LeadershipAudit
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Overthe course of my growth and development, I have been able to learnabout the different kinds of leaders that exist. I began by knowingabout the secular description of leaders such as charismatic leaders,transformational leaders, and participative leaders. Thesecharacterizations of leaders mainly come about from the styles thatthey use to guide their followers. Some leaders have stood outthrough time as great ones whereby they were able to influence themasses in a positive manner. Examples of such leaders include MahatmaGandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa and NelsonMandela, to name a few. Other leaders have gone down in history ashaving led the people in the wrong direction. The best example isAdolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Osama bin Laden.
Icame to learn that the best type of leaders is the Christian leaders.The reason for this choice is due to the values that these type ofleaders practice. A good leader should be a servant to the people,they should have credibility, they have to lead not only using theirnatural gifts but their spiritual gifts as well, these leaders musthave a passion to lead, and also they should be of good character.The leadership audit that I conducted made me realize that aChristian leader depends on the scriptures to guide their actions anddecisions. A Christian leader focuses on being of service to thesociety and does not emphasize on their selfish needs. Such a leaderwill have a spotless credibility, and they have the complete trust oftheir subordinates1. These leaders not only use their natural gifts to direct theirfollowers, but they also have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord andSavior and are therefore filled with the Holy Spirit and the giftsthat come from this anointing. The passion that these outstandingindividuals have for being an icon for the society is incomparable.They are of good character, and no one can dispute. The followingaudits will summarize the characteristics that I learned aboutleadership.
AChristian Leader Audit
Thereview on the Christian leader works on determining the strength ofthe leader’s faith as a believer. The questions work on determiningwhether the leader has a strong faith, whether their faith is averageor if their faith is weak. Malphurs stated that the duty of aChristian leader was to guide in a Christian fashion regardless ofthe situation. Thus, for one to be considered as a Christian leader,ever step they take in their leadership journey should be guided by afull dedication to Jesus Christ. Their character should be godly andin no way should they be dissuaded from their principles. Thiscategory of leaders has to be frontrunners for example. Every movethey make should be under the notion that others are looking up tothem, and therefore, they have to be good role models. Thiscommitment to the teachings of Christ when it comes to decisionmaking is what defines a true Christian leader.
Thetest that I took had several questions, and the response was ratedaccording to numbers. The numbers were arranged from 1 being thelowest and ten being the highest. The questions assessed variousparts of my life and how I deal with different emotional situations.Added to this I also answered several questions that aimed at ratingmy level of spirituality and the nature of my relationship with God2.All the queries covered every single aspect of my Christian life. Atthe end of the audit, I had an aggregate score of nine, and thisvalue signified that I am a Christian leader. Therefore, I need tocontinue in this walk with Christ so that I can impact the lives ofothers.
AServant Leader
Throughthis entire audit, I came to understand fully the meaning of being aservant leader. Primarily it entails using all of your knowledge,skills and resources to assist other people. Such a leader is anepitome of an ideal frontrunner. This person is entirely selfless.They commit their lives to be of some help to anyone that needs it.These leaders do not judge or condemn, but look at the actual natureof a person and work towards making their lives more tolerable. Thebest part about this audit is that it is not graded by other people,but the person taking the test. Thus, one cannot cheat on the scoresby giving false answers. The definition of a servant leader,therefore, results from a person having the desire to be a servantfirst. Being a leader is only secondary. A servant leader is acontrast to the pedestrian leaders that many individuals tend toknow. When it comes to power and authority, a traditional leaderholds all the control. A servant leader does not crave such, and theytend to distribute power equally. The drive that motivatestraditional leaders varies with that, which, influences servanttrailblazers. Gaining this understanding is key to confirming that aservant leader is pushed to reach out to others and attempt and evenmanage to change their lives. Hence, for one to be seen as a servantfrontrunner, they should have first been ready to serve the communitybefore they can focus on their own wants.
Theaudit of the servant leader had various questions that all basedtheir response on my reaction towards external factors. The questionswere ranked from 1 to 5. One was ‘True’ whereas 5 was ‘ExtremelyFalse.’ Answering those questions helped me realize some of mycharacteristics that I used to disregard as normal. I got a low scorewhich signified that I was a servant leader. For all my intentionswere to ensure that the people around me benefit by developing andgrowing.
