“LEADERS ARE CALLED TO LOVE.”
— PHILIP YANCEY
Rachel Phua
First published in www.saltandlight.sg

Philip Yancey, best-selling author of more than 20 books, had the final word at the three-day Eagles Leadership Conference (ELC) 2019 on July 27, when he quoted theologian and writer Frederick Buechner: “The place that God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
Attended by 1,300 leaders and pastors, the biennial conference drew to a close with a talk by Yancey entitled The Future of Leadership, and a dialog with Eagles Communications president Michael Tan.
Love changes everything
All responsibility can be summed up with the call to love (Mark 12:30- 31), said Yancey.
He described a loving leader as one who “has a lot more time for you than anybody else, somebody who listens to you, somebody who cares about all of your life, not just what happens in the eight hours at the workplace.”
He cited from a study from the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, which found that people were 23% productive at work when they were recognized for their work, and 43% more productive when they felt cared for.
Loving is important because a leader’s main job isn’t to be “a star”, but to motivate and transform those who are doing the work.
It is especially meaningful to acknowledge and value those at the bottom and behind-the-scenes, he said. These are the people who are indispensable and keep the show running.
The true mark of a leader is a desire to develop one’s inner core, said Yancey. While companies only care about the bottomline, God cares for our mind, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). What’s good for us is our wholeness and integrity.
There will always be pressure to disintegrate, he said, as we juggle the various aspects of our lives. We will inevitably have to let go of some aspects, but the ones we mustn’t sacrifice are family, marriage and faith.
“A true leader works as hard on legacy virtues as résumé virtues,” he said, adding that at funerals, eulogies aren’t made up of career summaries, but how loving the person was.
Contentment from losing your life
During the question-and-answer session, Yancey elaborated that successful people may be riddled with self-doubt and anxiety, but those who give themselves away find fulfilment.
It’s declared in the Bible: Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me (Matthew 10:40).
Service to others is one way of truly making an impact (Matthew 10:42). Showing grace to others is another way.
“Leadership is about managing people who are very different than you are, some of whom are going to oppose you and be hostile. And the true test of leadership is how you handle those people.”
Ending off his talk, Yancey talked about Fred Rogers, a famous children’s television personality in USA. Often when Rogers was invited to give a talk, he would start off by telling the audience to spend one or two minutes thinking about who had deeply influenced them.
Once, Rogers was invited to the White House, and was given eight minutes to speak in front of the Cabinet and the President of the United States (then Ronald Reagan). At first, he thought it would be a waste of time and an embarrassment to carry out the same practice of asking audience members to recall an influential person in their lives. But he went ahead.
When he looked around the room, he saw Reagan smile. The former President of the United States later told Rogers that he thought of his uncle, who had taught him how to fish.
The African-American butler thanked Rogers too, saying that his third-grade teacher came to his mind. He could have ended up like the rest of his neighbors, he said, abusing drugs, but this teacher kept him out of trouble by loving him and inviting him over to her house.
“Thank you for reminding me what it takes to change a person,” the butler told Rogers.
Yancey challenged: “When I was telling that story, who came to your mind? More importantly, who are you doing that for?
“That’s the true test of leadership.”
ELC 2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Shape the future with the right question
The theme of ELC 2019 The Future Leader – Authentic, Agile, Accountable encourages us to look inwards and assess our motivation to lead, to look outwards and find opportunities to be a grace-dispenser, and to look forwards and shape the future by learning and engaging communities.
Here are some numbers worth mentioning, remarks from participants and insights from speakers.

