Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Pastoral Leadership Of Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors In Sub-Saharan Africa And Congregational Giving During 2020-2021: A Grounded Theory Study, Eric Jean-Bruno Aniel Barbe

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical model that describes how the behavioral strategies of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) pastors in Sub-Saharan Africa may have positively influenced congregational giving during the years 2020-2021 of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

A qualitative grounded theory research design was used (Corbin & Strauss, 2015). In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data from a purposive sample of SDA pastoral leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa. The collected data were analyzed using an iterative process consisting of open, axial, and selective coding, thereby facilitating the construction of subcategories and a core category. This analytical process …

Venturing Free: An Empowerment Journey, Sara Taylor Lattimore

Doctor of Leadership

NPO Statement

Experienced leaders who have experienced burnout or leadership trauma lose their risk-taking capacity.

Emerging Insights

Emerging insights began to imply that leaders in helping professions such as ministry leaders who are serving in this post-COVID world may experience increased burnout and trauma as they lead in spaces where they are tasked with leading while helping others heal. Burnout and lack of community started to arise as a potential factor that could lead to leaders slipping into survival mode and avoiding risk-taking in their contexts. Research workshops revealed leaders had feelings of survival, burnout, and loneliness. They spoke of …

The Development Of The Holistic Pastoral Wellbeing Assessment: A Mixed Methods Study, Timothy Captain

Dissertations

Some pastors are clearly in crisis. Research has indicated that clergy struggle to cope with the stressors of their profession. While pastoral work is overtly spiritual in nature, day-to-day tasks include interactions with God, themselves, congregants, and the world at large. Without multi-dimensional tools to consider their wellbeing, specifically assessments that reflect their worldview and role, pastors may remain unaware of dangerously low levels of wellbeing until they reach a place of crisis. Therefore, in this mixed methods study, the Holistic Pastoral Wellbeing Assessment (HPWA) was developed and tested to offer a validated, useful tool for pastors and those who …

Childhood Trauma And The Faith Maturity Of Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors And Seminarians, Pete A. Palmer

Dissertations

Problem

Unfortunately, Childhood Trauma is a fact of life. For instance, children lose parents/guardians through death or divorce. Children grow up in impoverished situations. Children have parents who suffer from mental illness and/or commit suicide. In addition, more unfortunately, some children are mistreated, neglected, and/or abused. The long-lasting impact of Childhood Trauma includes increased morbidity and mortality, and decreased opportunities for prosperity. This research sought to establish a statistical relationship between Childhood Trauma and Faith Maturity. Childhood Trauma has been demonstrated to affect attachment processes in children and, since religion is an attachment process and God is an attachment figure, …

Missional Leadership In Times Of Congregational Transition, Tormod O. Svensson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Congregational transitions are points of change, providing opportunities to introduce a missional understanding and direction of ministry. Missional leadership in times of congregational transition includes case studies of three ELCA congregations in transition, led by pastors who have a missional understanding of leadership, processed through the lenses of transformational pastoral leadership, congregational transitions, what it might mean to be sent by God, the Holy Spirit leading and empowering, missional ecclesiology, and congregational spiritual practices. It draws on resources by Allen Roxburgh, Patrick Keifert, Dwight Zscheile, Craig Van Gelder, Lee Bolman, Terrence Deal, Peter Northouse, William and Susan Bridges, and others.

Discovering Successful Pastoral Mentors Based On Their Spiritual Gifts Cluster And Engaging Them In Mentorship In The Wisconsin Conference Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Adam Case

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Many pastors are placed into pastoral ministry with passion and education but lack sufficient mentoring to help them succeed in ministry. These pastors would benefit from a mentor who could support them and/or grow them through intentional mentorship in specific agreed upon areas. The concept of mentoring is biblical, Jesus being a prime example, and one that is in line with the principles of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There is no conflict with the concept of mentoring, but nothing practical has been put into place in the Wisconsin Conference to discover good pastoral mentors and then engage them in …

A Strategy To Coach Pastors To Revitalize Declining Churches In The Carolina Conference And Other Seventh-Day Adventist Conferences In The United States, Brad Cauley

