Christian Personal Skills and Knowledge

Introduction

The analysis of personal skills and knowledge is an important tool that is frequently used by several leaders. Various leadership audits help to focus on certain qualities and clarify if a person can properly develop them. In this project, the attention will be paid to seven different leadership audits with the help of which it is possible to investigate personal, relational skills, task skills, leadership skills, leadership style, knowledge about church structure, core values, and ideal circumstances that could meet the expectations of a participant. These audits help to realize that there are no right and wrong answers. Still, some answers help to comprehend the nature of a person and the readiness to become a successful Christian leader. The point is that a Christian leader is a “Christian from the core to crust” and a “committed Christ-follower”.¹

The worth of the offered audits is impressive indeed. On the one hand, a potential Christian leader could have an appropriate character and follow the rules defined by the Church. On the other hand, the same person could not be as competent and experienced as it is expected by the Church. Therefore, the audits help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of leaders and clarify if the development of the required skills is possible. At the same time, the audits aim at identifying the level of knowledge a Christian leader has to possess. The determination of personal abilities is an important step. Still, if the abilities are not supported by knowledge, the worth of such abilities could be put under a question. Therefore, the role of God cannot be minimized in leadership as well because only God knows the right answers and could determine the readiness of a person to become a leader.

Relational Skills Audit

There are several characteristics of successful Christian leaders including the source of truth in the form of divine revelation or the importance of motives that could help to explain why a leader chooses a certain behavior in a certain situation.² A leader has to develop a godly character with several relational skills that could be tested with the help of the inventory offered. It does not matter if a person wants to become a leader or just a successful follower, it is important to identify and understand personal abilities, preferences, and interests. As soon as relational skills are identified, personal strengths and weaknesses could be used to improve situations and relations.

The relational skills inventory is the possibility to check my readiness to become a leader. For example, I knew that such skills as listening, problem-solving, and risk-taking had to be integral for Christian leaders. Still, the inventory helps to understand that such skills as confronting, hiring/firing, mentoring, evaluating, correcting, and disagreeing have to be taken into consideration as well. I found out that I, as a potential leader, could trust, motivate, and empower people. I understand that God provided me with the required portion of skills and opportunities. Now, it is my turn to help other people understand God and the main principles of Christianity. At the same time, I have to respect the opinions of other people, motivate them, correct their mistakes, and provide them with explanations that could help to improve their activities, decisions, and skills. Though it is not an easy task, there is hope and belief that success and recognition could occur as soon as I start developing the necessary skills.

Task Skills Audit

Any leader, as well as any follower or even an ordinary employee, has to understand that the completion of tasks and duties is one of the most important social responsibilities. Nowadays, many people do not want to spend their time evaluating situations and making their own decisions but try to follow their leaders and consider the experiences of other people.³ Therefore, a leader has to be credible and responsible. It is also important to clarify the duties and define the expectations of followers. It is not enough to believe that a person is good at preaching and teaching. Task skills vary considerably, and a credible and helpful leader has to know how to develop and cast a mission, how to reflect, how to manage time and use technologies, and how to succeed in writing, planning, presenting, and monitoring. Besides, leaders have to consider the importance of budgeting and advertising.

When dealing with this type of audit, it turns out to be a real surprise to understand that almost all indicators are “Strong” or “Above average”. Such results prove that I could set and use the required task skills and develop the activities that could be useful for my potential followers and me. There is no need to lie or exaggerate because there are no right or wrong answers. The peculiar feature of this audit is the ability of people to understand their strengths and use them to cover their weaknesses. I want to be a leader people want to address for the help. Being a leader means being ready to answer the questions, to give suggestions, and to control what should be controlled. This audit shows that my task leading skills are on a high level.

Leadership Style Audit

The identification of a leadership style is an important stage for every leader. Some leaders take this step to discover the style and meet some personal goals and considerations. Some people try to take the tests and help other people discover the leadership style. There is also a group of people, who try to identify their leadership styles to comprehend its worth, the ways of improvement, and the methods that are appropriate for particular people. I was lucky to take this audit because the test helped me identify my interests, abilities, and expectations and define what leadership style could be offered to me. Four main leadership styles help to balance task and relational behavior of leaders.⁴ It is wrong to believe that Christian leaders have to correspond with the list of skills inherent to one particular style. There is a possibility to have the characteristics of more than one leadership style. Each style has its strengths and weaknesses, and leaders have to understand what to expect from being the representative of a particular group.

The current audit and the answers to the questions help me to realize that I am an analytical leader with several skills that could be obtained by an inspirational leader. In other words, I am an analytical-inspirational director. Such fact allows me to consider the possible weaknesses of mine like the desire to be at the center of all things and please all people around⁵ or the intentions to stick to the past and respect the traditions more than the idea of innovation⁶ and replace them with the best qualities of mine like the importance to keep my word and develop a caring attitude to Bible teaching.

Structure Audit

A ministry’s structure includes the characteristics that have to be used by people to stay related to each other.⁷ People could understand their responsibilities and duties with the help of structures that could be centralized and decentralized. Centralized structures are beneficial because of the possibility to understand where power is located and what steps have to be taken to achieve the required top. Decentralized structures promote the activities and enthusiasm of people. Therefore, decentralized structures are preferable by several Christian organizations as a possibility to clarify what people believe in, what they can do to achieve their goals, and if they are ready to accept the changes and requirements set.