“ELC has broadened my insights and taught me how to build deeper relationships with others.”
Ms Sukanda Kongkaew, Senior Learning Designer, Thailand
“I am delighted to have brought both my sons with me. Seeing them learn and grow is touching as a parent. My favorite quote is from Zy Lee, ‘Giving up is a dumb thing to do!'”
Mr Johnny Ting, Law Firm Owner, Sabah, East Malaysia
“The core value and principles must remain the same but the approach and methodology must change to be relevant to the generations. Creativity and agility are the things that can be seen throughout the conference.”
Mr Peter Chu, Treasurer of EGC, Sabah, East Malaysia
“The concept of being an authentic, agile and accountable leader has really spoken to me. I’ll respond positively and prayerfully to changes in order to bring a better improvement to our leadership and ministry.”
Bishop Dr James Wong, Sabah, East Malaysia
“Don’t attach your purpose to your position or competitors, otherwise if you lose your position or the competitors are gone, so is your purpose.”
YB Hannah Yeoh, Speaker, Malaysia
“The sooner you find the meaning and purpose of your life, the less hurt you cause to the people close to you.”
Mr Peter Chao, Speaker, Singapore

“On behalf of our Bishop Sabam Lumbantobing of the Methodist Church of Indonesia, we sincerely thank you for sponsoring six of our pastors to attend ELC 2019. We believe what we have gained from ELC will ignite the fire in us to serve our Lord, Jesus Christ better than before.”
Rev Simon Chandra, Jakarta, Indonesia

www.eagles.org.sg/supportelc.
UP NEXT

Emerging Leader Development Program Class of 2021
ELDP Class of 2021 registration is open. Be part of a community of learners and leaders who will push you to be the best leader you can be.
Learn about this program at www.eagles.org.sg/eldp2021. For enquries, please contact jondave@eagles.org.sg.

“Experiencing the Word” Workshop 2
Experiencing God’s Word is foundational to the formation of our faith. Desiring to learn more about it is essential to our faith’s growth.
Explore the immense resources and discover the riches of the Word, September 14, 2019, 2 pm at Eagles Center.
Free Admission by Registration. Register at www.eagles.org.sg/etw.

Where is the Love? — Studies in the Epistles of John
Look at our world today. We are deeply polarized and divided. Truly, where is the love?
Join Dr John Ng as he expounds the Epistles of John and explores with us how to love again.
Free Admission by Registration. Register at www.eagles.org.sg/er.
“LEADERS ARE CALLED TO LOVE.”
— PHILIP YANCEY
Rachel Phua
First published in www.saltandlight.sg

Philip Yancey, best-selling author of more than 20 books, had the final word at the three-day Eagles Leadership Conference (ELC) 2019 on July 27, when he quoted theologian and writer Frederick Buechner: “The place that God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
Attended by 1,300 leaders and pastors, the biennial conference drew to a close with a talk by Yancey entitled The Future of Leadership, and a dialog with Eagles Communications president Michael Tan.
Love changes everything
All responsibility can be summed up with the call to love (Mark 12:30- 31), said Yancey.
He described a loving leader as one who “has a lot more time for you than anybody else, somebody who listens to you, somebody who cares about all of your life, not just what happens in the eight hours at the workplace.”
He cited from a study from the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, which found that people were 23% productive at work when they were recognized for their work, and 43% more productive when they felt cared for.
Loving is important because a leader’s main job isn’t to be “a star”, but to motivate and transform those who are doing the work.
It is especially meaningful to acknowledge and value those at the bottom and behind-the-scenes, he said. These are the people who are indispensable and keep the show running.
The true mark of a leader is a desire to develop one’s inner core, said Yancey. While companies only care about the bottomline, God cares for our mind, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). What’s good for us is our wholeness and integrity.
There will always be pressure to disintegrate, he said, as we juggle the various aspects of our lives. We will inevitably have to let go of some aspects, but the ones we mustn’t sacrifice are family, marriage and faith.
“A true leader works as hard on legacy virtues as résumé virtues,” he said, adding that at funerals, eulogies aren’t made up of career summaries, but how loving the person was.
Contentment from losing your life
During the question-and-answer session, Yancey elaborated that successful people may be riddled with self-doubt and anxiety, but those who give themselves away find fulfilment.
It’s declared in the Bible: Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me (Matthew 10:40).
Service to others is one way of truly making an impact (Matthew 10:42). Showing grace to others is another way.
“Leadership is about managing people who are very different than you are, some of whom are going to oppose you and be hostile. And the true test of leadership is how you handle those people.”
Ending off his talk, Yancey talked about Fred Rogers, a famous children’s television personality in USA. Often when Rogers was invited to give a talk, he would start off by telling the audience to spend one or two minutes thinking about who had deeply influenced them.
Once, Rogers was invited to the White House, and was given eight minutes to speak in front of the Cabinet and the President of the United States (then Ronald Reagan). At first, he thought it would be a waste of time and an embarrassment to carry out the same practice of asking audience members to recall an influential person in their lives. But he went ahead.
When he looked around the room, he saw Reagan smile. The former President of the United States later told Rogers that he thought of his uncle, who had taught him how to fish.
The African-American butler thanked Rogers too, saying that his third-grade teacher came to his mind. He could have ended up like the rest of his neighbors, he said, abusing drugs, but this teacher kept him out of trouble by loving him and inviting him over to her house.
“Thank you for reminding me what it takes to change a person,” the butler told Rogers.
Yancey challenged: “When I was telling that story, who came to your mind? More importantly, who are you doing that for?
“That’s the true test of leadership.”
ELC 2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Shape the future with the right question
The theme of ELC 2019 The Future Leader – Authentic, Agile, Accountable encourages us to look inwards and assess our motivation to lead, to look outwards and find opportunities to be a grace-dispenser, and to look forwards and shape the future by learning and engaging communities.
Here are some numbers worth mentioning, remarks from participants and insights from speakers.

