The need for leadership and development of leaders in the church

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The dissatisfaction with the current model

As one goes through the literature, one soon becomes aware that there are many voices calling for change and reform in theological education. “This situation is not new, nor is the rising chorus calling for ‘reform’ or ‘renewal’ of theological education. Indeed, a great deal of attention (and funding) has been devoted during this century to the apparent malaise of theological education” (Ferris 1990:7). Lienemann-Perrin (1981:141) quotes Mackie who said as long ago as 1969: “The insistence on certain traditional patterns of ministry has put a brake on the development of other patterns; the insistence on a certain kind of education has limited the candidates available; the restriction of ordination to the male sex has perhaps made the Church more monochrome than it need be; the reservation of most ministerial functions to the clergy has certainly frozen the resources provided by the laity”. This dissatisfaction is with the way leaders for established churches are trained. “Anyone associated with theological education for ministers in the ‘main-line’ Protestant churches of the United States is surely aware that there is widespread discontent with the schools providing this education” (Hough & Cobb1985:1).

The need for a new paradigm

The situation is so serious that no amount of superficial tinkering with the system will solve the problem. Alongside this academic debate, other voices argue the need for a radical approach. In the Third World, some have insisted that the prevailing paradigm of theological education, and even current proposals for its reform, exists within a Western frame of reference that is fundamentally flawed. This is one of the reasons why students from such countries who attend Western theological institutions often do not return home or, if they do return, find it hard to operate in a culturally effective way.

Goal of study: Finding concrete solutions

Although many people can see the problem, very few come with concrete solutions. For example Ferris (1990:19 – 20), speaking of Farley’s analysis of the problems in theological education, says: Farley’s analysis is disturbing but the implications are dear. Theological education has wandered far from its original mission and is in desperate need of renewal. Furthermore, much of the energy invested in recent efforts toward renewal has been misdirected. The path to renewal of theological education does not lie in more detailed analysis of the tasks of a pastor or more careful preparation for clerical roles. Renewal — true renewal — must begin with a more biblical understanding of the church and leadership in the church. After his insightful analysis, Farley’s proposals for renewal are disappointing, to say the least.

raining in context helps prevent a separation between the trainee and the

church and community in which he is to serve. The training must also not cause a gap between the trained people and the culture in which they must minister. A case in point is the experience of Ralph Winter in Guatemala where the training of pastors was done in a context far different from that of the potential highland Indian pastor. He reports: “But why were there not more ordained pastors? Well, in our Presbyterian system ‘proper training’ (defined by an approximation to U.S. standards) was considered essential for ordination. But of course in anyone down on the Pacific coast of Guatemala ever got ‘proper training’, the culture shift involved would leave him feeling very much out of place within either the coastal Spanish culture or the highland Indian culture” (Winter 1996:173).

Training in context helps the student retain the important lessons, because the

relevance is demonstrated Training in context also implies practical involvement of the trainees in the ministry while they are being trained. By being trained in the context of practical ministry the potential leaders are not only better prepared by learning how to do their ministry, they also learn the lessons better because the relevance of the lesson is demonstrated to them. This is in line with the principles of adult learning. Adults are more motivated to learn things that are relevant to them, as we shall see later on. Kemp (2004:331) says that relevance is one of the marks of excellence in theological training. He explains: “By this I mean matching theory with practice – making sure that theological education is balanced.” But even though the contents may be relevant, the student may not recognise it as relevant if he has not been involved in the practical ministry. Kinsler and Emery (1991:91) say about students who did all their studies before beginning ministry. “They may not have had enough experience to allow them to relate significant parts of the program to their life. Therefore, students might have focussed on issues that were not really relevant for active ministry and they may not have paid attention to those that were.” This is confirmed by Harrison (1997: 269) who says: It should also be noted that much of what is taught and learned during the preparatory (pre-field) stage is forgotten, or else the material is not understood at the time it is presented and thus is not applied, since it is not seen in context.

Training must be structured according to the way in which adults learn

When we are working with potential leaders, we have to remember that we are working with adults. Much typical classroom teaching and learning have taken pedagogical (literally, for children) principles as the basis for curriculum. Those working with adults should consider the differences that they bring to the process (Kinsler & Emery 1991:73). In this regard Hibbert ( 2006:55) says: 91 The hardest thing for trainers of adults to come to terms with is that their students are adults. This includes all students in Bible Colleges and other Christian ministry training programs. It is a common mistake to view Christians-in-training as immature and therefore like children. Adults are self-determining and capable human beings. They marry, have children, manage families, jobs and other responsibilities and do not appreciate being patronized.

