The purpose of this project is to promote transformative change within a local church by establishing an ethos of mutuality built upon mutually shared religious beliefs rather than shared culture or age. The pastor of a predominantly African-American church of approximately two hundred members located in the City of Pensacola in the panhandle of Florida observed that there was no perceived cooperative and collaborative exchange between those who shared a culture (individuals bound together with certain beliefs, interests, and culture) or those who were from the same generation within the church. The church being studied is an urban inner-city ministry comprised of 71 % adults and 29% youths. Culturally, the differences among members are more geographical in their origin than racial. Pensacola, a city with a fluid population, attracts people from different communities within the nation. Utilizing the concepts of task competence, transactional commitment, and transformative consciousness (consistent mental awareness of transformative praxis) for the pastor and the membership, this project addresses transformative change (ministry involvement, organizational commitment, and membership retention) as well as attitudes, behaviors, and actions within the local church. The project includes the development of a four-lesson series that addresses the idea of mutuality (embracing shared core beliefs and ideas). The project enrolled twenty-one people representing each ministry subgroup within the church. The group completed a pre-test and post-test (questionnaire) and participated in all group session activities designed to develop mutuality in the areas of core shared beliefs such as spiritual growth, and the church's direction of ministry, vision, and mission. The effectiveness of the lesson plan series was evaluated based on increased unity, behavioral attitudes towards each other, and praxis in the ministry. The community known as the Greater True Vine Missionary Baptist Church of Pensacola, Florida is the project's primary focus. The hoped for outcome of the project was to create greater unity and organizational commitment among the church's members as a result of their renewed focus on their shared core religious beliefs.

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The study is an exploration of pastoral leadership from the perspectives of members of the congregation within an Australian Chinese congregational church. The congregational form of church government is one of the governing structures within the Protestant churches. This kind of church operates under a democratic voting system in which each member of the congregation has an equal voice regarding church administration. Most Australian Chinese congregational churches consist of different generations of Chinese Christians. Research indicates that Chinese Australians’ length of residence in Australia is closely linked to their identification with Australian culture. As such, the values, beliefs and attitudes of different generations of Chinese Christians might be different as a result of acculturation. These generational differences will in turn affect the decision making processes of church administration and the approaches to pastoral leadership of the senior pastor. In the past, issues of pastoral leadership have mainly been discussed from theological perspectives. Nowadays, studies of pastoral leadership have been more varied. However, there is still relatively little scholarly empirical research concerning pastoral leadership in a congregational church setting, especially from an intergenerational perspective. In this study, four dimensions of pastoral leadership are identified, namely the personal, organisational, religious and cultural dimensions. The epistemology and theoretical perspective governing the research study is constructionism and interpretivism respectively. Case study has been employed as the methodology. The strategies of data collection include questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, direct observation and document analysis. Rich data is analysed by using the framework of Spencer, Ritchie and O’Connor (2003). The findings of the research revealed differing perceptions among different generations of Australian-Chinese Christians about the pastoral leadership of the senior pastor within an Australian Chinese congregational church. Differences in the perceptions about the pastoral leadership of the senior pastor were also found between groups of lay leaders and church members. Results indicated that a variety of leadership approaches were used by church pastors when they were dealing with different generations of Australian-Chinese Christians in the church. The findings identified the personal characteristics of the senior pastor as the most influential factor in the pastor’s leadership effectiveness, with the organisational, religious and cultural factors also perceived to influence the leadership effectiveness of the senior pastor within the research context. The research presents a conceptual framework for the exploration of pastoral leadership which may be useful for further research. This framework draws attention to the four dimensions of pastoral leadership, namely the personal, organisational, religious and cultural dimensions. The research findings suggest that attention given to these dimensions may enhance both the leadership of church pastors and the growth and development of churches in similar contexts.

