The 5C indicators

The 5C Indicators is a tool that presents 57 tested indicators to evaluate your life and leadership. Each indicator has been rigorously tested and certified psychometrically sound. Right now, please read the paragraph summary at the beginning of each element and then scan the indicators. Later, when you have time, pray over this set of indicators, and identify one from each of the five areas in which you need to grow. There is also an online 360-degree version of this tool that is freely available to you at: www.5ccheckpoint.com.

The 5C Indicators

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“Christ” refers to the leader’s spiritual life. Jesus’ first great commandment is to: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30).

A leader who is strong in Christ:

Trusts Jesus for his eternal life (John 3:16; 20:31; Eph. 2:8-9)
Is secure in Christ’s love (John 15:9-10; 17:26; 1 John 4:16-18)
Enjoys inward fellowship with Jesus (John 17:3; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 John 1:3)
Surrenders to Jesus by putting His Kingdom before his own personal ambitions (Matt. 6:25-34; 16:26; Phil. 3:3, 7-8)
Turns more deeply to God in times of suffering, drawing peace and strength from Him (Ps. 16:8-11; 2 Cor. 1:3-11; Phil. 4:6-7)
Has a healthy fear of God (Prov. 1:7; Matt. 10:28; 2 Cor. 5:9-11; Phil. 2:12-13)
Avoids idols or any form of the occult (Deut. 18:9-14; 1 Cor. 10:14-22; 1 John 5:21)
Trusts Jesus in everyday life (Prov. 3:5-6; Matt. 6:6-13; Jam. 4:13-15; 1 Pet. 5:7-10)
Meditates regularly on God’s Word (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:1-3; Jer. 15:16; John 15:7)
Submits to God’s Word as the final authority (Deut. 4:2; Gal. 1:8-9; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 4:14)
Is not content with a purely academic knowledge of the Scriptures, but seeks to experience its life-transforming power (John 6:63; 1 Cor. 2:10-13; 1 Thess. 1:5; 2:13)

“Community” refers to the leader’s relationships with others. Jesus’ second great commandment is to: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). This includes four kinds of relationship – in marriage and family, in the church, with other leaders, and with people in the world.

A leader who is strong in Community:

Forgives those who have wronged him (Matt. 18:21-35; Rom. 12:17-21; Eph. 4:32)
Is kind to others (Matt. 7:12; Rom. 12:10; 2 Tim. 2:24)
Encourages others (Eph. 4:29; Col. 3:16; 1 Thess. 5:11)
Prays for others (Rom. 1:9; Eph. 1:16; 6:18; Jam. 5:16)
Is good at working with people of different backgrounds or personalities (Rom. 12:16; 14:1; Eph. 4:2-3, 15-16)
Is a generous giver (Matt. 10:42; Luke 6:38; Acts 20:35; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; 1 Tim. 6:17-19)
Does not gossip (Prov. 20:19; Eph. 4:29-32; Jam. 3)
Participates in the life of the local church (John 17:21-26; Eph. 2:19-22; 4:16; Heb. 10:24-25)
Leads his own family well (Gen. 18:19; 1 Tim. 3:4-5; Tit. 1:6)
Genuinely cares for his followers (Matt. 9:36; Acts 20:18-35; 1 Pet. 5:2)
Is a healthy follower (1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 3:17; Heb. 13:7)
Accepts healthy correction without self-justification (Prov. 19:20; Gal. 2:11-14; 1 Thess. 5:12-13)

“Character” refers to the leader’s personal integrity.

A leader who is strong in Character:

