LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Leadership Audit Analysis 2

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. DANN AUSTIN OF THE LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS CLED 510

BY PAUL J LIMATO 111 NORFOLK, VA MARCH 2013

CONTENTS Introduction.....................................................................................................................3 Relational Skills Audit .....................................................................................................4 Task Skills Audit ...............................................................................................................5 Leadership Style Audit ....................................................................................................6 Structural Audit.................................................................................................................7 Leaders Core Values Audit.............................................................................................8 Ideal Circumstances Audit...............................................................................................8 Pastor-Organization Fit Audit.........................................................................................9 Bibliography..................................................................................................................10

Introduction

Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another. This particular set of audits will focus on particular skills and competencies needed to be a successful leader. Skills move past knowledge and into the implementation of that knowledge and the skills associated with that. In this second analysis, Aubrey Malphurs in his book Being Leaders gives the reader seven audits to determine if they have the skills necessary for Christian leader to be effective in the ministry. Psalm 78:72 says that David led his people not only with integrity of heart but also with skillful hands.1 Malphurs separates the skill audit into relational and task skills. Relational skills are based on the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:36-39).2 If leaders cannot effectively get along with people then they will severely hinder their ability to reach those in need. Malphurs says task skills are based on the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20).3 These

1 2

Psalm 78:72 (ESV)

Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 83.
3

Ibid., 83. 3

are the abilities used in conveying the message the leader is trying to communicate. For a leader to succeed they must effectively learn to communicate to people in the proper manner. This set of audits also deals with the importance of knowing ones leadership style and core values. A leader must be able to determine their own mindset as well as abilities to determine whether or not they will be a good fit in a leadership position at a certain locale. Although it is God who places leaders in a position, the prepared leader is the one with the potential to be most successful, even though preparation doesnt guarantee success.

Relational Skills Audit Relational skills are of utmost importance for anyone in a leadership position but particular for a pastor because he is pastoring people. Leadership is all about working with, through, and on behalf of people. Because ministry is for God and his glory and for the purpose of spreading the fame of God, a leader would be foolish to believe he could handle it alone or for himself. It has been said by some that they love the ministry but not the people they are ministering to. This writer would say that ministry is too important because the glory of God is at stake and the lives of People are at stake which is way too serious a task to not love people and seek to improve ones relational skills. While no one likes to discipline another person it is a necessary task a leader must take on. To be an effective disciplinarian a person needs at least two qualities. The first is a love for the truth and for what is right. If a person does not have a genuine love for what is right, they

will be more apt to allow bad behavior to slide. As a leader I am passionate that there is a correct way and an incorrect way to live and lead and that the word of God shows us what that is. Secondly, there must be an authentic love for people. If a leader loves the people he is going to want what is best for their lives even if it involves confronting them about their problems. God has given me a love for both of these aspects as I deal with the staff of the church that I planted and lead every day in the position God has placed me in. Loving confrontation is something that I do very well with. The biggest weakness in this particular audit would probably be conducting meetings. I am a person who likes to get things done and meeting sometimes feels counter productive. This often leads to lack of clarity by staff and team members, which led to more meetings trying clear up miscommunications or lack of understanding. Much of this could be avoided if in my relational skills I would grow in this particular area. Task Skills Audit It is vitally important for a leader to be able to competently fulfill a task if one desires any type of longevity in a leadership position. While God is not looking for ability but availability, he does expect the people he calls to be good stewards and develop the talents that He has given them. This very point is clear in the scriptures when Jesus taught the Parable of the Talents in the book of Matthew. Leaders are learners who are constantly seeking to improve and steward their specific gifts for the glory of God.

Preaching/Teaching is a particular task in my schedule that I am constantly striving to become better at and is something that I work hard on. This is not something that immediately came naturally to me but is something that I greatly enjoy and that I believe it a gift that God has given me. Passion, humor, and the ability to communicate deep truths in a relevant and understandable way are some of the things that have been said of my preaching/teaching. This is not something that happened overnight but is something that I have made time to cultivate in my life as a leader. Time management is another one of my strong points. I have learned to reject the good in order to pursue the great. I am a husband, father, church planter, take two college courses, and preach on Sundays twice, lead a community group, lead the staff of our church, and various other ministry duties; therefore, I have had to learn to prioritize my time to be as effective as I can in all areas. I am far from perfect and I am constantly adjusting my schedule to be more effective. I always say that this particular area is not something that will ever be fixed for good but to be effective adjustments will constantly be in need to be made. Budgeting is one of my weaker areas. I am not the particular person who is in charge of this on our team, so I have a hard time keeping this at the forefront of what we do at the church I lead. Budgeting is extremely important because without resources one cant successfully complete the vision that has been set forth, which is my primary job as a lead pastor and planter and that is to cast vision and lead. Resources are necessary. This is an area that I seek to become stronger in.
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Leadership Style Audit Leaders are often leading in front and are influencing the direction through this. Malphurs rightly says the fact is that leaders are doers and what they do is influence.4 Every leader has a style of influence that has an impact on people, so its important that leaders correctly perceive how they influence their followers.5 When I took this audit I found that I have an Analytical-Inspirational leadership style. I have a desire for the ministry to be done in a quality way. My Father always told me that if something is worth being done then it should be done well. When God created the world he stepped back and looked at it, and saw that it was very good (Gen. 1:31). This, for me, is most clearly seen in the quality of materials and presentation of what we are promoting which is the Message of Jesus. We have a saying around Aletheia: The Greatest message deserves the greatest marketing. My other strength is being a Inspirational Leader. I desire people to be inspired to serve Jesus. We are serving King Jesus. How can we not get motivated when we understand that we have the privilege of working for, serving, and pointing people to the One that died, rose, and lives for them. In this I can come off strong and sometimes a bit over the top. Structural Audit Structure is necessary in leadership settings. Leaders must sense the need of when to take on responsibility to set up structure. I am a person who likes to have a plan to see that tasks are
4 5