Credibility
Itbecomes hard to define an authentic Christian leader without speakingabout credibility. Credibility is the fundamental response to one’sreliability. Can people depend on you? Do they trust every decisionand action that you take? Such questions, if answered in theaffirmative, can signify that one is a credible leader. Looking atthe most common secular leaders known as politicians, most of themfail to fulfill the definition of this term. Credibility involveshaving several qualities. Honesty is the first quality that aChristian leader must have. If the society believe and trust in yourword and know you can never be dishonest, then you may be on the pathof having credibility. Other principles include one’s focus, theactions one takes and not what they say, accountability, the loyaltyone has for those that they serve, the reaction one has for thepeople that oppose their choices and the respect that they have fortheir subordinates. In order for the society to consider a person asa credible leader, they have to practice such qualities and thensome.3They may appear as simple words, but being able to make peoplerealize that you truly believe and act upon them is an effective wayof showing the community the kind of a leader that you are. Mostleaders tend to ignore these values in their pursuit of materialgains. However, a Christian and servant leader will set thesequalities as a goal and they will use all of their effort to makesure that they are credible not only to the people, but even in thepresence of God.
Theaudit on credibility aimed at finding information concerning myethics and morality. I had several questions that involved differentsituations where all the qualities of reliability were mentioned. Theresponses determined the grading that one receives. After reading theresults, I knew that my credibility needed to be worked upon.
SpiritualGifts
Thegifts of the Holy Spirit are bestowed upon a person that has acceptedChrist as their Savior and have been baptized in His name. Once thebeliever prays fervently, they get the Anointing of the Holy Ghostthat in turn grants them divine talents and abilities. The disparitybetween a Christian leader and a traditional leader is apparent athis point. A traditional leader only has natural gifts. These are theskills and capabilities that every person is born with, and the onlylearn to apply them. However, spiritual gifts are solely available tothe person that has committed their lives to dwell in the presence ofthe Lord. Several books in the New Testament of the Bible speak aboutthese gifts. The most common are found in Ephesians 4:11. The giftsare many, and they grant Christian several talents. The gift ofadministration helps the person know how to strategize when seeking away forward4.The gift of apostleship motivates individuals to initiate ministriesand projects that tend to propagate the gospel. The gift ofdiscernment provides an understanding from the above. The other giftsare evangelism, exhortation or encouragement, faith, giving, healing,interpretation of tongues, knowledge, leadership, mercy, miracles,shepherd, prophecy, serving, teaching and wisdom. Looking at thelisted gifts, it becomes obvious that a leader with such talents isguaranteed to make a good leader. Therefore, however, much influenceor power that traditional leaders may have, a Christian leader withsuch gifts is likely to be invincible.
Whiledoing the audit on spiritual gifts, I realized that I was yet toreceive most of them. Therefore, for me to finally become a Christianleader, I have to work on my prayers and meditate on God’s worduntil I receive His Spirit in me. It is only then that I can considerthat I have the spiritual gifts.
NaturalGifts
Acommon assumption has always been that leaders are made and notchosen from birth. This philosophy has influenced many generations inhistory. The basis of leadership arises from the natural gifts.Unlike spiritual gifts that are given to a person that receives theAnointing, natural gifts are with individuals as soon as they areborn5.These generic talents can make a person lead others in thetraditional sense. The only factor that separates the leaders fromthe followers is the way that they cultivated these gifts to theirfull potential. For one to understand the natural gifts, they have toconsider the special skills they have that makes them unique andstand out6.Such skills are maybe writing, singing, dancing, athletic abilitiesand other talents in any fields such as academics, science, andentrepreneurship. Natural gifts are thus considered as mere talents.The separation comes from the knowledge that one is born with talent,but gifts are received. Thus, a Christian leader is born with thesetalents that make them unique, but it is only the Holy Spirit thatcan give the spiritual gifts. A Christian leader should combine theirspiritual gifts and natural talents so that they can be of help tothe society. These natural talents are therefore crucial indetermining the type of a leader that a person can be.