Is joyful (2 Cor. 8:2; Phil. 2:17; 3:1; Jam. 1:2)
Is trustworthy (Prov. 25:13; Eph. 4:25; 1 Tim. 3:11)
Is humble (Matt. 5:3-5; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; 1 Pet. 5:5-6)
Is resilient, bouncing back well from setbacks (Ps. 37:23-24; Prov. 24:16; 2 Cor. 4:8-18)
Is slow to anger (Eph. 4:26, 31-32; Jam. 1:19-20; 3:14-18)
Is not given to drunkenness (Prov. 23:20-21; Rom. 13:13; Eph. 5:18)
Refrains from lust, sexual immorality or pornography (Matt. 5:27-30; Rom. 1:24-31; Eph. 5:3)
Is not greedy (Matt. 6:19-34; Acts 20:33-35; 1 Tim. 6:6-10)
Stewards financial resources well (Prov. 6:1-13; Luke 16:8-13; Jam. 5:1-5)
Recognizes others for their accomplishments without personally taking credit (Rom. 16:1-7; 3 John 1:5-10)
Does not blame others when things go wrong, but takes responsibility for his own decisions and actions (Ps. 32:3-5; 1 Cor. 11:31; Gal. 6:4-5)

“Calling” refers to the leader’s vision and purpose in God. Calling includes six core realities:

God does everything with clear purpose.
Everyone has individual purpose given by God.
God calls certain individuals to be organisational leaders. They must be clear about their personal calling.
Churches and ministries have a corporate calling from God.
Our personal callings integrate with the corporate calling of our church or ministry.
Leadership primarily means “movement” so every leader must understand and communicate the vision God has for those whom he leads.

A leader who is strong in Calling:

Is not content with the status quo, always striving for God’s highest (Acts 20:24; 1 Cor. 9:22-27; Phil. 3:12-14)
Has a vision that is not limited to his own local community, but extends to God’s work in the nations (Acts 1:8; Rom. 15:24-28; Rev. 7:9; 14:6-7)
Seeks the approval of God for his ministry rather than the approval of people (Matt. 23:5-12; Phil. 1:6-18; 1 Thess. 2:4)
Loves to learn and grow (Prov. 18:15; Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 2:15)
Seeks out relationships with mature leaders to learn from them (Luke 2:40-52; Rom. 16:13; Gal. 2:2; 1 Pet. 5:5)
Takes initiative (Prov. 6:6-11; 10:4; Matt. 25:14-30; Acts 9:19-29; 18:24-28; Jam. 4:17)
Does not exploit or use people for his own ambition (Matt. 20:25-28; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; 2 Cor. 12:13-19; Phil. 2:20-21)
Possesses spiritual authority that is recognised by others (Acts 6:3; 16:2; 2 Cor. 10:12-18; 3 John 1:12)
Casts a compelling vision for the future (Ex. 3:7-10; Prov. 29:18; Jer. 29:11; 1 Cor. 2:9-16)
Inspires others to grow so they can fulfill their calling from God (Rom. 15:14; Eph. 4:1-16; Col. 4:12)

“Competencies” refers to the leader’s capacities to think and act. The following “master competencies” cover a wide range of thinking and acting capacities, and provide the leader the ability to understand and then respond well to the challenges and opportunities of life and ministry.

A leader who is strong in Competencies:

Thinks creatively (Ex. 35:31-32; Matt. 25:16; Eph. 2:10)
Is willing to take risks (Matt. 14:25-29; Luke 19:11-26; Acts 16:7-10; 2 Cor. 11:24-28)
Is good at critical thinking (Prov. 14:15; 1 Kings 3:16-28; John 7:24; 1 Thess. 5:21)
Learns from failure and mistakes (Prov. 24:16; Luke 22:32; 1 Cor. 10:11; 1 John 1:9-10)
Builds leaders (Gen. 18:17-19; Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 3:13-18; 2 Tim. 2:2; 3:10-17)
Positively influences people over whom he has no direct positional authority (Luke 2:46-52; 1 Cor. 16:15-18; 1 Tim. 5:1-2)
Is decisive (Matt. 21:28-32; Gal. 2:4-5; Jam. 1:8)
Involves others in decision-making as appropriate (Ex. 18:13-26; Acts 6:1-7; 15:1-25)
Communicates effectively (Is. 58:1; Col. 4:4-6; 1 Pet. 3:15)
Listens to others well (Prov. 18:13; Jam. 1:19)
Builds relational networks with those outside his own group (Mark 9:38-41; Eph. 4:1-6; 3 John 1:5-11)
Interprets the Scriptures soundly (Neh. 8:8; 1 Tim. 1:3-8; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; 3:15-17)
Leads meetings effectively (1 Cor. 14; Acts 15)