Malphurs, p. 92. Ibid. p.93.

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finished. This is much of what church planting comes down to, chaos to organized-chaos. That plan will include a way to get the job done with plenty of time to spare. I do not enjoy work piling up and trying to complete a responsibility at the last moment. I know how to put a plan in place and delegate it out so that it is accomplished. In this section, I have learned that I understand when an organization has a combination of a centralized and a decentralized ministry structure it is functioning the best. I believe in having the best and brightest leaders at the top of the ministry organization, but they arent simply doing the tasks but setting up the structures to accomplish the tasks and equipping others to do them. Leaders should not always do the task but should rather be the one others are reporting to with major problems and what they feel is the best solution on key tasks. There should not be a lot of red tape. I believe they should work together to see that the task is accomplished in the best way with the leader on top making the final decision but others are empowered to make smaller decisions. I feel that power is best served when it is shared. If a leader has the right people around them then their span of control does not have to be as great. Shared responsibility and power is something that I am constantly pressing as the leader of the team. Team always goes farther and faster than individual leaders. There should be teamwork on the top tiers of leadership where everyone is responsible for a certain portion of the work. This keeps individuals from being overwhelmed in ministry. I do believe that there needs to be a strong sense of stewardship, accountability, and responsibility before God for his work.
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Leaders Core Values Audit The Leaders Core Value Audit is important. I always said to our team in church planting that our church will be only as strong as our foundation. The deeper and stronger the foundation, the more robust and strong the church can be. It is my desire that the foundation of our church be strong so that God can do what He sees fit. As a Christian leader I feel it is extremely important to know the Bible. It is the only book that is living and powerful and that can effectively change our lives. It is the sword that God has given us to take the battle to the enemy and to defend the faith that has been delivered to the saints (Eph. 6; Jude 1). Gods word instruct the leader to study His word so that we may not be ashamed and ready to defend the word of God effectively (II Tim. 2:15). Preaching and teaching the Word goes alongside this particular area. As a leader, I am constantly concerned with people knowing Jesus and for those who know him to live their lives to make Jesus known. This is why a personal/corporate core values for me is passionate evangelism, which goes along with preaching and teaching. A well kept facility is an area I can improve upon. I am effective in ministering in the area of preaching and teaching and honestly facilities is something that I need to turn my attention more to. I need to spend more time building plans and systems to ensure that this is taken care of. Ideal Circumstances Audit God appoints leaders not only for groups of people but the places of those people. This is
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why spiritual gifting as well as temperament/ personality play into where leaders are going to be most effective. God has made each person with different preferences and the Ideal Circumstances Audit can help a person narrow their focus to a position where they can fit in more easily.6 Personally, through this audit, I discovered my ideal setting would be in a church that is growing. Things that are growing are intriguing to me and energize me. I do not enjoy being around ministries that are declining. I am passionate about seeing churches come alive in their vision as well see that health spread through the planting of more healthy churches. Growth is most clearly seen in the starting of new churches not just in the existing church get larger. I would like to pastor a medium to large size church that is young and vibrant and is constantly birthing new churches and other locations. A church of this magnitude is big enough to make a noticeable impact on a community. It however isnt small enough to where everybody knows everybody. I currently pastor the church that I desire to pastor. It is a church that is a good mixture of ages but is primarily college students and young professionals but also has older folks to make for a healthy church. Young people add life and energy to the services and outreach of a church. The middle-aged group provides the majority of the workers in the church. The older adults provide the stability and maturity that a church needs. Currently it is smaller but is growing toward our goals. I also prefer the urban context and our church is in a urban area.
6

Malphurs, p. 219.
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Pastor-Organization Fit Audit The Pastor-Organization Audit helps a pastor determine how close their views match the views of a congregation. The work of the ministry can be difficult under the best situations; therefore, it is important that a perspective leader know what they are getting themselves into before they commit to a position.7 While it is God who sends leaders to fulfill positions this audit serves to help the leader prepare a plan for success. In my current position the church and I are on the same page. Much of this is probably due to the fact that I planted and started the church and I have been the only pastor. Simplicity has lead to much of this success. If I dont feel as though I dont fit I would simply have myself to blame. I am thankful for this process and these audits have all been incredibly insightful and encouraging.

Bibliography

Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders:The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Books:2003
7

Ibid. p. 222.
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