Leadership Evangelistic Report


Are you leading with the “Confidence in God’s Call”?

The confidence in God’s call relates to Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1 NIV) Tony answered this question with a definitive “No.” He then went on to explain that grace is a free gift from God yet it takes an ability to teach. This ability has to be nurtured and matured. For Timothy he had the experience of accepting the free gift of grace, and he nurtured his ability to teach by sitting under the teachings of Paul. Tony is an elder in the church who has had the opportunity to take part in a program called Pastor in Training or P.I.T.S for sort. This has been his way of playing a Timothy type of role which helps him to mature his ability to lead with more confidence.
Reid makes the statement “God will never use us unless we realize that we are nothing apart from him.” In interviewing Tony this stands out as a major part of his leadership character, he has been a Christian for seven years and realizes still that if it weren’t for Christ in him he would never be able to help people on the level he does now.

2. Are you leading by “Equipping Other Leaders”?

Equipping other leaders requires taking the knowledge we have and sharing it with others. We see Paul speaking to Timothy about this very principal in 2 Timothy 2:2 when he says “The things you have heard from me…commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Reid speaks of the two different forms of mentoring, formal and informal, and he also mentions peer mentoring all of which Tony could relate to, agreeing that he has been involved with each form at some level.
Mentoring for Tony is a big part of encouraging people to put things into perspective, enabling him to help youth and newer Christians of any age to realize their own leadership qualities. In our church we are always trying to raise up the next generation of leaders. Another part of mentoring that is important in leadership is peer mentoring in which the “iron sharpens iron” concept comes into play. This is evident in the P.I.T.S. program where you have other leaders in training giving constructive criticism and encouraging feedback. Tony likes knowing they are there to listen to him teach whiling supporting him with their critiques. All in all the responses to this question was an affirmation of just how well I believe Tony is working at reaching out to other leaders as well as building up future leaders.

3. Do you lead in “Humility”?

Jesus led in humility as a servant leader. In Mark 10:45 Jesus said “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Reid states “being a servant means being human, being transparent,” and also “your respect, your awe, your wonder that God has called you will say much to those who follow you.” Tony’s response to this question in particular reflected these two statements. He talked about how people will “follow” just about any type of leader at least for awhile, but that people will “stay” with a humble leader. Key to being a humble leader is where your personal thoughts are. John 12:42-43 NKJV says “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise of men more than the praise of God.” Tony emphasized verse 43 because he believes this is a major part of what causes the downfall of many leaders. As soon as a leader starts thinking “I arrived” God is going to break them down. Pastors fall because they start wanting to be more important then the people they serve. To serve is to be a shepherd. A shepherd tends to the every need of their flock which requires a lot of actions: feeding, protecting, teaching, instructing, discipline, etc. Only humble Pastors or leaders can truly shepherd their flock. I especially liked Tony’s remark “I don’t want to be held up by those I am teaching I want to hold Jesus up so people can see Him. I want to point people to Jesus.”

4. Are you leading others “to Greatness for God”?

In our book Reid talks about being a “visionary leader” one who “see the potential in others” and that one of the roles a leader has is to “help others catch the vision that God has for their lives.” Tony uses his gift of encouragement and his influence as a leader to bring others “to Greatness for God” by conversing with them about what they think their personal gifts may be. He then helps them to take advantage of different opportunities to try out the gifts they may or may not possess. As a leader he has the ability to influence others yet he doesn’t want to misguide anyone one so he is careful not to call out a gift if he is not a hundred percent sure that it is there. He also remarked that when gifts are genuine they work easier, but there are times when certain gifts have to be “faked” in order to be obedient to God’s will. For him it is street evangelism. Tony will be obedient to go out and approach a person but it takes stepping out of his comfort zone to do so.

5. Are you leading “Consistently & Biblically”?

Reid states that “leadership must be founded on the timeless principles of Scripture” this is an important concept because all truth is found in the Scriptures. When Tony is approached by a person, whether in a positive or negative manner, he is willing to take the time with that person to say “let’s see what God’s word says about this matter.” If a person comes to him and twists Scripture or misquotes Scripture he will work with them, if they are willing to, so that all may have a clearer understanding of what is being said. Tony gets down on himself for not knowing enough Scripture by heart but his integrity and ethics are consistent. Reid states as his final sentence in dealing with leading “Consistently & Biblically” “we need leaders who will declare boldly the unsearchable treasures of Christ from a heart of love and without fear of the consequences.” Tony definitely has the heart of love and more knowledge then he gives himself credit for, in my opinion he is well on his way to fitting this statement.

6. Are you leading by the “Strength of Your Character”?

Tony answered this question before I had a chance to share anything Reid had written. His response was one that inspired me and impacted me the most out of our entire interview it really helped me to understand his genuinely humble character. His response was the way I think more people should respond. “My character is flawed even with Christ in me. I want to lead by Christ’s character.” He went on to explain that from his own personal life he knows that character can be faked. His character is what led him to become a Christian because before he was saved he would pick himself up by the “boot straps and get things done” in front of officers and other Navy Brass. In private however he didn’t employ the same “character.” After going through the “school of hard knocks” he realized he needed a Savior to help him build a right character with matching integrity. Then I read to him what Reid says “leadership is influence…you must have integrity, conviction, and character.” I would say that Tony’s response and the way that it inspired me would be evidence that he is in line with Reid’s statement. You can’t have a right “character” without the integrity and conviction to back it up.

7. Provide a summary of your interview.

To summarize my interview with Tony I would have to start by saying that I was greatly encouraged. Tony is a great man of God with a God given ability that he has taken care to nurture and mature under careful discipline and the discipleship of other leaders and mentors including a couple of courses with Liberty University. He is an active elder at Calvary Chapel of Southeastern Connecticut and is also part of “Pastors in Training”, offered under Pastor Joe Paskewich. Tony has a wonderful wife Angela and together they have four sons of their own who are all very involved in youth activities at the church, and as a family they have opened their home for the past two years to take in foster children. They currently have three all of who call them “mom” and “dad”. Tony along with his family work to reflect the love of Christ to these children as well as the children’s natural families and or pre-adoptive parents.
I was encouraged listening to Tony speak with humility and awe about God, he obviously has a heart that seeks after God’s will. He is filled with the compassion and radiates the love of Christ.
I am honored to know Tony and his family and to know that we are all part of the same body of Christ. I learned a great deal from this assignment about myself, about my brother in the Lord, and about leadership. I look forward to taking the lessons learned and applying them to my own life, most of all to keep in the front of my mind that God can use me despite of my weaknesses and when He does use me that it is all for His glory, AMEN!