“ELC has broadened my insights and taught me how to build deeper relationships with others.”
Ms Sukanda Kongkaew, Senior Learning Designer, Thailand
“I am delighted to have brought both my sons with me. Seeing them learn and grow is touching as a parent. My favorite quote is from Zy Lee, ‘Giving up is a dumb thing to do!'”
Mr Johnny Ting, Law Firm Owner, Sabah, East Malaysia
“The core value and principles must remain the same but the approach and methodology must change to be relevant to the generations. Creativity and agility are the things that can be seen throughout the conference.”
Mr Peter Chu, Treasurer of EGC, Sabah, East Malaysia
“The concept of being an authentic, agile and accountable leader has really spoken to me. I’ll respond positively and prayerfully to changes in order to bring a better improvement to our leadership and ministry.”
Bishop Dr James Wong, Sabah, East Malaysia
“Don’t attach your purpose to your position or competitors, otherwise if you lose your position or the competitors are gone, so is your purpose.”
YB Hannah Yeoh, Speaker, Malaysia
“The sooner you find the meaning and purpose of your life, the less hurt you cause to the people close to you.”
Mr Peter Chao, Speaker, Singapore

“On behalf of our Bishop Sabam Lumbantobing of the Methodist Church of Indonesia, we sincerely thank you for sponsoring six of our pastors to attend ELC 2019. We believe what we have gained from ELC will ignite the fire in us to serve our Lord, Jesus Christ better than before.”
Rev Simon Chandra, Jakarta, Indonesia

www.eagles.org.sg/supportelc.
UP NEXT
Emerging Leader Development Program Class of 2021
ELDP Class of 2021 registration is open. Be part of a community of learners and leaders who will push you to be the best leader you can be.
Learn about this program at www.eagles.org.sg/eldp2021. For enquries, please contact jondave@eagles.org.sg.
“Experiencing the Word” Workshop 2
Experiencing God’s Word is foundational to the formation of our faith. Desiring to learn more about it is essential to our faith’s growth.
Explore the immense resources and discover the riches of the Word, September 14, 2019, 2 pm at Eagles Center.
Free Admission by Registration. Register at www.eagles.org.sg/etw.

Where is the Love? — Studies in the Epistles of John
Look at our world today. We are deeply polarized and divided. Truly, where is the love?
Join Dr John Ng as he expounds the Epistles of John and explores with us how to love again.
Free Admission by Registration. Register at www.eagles.org.sg/er.