Trinitarian Leadership as a Seventh-day Adventist Perspective on Empowering Leadership in

291 Pages·2017·5.92 MB·English

by  Alex Golovenko

AAnnddrreewwss UUnniivveerrssiittyy
DDiiggiittaall CCoommmmoonnss @@ AAnnddrreewwss UUnniivveerrssiittyy
Dissertation Projects DMin Graduate Research
2013
TTrriinniittaarriiaann LLeeaaddeerrsshhiipp aass aa SSeevveenntthh--ddaayy AAddvveennttiisstt PPeerrssppeeccttiivvee oonn
EEmmppoowweerriinngg LLeeaaddeerrsshhiipp iinn LLooccaall CChhuurrcchheess iinn WWeesstteerrnn OOnnttaarriioo
Alex Golovenko
Andrews University
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin
RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn
Golovenko, Alex, "Trinitarian Leadership as a Seventh-day Adventist Perspective on Empowering
Leadership in Local Churches in Western Ontario" (2013). Dissertation Projects DMin. 50.
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin/50
This Project Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @
Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertation Projects DMin by an authorized administrator
of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Thank you for your interest in the

Andrews University Digital Library
of Dissertations and Theses
.

Please honor the copyright of this document by
not duplicating or distributing additional copies
in any form without the author’s express written
permission. Thanks for your cooperation.
ABSTRACT
TRINITARIAN LEADERSHIP AS A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
PERSPECTIVE ON EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP IN LOCAL
CHURCHES IN WESTERN ONTARIO

by
Alex Golovenko

Adviser: Stanley E. Patterson
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
Project Document
Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Title: TRINITARIAN LEADERSHIP AS A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
PERSPECTIVE ON EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP OF LOCAL CHURCHES
IN WESTERN ONTARIO

Name of researcher: Alex Golovenko
Name and degree of faculty adviser: Stanley E. Patterson, PhD
Date completed: October 2013
Problem
Most Seventh-day Adventist churches in Western Ontario are not growing. Elders
are present in every Seventh-day Adventist church. However, practices and
responsibilities of elders differ from church to church. There is no network among elders
for support and leadership development. The expectation is that the vocational pastor will
solve problems and produce church growth, yet, contradictory, indecision exists among
elders about whose responsibility it is to grow a church. Elders do not have certainty
about biblical expectations laid upon them. They do not entirely function according to
the job description outlined in the denominational handbook. Ideas about what the
biblical leadership is differ from church to church. In my opinion improving the
Empowerment quality in Leadership will positively affect the growth of local churches.
Method
Leadership practices of local churches in Western Ontario District were examined
through Focus Groups. Intentional teamwork among elders of all district churches was
under development for three years. Lack of consistency among churches prevented
further teamwork development. For the purpose of examining motivational factors of
empowering leadership, the teamwork was continually worked on at the London (South)
Seventh-day Adventist Church. All five conventional categories of leadership
improvement were put in place before the new concept of the Trinitarian Leadership
model (see formal definition in the Definitions of Terms in Chapter 1) was introduced to
see if its motivational factor will improve elders’ commitment to church health and
growth. Standards and expectations were monitored through the Natural Church
Development (NCD) survey tool. It was used annually to measure quality of leadership
of elders and ministry leaders along with other seven quality characteristics of church
health. Recommendations and suggestions were made to enhance the work of a local
elder.
Results
The initial cooperation and the teamwork of district churches produced a
momentum for growth, which was not sustainable in the long run. Process of putting in
place all conventional requirements for leadership did not produce an improvement in the
Leadership Empowerment quality according to the NCD survey. The local church, where
the project continued and the Trinitarian Leadership model was introduced, experienced
significant improvement in elders’ efforts and practices. As a result the final NCD scores
revealed a strong increase in Empowering Leadership, corroborated in patterns of giving
and general members’ participation in church life.
Conclusion
More research is needed toward developing the Theology of Leadership. The
Trinitarian Leadership model has to be tested in other churches as well. The experience
of local elders of the London (South) Seventh-day Adventist church is influencing
churches in the district as they take preaching appointments to surrounding district
churches monthly. The positive learning of the Trinitarian Leadership model by London
(South) elders is yet to impact other district churches. It is anticipated that the church
growth in London will attract the interest and provide an opportunity to guide other
churches for growth.
Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
TRINITARIAN LEADERSHIP AS A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
PERSPECTIVE ON EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP IN LOCAL
CHURCHES IN WESTERN ONTARIO

A Project Document
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry
by
Alex Golovenko
October 2013
© Copyright by Alex Golovenko 2013
All Rights Reserved
TRINITARIAN LEADERSHIP AS A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
PERSPECTIVE ON EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP OF LOCAL
CHURCHES IN WESTERN ONTARIO
A project document
presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Ministry

by

Alex Golovenko

APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:

_______________________________ ___________________________
Adviser, Director, DMin Program
Stanley E. Patterson Skip Bell

_______________________________ ___________________________
David Penno Dean, SDA Theological Seminary
Jiří Moskala

_______________________________ ___________________________
Russell Burrill Date approved
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Current Adventist Situation in Western Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Commitment to London Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Statement of the Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Justification for the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Definitions of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Delimitations for the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Description of the Project Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Expectation From the Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2. TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY OF EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP . . . . . . 16

Why Trinitarian Leadership? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Trinitarian Lenses Reveal Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Learning Leadership From God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Practical Trinitarian Examples in Biblical Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . 24
God - the Alpha and Omega of Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Fractal Reproduction on Earth as it is in Heaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Non-Trinitarian Leadership Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
A Question to Church Elders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Biblical Description of Apostolic Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
New Testament Church Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Difference Between Terms Elder and Bishop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Apostolic Church Two-tiered Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Elders as Overseers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Eldership as Teamwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Biblical Eldership is not Hierarchical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Stewardship for Empowering Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Is Empowerment Really Biblical? . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
iii