Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Walton A. Williams

Second Advisor

Tankiso Letseli

Third Advisor

Trevor O'Reggio

Abstract

Problem

The Ministerial Leadership Training program at Lakeview Adventist College has operated for over 28 years. Since the late 1990s, there has been little in the curriculum that prepared leadership to meet challenges in the field, especially in management and administration. The period 1997-2006 has seen the exit of more ministers than during the years 1980-1996.

Method

This study used surveys, interviews and questionnaires. Survey questions were formed to be answered by pastors in training as well as by those who have already completed training. Therefore, focus groups were organized for those at the College and for those serving as pastors. Interviews were conducted with two pastor-administrators, two non-pastor administrators, five shepherdesses and three retired ministers. Each focus group consisted of four to seven persons of the 18 and older. Population groups that participated were comprised of young adults (18-34), middle-aged adults (35-54), and older adults (55+).

Results

Differences were found in studying the two groups of ministers (the group from 1981-1996, compared to the group from 1997-2006). The first group lived during a time when technology was not advanced, nor were democratic and human rights issues what they are today. The second group had the advantage of more leadership training and many young adults attracted to and entering ministry. Also, women are becoming more accepted to be district pastors. Lastly, essential leadership skills have now been introduced into the theological curriculum.

Conclusion

The leadership curriculum, if constantly reviewed and evaluated, will produce new ideas and increased skills in handling modem pastoral work. Young people who want to become ministers should be more academically and spiritually qualified. Fields should provide bursaries for leadership training, with recruitment and selection based on an individual’s call and qualification to ministry. Ministers should be provided with better facilities, and should implement and use management principles to help them face contemporary challenges encountered in ministry leadership. However, little was found in the current curriculum to explain the exit of ministers from service.

Subject Area

Clergy--Training of--Malawi; Seventh-day Adventists--Clergy; Theology--Study and teaching; Lakeview Adventist College (Malawi)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/330/

Download

Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS