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Leadership Audit 2
Biblical Foundation of Christian Leadership (Liberty
University)
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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
LEADERSHIP AUDIT ANALYSIS II
SUBMITTED TO DR. ANDY
WOOD IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE COURSE
BY
BEVERLY MANNING
LYNCHBURG, VA
OCTOBER 4, 2014
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................3
RELATIONAL SKILLS AUDIT..........................................................................................4
TASK SKILLS AUDIT.........................................................................................................5
LEADERSHIP STYLE AUDIT............................................................................................6
STRUCTURE AUDIT...........................................................................................................7
VALUES AUDIT..................................................................................................................8
CIRCUMSTANCES AUDIT................................................................................................9
FIT AUDIT............................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................11
BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Leadership has nothing to do with a person’s titles, church office or schedules, but it is
about imparting something into people’s lives. As a leader, you have to lead by example. The
audits that will be discussed deal with certain abilities and know how that every effective leader
needs. A leader’s skills go beyond their prior understandings and enter into applying the things
that have been learned to the current situation. In the text, Aubrey Malphurs list seven audits to
help the reader find out if they have the ability that they would need to become a leader in the
body of Christ.
In the book of Exodus 35:35, it says, “He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of
work…..”1 In the text, the skill audit is divided into relational and task skills. According to
Malphurs, he states “Relational skills are based on the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36-
A leader’s inability to socialize with people will have an adverse effect on them
meeting the needs of the people. Task skills are pattern after the Great Commission in
Matthew 28:19. Task skills are utilized by the leader to transfer what they want to say
to the people. In order for a person to be an effective leader, they have to learn how to
talk to people correctly.
These audits helps one to understand the significance of knowing their leadership style
and core values. It is essential for a leader to find their own belief and skills to discover if they
will be a good fit in a leadership position. Ultimately God makes the decision in what position a
leader goes, the equipped leader has the opportunity be an effective leader, although equipping a
leader doesn’t mean that they will be successful.
1Exodus 35:35
(NKJV).
Relational Skills Audit
2Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership (Grand Rapids: Baker
Books, 2003), 83.
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Relational skills are essential for a leader, but is very important for a person in pastorship.
Being a pastor is a difficult job, it is a difficult thing leading people. As a leader, one has to
know how to deal with work and advocate for people. For most, ministry is not for the leader,
but it is for God and his glory. The main point is to spread the Gospel, and a leader has to know
that he can’t work alone. He has to have assistance, or they will get burnt out. The ministry
should be one of the focal points in a leader’s life not because of fame, but the glory of God and
people. This is why it is very important to have a love for people and to try to develop relational
skills.
One of the task that a leader hates to do is reprimand a person, but it is a task that is often
needed. In order for a leader to be successful at disciplining the people, they have to two skills.
One, they have to love the truth and to do what is fair. A leader that doesn’t have a sincere love
for what is fair, they may let bad behavior go by. If bad behavior is left unchecked, people will
fill that they can do anything without any repercussion. For leaders, the Bible is an excellent
source to help understand what is wrong and right. The Bible is a guidebook on how to live
your life and lead God’s people. Second, a leader has to have genuine love for God’s people.
When a leader displays a real love to the people, they will want them to succeed, even if they
have to tell them when they are wrong sometime. I am elated that God has given me both of
these abilities; especially when I deal with the people that work with me in the ministry. I can
deal with conflict very well, and I know how to communicate with people in difficult situations.
I have one problem with this audit. I hate facilitating meetings because a lot of time
meetings are a waste of time. I like to get down to business, and a lot of times, we spend more
time talking about things that are not relevant to the agenda at hand. After the meeting, people
have not gotten any understanding of what needs to be done which results in scheduling another
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meeting to explain what should have been discussed in the previous meeting. I could rectify this
matter by improving my relational skills.
Task Skills Audit
Completing tasks are one of the most essential skills that a leader needs if they want to
make it as a leader. Skill is not important to God, but he does want his leaders to be excellent
administrators and cultivate the skills that he has bestowed upon them. Learning should be
constant for leaders because they should strive to progress and administer their talents for God’s
glory.