Theaudit on natural gifts are involved several queries that attempted tolook into areas that I am weak, strong or even excel. The questionswere direct with simple responses. After concluding the test, Ilearned that I was a good writer and also had the ability to speak toothers and impact their lives. This enlightenment gave me heartknowing that I could become a good Christian and servant leader.
Passion
Passionis a drive, a motivator, and influence for any individual that pushesthem towards something. Passion is a characteristic that defines mostof the great leaders. Without passion, one cannot convince the massesto follow their direction. For a leader to have passion, they have tolook into their strengths and areas that deeply interest them. Thisinner look at one’s capabilities helps them understand the coursethat they want to take in their lives. Having passion in leadershipbegins with having a vision of what you may want to achieve as aleader. The benefits that come from love are many. Passion grants aleader with energy to keep forging on even when the journey becomestight. Passion is a catalyst that will help the said leader attaintheir vision. Passion sparks excitement in others that may look uponyou as a leader. This same passion will enable the leader influencemany more people. Finally, passion will ignite the leader’spotential and make them achieve fabulous fetes. The true source oflove for a Christian leader can only be found in God. By prayingregularly and reading the Bible, a believer will get the purpose oftheir lives and what they can fulfill. This knowledge will bringforth the passion that will make the exemplary leaders7.
Theaudit on passion brought about a deep desire that I have always had.I feel that in my life I have to reach out to people from all cornersof the earth and touch their lives. I may do that in various ways. Ican provide material help, give them basic education and also preachto them the gospel of Jesus Christ. This passion is going to be myguiding light as I embark on my journey as a Christian leader.
CharacterAudit
Characterexpresses all the leaders. A person that lacks in character isexpected to lose respect from their followers. Character entailshaving the principles, moral values, and behaviors that are beyondreproach. The importance of a good character is that one earns therespect of the community. For one to have the power to lead and guidethe masses, the people should be able to look upon them as a rolemodel. This part is where the phrase “lead by example” becomesimportant. Godly character is vital for any Christian leader. Everyperson that is presented as a leader in Christianity has to fulfillthis rule. However as the Bible states, “For we have all sinned andfallen short of His glory,” it, therefore, states that nobody isperfect. Human is to err and therefore every Christian leader isexpected to fall at times due to different temptations. Looking atthe many Bible leaders that fell due to temptations and stained theircharacter, one realizes that anyone can fail at times. Examples likeKing David and King Solomon show great leader’s that ruled based onGod’s word but at one point or another, they succumbed to sin andlost their character. However, God is always willing to forgive, andwhenever one falls, they should get up, ask for His forgiveness andcontinue on8.
Idid a character audit for men that had various questions that askedabout my true personality. The grading of the questions was from 1 to8. Where one stood for weak and eight stood for strong. After goingthrough the queries that revolved around my ability to handle anger,whether I am a drunkard and how well I am dealing with stressfulsituations, I scored an average of 7. These results made me see thatI had good character and was, therefore, capable of becoming a trueChristian leader.
Conclusion
Fromthis leadership audit, I was able to get new information that islikely to help me in my Christian journey. All the details thatdescribed the nature, values and principles of a Christian andservant leader are relevant to me. There are two points that I gotfrom this exercise that has made me realize I need to review themfurther as I know they are useful in my life.
Whenit comes to the spiritual gifts, I have found out that I am yet toreceive all of the skills and abilities. I, therefore, need to setmore time aside for prayer and meditation. I must develop a closerrelationship with God than I previously had. All these actions are toensure that I experience the anointing that will finally bestow uponme all of the spiritual gifts. The reason for making this choice isto bring myself to the point that I can let God work through me as aChristian and servant leader9.
Thesecond point is the part of my natural gifts. The audit enlightenedme that my talents include writing and public speaking. I can harnessthese skills into the work of spreading the gospel. Through writing,I can create blogs on the social media that have entries, which, givepeople encouragement and hope. I could use public speaking as anavenue of evangelizing to the community and teaching them about JesusChrist. With these natural gifts, I am sure I can be of great servicenot only to God but the society. I, therefore, need to involve myselfin more outreach programs that will make me travel to different partsof the country as I serve the people.
WorkCited
AubreyMalphurs, BeingLeaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership,(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
1 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
2 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
3 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
4 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
5 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
6 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
7 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
8 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.
9 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 13.