Thesis (Ph.D.)--Northwestern University, 1997. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 58-04, Section: A, page: 1330.

Thesis (D. Min.)--McCormick Theological Seminary, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

Project (D. Min.)--Iliff School of Theology, 2005. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-130).

Project (D. Min.)--Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1989. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Project (D. Min.)--Iliff School of Theology, 2005. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-130).

The growth of popular protestantism and the increased demands of Irish Catholicism were two nineteenth century developments which would not take place without conflict. The high Churchmanship and Toryism of Wesley coupled with Methodist experiences in Ireland ensured that Wesleyans would not support concessions to the Irish Catholics. The remarkable numerical growth of Methodism in England only highlighted its apparent failure in Ireland when confronted by a surprisingly resilient Catholicism. Most religious and social conflicts have political ramifications and this one was no exception. Battle lines were dram over three important questions. Were Roman Catholics entitled to the same political, rights as everyone else? What were the relative responsibilities of Church and State in the provision of education? What was to be the fate of protestantism in Ireland when it was in such a hopeless minority? In all of these questions Methodism and Roman Catholicism found themselves on completely opposite sides. As with later non-conformists the Wesleyans could not accept that what was theologically and morally wrong could ever be politically right. In response the Irish Catholics could appeal to the government for change in a country where the religion of the majority was politically and socially in subjection to the religion of the minority. Methodism's allies were the Established Church and the Tory party, and both let them down. In the disappointment of political failure over the Maynooth Bill the Wesleyans reaffirmed their belief in religious methods by participating in the Evangelical Alliance. In spite of short term successes Methodism's political objectives were not achieved and participation in public affairs often produced connexional disharmony.

William Impey (1818-1896) came to South Africa as a Wesleyan Methodist Missionary in 1839. He held various missionary and colonial appointments until 1860 when he succeeded William Shaw as Chairman of the Albany and Kaffraria District and General Superintendent of Wesleyan Methodist Missions in South-East Africa. Impey's major contribution was in the provision of education for the indigenous peoples of this region, especially as President of Healdtown (1868-1878). This institution eventually became one of the most highly thought of mission education academies in South Africa. To date little has been known of the life and work of William Impey despite his senior position in South African Wesleyan Methodism. J Whiteside's History of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of South Africa, the last comprehensive history of South African Methodism, published in 1906, only devotes a few lines to Impey. He does however make further reference to Impey's work in his section on education. The Methodist Archive at Manchester University, which contains the personal records of all 19th century Wesleyan Methodist ministers, also has very little information about Impey. The reason for this relative lack of information is that he resigned from the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1878 on doctrinal grounds. Impey came under the influence of 19th century liberal theology and eventually drew the conclusion that he could no longer accept the doctrine of 'eternal punishment'. He believed that the only honest thing for him to do was to resign from the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which he believed required its ministers to adhere to this doctrine. He was accepted for ordination by the Anglican Church and served as a deacon in 1878 and then as a priest until his death in 1896. Impey's journal affords the reader an opportunity to have a glimpse into what life was like for a 19th century missionary living and working in South Africa. Perhaps its particular value lies in the many detailed entries Impey made about his personal spiritual experiences. The aim of this thesis is to place the life's work of William Impey in its historical and theological context in the belief that this will enable us better to understand the 19th century missionaries. It is hoped that this study will make a further contribution to our understanding of both 19th century missionaries and the times in which they lived and worked.

No description available.

Bibliography: pages 170-189 / Relational discipleship is found to hold a great potential for church growth. The Methodist Church Ghana uses Small Groups, referred to in the Methodist tradition as the Bible Class as effective tool for relational discipleship for church growth. Bible Class has been used from the inception of the church for exponential growth of the church. However, the rate of growth in recent years have been below targets. This study explored the factors affecting the positive outcomes of the utilization of the Bible Class meetings as effective tool for relational discipleship and for church growth. This study explored the participants’ knowledge and use of the structural arrangements put in place to help pastors and leaders to foster relational discipleship towards church growth (the numerical and spiritual growth and commitment of the church members); and the leadership and discipleship styles employed by the pastors and class leaders in pursuance of the goal of the church. Five (5) Societies in the Accra Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana located in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, were involved in the study. Mixed Method Research that combined both qualitative (in-depth interviews and Focus Groups) and quantitative (structured questionnaires) research methodologies were used to explore the perspectives about the structural arrangements put in place to help pastors and leaders to foster relational discipleship, leadership/discipleship styles of the leaders; the benefit and usefulness of the Bible Class as a relational discipleship tool; their participation in church programmes and activities and the challenges they faced. The qualitative research consisted of 20 in-depth interviews and eight (8) focus groups with some church members, ministers and church leaders. The focus group discussions revealed that church members knew about the structural arrangements put in place to assist leadership of the church to foster closer relationship with their members in pursuance of discipleship. The study also revealed there were many challenges associated with the participation in the Bible Class Meetings and other church programmes and activities. The Bible Class meeting was cited as having been put in place for discipleship making and could be used to strengthen relationship between the church leadership and members. The findings from the qualitative phase were tested at the quantitative stage. The quantitative research method employed structured questionnaires administered to 650 church members, ministers and church leaders. The participants comprised 419 (64%) females and 231 (36%) males. Their ages ranged between 18 and 79 years with the majority (55%) between 18 and 40 years. The participants completed the questionnaires by themselves at the premises of their churches. The response rate was 100%. Three hypotheses were tested. The findings of the research suggest that the extent to which pastors and church leadership directly get involved in the affairs of their members with the view to making disciples and monitoring their spiritual growth influences church members’ interest in church activities and commitment to the church. It was also noted that leadership’s participation in church activities encourages members’ participation in church activities and programmes. Similarly, pastors and lay leaders who utilized the Bible Class or Small Group to build relationships with their members had greater numbers of members attending small group meetings and that pastors’ involvement makes the church members perceive class meeting as beneficial. However, only Interpersonal Leadership Style of Discipleship was positively associated with knowledge about church activities and participation in church activities and programmes. The more members know about Church activities, the greater their participation in those activities. There was no association between the other discipleship styles (e.g. serving, testimonial, intellectual) employed by leaders to foster relational discipleship. The discussions and conclusion of this study were based on these three studies (In-depth Interview, Focus Groups Discussions and the Structured Questionnaire Survey). / Practical Theology / D. Phil. (Theology)

