Being Leaders

Aubrey Malphurs

Description

What makes a leader a Christian leader? Too many churches and parachurch groups operate under secular leadership principles and strategies without considering what Scripture teaches. In this accessible and comprehensive book, leadership expert Aubrey Malphurs articulates a working definition of Christian leadership based on the Bible and his own extensive research. Malphurs begins by defining a uniquely Christian leader from the inside out, from godly character and commitment to pure motives and a servant attitude. He examines the leaders of the first-century church and then discusses qualities such as credibility, capability, and influence that are essential for successful leadership. Each chapter contains helpful questions for reflection and discussion. The appendix includes numerous audits to help readers evaluate themselves on various leadership components. Being Leaders is the first book of a two-part series on leadership. The companion book will address the how-to of building leaders.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 7
• EAN13: 9781585582075
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

© 2003 by Aubrey Malphurs

Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-58558-207-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
To my wife who
gives me lots of time and
freedom to write

To my students who
have interacted with
this material

To all those churches
and organizations that have
allowed me to consult with
and train their people
C ONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Introduction

1. A Christian Leader
The Leader’s Core
2. A Servant Leader
The Leader’s Heart
3. A Credible Leader
The Leader’s Trustworthiness
4. A Capable Leader
The Leader’s Tools
5. An Influential Leader
The Leader’s Impact
6. A Followed Leader
The Leader’s Supporters
7. A Situational Leader
The Leader’s Context
8. A Directional Leader
The Leader’s Task

Appendixes
A. A Christian Leader Audit
B. A Bibliography for Studying the Early Church
C. Is Pastoral Care the Primary Role of the Pastor?
D. The Servant Leader Audit
E. The Credibility Audit
F. Spiritual Gifts Inventory
G. Natural Gifts and Abilities Indicator
H. Passion Audit
I. Men’s Character Audit for Ministry
J. Women’s Character Audit for Ministry
K. Relational Skills Inventory
L. Task Skills Inventory
M. Leadership Style Inventory
N. Church Structure
O. Leader’s Core Values Audit
P. Church’s Core Values Audit
Q. Ideal Ministry Circumstances Audit
R. Ministry Circumstances Audit
S. Pastor-Organization Fit
Notes
Index