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Many English-speaking Seventh-day Adventist churches are in an attendance decline or plateau in the United States. Specifically, the investigator found that 56% of English-speaking churches within the Carolina Conference of Seventh-day Adventists were in decline when comparing the five-year attendance mean for 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 using annual average attendance data. This discovery was alarming. Simultaneously, however, the population was growing in many of these communities. More intentionality was needed to stem the tide of attendance decline. These churches were in need of revitalization, but many of their pastors lacked the natural temperament and/or support needed for revitalization to occur. …

Servant Leadership: A Study About Organizational Health, Leadership Styles And Practices In Missao Bahia Sudoeste Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church And The Possible Relation Between The Ministerial Areas Low Engagement Level In The Small Groups Program, Osmar Borges Lima

Master's Theses

Problem

Due to the low engagement of the pastors of Missão Bahia Sudoeste (MBSo) in the Small Groups program as compared to other field within the União Leste Brasileira (ULB) it was decided to investigate the organizational health, the leadership practices and styles, as well as the job satisfaction on the part of the MBSo’s pastors.

Method

The study was conducted among 52 pastors who represented the three levels of leadership designated by the OLA research instrument (Top Leadership, Management and Work Force) which analyses the perception of the participants six key areas of leadership, as well as six levels …

Confessional Biblical Preaching In The Face Of Whiteness: Challenging The Preacher’S Understanding Of White Supremacy, Laurie P. Feille

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis addresses the need for preachers to hear the voices of people of color, to hear the “prophets in the streets,” specifically African-Americans, and to have their eyes opened to their own white privilege and role in white supremacy. This thesis argues that this is an important step in preachers finding their confessional voices for preaching before they can begin to help the individual members of those congregations become aware of their individual and collective white privilege and role in white supremacy. With the help of black clergy a “Twin Cities Pilgrimage” was created. This involved learning the stories …

Eficacia Na Formacao De Lideres De Pequenos Grupos Na Uniao Nordeste Brasileira, Moises Moacir Silva

Master's Theses

Problem

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that answered the question of why are the majority ministers of the Brazilian Northeast Region not excited about the work of the small groups, even having known their work for 15 years.

Method

It is a quantitative survey, conducted during a ministerial council in 2013. It is an anonymous and objective survey.

Results

The ministers of the União Nordeste Brasileira have been working with small groups since the start of their ministry, except those who have been ministers for over 20 years. Many ministers began their involvement with small groups …

A Future Horizon For A Prophetic Tradition: A Missional, Hermeneuical, And Pastoral Leadership Approach To Education And Black Church Civic Engagement, David L. Everett

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This mixed-methods study performed among six congregations explored how the historical framework, fabric, and focus of the Black Church have changed throughout a modern/postmodern context. An exploratory approach was used to study congregations identified by a 10-person pastoral focus group using methods of interviews and questionnaires. This researcher hypothesized that the social gospel dimensions and prophetic radicalism of the historic Black Church have diminished, but that it might reestablish itself as a pillar in the community through a retrieval of its prophetic voice and social gospel roots which caused it to be missional-minded and civically-engaged. It is anticipated that this …

Developing And Implementing A Program To Retain Adventist Clergy In The Botswana Union, Paminus Machamire

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Botswana has been growing at an average rate of 6% annually in the past ten years. Conversely over the same period of time the Botswana Union has been losing pastors at an average rate of 2% per year. Although members continue to increase they lack pastoral leadership.

Method

I used a mixed methodology to conduct a survey on former and frontline pastors, spouses and children of former and frontline pastors, union and conference officers. One group filled questionnaires independently and the other filled them under my supervision. I conducted some of …

Equipping The Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors In Zimbabwe For Grief Ministry: A Culturally Sensitive Approach, Simbarashe Nyasha Musvosvi

Professional Dissertations DMin

The Problem

Zimbabwe faces a predicament in which the mortality rate is rising while support for grieving people is declining. At the same time the Zimbabwean culture is rapidly changing because o f the impact of Christianity, urbanization, Western influences, and HIV/AIDS. Church leaders are not always in agreement on what rites are appropriate for Christians. These factors often result in inadequate support from the extended family, the community, and the church.

