Date of Award

1999

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Religious Education, PhD

First Advisor

Roy C. Naden

Second Advisor

Jimmy Kijai

Third Advisor

William E. Richardson

Abstract

Problem. Methods of comparison are required to evaluate pastoral effectiveness. This study was an examination of statistically significant differences among contrasted groups of clergy to identify characteristics and performance patterns associated with productivity and effectiveness.

Method. Pastors from Anglo Seventh-day Adventist churches in North America and Canada were assigned to five groups that were evaluated using the Adventist Pastor Inventory, Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Pastoral Tasks Survey, and Pastoral Tasks Questionnaire. Ministers who baptized 50 or more persons within 3 years were compared with those who baptized 10 or fewer in the same period and clergy rated most effective and least effective by supervisors were compared. Randomly selected pastors were assigned to a reference group.

Results. Statistically significant differences among the groups (p < .05) were identified by means of the four instruments using Chi Square, Analysis of Variance, Multivariate Analysis of Variance, and Discriminant Analysis procedures. High-baptism pastors were more oriented toward warm relationships with people, were more likely to have achieved scholastic honors, and to have attended the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. They were likely to have spent more time on seven aspects of their work, and to have been rated as more proficient at 20 of 25 pastoral tasks. The pastors rated most effective by their ministerial directors were more likely to have received academic honors, involved laity in ministry, had broader career aspirations within ministry, and seen greater numerical growth in their congregations. Characteristically they were evaluated as less submissive, more disciplined, and more group-oriented than the less-effective pastors. According to lay-leaders' ratings, the more-effective group spent more time on 12 aspects of their work, and their task proficiency was rated superior on 23 of 25 pastoral tasks.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dissertations/722/

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