The Pentecostal movement is experiencing phenomenal growth within global Christendom. Notwithstanding the exponential growth of Pentecostalism, there are contextual pastoral leadership challenges within the African-led Pentecostal tradition in British society. The first challenge observed is that the pastoral leadership practices of the African-led Pentecostal churches in British society are situated in their socio-cultural and theological orientations; this situation poses contextual challenges for pastors in carrying out their ecclesiastical duties. The second problem concerns leadership. There are often, for example, allegations about some pastors within this tradition mismanaging church finances, practising sexual immorality, taking money for prophetic utterances and abusing their power. These very troubling allegations have led to some Christians leaving this church tradition to join other churches, especially white-led British Pentecostal/charismatic churches, and some have stopped going to church altogether. Moreover, a review of literature suggests there has not been an attempt to undertake an in-depth study of the pastoral leadership praxis of the African-led Pentecostal church community in British society. Thus, there is a gap to be filled in Pentecostal pastoral leadership scholarship. The present research investigates these contextual challenges and formulates markers for exemplary pastoral leadership among African-led Pentecostal churches in British society. To address these problems, the four tasks of Richard Osmer’s practical theological interpretation were used. Pastors from the African-led church community were interviewed. The study investigated the impact of North American Pentecostal pastoral leadership on their African counterparts, recent scholarship on pastoral leadership, the five practices of exemplary leadership by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, the socio-cultural and theological distinctives of African-led neo-Pentecostal churches in the context of British society, and New Testament perspectives on pastoral leadership. The findings of this study affirmed that there are challenges facing African-led Pentecostal pastoral leaders in the context of British society and that these can be addressed from a practical theological perspective by formulating markers for a model of exemplary pastoral leadership. The study contributes to original research in the burgeoning field of practical theology in the area of Pentecostal pastoral leadership. / PhD (Pastoral Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The Pentecostal movement is experiencing phenomenal growth within global Christendom. Notwithstanding the exponential growth of Pentecostalism, there are contextual pastoral leadership challenges within the African-led Pentecostal tradition in British society. The first challenge observed is that the pastoral leadership practices of the African-led Pentecostal churches in British society are situated in their socio-cultural and theological orientations; this situation poses contextual challenges for pastors in carrying out their ecclesiastical duties. The second problem concerns leadership. There are often, for example, allegations about some pastors within this tradition mismanaging church finances, practising sexual immorality, taking money for prophetic utterances and abusing their power. These very troubling allegations have led to some Christians leaving this church tradition to join other churches, especially white-led British Pentecostal/charismatic churches, and some have stopped going to church altogether. Moreover, a review of literature suggests there has not been an attempt to undertake an in-depth study of the pastoral leadership praxis of the African-led Pentecostal church community in British society. Thus, there is a gap to be filled in Pentecostal pastoral leadership scholarship. The present research investigates these contextual challenges and formulates markers for exemplary pastoral leadership among African-led Pentecostal churches in British society. To address these problems, the four tasks of Richard Osmer’s practical theological interpretation were used. Pastors from the African-led church community were interviewed. The study investigated the impact of North American Pentecostal pastoral leadership on their African counterparts, recent scholarship on pastoral leadership, the five practices of exemplary leadership by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, the socio-cultural and theological distinctives of African-led neo-Pentecostal churches in the context of British society, and New Testament perspectives on pastoral leadership. The findings of this study affirmed that there are challenges facing African-led Pentecostal pastoral leaders in the context of British society and that these can be addressed from a practical theological perspective by formulating markers for a model of exemplary pastoral leadership. The study contributes to original research in the burgeoning field of practical theology in the area of Pentecostal pastoral leadership. / PhD (Pastoral Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

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This essay examines the degree to which pastors within the Uniting church of Sweden (Equmeniakyrkan) feel that they possess authority within the context of their ministries and in what way they find opportunities to influence people to green transition. The method used to study this is a combined study, comprising a survey and a couple of follow-up interviews. The results of the study show that the majority of the pastors believe that it is important to work with issues related to green transition, but that the majority at the same time show doubts about being concrete and precise about these matters. The result could indicate an uncertainty regarding one's own authority to guide individuals to concrete lifestyle changes and ethical stances. The pastor can thus be understood as a “key person” in his context; a person entrusted with authority and "keys". The survey shows that the pastors prefer to use their keys to open, but seldom to close or “lock tight”, in the sense of stipulating what a person should or should not do.

