Introduction
The importance of leadership in any gathering of People
cannot be overemphasized. Also in the Church the role of leadership is crucial.
The Bible also claimed that where there is no vision People perish. The vision
in that context is a function of leadership. The Minister in the Church setting
is considered to be a unique leader
chosen by God to lead His People unto the right path before Him. If the Church
is going to be relevant in the contemporary World that is constantly changing
with a lot of advancement, the Ministers of the Gospel must possess competent
leadership skills. Therefore, leadership competence thus becomes a challenge to
the contemporary Minister.
In order to fully comprehend the truth of this write-up one
needs to take full cognizance of these variables which are the functions of
personality which are inherent in individuals. These variables include Trait,
Attribute, knowledge and ability.
Trait – refers to the abilities that collectively
define a key aspect of a person’s nature.
Attribute is a distinguishing quality that defines a
person’s character; the process of what one chooses to “be.”
Knowledge refers to
the facts, ideas, and skills acquired by study, investigation, observation
or experience; the process of what one learns and “knows.”
Ability is the
capability, willingness, and tendency to act in a specific way; the process of
what one “does.”
The harmonious synthesis of these variables makes a minister
to be both efficient and effective leader. Therefore, an efficient and
effective Christian leader is the One who is able to articulate a clear and
appealing vision from God to address the present and future needs of the Church
that he or she serves and further influence the membership to adopt and develop
the same into achievable
action plan.
11 Characteristics of
Competent Christian Leader.
A. He is Christ
Centered.
He is sensitive to the call of God. He has personal
encounter with the Lord. He is highly devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ and thus
spend quality time with the Lord on regular basis. He is able to balance the
issue of faith and learning in leadership. He is satisfied and content in God’s
will. He is a living example of the demonstration of the fruits of the Spirit.
His leadership style is Christ Centered, Bible based and leadership applied. He
does not use unbiblical leadership styles to administer the People of God.
His Leadership style is Bible based. He is able to trace the
the origin of his leadership style to the Bible. He follows Biblical principles
in value clarification and also a good Steward of manifold blessings under His
leadership. He is ever conscious of God’s call in His life and thus become God
controlled in choice making.
He serves God in the Church as a sacred duty with high sense
of responsibility. He gives his best to the Master. He believes in teamwork and
delegates responsibilities at appropriate time. He seeks to serve the Community
he lives and influence the World around him with his services to the Master.
B. He is a
Visionary Leader.
He is able to receive direction from the Lord and translate
it to appropriate action plan. He uses the following variables to achieve his
goals. A visionary leader is flexible, adaptable, innovative, curious and
creative. He is not too rigid in his methodology but allows other to hold
divergent views on the issues of leadership. He does not operate the Persian
law that was unbendable in those days. He adapts to the situation around him
and thus finds a way to achieve his vision in an adaptive method. He finds new
ways of doing things and also interested about the happenings around him. He
proffers solutions in a creative way.
He is highly intelligent
person who has good reasoning skills. He should be able to appreciate and
interprets statistical data to help his reasoning Skills and predictive
evaluation. He needs to be able to develop skills in formulating direction
based on findings. He should be able to assess his environment and predict
future from current trends. He must be prepared to address present concerns
with creative innovative solutions. He must also be prepared for necessary
changes.
C. He is action Oriented Leader.
He is pro-active in his
approach. He is positive and self-aware. He is a courageous leader who is ready
to take risk in decision making. He is ready to face the consequences of his
decision. He is goal-oriented. He sets goals and put machinery in motion to
achieve his goals. He is dependable and thus keeps his promises. He is self-disciplined
and also a good steward of money, time,talents and other God’s resources under
his leadership. He is a dedicated Leader.
D. Evaluation
Techniques.
A competent Leader must have
appreciation for evaluation of the total ministries of the Church. He needs to
understand the purpose of the Church. He must be able to organize his
ministries around the purposes of the Church. He must be able to gather data
for proper analysis in order to assess performance evaluation process. A
thorough evaluation of performance is a good guide to strategic planning
process which is an indication of Leadership competence..
E. Good Decision making Pattern.
A competent Leader must have
good and reliable decision making pattern.
He must be able to set goals
based on the vision revealed and findings around him and also be able to
initiate results-oriented action to achieve the goals. He needs to monitor and
assess the progress of the initiated action. He also needs to be a courageous
Leader who is ready to assume responsibility for the decision taken. He must be
able to assign the resources under his Leadership to achieve the desired goals.
He must also seek to improve his leadership competence continuously and thus
become teachable.
F. A competent leader is influential.
He is able to achieve his
goals without the use of force on the Followers. He is sensitive to diversity
in leadership. He is a principled leader who is both mature and stable
emotionally. He has good interpersonal relationship with the People he leads.
He is able to work with team to achieve the set objectives. He is a role model
and thus becomes a good mentor. Furthermore, he empowers the Followers to
assume responsibilities by encouraging and trusting others. He is ready to
share the resources available for the purpose of achieving the goals. Since
friction is inevitable in all human relationship, he designed and maintained a
good conflict resolution principle. He trained and developed others based on
the potentials inherent in individuals as he observed the trait, ability and
attributes. He recognizes, appreciates and rewards achievements.
Conclusion
A competent Christian leader
is Christ centered visionary, action oriented and influential. He is able to
synthesize the variables of leadership competence to achieve God’s given plan.
He has good interpersonal relationship with effective communication skill. He
is able to synchronize information for effective decision making process and
thus can lead the People of God to the right path before Him.
Selected Bibliography
Armerding, Hudson T., The Heart of Godly Leadership, Wheaton, Illinois:
Crossway
Books, 1992.
Eberie, Harold R., God’s Leaders for Tomorrow’sWorld, Kaduna, Nigeria:
Evangel Publication,
1993.
Engstrom, Ted W., The Making of A Christian Leader, Grand Rapids, Michigan:
The Zondervan
Corporation, 1976.
George, Carl F., and Logan, Robert E., Leading &
Managing Your Church, Benin City. Nigeria:
Gospel Press and
Literature Int., 2001.
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