<p> The purpose of the current study was to understand the ways that heads of evangelical Christian schools exercise pastoral leadership in order to enrich the culture and community of their schools, promote student outcomes, and enhance the Christian ethos of their institutions. The current study filled the gap in previous literature through a qualitative multiple case study method examining and describing the means and modes by which three heads of evangelical Christian schools led their school communities, as perceived by the heads, board members, senior leaders, faculty members, students, and parents within the school. What emerged from the research is that the heads provided pastoral leadership for their schools through: (a) proclaiming God&rsquo;s word&ndash;communicating the mission, vision, and values of the school&rsquo;s distinctively-Christian character to the community, living those values incarnationally, and connecting Scripture to the daily context of the school; (b) demonstrating genuine pastoral soul care and concern for staff, students, and parents, care that connected school family members with the school and allowed them to internalize and reflect school values themselves; and, (c) equipping senior leaders, faculty, students, and parents to serve the school community and each other, stewarding the resources of the school. The heads&rsquo; pastoral leadership created cultures of authentic Christian care and community, flourishing climates in which faculty felt free to collaborate, work as a team, and share craft knowledge. Students felt cared for and safe to take academic risks, ask questions, and try harder, all of which provided healthy media for learning. Keywords: pastoral leadership, head of school, evangelical Christian school, Christian educational leadership, pastoral care.</p><p>

<p> Although typically not responsible for leadership decision-making that impacts the spiritual growth of the entire organization, youth ministers play a vital leadership role in congregational health as leaders of smaller communities within greater communities of faith. This leadership role is threatened by numerous challenges facing youth ministers of all denominations. Specific to this study, the vital role of youth ministry in Churches of Christ is threatened by high turnover rates of those within the profession. The purpose of this study was to determine leadership practices and strategies that are employed by long tenured youth ministers in Churches of Christ, identify the challenges those youth ministers have faced in implementing leadership practices, discover how they measure successful youth ministry leadership strategies and practices and ascertain their recommendations for implementing leadership strategies and practices within their profession. </p><p> Data were collected from 15 full time youth ministers in Churches of Christ from throughout the United States. The qualitative, phenomenological study utilized a 12-question semi-structured interview format to gather the lived experience of subjects. Key study findings identified 70 themes that answered four research questions. Specifically, self-awareness was the top trait study participants used to describe themselves as leaders. Additionally, participants identified creating an others-focused environment as the top strategy or practice as a contributor to long tenure at the same church. The findings of this study have substantive implications for men and women considering youth ministry as a career or calling, and for institutions of learning that train those preparing for the youth ministry profession.</p><p>

<p> Trust is a topic that has been written about hundreds of times, still it is hard to define. In the literature, trust and relationships are grouped together as going hand-in-hand. In Christian education circles, trust is something that is implied to be present. This research explored the presence of trust in a suburban Christian school in the Midwest. The research explored trust from the perception of three different stakeholder groups (staff, parents, and board) from the study school. The researcher used data sets that included: The Visible Elements of Trust Inventory (VETI)- online survey, focus groups- by stakeholder type, and secondary data from the study schools annual surveys. In this case study, the study school&rsquo;s stakeholders&rsquo; perceived trust was demonstrated and hindered through communication and relationships. </p><p>

In recent years it became an important feature in Christian churches to educate churchgoers beyond the normal sermons on Sundays. For every Christian to grow in holiness, they need to be developed and grow under the rule of leaders (Shepherds Training Manual, page 5). A growing number of congregations divide their members in smaller groups, i.e. home cells, where they are taught in smaller, intimate circumstances. The main purpose of these home cells is to have fellowship with each other and to receive biblical and spiritual teaching. Meetings usually take place once a week. Home cells usually function under the authority of the church, and home cell leaders report to the leaders appointed over them as per the congregation specifications and structure. Home cells operate in conjunction with general church structures and do not function as a separate entity. Churches in the larger metropolitan areas make use of Bible schools where formal schooling takes place, usually during the week on an evening. The schooling usually takes place at the church building, and the pastor/s mostly acts as religious teachers and/or biblical instructors. The aim of these instructors is to enlighten the Word of God and to lead their fellow Christians into a better understanding of their stand in righteousness in the Lord God. It also became increasingly popular to invite guest teachers or lecturers to teach the congregation members. Wise church leaders allow their leaders to share in the planning of teaching opportunities (Fischer, 1977:86). In congregations that support home cells, these leaders are the home cell leaders who have been instructed by the pastor, and who are in turn expected to teach fellow home cell members. This kind of teaching might happen on a formal basis where all home cells are present, or teaching can be informal during home cell sessions, where specific learning materials are used, i.e. the Bible and prescribed course material. A home cell session usually takes the form of congregation members convening at a specific pre-agreed venue. During this meeting they initially attend to issues regarding emotional and physical needs, eventually culminating into the teaching of spiritual and religious matters from the Word of God. / Prof. D. van der Westhuizen

Two types of religious education administrators serve the parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The professional religious education administrator is commissioned by the ELCA, and the paraprofessional religious education administrator was noncommissioned. This study examined the theoretical orientation, skill level, preparation, and preference for alternative religious education models of religious education administrators. Two hundred professional and two hundred paraprofessional religious education administrators comprised the sample population for this study. The survey study was guided by two research questions: (1) What is the prevailing framework adopted and applied by religious education administrators, i.e. traditional, social cultural, contemporary and social science models? (2) Are there differences between professional and paraprofessional religious education administrators in preparation for their work, their theoretical orientation, and their perception of their skill level and work? Results of the study identified the contemporary model as the preferred religious education model. The social science model was second, followed by the social cultural and traditional models. No significant differences were found between the professional and paraprofessional religious education administrators in their preparation, theoretical orientation, and their perception of their skill level and work.

This study examines the affect of guided imagery (GI) in Christian psychotherapy in reducing depression as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The sample for this study consisted of eighteen depressed adult subjects who volunteered to be part of this study. Each subject was randomly assigned to one of two conditions: Non-delayed treatment or delayed treatments The researcher, a trained Christian psychotherapist, provided weeks of treatment for this study. Treatment effect was measured by the BDI, a self-report rating scale developed for this study, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). An ABA single-subject design was utilized. Student's T with a one-tailed test was used to test statistical significance. Statistical significance was found at 0.001 level between pre-treatment and post-treatment BDI scores. Summary and suggestions for further research are presented.

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