Considering the audit offered to the topic of church structure and the characteristics of centralized and decentralized churches, I want to believe that I am a supporter of a decentralized type because I do not like to wait (decentralized churches promote fast, responsive time), I prefer a shared type of power, and I like to develop a strong sense of responsibility and commitment. It seems that decentralized structures help to create churches with several opportunities for different people. There is no need to have a huge experience or to be a devoted Christian. The decentralized church is available to any person who wants to be a part of God’s team and who tries to study the Christian truths and beliefs. The audit shows that I want to promote the development of the churches with a decentralized structure because it is a chance to consider personal needs and learn the theories with a strong respect and less filtered information. Centralized churches could hardly allow such things to happen.

Values Audit

The identification of ministry core values is a crucial step for Christian leaders because it helps to explain why leaders do what they do in their ministries.⁸ To succeed in their activities, leaders have to consider their actual (what is held at the moment) and aspirational (what is in a leader’s mind) values. Sometimes, people do not find it necessary to identify their core values and follow their aspirations. However, taking this audit makes me think about the importance of ministry core values and their identification to understand what I could do and what I have to do as a leader.

There are several values like fairness, encouragement, giving, forgiving, evangelism, etc. I could not even think that some of them could be actual, and some of them remain to be aspirational. This audit proves that I am focused on family values, prayer values, cooperation, innovation, creativity, and the value of lost people. Some so many lost souls do not know how to make a choice or how to start believing in God. Therefore, leaders have to help people and discover their best sides and qualities. I know that such values as obedience, status quo, giving, and excellence are also important. Still, I am not sure if I could properly develop them at the moment. I do not want to reject these values. What I have to do is to identify the values that I found less important in comparison to those six values mentioned before and ask God to help me properly develop them. Though I am not the example of a Christian leader, I am ready to study and change to achieve the required perfection.

Circumstances Audit

A leader’s ideal ministry circumstances include a list of factors that could be found around the ministry and affect the people in it. A person should understand that several decisions should be made to choose an appropriate place where beliefs and faith could be developed. Each characteristic should be properly weighted and understood by a person not to regret and neglect the duties imposed by a church. The ideal circumstances are the circumstances performed by a leader in the best possible way.⁹ Personal preferences play an important role in this activity.

During this audit, I was able to weight all pros and cons of different circumstances and choose those I liked the most. Besides, I had to rely on my past knowledge and the abilities to develop my skills under certain circumstances. Regarding the results, I created a perfect place for me to a part of it. I want to be a part of a growing church that has been already established. There is no need to cooperate with many people, and it is enough for me to have a small size of the organization with 15-100 people in it. It is easy for me to work with young adults and middle-aged adults who understand what they want and how they could achieve their goals and serve God. The age of the organization may not matter. Still, my preference is a church below ten years because it could be developed and improved with time regarding the needs of its people. In general, I want to work at a traditional American church where both, males and females, people of different ethnicities could ask for help and support.

Fit Audit

Each audit has its focus and the goals to be achieved by people who take them. It is important to be as close to the church demographically as possible because the level of congregational trust defines the effects and quality of support and knowledge offered at the church. Therefore, leaders or potential members of the church have to ask themselves one simple question if they “match with the congregation’s demographics that well to continue cooperating with the chosen church.¹⁰

The audit devoted to pastor-organization fit is one that helps to understand if a leader has enough qualities and skills to be a part of the chosen church. Sometimes, people might make choices and do not want to analyze the outcomes of their decisions. Still, this step is important because it influences the level of a person’s satisfaction and the possibility to accept the ideas and beliefs developed by the church. After taking the test, I got the results that it was a good match. I believed that all my knowledge, skills, and decisions made during the course were not in vain. I could become an effective leader for Christ, and the church I chose should not be defined as a challenge by a reliable portion of the support. Now, it becomes clear that the information about a pastor or any other type of leader that could be available to the church and the facts a person knows about the church should be as deep and profound as possible to avoid conflict and dissatisfaction with everything that has to be done.

Conclusion

In general, the offered number of leadership audits turns out to be a significant contribution to the development of a person as a Christian and as a leader. I understand that it is not enough to have a desire and use the already gained knowledge to become a good leader. Christian leaders should combine certain skills, abilities, and knowledge and prove themselves as true Christians, teachers, and followers at the same time. Taking each test was a unique ability to comprehend my own weak and strong points and think about how to combine them to become a better person and a true Christian. At the same time, I realized that Christianity is something a person should be born with. Of course, it is possible to gain a required number of skills, learn the theory, and observe the examples of different people. However, personal intentions, the desire for self-improvement, and abilities to help and guide other people are also the qualities that cannot be neglected.

The analysis of Christian leadership audits taken in this week is a chance to go deep in personal fears and dreams and make the conclusions that should show the way of how to communicate with people, how to help them understand God, and what expectations could be put on the Church. Each audit is a unique opportunity to focus on the issues that matter. There is no need to neglect the test because of the fear to make a mistake. These audits do not check the level of knowledge that should be estimated by society. These audits show the distance a person and God have between and define the abilities of a person to shorten this distance.

Bibliography

Malphurs, Aubrey. Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2003.

Footnotes

1. Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 14-15.
2. Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 19.
3. Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 49.
4. Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 94.
5. Ibid., 97.
6. Ibid., 100.
7. Ibid., 112.
8. Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 134.
9. Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 136.
10. Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003), 148.