Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “old age”

21 Apr 2025

There’s Still Much to Do

Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. Joshua 13:1 ESV

It had been quite the life for Joshua! He had apprenticed under Moses for 40+ years, most of those spent in the desert as God led Israel’s wanderings until they finally reached the east side of the Jordan River. Here his mentor, Moses, died and Joshua was commissioned by God to take his place.

After finishing the mourning period for Moses, the nation moved out, miraculously crossing the Jordan at flood stage just as Moses had led Israel through the Red Sea. They conquered Jericho with a shout and then learned major lessons through the defeat at Ai and the deception of the Gibeonites. Then came the campaign to occupy the land promised to Abraham, renewed to Moses, and now realized by Joshua.

Caleb’s life story gives us a great overview of the entire process. He says to Joshua in 14:7, “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart.” Then he follows with vs. 10, “And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.” It had been 45 years since the spies had viewed the land – 40 years of desert wanderings and 5 years of warfare to occupy the major cities and subdue their kings.

The promise still had to be acted upon – yes, the cities had been conquered, but there remained the towns and villages and the coastal cities to the west. As the Lord had said, “there remains much land to possess.’ The journey of faith is one where we must act upon what God has promised. Yes, we plead His promises and ‘claim’ their fulfillment, but we still must act in faith to ‘possess the land.’

We must share the gospel with the lost, disciple those who are young in the faith, and equip disciples to become disciplemakers that we might ‘possess’ the third and fourth spiritual generations from our efforts. May we see the Lord going before us as we step out in faith trusting His faithfulness to His promises.

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23 Jan 2017

Contribution and Old Age

The LORD said to Moses, “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work.                               Numbers 8:23-26

The new U.S. President is 70 years old.  His election opponent was 69.  The average age for the new cabinet candidates is 64.  Why the large number of older leaders?  Is it because their generation, the Baby Boomers, tends to vote more frequently and out-number the Millennials?  Is it that those who are older are clinging to power and reluctant to give it over to the next generation?

From the passage above in Numbers we see that those who served in the Tabernacle, the Levites, were conscripted to serve from age 25 to 50.  At the age of 50 they were released from their regular duty, but were to still be available for helping those in active service.  Many believe that this restriction was due to the heavy physical demands of the role – setting up, tearing down, and transporting the Tabernacle and all its accompanying accessories across the desert.  Regardless, it is interesting to note that the Lord Himself set age limits for this service.

We can also observe that Moses was 80 when God appeared to him and called him into service.  He served as the leader of Israel for 40 more years until his death at 120.  Tradition tells us that the Apostle Paul served into his sixties and that the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation in his nineties.

Certainly these examples are descriptive rather than prescriptive for us.  But we must be cautious that as we focus on next generation leadership, we don’t automatically dismiss the contribution of those who are older.  While it is wise and strategic to intentionally focus on a transition to younger leaders, we must not develop a corresponding prejudice against those who are older.  Youth has its advantages, but so does age and experience.

Just because someone is younger does not mean that they are wise.  But neither does having gray hair (or no hair) mean that someone is better qualified to lead.  Discernment is needed to determine best fit and contribution, regardless of age.  Better health care and nutrition means that what is “old” is an escalating age range.

Wise leadership will not automatically default to the younger or those who are older by assuming one is better than another.  Good leaders are discerning on who is best qualified to lead and trust that the Lord will anoint them for their responsibility.

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