The stories of women, by women, married to male ministry leaders

This article examines the content and appraisals of youth ministry leader goals. Responses to an open-ended survey question by 378 leaders primarily working in the United States who held significant responsibility for the discipleship of high school-aged young people in their ministries were coded, resulting in 29 categories of goals. Participants named goals associated with service, relationships in general, relationships with God, biblical/gospel knowledge, and discipleship most frequently. Leaders rated each goal according to factors that contribute to goal achievement and well-being. Appraisals of goal difficulty (“this goal involves challenge”), clarity (“this goal is well-defined”), satisfaction with progress (“this goal is moving forward satisfactorily”), and support (“other leaders and congregants encourage the pursuit of this goal”) varied significantly across goals. Of note, participants rated discipleship and partnerships with parents/families as progressing the least satisfactorily and as some of the most difficult goals. By contrast, participants rated service goals as some of the least difficult and most clear. The content and appraisals of these goals bear implications for both the psychological study of goals and strivings and for ministry practice.

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Megachurch Pastor Twitter Activity: An Analysis of Rick Warren and Andy Stanley, Two of America’s Social Pastors

Journal of Religion Media and Digital Culture ◽

10.1163/21659214-90000050 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 1-32

Author(s):

Susan Codone

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Church Leaders ◽

Future Studies ◽

Ministry Leadership ◽

The Social ◽

Mega Church ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

Twitter Activity ◽

Ministry Leaders ◽

Community Church

Mainstream church leaders have taken to Twitter as a platform for spreading their message and promoting their churches. This study examines two American mega-church pastors, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, and Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The main objectives of this study are to analyse the Twitter activity of both pastors in an attempt to categorize their tweets according to research-based guidelines and to suggest new categories for ministry leaders who use social media. The study also tracks the Twitter activity over the life of the @rickwarren and @andystanley accounts. The study shows intriguing applications of Twitter by these two pastors and makes recommendations for those in ministry leadership who wish to use Twitter as a broadcast platform for their personal and ministry messages. Because research in ministerial use of social media is young, future studies are needed to determine if these recommendations can apply to the social media activity of other ministry leaders and to explore how ministry leaders across the religious spectrum are using social media.

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Integration

Latino Catholicism ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691139791.003.0002 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy Matovina

Keyword(s):

Catholic Church ◽

English Language ◽

The United States ◽

Parochial Schools ◽

Church Congregations ◽

European Immigrants ◽

Hispanic Ministry ◽

Ministry Leaders ◽

Daunting Challenge ◽

The U.S

This chapter demonstrates how national parishes and their parochial schools were among the societal institutions that most effectively fostered the integration of European immigrants and their offspring. Attitudes of forced assimilation can lead to frustration and thwart newcomers' desire to integrate. Yet church congregations and organizations remain a refuge for many emigres and can help them and their children and grandchildren adapt to life in the United States. While across generations English language use and other influences of the U.S. milieu are inevitable, the relative success or failure of Latinos' incorporation into the U.S. Catholic Church enhances or inhibits that process. Within the Catholic fold itself, the progression from hospitality to homecoming remains a daunting challenge that many Hispanic ministry leaders concur has only begun to be addressed.

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On Discipline and Becoming a Disciple

Addicted to Christ ◽

10.1525/california/9780520298033.003.0003 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 46-72

Author(s):

Helena Hansen

Keyword(s):

Spiritual Power ◽

Physical Tests ◽

The Will ◽

The Many ◽

Ministry Leaders ◽

Will Of God

This chapter details the many physical tests used to entrain converts. These include practices welcoming pain and of suffering—practices that, according to ministry leaders, left practitioners less vulnerable to addiction. These practices were a way to sanctify the addicted body and embody spiritual power. They were techniques of bodily and emotional discipline used to retool narratives of addiction, from those of descent and isolation to those of ascent and connection. Bearing pain also meant restoring the capacity for delay, to dampen the impulsivity and sense of desperation that many described as core problems of addiction. Ironically, converts use their bodies as a vehicle to spiritually transcend the limits of their corporeal, everyday worlds. The addicted and withdrawing body was, in the ministries, a sensitive instrument for channeling the will of God.

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Revelation, then Response

Christian Education Journal Research on Educational Ministry ◽

10.1177/0739891318759723 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 43-61

Author(s):

Gregory B. Long

Keyword(s):

Curriculum Design ◽

Sunday School ◽

School Curriculum ◽

Children's Ministry ◽

Design Philosophy ◽

Learner Centered ◽

The Reformation ◽

Ministry Leaders ◽

School Curricula

Children’s ministry leaders who evaluate which curriculum to use for their Sunday school quickly discern vast differences in curriculum design philosophy. In spite of calls for integration, the debate between content-centered and learner-centered children’s Sunday school curricula has not been settled. This article examines a foundational doctrine of the Reformation, the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, in order to apply it to the design and evaluation of children’s Sunday school curricula. After briefly describing the meaning of Sola Scriptura, the article details the implications of Sola Scriptura for children’s Sunday school curriculum design. It then offers an evaluative grid for children’s ministry leaders to use when evaluating curriculum.

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A Philosophy of Disciple-Centered Leadership

Christian Education Journal Research on Educational Ministry ◽

10.1177/073989131701400203 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 270-284 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dale L. Lemke

Keyword(s):

Philosophical Approach ◽

Ministry Training ◽

Learner Centered ◽

Educational Literature ◽

Disciplinary Perspective ◽

Teaching Learning ◽

Ministry Leaders

Disciple-centered leadership is a philosophical approach to ministry training based on the idea that disciples possess assets that are critical to the teaching-learning relationship. After defining the construct, this article proceeds to relate it to the educational literature on learner-centered leadership. Paulo Freire's work and Roland Allen's work are then examined from an inter-disciplinary perspective in order to discuss key ideas relevant to disciple-centered leadership. The article concludes by examining this philosophy in light of the equipping responsibility of ministry leaders.

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“Rich” and “Poor” Nations and the Christian Enterprise: Some Personal Comments

Missiology An International Review ◽

10.1177/009182968100900303 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 287-298

Author(s):

Ajith Fernando

Keyword(s):

Youth Ministry ◽

Christian Community ◽

Ministry Leaders

As one of Sri Lanka's most successful youth ministry leaders, Ajith Fernando makes some observations about the necessary attitudes needed to establish true partnership in mission. From his long-term relationship with the international Christian community, he encourages us all to grapple with the disparities in wealth and how they affect the seriousness with which we listen to one another.

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