Capacity for self-direction

“The adult learner sees himself as capable of self-direction and desires others to see him the same way” (Knowles 1978:184). Hibbert confirms this when he says: “Adults are self-directing and have a deep psychological need to be respected for this.” Therefore trainers have to treat adults as self-directing adults and not talk down to them. They should create a climate of openness and respect. Because they are self-directing, adults like to have control of their learning. They will resist being forced to do things they dislike or disagree with. They need to feel in control of their lives. This requires instructional strategies to be made clear so that adult learners can either choose alternative routes to achieving learning objectives or, where a method they dislike is being used, they can choose to engage in it for the sake of learning.

CONTENTS :

• Chapter 1 Introduction: A change is necessary in the way the church develops
  • its leaders
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Why a study about leadership development and theological
  • training is relevant for missions
  • 2.1 Missionaries have been concerned about leadership development
  • for a long time
  • 2.2 Why leadership development is a missionary concern
  • 2.3 Theological Education as a Dimension of Mission
  • 2.4 The approach of this study
  • 3. The need for renewal in theological training
• Chapter 2 The need for leadership and development of leaders in the church
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Leadership is necessary for the welfare of the church, but there is a shortage of good leaders
  • 3. Leadership is necessary for the church to accomplish its missionary task
  • 3.1 The Church is God’s instrument of mission
  • 3.2 To fulfil its missionary task, the church needs good leaders
  • 3.3 The church needs leaders to train it for its missionary task
  • 4. The church needs leaders to guide it in its responsibility in the world
  • 5. Leadership is necessary for the churches that come into being as the result of missionary work
  • 6. The leaders must come from the rank and file of church members
  • 6.1 Ministry is for all church members, therefore they must be trained for it
  • 6.2 The training of the members must take place in the congregation itself
  • 6.3 The church must not only disciple its members, but also develop them as leaders
  • 7. To be effective in its missionary task, the church must not only train its members, but also open the way for them to take leadership roles
  • 7.1 Members must not only be trained for ministry, they must also be empowered to exercise their ministries
  • 7.2 The training and development of members and leaders should not be two disparate things, it should be a continuum
  • 7.3 The church should not place artificial barriers in the way of its potential leaders
  • 8. Conclusion
• Chapter 3 The process and outcomes of developing spiritual leaders
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Selecting the right people
  • 3. The correct view of the training process
  • 3.1 The factory model, or the metaphor of production
  • 3.2 The wildflower or metaphor of growth
  • 3.3 The pilgrim model or the metaphor of travel
  • 4. The three essential aspects of training
  • 5. Spiritual formation
  • 5.1 Spiritual formation is essential
  • 5.2 What is spiritual formation?
  • 5.3 Spiritual formation happens in the context of intimate personal relationships
  • 5.4. Spiritual formation happens in the context of life in the world
  • 5.5. Spiritual formation happens in the context of life of the congregation
• Chapter 4 The church must be structured to accommodate the leaders that are developed
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. The professional church model impedes the development of church members into leaders
  • 2.1 The role of the pastor and the people in the Professional Church Model
  • 2.2 The priesthood of all believers
  • 3. Why the church must move away from the Professional Church Model
  • 3.1 The Professional Church Model hinders the renewal of the church
  • 3.2 The church cannot afford the Professional Church Model
  • 3.3 The Professional Church Model causes problems in the mission of the church
  • 3.4 The Professional Church Model takes the ministry away from the people
  • 3.5 The Professional Church Model creates a privileged clerical caste which will protect its position even at the expense of the welfare of the church
• Chapter 5 Models of training: The Traditional Residential Academic Approach
  • 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 Apprenticeships
  • 1.2 Monastic Discipline
  • 1.3 Knowledge-Based Formation (the University)
  • 1.4 Seminaries
  • 1.5 Professional Preparation
  • 2. Traditional Residential Academic Training often selects the wrong candidates
  • 3. Traditional Residential Academic Training is not well suited to spiritual formation
  • 4. Traditional Residential Academic Training struggles to remain contextual
  • 4.1 Weak skills training
  • 4.2 Training is not relevant to the situation in which the trainees are going to operate
  • 4.3 Contextualizing the training cannot happen on campus, it must happen in the context
  • 4.4 The lack of contextualization leaves trainees ill prepared for practical ministry
• Chapter 6 Theological Education by Extension
• Chapter 7 The Daystar Training Model
• Chapter 8 Conclusion

GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
Workers for the harvest Producing and training the leaders the church needs to fulfil its missionary task