The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership - Essay Example

Personal Analysis: Leadership Audits Introduction Leadership is an activity that can defined in various ways. For one it is what leaders do. Also, itis the act of giving direction to followers. There are various skills, talents and values that leaders irrespective of their differences should adopt. Such qualities as fairness, goodness, and kindness among others are necessary if the leader has to positively impact their followers. Yet again, the good leader has to adopt a set of values prioritizing them over one another if need be, and depending on prevailing circumstances. As Malphurs notes, Christ likeness should be the core of Christian leadership1. In many cases, a ministry is a subset of a larger organization as is the case with our youth ministry. A ministry should be aligned to the values, mission, and objectives of the larger organization. The Christian ministry, like the church has to have leaders who are committed to their duties and to Christ. The leader in this case provides direction to followers and gives them support even as they assume the role of servants in line with God’s desire of leadership. The following sections of the paper provide the results of various audits performed in respect of my church, ministry and personal attributes. Revelational Skills Audit Basically, a revelation involves the disclosure of knowledge or truth to a person by a supernatural being (in this case, God). As a leader, one needs to experience revelations which will help them make decisions that affect them and their followers2. Through revelations, the leader also gets to direct followers based on God’s will, making appropriate corrections where need be. A revelation can come to a leader through various ways such as by listening to what followers have to say. I have noticed that I get a lot of revelations about people and God’s desires for their lives by listening to what they (the people) say. By listening to people’s strengths, weaknesses and what they love to do, for example, I am able to tell which kinds of activities they are good at. As an example, I can tell that a person who is reserved and likes not to talk will least likely prefer to be assigned the task of preaching before a huge congregation. I also have a strong point when it comes to motivating or inspiring people. In fact, I find talking to people a natural process that comes effortlessly. In this respect, I find it quite easy to evangelize, mentor and counsel people. While there are several areas that I am strong in with respect to revelational skills, some of my weakest points include disagreeing and delegating. I often find myself nodding politely to people’s comments even when I know that their views may not be correct. Once I have done this, it is normally a struggle on my side to state my contradictory point of view just in case the other person gets hurt. Somehow though, I have managed to fulfill the duty of making corrections where they are due although I quite haven’t mastered the skill and sometimes go without making vital corrections where they are due. Task Skills Audit There are several tasks that a leader should perform in the course of their work. For example, for a leader such as a pastor to give a remarkable service, they need to engage in serious research and bible study before facing the congregation with their presentation. Some of the important task skills that leaders should consider mastering include communicating, teaching, preaching, writing, planning, and use of technology, the list being long3. I have a strong point when it comes to communicating with people. This is augmented by the fact that I am a good listener who maintains patience even in the face of great confrontation. Yet another of my strong points is in writing. While I have not had a book published to my name, I like to write my thoughts down and record the teachings that I learn from others. With some practice, I have learnt to appreciate the power of writing and how to use it to my advantage such as in organizing my sermons or teaching. Often, you will find me with a notebook writing down my thoughts and analyzing scriptures. One of my greatest weaknesses with respect to task skills is advertising. While I can write creatively, I find it difficult to make a captivating advert. This ma be attributed to the fact that I am not very creative especially in using graphics. In a bid to make improvements with regard to this point of weakness, I intend to spare more time and use it for practicing how to develop good adverts. Leadership Style Audit Performing a leadership style audit is useful in so far as discovering one’s and other people’s leadership styles. Based on the leadership audit, I have noted several things about my leadership style. For one, I have noticed that I am primarily an inspirational person and secondarily an analytic leader. I am therefore an inspirational analytic. My joy in life comes from making other people happy. In fact, I like to have people’s company around me and love to talk to them with the aim of motivating them. I have given several inspirational speeches to students in class and am always happy to encourage those who are undergoing tough situations. I greatly care for the people around me even as I am always keen on details. I have noticed that I am always sensitive to the needs of other people and would prefer to sacrifice something that I have for another person who genuinely needs it more. Although I like to share what I have with people, I normally take keen interest about how they behave and have occasionally found out that someone was trying to exploit my kindness for their advantage. I normally take time to probe people before giving them my full trust. My greatest weakness in leadership relates to my tendency to avoid uncertainty. I prefer to get my work well organized and prioritized so that I avoid confusions. There are times when people complain that I pay too much attention to issues that are less important. For example, when I offer someone help, I am normally keen to see them say “thank you”. Leaders Core Value Assets Audit As a Christian leader, I realize that I have to assume Christ’s description of a good leader – a good shepherd who lays his/her life for the flock4. A good Christian leader not only leads but also comforts, corrects, protects, feeds, and nurtures the flock. A Christian believer is bound to have several values that guide their decisions. There are, however, cases where certain values clash with others depending on circumstance and individual choice. What this means is that the Christian leader is a situational leader as noted by Malphurs5. Of the several assets that