The Relationship Between Leadership Traits and Church Growth Among Pastors of Free Churches

215 Pages·2017·4.04 MB·English

by  Edgar Machel

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Dissertations Graduate Research
2006
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Edgar Machel
Andrews University
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Machel, Edgar, "The Relationship Between Leadership Traits and Church Growth Among Pastors of Free
Churches in Germany" (2006). Dissertations. 546.
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Andrews University
School of Education
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
AND CHURCH GROWTH AMONG PASTORS
OF FREE CHURCHES
IN GERMANY
A Dissertation
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Edgar Machel
July 2006
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
UMI Number: 3245564
Copyright 2006 by
Machel, Edgar
All rights reserved.
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©Copyright by Edgar Machel 2006
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
AND CHURCH GROWTH AMONG PASTORS
OF FREE CHURCHES
IN GERMANY
A Dissertation
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Edgar Machel
APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:
Chair: EricnBaumfeartiler Dean,'School of Education
James Jeffrey
Member! Jerome Thay<
Member: Ricardo Norton
0-! j
External: Russell Staples Date approved
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ABSTRACT
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
AND CHURCH GROWTH AMONG PASTORS
OF FREE CHURCHES
IN GERMANY
by
Edgar Machel
Chair: Erich W. Baumgartner
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
Dissertation
Andrews University
School of Education
Title; THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP TRAITS AND CHURCH
GROWTH AMONG PASTORS OF FREE CHURCHES IN GERMANY
Name of researcher: Edgar Machel
Name and degree of faculty chair: Erich Baumgartner, Ph.D.
Date completed: July 2006
Problem
Many German Christian denominations have been losing members year by year
for the past five decades. There are more and more voices that question the way pastors
function as leaders. Therefore, this study looked at the differences of personality traits
among pastors of Free Churches in Germany in the context of church growth. The
leading research question was. What kind of leadership traits, behaviors, and attitudes are
favorable to lead a church toward growth and to return stagnating churches to vibrancy?
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Methodology
The “Business-focused Inventory of Personality” was sent out to 1,100
Pentecostal, Baptist, and Adventist pastors, of whom eventually 220 responded. In
addition, demographic data and personal perceptions of skills, abilities, and activities
were asked for. Pastors of growing churches were compared with pastors of plateaued or
declining churches using Chi Square, ANOVA, and discriminant analysis.
Conclusion
Pastors of growing churches demonstrated higher self-confidence, emotional
stability, power over systems, power over people, networking, and perseverance in the
face of opposition. The ability to deal with setbacks, rejection, and failure to such a
degree that the goal-orientation does not get lost is characteristic for mission-oriented
pastors.
Considering the demographic data, the probability that pastors would be in a growing
church increased with tenure, especially after 10 years. Pastors of declining churches
with more than one church did less well than pastors of declining churches with just one
church. Finally, pastors of growing churches scored higher in regard to mission-
orientation, team-orientation, and training of members.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................ vii
LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................viii
PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... xi
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................I
Statement of the Problem................................................................................4
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................5
Research Questions ........................................................................................6
Goals ...............................................................................................................7
Methodology and Limitations .......................................................................7
Significance of the Study ..............................................................................8
Personal .....................................................................................................8
Missiological ............................................................................................9
Educational ...............................................................................................9
Denominational ......................................................................................10
Deliminations of the Study ..........................................................................10
Church Growth Theory ..........................................................................10
Denominations.........................................................................................11
Theology .................................................................................................11
Ministry...................................................................................................12
Definitions and Explanations........................................................................12
Organization of the Study ............................................................................14
2. THE GERMAN CONTEXT ................................................................................16
A General Overview ....................................................................................16
Church Growth Theories..............................................................................17
Competencies for Pastors..............................................................................22
Missionary Competency.........................................................................23
111
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