One task that I don’t need to improve on is preaching and teaching. The ability is
something that is easy for me, and I love it because I believe that is one of gifts that I was given
from the most high. Many of the church members have said that my love of the word, my wit
and my skill to convey deep revelations in a way that they can understand is what they like about
my preaching and teaching. Of course, I didn’t arrive at this point right away, but it took study
and prayer which is part of being a leader.
Time management is not one of my strong suits. I have worked to improve this, but I
still have a hard time (no pun intended!). I have had to learn how to prioritize my life. I have a
family, work with several church groups, Sunday school teacher, church youth counselor and not
mention, I minister at least twice out of the month either on Sunday or Friday night. In order to
keep everything into prospective, I have had to write out a schedule, and try to stick to it. This is
a constant juggle because every day holds some type of unexpected change in my day to day
schedule, and I have to be ready for anything. Time management will always be a struggle for
me, but I have learned how to muddle through without a complete breakdown, or at least, people
don’t know that it is a disaster because I know how to handle it.
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As leaders, we have different people working with us in ministry. One of my
weak areas is delegating authority, or should I say ensuring that everyone is doing their job. I
tell them what I want done, but sometimes it isn’t. Of course, if it doesn’t get done, I have to do
it.
This causes a problem because people tend to take advantage of my kindness. I have learned that
when I tell my staff to do something that I need to ensure that it is done. Instead of doing it for
them, I have to be more stern insist that they do what I say. Leader has to be ready to confront
every issue, and realize that in a lot of ways people can easily take advantage. I am working on
being stronger in this area.
Leadership Style Audit
Leaders don’t often follow, but they are supposed to be leading. They are front runners
and effect the way people go. According to Malphurs, he said, “that leaders are doers and what
they do is influence.”3 In the text, the author states, “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.”4 After I took the audit, I discovered that I was an analytical-inspirational leadership
style.
One of my heart’s desires is to see the ministry to obtain a level of excellence. Some
may say that is not the will of God, but God wants us to strive for excellence. It is my belief that
if you do something that you should strive to do it right. In Genesis 1:31, God looked for
excellence when he created the world because when he created the world, he took a step back
and observed his creation, and said it was good. My Pastor teaches us to walk in the “Spirit of
Excellence.” We are representatives of our Father, and we have to provide people with the best
when we spread the message of Jesus Christ.
3Malphurs, 92.
4
Ibid, 93.
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Structure Audit
Structure is very needed for leadership, and a leader has to know when it is time to
establish structure. Unfortunately, I have not learned how to structure things. I really struggle
with making plans and organizing things. For this reason, I surround myself with people who are
great at planning and organizing because I do want whatever project that I am doing to be a
success. One may call me a puppeteer because I know how to delegate authority and move
people about to get the job done. Of course, this structure may not work for many people, but for
a person who struggles with organizing and planning, it works well.
I have reached an epiphany, due to this audit, I now understand that a church needs to
have both a centralized and decentralized ministry structure in order to operate smoothly. I
think that the smartest and greatest leaders should be at the front of the ministry. These great
leaders are not just performing tasks, but they are building the structures to complete the tasks
and to train other people to complete the tasks also. It is not always the leader’s responsibility to
do the task, but they should delegate tasks to other people. Those people will come to the leader
with big issues or what they think is the answer to important tasks. There shouldn’t be a bunch
of hoops for them to jump through. The leader and the staff has to come together to complete the
task and make sure that it is done correctly. At this point, the leader has to stamp their approval
on the task, and other people are encouraged to make input on their conclusion.
Power in the hands of one person can be dangerous, but it should be shared with other
people. One key point that every leader needs to understand is that a leader has to have the
correct individuals in the inner circle then their reach of power can be minimal. As a leader, I
constantly stress that power and responsibility should be a joint effort for my group.
Collaboration should be at the front of every group when each person has the duty to their part of
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the work. Collaborating keeps each person from being stressed and over worked in the ministry.
It is my belief that every group or team should be held accountable for the job that they have
been given not to a man, but to the Father.
Value Audit
The value audit is very essential to the church. The strength of a church is a good firm
foundation. In order for the church to stand, it has to be rooted and grounded. One of my goals
for our church is to get a firm foundation, so God can move in the place. A church without a
firm foundation can fail to ever go forth, and it will soon go down.