I posses as a leader, my most valued are obedience, worship, prayer, bible knowledge, giving and evalengelism. I chose these as my core assets considering their capacity to bring change to people’s. By being obedient to the voice of God, for example, people will less likely wish to sin. Furthermore, when evangelism is done, many people get to know the word of God and change from their old ways. On the other hand, the evangelists receive blessing as they honor Christ’s command to go all over the world preaching the goodness of salvation. By evangelizing, I show my care for those who are lost and hope that they see the light. Even without holding any post in church or youth ministry, I realize that I have to lead in some cases. I often take the opportunity to offer leadership such as during worship when I realize that the rest of the congregation are reluctant to lead. My sense of initiative is also remarkable considering that I often engage in door to door evangelism without being directed by the church or others during my free time. Church’s Core Value Audit There are many churches and sects that pose as churches. While there are several characteristics that may differentiate between the two kinds of organizations, the values held by the organizations are a major difference between various churches and religious establishments. My church values different assets, the most valued include bible knowledge, prayer, worship, lost people, evangelism and giving. The church has a mission of bringing more souls to Christ and nurturing the souls to people to live like God desires. Its teachings are founded on biblical scriptures. The church teaches that worship goes beyond singing raising of hands and praying and involves the entire self. The entire church service is often considered worship as it is concerned with showing gratitude and reverence to God6. Ministry Circumstances Audit My ministry has several ministries but I prefer to work with the youth ministry. The growing ministry is dedicated to serving the spiritual needs of the youth. The established ministry currently comprises about 30 of us, mostly youths. The ministry has been in existence for about 3 years now. The current leader of he ministry has been working with the ministry for two years in the same capacity. I am a point person in the ministry as I am often assigned responsibilities to help the leaders at different occasions. The functional ministry is located in an urban setting and is located in America, its population mainly comprising people of Caucasian background. The ministry comprises mainly people of generations X and Y without preference to a particular gender. The ministry is a small group within the church setting and applies the traditional style in its activities. There is a notable pattern in the way the ministry works. Being a small group, the ministry targets the youth living locally in spreading the word of God. The ministry comprises mainly people almost my age and works in line with the doctrinal beliefs of the church. Its teachings wholly aligned to the bible and church teachings, the ministry is dedicated to see to it that as many people come to Christ as possible. The ministry works in such a way that every person has a right to be heard so that we can help one another solve personal problems as we join in prayer. I have a feeling that God is happy about the ministry and is behind its growth. Going by the dedication of its members, God is bound to bless the ministry with more talent. Pastor-Organization Fit My doctrinal beliefs and core values are well aligned to those of my church. My leadership style is also well aligned with the needs of the church and especially with the needs of the ministry in which I serve. My personal philosophy is to minister to a hurting world, which is aligned to the theology of my church. My church is concerned about bringing more souls to Christ and guiding people to true happiness. My ideal ministry to a great extent aligns with my church context although I would prefer to use the contemporary approach in ministering to people. On many occasions, I have been assigned responsibilities by the church’s leaders meaning that they have confidence in my beliefs and efforts. My church comprises people across all ages, the majority group being youths and young adults. Having been natured in the Church, I take a lot of time to read the bible by myself and am well versed with the scriptures. Although I never attend morning devotion services in church every morning, I take my turns every morning praying and worshipping God in my closet and in this respect join the rest of the church in prayer and worship, albeit remotely (owing to the distance between my place of residence and the church and work commitments). As an individual, I like to listen to the word of God much as I love to preach and teach. Although I am not as great a worship leader as they come, I occasionally lead worship in church and youth ministry if the persons in charge are absent or are elsewhere committed. Conclusion Based on the various audits that I have done, I have realized a lot about myself as a vessel in ministry and in church. I have realized that I have many strengths and am greatly aligned to the teachings of my church. Although I hold no official post in church or ministry, my leadership is often experienced as I offer various services and take initiative in doing certain things such as leading worship. I have noted that my greatest weakness lies in disagreeing with people. While I sometimes disagree with people, I often prefer to make corrections subtly going to great extents to avoid hurting those in the wrong and causing contentions. In some cases, I go with out making corrections when someone does wrong in public. I will engage in a lot of prayer and bible reading to learn how to be a better leader. Christian leadership as I know it is about sacrifice, humility and serving others. While I do these, I will immerse myself deeper into scripture and spiritual books to learn what God desires of the Christian leader. The bible tells us that Heaven celebrates when a lost person returns to God. If this is the case, I will try my best to do more in ministry and as an evangelist to spread the word of God and see more souls come to Christ. Bibliography Malphurs, Aubrey. Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books. 2003. gotquestions.org. “What is Christian leadership?” 2012 http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-leadership.html Newman, Willis & Newman, Esmeralda. Newman Bible Teaching about Christian Leadership. Willis Newman, New York. 2010. Stevens, James. Worship In The Spirit - Charismatic Worship In The Church of England, Paternoster. 2002. Read More