Doing assessments requires figuring out logistics ranging from what to assess, to how to collect data, to how to interpret results, and then to determining what to do because of the findings. To examine a leader’s role in assessments, let’s step back from the particulars involved and consider the broader scope of the process.
A Leader’s Broader Roles Can Make a Big Difference in the Assessment Process
If we look at roles for elders (church leaders) described in 1 Peter 5:2-3, we can come up with implications of a leader’s roles in the assessment process.
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
To have God’s flock under our care to watch over them is an awesome responsibility. When it comes to doing assessments, we must therefore always remember that we aren’t just dealing with facts and figures but rather people. We must genuinely care for the people involved, protecting relationships, and always seeking their best.
To be an example to the flock, we not only model how to go about making an assessment but also exhibit the proper motivations and attitudes to go along with it. That requires honesty about why the assessment is being pursued. It also requires us to rid ourselves of any political agendas and guard against using assessments in manipulative ways.
Some of the logistics of conducting an assessment can be tedious and routine. While we can, and in many cases should, delegate some of these tasks, we should also make ourselves available to help as needed. Servants respect other people’s time and efforts, not just their own.
Part of serving involves being a guide rather than lording over people. We must guard against controlling every detail of the assessment process. If we’ve delegated different part to others, let’s provide training and instruction and then be there to support as needed. For more, read: Guide the Assessment Process
God expects us to be faithful with all that He’s given us, and so sometimes assessments can be quite helpful. We must especially care for the flock He put under our care, given to us as an entrustment. It’s a stewardship that goes beyond duty to truly desiring to care for people as God wants us to, making all of the leadership roles listed above vital to everything we do as faithful stewards, including assessments.
For More about Assessments, Go To: Church Ministry Assessments, Audits, Evaluations Resources
All Posts about Assessments:
- The Right Standard for Assessments
- Using Assessment Results in Ways that Line Up
- Guard Body Life When Doing Assessments
- Great Commission: Encompassing or Complicated?
- Assessment Questions from the Great Commission
- Christ-like Standard in Assessments
- Assessing Christ-like Character
- Assessing Christ-like Conduct & Conversation
- Assessments Leading to Eternal Results?
- Involvement of the Holy Spirit in the Assessment Process
- Pulling on Spiritual Gifting in the Assessment Process
- Alignment with the Gospel in the Assessment Process
- Prayer in the Assessment Process
- Do Assessments Really Fit into God’s Character and Ways?
- Concerned with His Name in the Assessment Process?
- Use of Spiritual Weapons in the Assessment Process
- Need for Grace in the Assessment Process
- Guide the Assessment Process
- A Leader’s Roles in Assessments
- Don’t Like the Results of an Assessment?