This thesis contends that the pastoral role is significant to the effective functioning and well-being of the church. Therefore, the initial selection of a pastor is a vital component and contributes to those desirable outcomes. The question being considered within this thesis is: What are the factors within a church hiring process which may play a role in successful or unsuccessful pastoral ministry? As there are many variables even within this process, the scope of this thesis is limited to the identification and selection of pastoral leadership from the perspective of the pastoral participants. This perspective is drawn from one denominational association in Ontario —the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptists (FEB hereafter) within the Central region of Canada. In examining this question, an empirical, mixed-methodology is used. The triangulation of a literature review, surveys, personal interviews and a biblical, theological treatment allowed for the most comprehensive perspective and treatment of the research question (Leedy, 2010, p. 99). There is a significant amount of inductive reasoning included, based upon personal interactions within cultural contexts and experiences. This is due to the inadequacy or lack of current theories and available literature relative to the question being studied. This motivates me towards the inclusion of a grounded theory methodology as a component of this study (Leedy, 2010, p. 142). Hiring the right pastor is a challenge at the best of times. As the church struggles to respond to a rapidly changing and diverse culture it presents greater challenges. Rates of pastoral turnover are high and the general duration of pastoral ministry is low. This, in turn, impacts ministry effectiveness. This study of hiring practices and pastoral experiences begins to identify elements as to why some pastors are successful and others are not. It allows for the reflection and consideration of whether the church is, what I have termed, “Equipping the Called, or Calling the Equipped”. There is cause for hope, as there always is within God’s church. This thesis identifies concerns, as well as some positive practices and experiences that can be helpful to inform practice and potential change. As Osmer acknowledges, “observing good practice in other congregations is a powerful source of normative guidance” (Osmer, 2008, p. 152). / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This thesis contends that the pastoral role is significant to the effective functioning and well-being of the church. Therefore, the initial selection of a pastor is a vital component and contributes to those desirable outcomes. The question being considered within this thesis is: What are the factors within a church hiring process which may play a role in successful or unsuccessful pastoral ministry? As there are many variables even within this process, the scope of this thesis is limited to the identification and selection of pastoral leadership from the perspective of the pastoral participants. This perspective is drawn from one denominational association in Ontario —the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptists (FEB hereafter) within the Central region of Canada. In examining this question, an empirical, mixed-methodology is used. The triangulation of a literature review, surveys, personal interviews and a biblical, theological treatment allowed for the most comprehensive perspective and treatment of the research question (Leedy, 2010, p. 99). There is a significant amount of inductive reasoning included, based upon personal interactions within cultural contexts and experiences. This is due to the inadequacy or lack of current theories and available literature relative to the question being studied. This motivates me towards the inclusion of a grounded theory methodology as a component of this study (Leedy, 2010, p. 142). Hiring the right pastor is a challenge at the best of times. As the church struggles to respond to a rapidly changing and diverse culture it presents greater challenges. Rates of pastoral turnover are high and the general duration of pastoral ministry is low. This, in turn, impacts ministry effectiveness. This study of hiring practices and pastoral experiences begins to identify elements as to why some pastors are successful and others are not. It allows for the reflection and consideration of whether the church is, what I have termed, “Equipping the Called, or Calling the Equipped”. There is cause for hope, as there always is within God’s church. This thesis identifies concerns, as well as some positive practices and experiences that can be helpful to inform practice and potential change. As Osmer acknowledges, “observing good practice in other congregations is a powerful source of normative guidance” (Osmer, 2008, p. 152). / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

No description available.