Method

This dissertation discusses the challenges that confront the Seventh-day Adventist church in Zimbabwe in ministering to the bereaved. My purpose was to design a training program for …

La Depresión En El Ministro Adventista Del Séptimo Día, De Las Uniones Interoceánica Y Sur De México: Una Aproximación De Sus Causas, Incidencia Y Posibles Soluciones, David Manuel Pacheco Cocom

Professional Dissertations DMin

Today depression affects millions. Its causes include social and psychosocial factors, as well as physical problems. The adverse atmosphere of the large cities, together with the speed of change and the stress of modem life, foster depression It has been recognized that persons in helping professions, ministers among them, are more prone to depression than others. Much is expected of pastors, both by their parishioners and their superiors. Often they work long hours and thus forego the support of their families. With these factors in mind, I studied depression among Seventh-day Adventist pastors in southern Mexico, looking for its frequency …

Toward A Paradigm Of Servant Leadership For Seventh-Day Adventist Ministers In Korea, Youngsoo Chung

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Korean society retains a strong Confucian tradition, manifested by a strong devotion to family and an emphasis on hierarchy and vertical relationships. The Buddhist and Shamanist traditions provide a model of authoritarian leadership. These traditions have been modified to adapt to modem leadership concerns, but the hierarchal practice of power and authority-based leadership still prevails. The challenge facing Christianity is the prevalence of this existing leadership style. It is a barrier to the acceptance of the biblical model of servant-leadership. Effective leadership that is both biblically sound and culturally suitable is needed for the Seventh-day Adventist church in Korea. …

Growing Up As A Pastor's Child-The Pressures And Positives Of Living In A Clergy Family System, Stephen Juergensen

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Through research and personal interviews, this project explores the lives of pastors' children and their responsibilities in light of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, the pressures they face in the clergy family system, and positive aspects of their lives that come with their unique lifestyle. Included is a retreat for pastors' teenage children which has been developed as a method of helping pastors' children cope with their lives in constructive ways, understand the pressures they experience, celebrate the positive aspects of being pastor's children, and grow personally and spiritually as they reaffirm their essential identity as baptized children of God.

A Psychosocial Support System For Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors In West Indonesia, Edison Pandjaitan

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem The adjustment that many SDA Indonesian pastors go through in the early years of their ministry and the feeling on the part of some ministers that they lack essential psychosocial support suggest the importance of designing a systematic support system. Therefore the dissertation addresses the following questions: (1) How do SDA pastors in the West Indonesia Union indicate their need of a support system? (2) What resources are available to meet the needs of Indonesian pastors? (3) What can the minister, the local church, and the hiring organization do to strengthen this support system?

Method The project is descriptive-prescriptive. …

The Relationships We Live By, Craig Du Bois

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

"The Relationships We Live By" is an examination of the relationship-centered life whereby many of the traditional hierarchical ordering of relationships are evaluated and challenged. This is an analysis of the prioritization of relationships as discerned from the Scriptures.

A Seminar On The Dynamics, Prevention, And Legal Implications Of Clergy Sexual Misconduct, Jorge E. Rico

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Clergy sexual misconduct has become a major problem among Christian denominations. It involves violation of expectations and the breaking of public trust. There is also a growing awareness in our society of the legal implications of clergy sexual misconduct. This present study was to prepare, present, and evaluate a seminar for pastors on the dynamics, prevention, and legal implications of clergy sexual misconduct.

Method

Research was done to help ministers understand the dynamics, prevention, and legal implications of clergy sexual misconduct. Then, a seminar was conducted in four areas of the Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. This seminar was …

A Training Program For Grief Ministry For Singapore Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors, Chor Kiat Sim

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Many Seventh-day Adventist church pastors in Singapore are not trained in grief ministry. This results in some pastors who are insensitive to the grieving. Consequently, theirs and many church members' grief has been unresolved. This study was undertaken to develop a holistic pastoral perspective regarding grief and to compose a training program in grief ministry that will help pastors understand their own grief dynamics and that of their parishioners.

