leadershipaudit-2
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Leadership AuditTRANSCRIPT
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
Leader’s Core Values Audit.............................................................................................8
Ideal Circumstances Audit...............................................................................................8
Pastor-Organization Fit Audit.........................................................................................9
Bibliography..................................................................................................................10
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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
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 one’s 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 doesn’t guarantee success.
Relational Skills Audit
1 Psalm 78:72 (ESV) 2 Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 83.
3 Ibid., 83.
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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 one’s 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.
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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
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lead. Budgeting is extremely important because without resources one can’t 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.
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 it’s 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
4 Malphurs, p. 92. 5 Ibid. p.93.
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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
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 aren’t
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.
Leader’s Core Values Audit
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The Leader’s 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). God’s 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
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
6 Malphurs, p. 219.
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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 isn’t 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.
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
7 Ibid. p. 222.
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has lead to much of this success. If I don’t feel as though I don’t 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
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