Have you ever wondered what type of leader you are? When we hear the term “leader”, our minds have been trained to think of a pastor, someone who has influence over a large group or someone who is invited to give motivational speeches at conferences. This is not the case. There are many types of leaders and just as many ways to lead. Every type is crucial to the body of Christ.
I remember in college, the church I was a part of at that time would give all new members a spiritual gifts test to show their strength and weaknesses. The purpose of administering this test was to help each person know where to get involved and how to serve in the church. I thought this was a great idea. This test helped me learn things about myself that I had never really thought through before. Now, many of our readers are church leaders. So, chances are many of you have probably taken some type of test like this to identify your leadership style. I came across an interesting test that is different than tests I’ve seen. The Six Christian Leadership Styles was advertising a free leadership style evaluation. So, I thought, why not? It turned out to be pretty helpful. This test focuses on three main categories; each one is modeled after Jesus’ ministry and teaching. The categories are strategy, chemistry and spirituality. You need all three to be balanced but you will have one area that is the strongest. Being aware of your weakest category is also helpful for leadership purposes.
Here are the definitions of each category from Six Styles website.
- Spirituality encompasses all that it means to love God.
- Chemistry encompasses all that it means to love people.
- Strategy encompasses all that it means to love the world, by fulfilling the mission of God for the world.
My results were above average in Chemistry and below average in strategy and spirituality. Therefore I am a “Relational” leader. I had two other friends at work that took this test and they both scored highest in strategy. One of them is a “Missional” leader and the other is an “Imaginative” leader. I think the results were accurate for each of us. I think this is a pretty cool test because it helps us see how the Lord has equipped us uniquely to lead and also how dependent we are on Him to help influence others for His glory. It may be worth checking out for yourself.