Method

This project attempts to present the principles of grief ministry through the following dimensions: (1) Singapore's need of grief ministry in the midst of socioeconomic development; (2) the study …

A Design For The Establishment Of A Resource Center For Pastoral Skills Development In The Carolina Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists: Based Upon A Pastoral Skills Needs Inventory, Ralph Arthur Hollenbeck

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The drop-out rate for pastors is and has been alarming. One reason for pastors leaving the ministry is their lack of opportunity and the knowledge of knowing where and how to enhance their pastoral skills. The objective of this project is to develop a design for the implementation of a resource center for pastoral skills development based upon a pastoral skills needs inventory.

Method

Methods used in this project varied. A research of literature was conducted. A personal interview with Mark Rouch resulted in the possession of the mailing list of the "Society for the Advancement of Continuing Education …

Nurturing The Pastor's Spiritual Discipline Of Prayer Through The Dynamic Of Spiritual Direction, Derek John Morris

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Current research demonstrates that we cannot assume that seminarians have received sufficient guidance in spiritual formation prior to the completion of their Seminary training. Therefore, there is a great need to explore ways of nurturing spiritual formation for those involved in pastoral ministry. It was the purpose of this present study to explore the potential of spiritual direction as a dynamic for nurturing the pastor's spiritual discipline of prayer.

Method

A spiritual friend, who had received training in spiritual direction, was selected with guidance from Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. A twelve-month case study was established with the author …

Developing And Implementing A Program Of Instruction For Church Administrators And Ministers Of The Antillian Union Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists To Enlarge Their Understanding Of The Doctrine Of Spiritual Gifts As It Relates To Their Roles And Functions, C. Dionisio Christian

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Due to the lack of opportunity of administrators and ministers of the Antillian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to take full advantage of the materials that can be found in the English language on the doctrine of spiritual gifts, there is not a clear understanding of spiritual gifts among the majority of the church administrators and ministers. There is a need for them to understand how spiritual gifts relate to their roles and functions.

Method

The steps utilized in the project were: (1) a theological presentation of the doctrine of spiritual gifts; (2) studies presented by means of sermons, …

A Study Of Productivity In Ministry As Related To South America Division, Itamar Sabino De Paiva

Professional Dissertations DMin

This study is concerned with the attributes of the ministry as depicted in the Bible and the writings of Ellen G. White as well as with an evaluation of ministerial productivity in selected unions of the South American Division (SAD). Those who have dealt with the problem of evaluation have focused mainly on the numerical achievements or quantitative aspects of ministerial productivity. Although evaluation of qualitative characteristics may be more difficult than that of quantitative characteristics, failure to include both aspects of the minister's work may well result in an inaccurate and unbalanced profile of his accomplishments. Consequently, there is …

The Transfer Of Ministers In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church Of The German Democratic Republic And Its Effects On The Minister's Service And Family Life, Johannes E. Mager

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Transfers from one pastoral district to another are part of the life and work of ministers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Every transfer deeply affects all aspects of his life, and that of his family. It also influences his relationship with the administrators of the church and touches the respective congregations. The aim of this study was to find out (1) whether transfers have solely a pragmatic character, or whether they also carry biblical-theological implications; (2) whether transfers do encumber interpersonal relations and, if so, what possibilities exist to solve these tensions …

Suggestive Guidelines For The Ministerial Internship Training Program In The West Indonesia Union Mission Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Boaz J. Dompas

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The ministerial internship program is an important part of ministerial education in the West Indonesia Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists. The absence of official guidelines for the ministerial internship training program in this area has resulted in the uncertainty of some, if not many, of the supervisors and the supervisees regarding their proper roles in the internship program.

Method

For the development of guidelines for ministerial internship training, data and information from the following areas have been studied: (1) The undergirding philosophy and the theological principles of supervision based upon the Bible and the relevant literature on field education; …

An Analysis Of The Role And Functions Expected Of A Seventh-Day Adventist Pastor: As A Basis For Negotiating An Intentional Ministry, Victor Ralph Brown

Professional Dissertations DMin

Since its organization in 1863, the Seventh-day Adventist denomination has grown from a small group to a significant religious movement in the world today. Originally all ministers in the church were evangelists. There were to be no "settled" pastors of local congregations. Local churches relied upon local talent selected from their own ranks for pastoral leadership. The change created by increased numbers and the demands of the laity has meant the role of the ordained minister in the local Seventh-day Adventist church has been considerably altered from its original concept. This has caused many to be confused as to just …