Theology and Pastoral Leadership

This paper examines the views of Archbishops George Carey and Rowan Williams on the pastoral theology of leadership with respect to the office of Archbishop of Canterbury.

2019

The work expounds the prayer and word priority seen clearly in Acts 6:4, the ministry of Jesus, David, and Moses.

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership, 2011

The church’s leadership experience spanning the centuries places it in a unique position to contribute to leadership studies. Any contribution should grow out of the development of a theology of leadership. Consideration of that development should be informed by general leadership studies while uniquely drawn from its faith. Its primary elements should include a Scripture-based, God-governed, Christ-centric reflection on the use of the gifts that the Holy Spirit has empowered all believers with in order to accomplish His mission in and for the world. A theology of leadership must constantly balance the biblical narrative and contextual application. This leads to both ecclesiology and practical leadership being advanced simultaneously. Research can be furthered through greater analysis of both scriptural and historical leadership contexts.

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2014

The scope of this article is to expand the shepherd model of leadership functions as portrayed by the shepherd metaphor. The identification and the biblical usage of the shepherd and the sheep is explored, with special focus on the role of the shepherd. This role is identified as that of caring, courage, and guidance. The caring function includes activities such as restoration, feeding, watering, grooming, shearing, delivering lambs, leading, and protection. The function of courage focuses on activities of assuming responsibility, serving and participating in change. The function of guidance gives a special highlight on hodegos [leader or guide] – to lead or to guide in regard to a decision or future course of action. This is where the leadership training is based. The conclusion is the call for leaders in the ecclesiastical community to pursue the shepherd-leader model for the advance and the effectiveness of the mission Dei [mission of God] in the world.

The Free Methodist Church in Canada, 2005

The following represents a series of thoughts coming from different directions that feed into the development of a first-draft set of priorities for pastoral leadership in missional mode. If you are looking for the quick set of priorities go to the end of this article, if you want a rationale for the model, read on.

The scope of this article is to expand the shepherd model of leadership functions as portrayed by the shepherd metaphor. The identification and the biblical usage of the shepherd and the sheep is explored, with special focus on the role of the shepherd. This role is identified as that of caring, courage, and guidance. The caring function includes activities such as restoration, feeding, watering, grooming, shearing, delivering lambs, leading, and protection. The function of courage focuses on activities of assuming responsibility, serving and participating in change. The function of guidance gives a special highlight on hodegos [leader or guide]-to lead or to guide in regard to a decision or future course of action. This is where the leadership training is based. The conclusion is the call for leaders in the ecclesiastical community to pursue the shepherd-leader model for the advance and the effectiveness of the mission Dei [mission of God] in the world.

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2010

That ministry is to be given back to the laity is a laudable proposition. However, the level of development in many township and village communities is still such that a strong leadership and management facilitation role is demanded of the pastor. In such contexts, the pastor is also the only one who is always available for church tasks. The point of departure of this article was that the pastor is primarily a facilitator who assumes the tasks of a leader, a manager and a servant. The Trinitarian office of Christ is taken as model. Christian leadership, as discussed from a systems perspective, is seen as enabling rather than hegemonic. The pastor fulfils the seven leadership functions in order to equip the saints for their Christian service. Church management is redefined as a process which takes place in meaningful collaboration with others, over against the objectification found in conventional definitions which focus on ‘getting things done through people’. This article discussed...

Scriptura, 2014

The ongoing processes of decline taking place in mainline churches all over the world in combination with developments in the direction of pluralism, consumerism and globalization pose many challenges to the teaching of leadership and administration at Faculties of Theology. Not only do we find much "crisis language" and even some unease with the use of leadership terminology in theological discourses, but we also see challenges to deeply-held convictions on the traditional understanding of the offices and ministry of the church. The values and underlying assumptions about these notions are contested areas in scholarly research. At the same time we see the development of alternative forms of leadership as well as the rapid growth of African Independent Churches within the African context. The article probes different aspects of leadership and administration and attempts to clarify some points of departure for the ongoing conversation. Part of the argument is that the teaching of leadership and administration, in preparing students for their role in Christian faith communities, rests upon four different pedagogies. These pedagogies each contribute towards an integrated spirituality as a prerequisite for authentic leadership. In conclusion, some practical suggestions are proposed as pointers for the future for teaching this challenging field at Faculties of Theology. We all hoped that the students who went through these institutions would be able to think theologically, apply what they had learnt to their contexts relevantly, think critically, and act propheticallythat they would exercise their ministerial functions competently and that they would be persons who were growing in their spiritual and prayer life. 2-Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu