Empowering leadership : a seminar curriculum for local church leaders in the Baden-Wuerttemberg Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Abstract

Jesus’ command to make disciples expresses the central aim of all Christian leadership. Leadership needs to motivate, guide, and equip members to an active role in the ministry and mission of the church. However, the context of south Germany shows at present only a small percentage of members in the Seventh-day Adventist church who are actively involved in discipleship. The leadership style of most local church leaders does not empower the members. There is a need for empowering leadership in the local churches. This study approaches the challenge using the methodology of a program development and is divided in four major chapters. The introduction describes the reality and consequences of a professional clergy, where the pastor performs the main ministry tasks in the local church. Chapter 2 provides a theological base for the development of a seminar curriculum and indicates seven main principles of empowering leadership: (1) An empowering leader sees his personal spiritual life as a priority, (2) builds strong relationships, (3) selects potential members, (4) works in a team, (5) fosters a clear vision, (6) regularly motivates for growth, and (7) enables growth. Chapter 3 analyzes the leadership of two local church settings. The analysis includes a cooperate work of one months in every setting, the gathering of relevant data, observation, and informal interviews with leaders and members. The analysis identified the weaknesses of the leadership and set the focus for the training. Chapter 4 presents the general shape of the seminar and gives the outline of eight single topics. It also describes the implementation in the two church settings with special focus on their weaknesses in empowering leadership. After a timeframe of three months an evaluation of the curriculum was done. With the help of several evaluation instruments, the study showed that only initial change in the leadership had occurred. The study concludes that the emphasis of empowering leadership is crucial in order to fulfill the mission of Jesus. If an ongoing training is realized by a motivated local minister with a special focus on young leaders, a growth in discipleship will be visible.