The hypothesis that underpins this dissertation is that a holistic helping model relevant to addressing Burnout in the ministry needs to have as its major focus, the prevention of Burnout. Adequate internal and external supports need to be in place to act as buffers and mitigate against the unique stressors of ministry. A reactive response, seeking to address the consequences of Burnout is considered an inadequate response. Preventative measu res are viewed as far more effective and desirable. Recently the writer's car engine overheated. The problem began in an insignificant way, a rubber hosepipe began to perish, nobody noticed . Eventually under constant and intense pressure from superheated water flowing powerfully through the engine's cooling system, the hosepipe burst. It only took a few moments for the engine to overheat, causing serious damage. The cost of replacing the rubber hose would have been under one hundred rand. The labour time would have been under a half an hour. To repair the damaged engine after the pipe had burst and the engine had overheated cost thousands and the labour took several days. To repair or heal a person is far more complex and not always possible. When the stressors build up and nobody appears to notice or care, when the person is unable to diagnose for themselves, that they are near to breakdown or Burnout. When the person does not know who, what or where to turn to , and when the person has inadequate internal and external coping mechanisms - this type of emotional breakdown is far more serious than any burst pipe. Unlike in the example above some things cannot be repaired. Therefore the emphasis needs to be on preventing the ' hosepipe from ever perishing '. In the writer's opinion the many stressors that are common to ministry can become so overwhelming that breakdown or Burnout become a real possibility . Adequate internal and ext ernal coping mechanisms can be effective buffers to prevent such stressors becoming catastrophic. To ascerta in how serious the problem of stress is and its main consequence in the context of th is dissertat ion, Burnout, twenty of the fifty active Methodist ministers in the Nat al West District were asked to participate in a study. All twenty received the Burnout Inventory found in Appendix B of this document . The ministers approached were select ed in order to adequately represent a cross - section of the Meth odist Ministers in the District. A fair representation of gender, race and age were key considerations. The respondents were however, all white ministers, men and women, many of whom had worked in cross - cultural contexts. The available experts in the field, the woman psychologist , the professor and the minister with a history of successful cross - cultural work, were also white. In the writer's opinion black academics in the Methodist Church have focused more upon social issues and issues of social justice, than intrapersonal or psychological stresses with in the ministers themselves. This dissertation is therefore the outcome of mainly the experiences and insights of white ministers and therefore its response to the impact of Burnout among black Methodist ministers is limited. The ministers were asked to indicate which, if any of the twenty four responses that make up the Burnout Inventory, they agreed with. The respondents were also asked to indicate their gender, age and race, but not to record their names to ensure confidentiality. The limited number of twenty was important as all who responded were given the opportunity, if they chose to, of discussing their responses with the writer in a confidential environment. Some of these responses, with the permission of the respondents, provide the personal insights on Burnout recorded in Chapter One (p13). Chapter One deals with the nature of stress and th e unique stressors of ministry. Chapters Two and Three are in the writer 's opinion vital, in that in addition to the unique stressors common to all who minister, the specific stress of cross - cultural ministry is considered in Chapter Two. In Chapter Three the complexities of being a woman in ministry are discussed with reference to facing the sin of patriarchy. Both Chapter Two and Chapter Three have suggested Models presented at the end of each to address the very specific stressors people who engage in cross - cultural ministry and women who minister encounter. In Chapter Four the Burnout of the Prophet Elijah is discussed and a Holistic model towards the prevention of Burnout in the ministry is proposed . This model is called the Tripod model. Six in - depth interviews are recorded. In Chapter Two an Indian pastor suggests insights into the traps and pitfalls associated with cross - cultural ministry . Two women ministers in Chapter Three, express their thoughts and experiences of being a woman in ministry and in Chapter Four three experts in the field of ministry Burnout are interviewed, whose thoughts and ideas are integrated in order to develop the Tripod Model and the additional suggestions associated with a holistic model towards the prevention of Burnout in the ministry . What of the responses received? Is stress and Burn out really such a big issue? Is the ministry really so stressful? Five of the black ministers approached failed to respond. Fourteen of the fifteen responses received indicated that it really is a serious issue. Eight out of the fifteen indicated more than six areas of concern in the Burnout Inventory . Six out of the remaining seven indicated between two and five of the statements, questions were relevant to them and their experience of ministry . Only one, a woman minist er who was later interviewed in - depth and whose interview is recorded in Chapter Three, indicated none of the statements, questions as relevant to her life. The reason for this response is most surprising and totally unexpected. This dissertation focuses on a preventative model in relation to Burnout in the ministry. What of those who are experiencing or who have already Burned out? Is there hope? At the end of Chapter Four God's response to the prophet Elijah is considered and how God ministered to him to facilitate healing . This however is far from the ideal. When it comes to the concept of deep wounds to the human soul, prevention is most definitely preferable to cure. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.