful behavior.

Authority – you must have it to lead well in the Kingdom.  Don’t shy away for exercising your authority.  Just be sure that you’re using it for advancing the King’s purposes and not your own!

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

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