Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Skip Bell

Second Advisor

P. Richard Choi

Third Advisor

R. Clifford Jones

Abstract

Problem

Korean society retains a strong Confucian tradition, manifested by a strong devotion to family and an emphasis on hierarchy and vertical relationships. The Buddhist and Shamanist traditions provide a model of authoritarian leadership. These traditions have been modified to adapt to modem leadership concerns, but the hierarchal practice of power and authority-based leadership still prevails. The challenge facing Christianity is the prevalence of this existing leadership style. It is a barrier to the acceptance of the biblical model of servant-leadership. Effective leadership that is both biblically sound and culturally suitable is needed for the Seventh-day Adventist church in Korea.

Method

In order to better understand servant-leadership in the context of Korea, data were collected from the James White Library, Andrews University; the Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame; and the McAlister Library, Fuller Theological Seminary. A questionnaire was used to survey the local church pastors in two of the five conferences and the language institutes governed by the Korean Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Results

The research findings indicate that the Seventh-day Adventist pastors perceive themselves to be leaders who are incorporating the principles and practices of servant- leadership. However, the findings also reveal a variance in their ability to identify the unique qualities that characterize the biblical model of servant-leadership. A majority of pastors surveyed indicated a desire for a leadership development program.

Conclusions

The Seventh-day Adventist church in Korea needs to shift leadership paradigms in order to meet the needs of a rapidly changing society. The traditional hierarchal system of church governance is creating conflict. Studying the biblical model of servant- leadership is imperative. The servant-leadership model is feasible and implementing its principles within the Seventh-day Adventist church in Korea will ensure natural church growth.

Subject Area

Servant leadership--Religious aspects--Seventh-day Adventists; Seventh-day Adventists--Korea; Seventh-day Adventists--Clergy--Korea

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/552

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