Pastoral leadership in a congregational church setting: The case of the Baptist Convention of South Africa

This study attempted to explore the role of pastors in a congregational church setting by using the Baptist Convention of South Africa (BCSA) as a case study. The focus is on the type of leadership relevant for such a system. A proper understanding of congregational church governance and biblical pastoral leadership is encouraged. It is argued that the BCSA would do well to adopt an attitude that views ‘congregational church governance’ as ‘sacramental democracy’, where church members view church meetings to be just as holy as any other sacrament, for example, a holy communion or baptism. Such an understanding of congregational governance offers an environment that is conducive to effective pastoral leadership. The pastor relates to the church as a biblical leader, who uses his or her authority to empower others, as the pastor is also under the authority of Jesus Christ as a follower.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study has significance for Christian Ethics, Practical Theology and New Testament. It is undertaken within (intra-) the Christian leadership discourse, with interest in Applied Ethics that combines Philosophical, Theological and Human Science approaches, especially with reference to (South) African sociopolitical and ecclesiastical contexts. The research builds on the existing Christian leadership discourse.

Penerapan Kepemimpinan Pastoral Yesus Kristus Dalam Kitab Injil Bagi Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Pelita Dunia

This research discusses the pastoral leadership of Jesus Christ as written in the Bible to be applied in the Pelita Dunia Theological Seminary. So that every graduate produced can understand and practice correct pastoral leadership in accordance with the teachings and actions of Jesus Christ. This study uses a qualitative approach that combines a literature review with the results of interviews with several alumni. Through this research, information was obtained that Jesus' pastoral leadership based on the explanations in the Gospels is clearly visible in three ways, as Jesus' pastoral leadership carries out God's vision and that means that every pastor also carries out God's vision, Jesus' pastoral leadership reaches out to the lost and improves relationships and that means every pastor also reaches out to the lost congregation and mends broken relationship with God, and pastoral leadership Jesus disciplines and sends and that means every pastor disciplines and sends the congregation to preach the gospel. In addition, this study also concluded that Pelita Dunia Theological Seminary should include and teach Pastoral Leadership to every student in order to produce graduates who can serve like Jesus.

Gender “Neutral” Hiring Processes

Chapter 3 examines congregational hiring processes, which are most often perceived by congregants as “gender neutral.” This chapter draws on interview data to reveal hiring committees’ aversion to an “affirmative action” approach and shows that their failure to recognize the gendered hurdles faced by women prior to the job market actually results in masculinized hiring processes rather than gender-neutral ones and reinforces sexist hiring decisions. It also explores the conscious and unconscious gender biases of hiring committee members, which inevitably play a role in hiring decisions. Specifically, this chapters highlights congregants’ preferred hiring criteria, which are commonly understood as “gender neutral,” and shows how these seemingly neutral preferences actually result in unequal outcomes for women. For instance, while hiring senior pastors, congregations often preferred younger pastors who also have senior pastor or associate pastor experience. Some congregants also preferred pastors with direct and clear career trajectories. These seeming gender-neutral preferences disproportionately advantage men because women often connect with their callings and find opportunities for professional development later in life as a result of the gendered hurdles they face on their ways to the job market. This chapter further explores congregants’ unconscious gender biases, which often assumed men and women to be different but equal. However, congregants failed to understand how these assumed differences ultimately advantaged men in the pursuit of pastoral leadership.

The Relevance of University Music Curricula to the Requirements of Church Music Job Market in Kenya.

In the prevailing global church music job market, church worship ministers or music directors are on high demand as they play a crucial role in church liturgy and other church musical events. Globally, many universities offer programmes on music training and pastoral leadership. In Kenya, such training is predominantly in theological schools with few universities offering such programmes. Currently, there is a growing interest of church musicians in Kenya due to the need to spread the gospel beyond the church walls and to promote ecumenism. For example, churches participate in church crusades, church concerts, and inter-churches music festivals. This strengthens the need for church worship ministers with music and leadership training. Universities in Kenya are, therefore, obligated to offer church music programmes that will enable these worship ministers to fit in the current job market. The discourse on church music, though, is rare in Kenya hence limited literature on the same. The study had an objective of establishing the relevance of university music curricula to the requirements of church music job market in Kenya. Elliot's Praxial theory underpinned the study. The study found out that universities are not keen to include music programmes that are relevant to the music job market. The Simple Matching Coefficient (SMC) of university X and Y music curricula to the requirements of church music job market was 0.00. Both universities did not have a church music program hence missing all the requirements of the given job market. The study recommends that there is a need to develop church music programmes in universities in Kenya, and this can be done in collaboration with the Schools of Theology at the university.

Kepemimpinan Pastoral Nabi Habakuk Sebagai Role Model Kepemimpinan Para Pendeta Di Era Milenial

Various life trials phenomenons that occurs with the progressionof era has greatly affected the ministry of pastors as Christian leaders in this millennial era. In regards to this issue, it is necessary to conduct a research on the pastors as Christian leaders of the millennial era by having the pastoral leadership of the prophet Habakkuk as a role model in addressing and comprehending God’s plan behind all life’s trials that are faced. The result of the field research with qualitative method on the leadership of the pastors in this millennial era based on the leadership of the prophet Habakkuk as a role model will be used by pastors as they lead Christians of the millennial era to create a change in this everchanging world; a change that can be implemented in the ministry world and leadership in where they are present and where they serve. AbstrakBerbagai fenomena permasalahan kehidupan yang terjadi menyertai perkembangan zaman sangat mempengaruhi kehidupan pelayanan para pendeta sebagai pemimpin Kristen di era milenial ini. Menyikapi permasalahan yang terjadi, maka perlu adanya penelitian kepada para pendeta sebagai pemimpin Kristen di era milenial ini dengan menjadikan kepemimpinan pastoral nabi Habakuk sebagai role model dalam menyikapi dan memahami rencana Allah di balik semua permasalahan hidup yang dihadapinya. Hasil temuan penelitian dengan metode kualitatif terhadap kepemimpinan para pendeta di era milenial berdasarkan role model kepemimpinan nabi Habakuk dalam zaman perjanjian Lama, agar dapat digunakan oleh para pendeta sebagai pemimpin Kristen di era milenial ini, untuk menciptakan satu perubahan di tengah dunia yang terus berubah yang dapat ditampilkan dalam dunia pelayanan dan kepemimpinannya di mana ia hadir dan melayani.