Knowledge of the word of God is essential to a good leader. How can a leader teach and
preach effectively without knowing the Bible? The word of God has power to transform lives. It
is the only tool that God has given us to fight against Satan. One of the foundational scriptures
that all ministers are required to learn in my church is II Timothy 2:15, “You study to show
yourself approved unto God a workmen needs not to be made ashamed, but rightfully dividing
the word of truth.”5
One of the things that concerns me, as a leader, is evangelism. I have a love for
spreading the Gospel to the lost. Someone witnessed to me and introduced me to Jesus, and I
want to reach someone else so that they want be lost. Evangelism is my personal core value, as
well as, ministering the word of God.
If I had to improve on something, it would be creativity. When it comes to creativity, I
struggle, but not in the way most people think. I come up with ideas, but I am not good at
bringing them to filtration. I am excellent at coming up with projects, but I lack the creativity to
get them started. For instance, I came up with an idea to have a clothes give away for the
homeless, but a month later, it still is just an idea.
5II Timothy 2:15.
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Circumstances Audit
The leader’s ministry circumstances essentially are the issues in the ministry that touch
members in some way.6 Our ministry in the beginning was a small inner city church with all
African American members. As a church, we were accustomed to dealing with lower income
people, mostly women. Now, we have relocated in a more affluent neighborhood, and we are
seeing more middle and higher middle class people attending services. Although God and his
word doesn’t change, we have to know how to deal with the problems that these new people
bring.
After doing the questionnaire, I found that I functioned better in a church that is growing.
When I see something growing, it attracts and empowers me because I feel that my talents can be
best used. A church in decline is awful thing to watch. It is something about watching a church
rejuvenate themselves, and their vision start to flourish. The rejuvenation will go through and
new ministries will sprout out of the church. Normally, people think growth is when an
established church’s membership increases, but growth is better seen in the beginning of a new
church.
If I ever have the opportunity, it is my wish to pastor a church with no more than 100
members. I would like a mixture of members, but I would love to have mostly members age 13
to 21 because they are youthful and energetic. Often, they are the ones who lock onto the vision
quicker and run with it to establish new ministries. I believe that a church of this size will allow
us to have a tremendous impact on the area that we are in, and it will still allow me and the
ministerial staff to have a relationship with the parishioners.
6Malphurs, 136.
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Right now, I am not a pastor, but I am a minister. The church that I currently attend has
different age groups, and his a mix of working class and professional people, and some elderly
members. A combination of people creates a strong church. The youth bring liveliness to the
church, and the most of the work is normally done by the middle age members. The elderly
members give the church consistency and development. We are a small congregation now, but it
is growing by leaps and bounds. We moved from an urban location, and we have had to adjust to
being in suburban location. I think that we have made the adjustment quite well.
Fit Audit
This audit assist a minister in finding out if their vision is the same as the members.
Because working in the ministry can be taxing, it is imperative that a potential leader understand
what they are getting involved in before they obligate themselves to a position.7 Essentially, God
has the job of calling leaders to certain positions, but this audit assists the leader in making a
strategy for triumph.
In the place that I am in the church, I have the same vision as my leaders. The reason for
this is that I have been in this ministry from the moment it was founded, and I have served under
my current leaders for over 16 years. I have been successful in the ministry due to being humble
and obedient to my leaders. I can only fault myself if I don’t fit. In the Habakkuk 2:2, it says
“Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that reads it.8 When I joined the
church, I was given the vision of the ministry, and it was job to ensure that vision went forth to
make the church successful.
Conclusion
7Malphurs, 222.
8
Habakkuk 2:2 (NKJV).
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In conclusion, I have learned a lot about my ministry and my position in the church. The
audits gave me information that I will use for years to come to help enhance myself and my
ministry. The bible says in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.” Well, these audits have brought the truth to my life. According to Malphurs, truth is
given through studying God’s word and exegesis of the gospel.9 I learned many truths through
this study, and I look forward to applying what I have learned.
Bibliography
Malphurs, Aubrey. Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership. Grand
Rapids, Michigan:Baker Books, 2003.
9
Malphurs, 16.
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