Thesis (DTh)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is generally said that modern Korean church leadership has gradually lost its vitality. Since the 1960s, many Korean church leaders have implemented secularised, church-centred, and authoritarian leadership. However, without noticing these fundamental problems, the leaders have identified the crisis with membership stagnation or decline. Such an inadequate or even wrong diagnosis of leadership realities has led to a wrong way of addressing the problem. The Korean church has focused on the development of a methodology for numerical church growth to remedy this membership decline. This study thus aims to construct a contextual yet biblical leadership theology by which the Korean church can evaluate the realities of its leadership appropriately. This aim can be achieved by means of the methodology that is employed in contemporary practical theology. Chapter 2 provides a general understanding of the context in which Korean church leaders have provided leadership by discussing Korean church history from the perspective of the role that dominant leadership images have played. The result demonstrates that a sound theology of church leadership needs to be constructed for the Korean church. Chapter 3 reviews the trends in contemporary practical theology from which the methodology employed by this study is derived. The chapter also surveys the historical development of leadership theories in social science from which theoretical support can be obtained for the critical analysis of Korean church leadership. Chapter 4 develops a systematic theological theory (base theory) for two concepts that play an integral role in this study. PTA (practical theological anthropology) and PTE (practical theological ecclesiology) function as theological foundations for this study. The four-phased methodology that this study employs starts with an analysis of the contextual situation. Chapter 5, as the descriptive phase, gives a statistical analysis of the realities of leadership in the Korean church by using several reports of surveys from reliable research organizations. Chapter 6, as the hemeneutic phase, presents an interpretive endeavour of the empirical results from Chapter 5. Because of the inadequacy of mono-dimensional interpretation, this study attempts to interpret the results of the analysis multi-dimensionally: religio-culturally, socio-politically and economically, and theologically. Chapter 7, as the nonnative phase, demonstrates some theological principles that the current Korean church should develop in order to cope with the present leadership crisis and to choose the right direction for its future. These theological principles can be derived from the statistical analysis and its interpretation in the light of PTA and PTE. The principles are: spirituality, vision, and love. Chapter 8, as the strategic phase, proposes a model of leadership for the Korean church, namely, servant leadership. This model can integrate and reflect the three principles (spirituality, vision, and love) demonstrated in Chapter 7. The Korean church will be on the right path if the principles of a servant approach characterise leadership in the church. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar word in die algemeen gese dat die hedendaagse Koreaanse kerkleierskap sy lewenskrag geleidelik verloor het. Sedert die 1960s het baie Koreaanse kerkleiers sekulere leierskap, kerkgesentreerde leierskap en outoritere leierskap gelmplementeer. Sonder om kennis te neem van hierdie basiese probleme, het die leiers egter hul leierskapskrisis toegeskryf aan die stagnasie of afname in lidmaatskap. Dit was 'n ontoereikende of selfs verkeerde diagnose van die probleem. Die Koreanse kerk het deurgaans gefokus op die ontwikkeling van 'n metodologie vir getallegroei in die kerk om die lidmaatskapsafname te probeer regstel. Hierdie navorsing beoog dus om 'n kontekstuele teologiese teorie te ontwikkel waardeur die Koreaanse kerk die realiteite van sy leierskap toepaslik kan evalueer. Hierdie doel kan bereik word deur middel van die metodologie wat in praktiese teologie gebruik word. Hoofstuk 2 bevat 'n beskrywing van die konteks waarin Koreaanse kerkleiers leiding geneem het. Dit beskryf die Koreaanse kerkgeskiedenis vanaf die perspektief van leierskap. Die resultaat demonstreer die noodsaak van 'n kontekstuele teologiese teorie vir kerkleierskap in die Koreaanse kerk. Hoofstuk 3 verskaf 'n oorsig van standpunte in hedendaagse praktiese teologie waaruit die metodologie, wat in hierdie navorsing toegepas is, voortvloei. Die hoofstuk bied ook 'n oorsig oor die historiese ontwikkeling van leierskapsteoriee in die sosiale wetenskap wat teoretiese ondersteuning kan bied vir die voorstelle wat die studie maak. Hoofstuk 4 ontwikkel 'n basisteorie vir twee sleutel konsepte in die studie. 'n PTA (praktiesteologiese antropologie) en 'n PTE (prakties-teologiese ekklesiologie) funksioneer as teologiese basis vir hierdie navorsing. Die vier-fase metodologie wat deur hierdie studie geimplementeer word, begin met 'n analise van die konteks. Hoofstuk 5, as die beskrywende fase, verskaf 'n statistiese analise van die realiteite van die leierskap in die Koreaanse kerk deur verskeie verslae of oorsigte te gebruik afkomstig van betroubare navorsingsorganisasies. Hoofstuk 6, as die hermeneutiese fase, bied 'n poging om die empiriese resultate van Hoofstuk 5 te vertolk. As gevolg van die ontoereikendheid van eendimensionale interpretasie, poog hierdie studie om die resultate van die analise multi-dimensioneel te vertolk: godsdienskultureel, sosio-polities en ekonomies, en teologies. Hoofstuk 7, as die normatiewe fase, demonstreer sommige teologiese beginsels wat die huidige Koreaanse kerk moet ontwikkel om die huidige leierskapskrisis die hoof te bied en die regte rigting vir die toekoms te kies. Hierdie teologiese beginsels kan afgelei word van die statistiese analise en die interpretasie daarvan in die lig van 'n PTA en 'n PTE. Die beginsels is: spiritualiteit, visie en liefde. Hoofstuk 8, as die strategiese fase, stel 'n model van leierskap vir die Koreaanse kerk voor, naamlik diensknegleierskap. Hierdie model kan die drie beginsels integreer en reflekteer (spiritualiteit, visie en liefde) wat in Hoofstuk 7 voorgestel is. Die Koreaanse kerk is op die regte pad as die beginsels van 'n dienskneg benadering leierskap in die kerk kenmerk.