About the Author
Other Books by Author
Back Ads
I NTRODUCTION
T here is much talk about leadership in today’s world, for it has captured the attention of many. Perhaps it’s because great leaders touch something within that moves us out of our complacency and convinces us that we can make a difference in our world. Regardless, the term has become a buzzword in various quarters, and the church is no exception. If I visit one of the popular bookstore chains here in Dallas, Texas, and stroll through the section on leadership, I’ll find an overwhelming number of books on the topic, some by Christians. Should I visit a Christian bookstore, chances are good that, on a convenient rack placed near the front of the store, I’ll spot a copy of Leadership Journal that targets Christian leaders in general and pastors in particular. And should I go online, I’ll discover a creative, cutting-edge Christian organization called Leadership Network.
Leadership’s popularity as a concept, however, demands that each of us asks some thought-provoking questions: What is a leader and am I one? What is leadership and is that what I bring to my ministry? And how can we talk about leadership, much less develop leaders, if we don’t know what we’re talking about or don’t know what it is we’re trying to develop?
The answers to these questions aren’t easy, yet they’re crucial to leaders who would serve as fully functioning followers of Christ in the twenty-first century. If we’re to minister effectively with a dynamic sense of leadership, it’s imperative that we clarify and understand the issues surrounding what it means to be a leader in today’s innovative, fast-changing ministry landscape.
When many Christian writers and speakers address the leadership topic, I’ve observed that, far too often, the subtle assumption is that we’re all talking about the same thing. I’m not convinced that we are. They grasp the importance of leadership, but few are pausing long enough to define what they’re talking about. When they do, their definitions are often based more on the leader’s subjective experiences or anecdotal observations than on Scripture or good research.
My purpose for writing this book is twofold. First, I want to articulate a working definition of a Christian leader and leadership based on the Scriptures and my study of some of the pertinent leadership research of the last two hundred years. Second, I desire to provoke others, who in some way wrestle with the topic, to pause long enough to at least define their terms if not spend some significant time developing their concepts of a leader and leadership. The point is that we must know what leaders are if we desire to develop them for ministry.
The following are my definitions. First, Christian leaders are servants with the credibility and capabilities to influence people in a particular context to pursue their God-given direction. The second builds off the first. Christian leadership is the process whereby servants use their credibility and capability to influence people in a particular context to pursue their God-given direction.
This book is the result of a series that I developed on my ministry web site (www.visionministry.com). It will focus on the definition of a leader and will build that definition from the ground up. Chapter 1 will discuss eight distinctives of Christian leadership and then ask, Who were the Christian leaders in the first-century church?
Chapter 2 begins with a look at two biblical metaphors for leadership—the shepherd and the servant. Then it probes the leader’s heart and presents the four core elements of servant leadership. It answers the questions, What precisely is servant leadership? How would you know a servant leader if you saw one? What is and isn’t servant leadership?
Chapter 3 addresses the leader’s credibility or trustworthiness. The trust principle is simple. If people don’t trust you, they will not follow your leadership. In this chapter I articulate and explain eight ingredients that build leadership credibility and five steps for regaining lost credibility.
Chapter 4 looks at the leader’s capabilities or leadership tools. Specifically it examines three God-given and four developed capabilities that make a difference in ministry. Most important, this chapter will seek to determine if certain leadership capabilities exist that guarantee success in all ministry situations.
Leadership is all about influence, and chapter 5 addresses the leader’s style of influence or how leaders influence followers. A leadership tool (the Leadership Style Inventory in appendix M) will help you discover your leadership style and thus how specifically you affect followers.
To be a leader, you must have followers. But what is a follower? And what is the key to responsive followers? Chapter 6 answers these questions and also addresses how to deal with follower opposition when it occurs.
Chapter 7 addresses one of the most neglected aspects of leadership—the leader’s ministry context. The same leader may experience phenomenal success in one situation and completely fail in another. This chapter will present four steps that will increase your effectiveness as a leader in your current or a future ministry context.
Finally, chapter 8 is about the directional side of leadership. It probes followers’ God-given direction and how leaders move their followers in that direction.
I’ve included various audits in the appendices to help readers assess where they are on the various components of leadership covered in each chapter. I would encourage you to take them as you move through the material so that you can get a read on how you’re progressing in your development as a leader.
Without apology, this book’s focus is primarily on leaders and leadership in the local church, but my definition of leadership is sufficiently broad to easily include parachurch ministries as well. Most who observe the early twenty-first-century church scene would agree that the typical local church in North America, Europe, and certain other parts of the world is in deep trouble. Since the church is the hope of the world, this is a serious problem (see Matt. 16:18). However, leadership is the hope of the church. Therefore it’s my passion in addressing leadership to help the local church to better understand itself and to recover some of the ground that has been lost to the strong advance of secularism and certain world religions, such as Islam in Europe.
Finally, this is the first book of a two-part series on leadership. I’ve begun the series with Being Leaders in an attempt to wrestle with a definition for leadership. I’m coauthoring the second book, Building Leaders , with my good friend and church consultant Will Mancini. That book will be on leadership development. We believe that you must know what leaders are before trying to develop them. Once we understand what it means to be a leader, the subject of this book, we can deal with how to develop leaders at every level of the church, the subject of the second book. It’s our desire to pass on to you what we’ve learned about developing leaders to assist you in accomplishing this critical objective for your ministry.
A C HRISTIAN L EADER
The Leader’s Core
O ne of my former students worked his way through seminary as an engineer and leader at Raytheon Systems Company in Dallas. One day, while discussing the definition of a leader, he asked, “Is a Christian leader a leader only in a Christian context or is he a Christian leader in any context?” His question caught me by surprise. It cut across the grain of my thinking. I was used to thinking within a Christian community paradigm. He forced me out of that paradigm.
After some reflection, I arrived at the following conclus