Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Rights”

12 Jan 2026

Transitioning Leadership

The LORD replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. When direction from the LORD is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim–one of the sacred lots cast before the LORD–to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.” So Moses did as the LORD commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses. Numbers 27:18-23 NLT

Note that the above commissioning of Joshua was God’s initiative and probably occurred sometime during the final year of the 40-year pilgrimage in the desert. Joshua had been Moses’ assistant for these past years in the desert, but now it was time for him to begin to assume the mantel of leadership. We can observe the following from this transition:

  1. The transition from Moses to Joshua’s leadership was a process, not a single event. Here in Numbers 27, we see that Moses was to transfer ‘some of his authority’ to Joshua so that he can lead Israel (vs. 20). The final step in this transition would happen just before Moses died (see Deuteronomy 31 and Joshua 1).
  2. There was a ceremony to mark in the eyes of all the transition of leadership and authority.
  3. The former leader, Moses, and Joshua, the new leader, made this ceremony a spiritual event as it was done in the presence of Eleazar the priest.
  4. Joshua now assumed some duties and authority from Moses as the recognized ‘leader apparent,’ becoming the sole leader with the final personal commissioning and Moses’ death (Deuteronomy 31).

Moses was a faithful servant of God, but he could not lead Israel forever. At the appropriate time, he gave his leadership away, ascended Mt. Nebo, and finished his race. Spiritual leadership is a privilege, not a right. God-honoring leaders will intentionally prepare their successor and transition their authority with forethought. They will know when to hand over their responsibilities, not over-staying their leadership contribution or clinging to their ‘right to lead.’

Remember, there is a difference between role and contribution. Leadership roles come with titles and organizational authority. They come and they go. But contribution and influence in the Kingdom is determined by God as He guides and directs us and is not limited to any title or role. Seek contribution, not titles.

Posted in #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
01 Oct 2018

Present Yourself Like a Leader

Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabor—what were they like?” “Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.”    Judges 8:18  (NLT)

Gideon had a look about him – one that presented itself like a prince, the son of a king.  When in his presence there must have been something about him that made others notice a difference between the way he carried himself and others.  It was the presence of a leader.

Leaders must look and act the part and Kingdom leaders must carry themselves in such a way as knowing that they are representing the King of Kings.  This is not to suggest that one must pretend to be something we are not, nor does it mean that we must flaunt our position, power, or authority.  This will exude naturally as we grow in understanding our sense of purpose, destiny, and responsibility to accomplish His plans for and through us as His servants.

1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that, “… People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NLT)  While the second part of this verse is most important, the first part is also true.  People do look and judge at outward appearance.  While Samuel is reminded not to judge leadership potential or base his selection on what he sees externally, people do still look at the externals.

As Kingdom leaders, we serve the King of Kings as His representative.  Those around us are forming opinions about Him based upon what they see and perceive in us. Certainly that opinion will be better informed as they get to know us more and experience our Christlike leadership.  But, first impressions are made and we want that to be as potentially positive as possible.

It’s the hard-learned lessons of contextualization of the messenger and the message when crossing cultures for the sake of the Gospel.  We don’t want people around us to stumble over anything except Christ alone.  Let Christ be the sole offense, if indeed they are offended, and not me His ambassador.

And so, we think about what impressions we leave as we interact with others.  We refrain from having certain public opinions about a lot of things that may detract from our primary purpose.  We limit our involvements in endeavors that may confuse the message of our leadership or distract from our mission.  We are aware at all times that, though we may have many personal rights, we can choose not to exercise those rights for His sake.

Are you self-aware of how others are perceiving you and the One you serve?  Is there something that needs to change to create a better impression?

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

Post Navigation