Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Emgard, Emma Karin Sofia

Titel

Foundational perspectives for addressing power in leadership of short-term mission teams

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2000

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Leadership of short-term mission teams is one of the most intense kinds of leadership in the church. While the extensiveness of the leaders' power is narrow, the intensity and comprehensiveness of their power is great. Leaders of short-term teams therefore have extraordinary potential for long lasting influence on team members. Christian leaders are accountable to God for how they treat the people and how the task is carried out. Since the way people think about leadership determines how they act as leaders, leaders must consider the foundations of their beliefs. Most people have not reflected on why they lead and use power the way they do, rather, they lead the way they have observed others lead. This dissertation sets a foundation upon which to develop foundational perspectives for addressing the use of power in Christian mission teams. Through eight focus group interviews with team leaders, a range of concerns about the use of power was discovered. The exegetical studies of the servant, steward and shepherd, and the fruit of the Spirit revealed the accountability, responsibility, and “atmosphere” for Christian leadership, as well as, guidelines for use of power. Through extensive dialogue between primary and precedent research, different theories of power (including Machiavelli, Situational Leadership Theory, Hagberg, Covey/Lee and Follett), contemporary metaphors for organizing leadership (pyramid, web, jazz, Samburu elder and geese), as well as, the doctrine of the Trinity (including Augustine, the Cappadocian fathers, Gunton, LaCunga, Moltmann, Volf, and Zizioulas) were evaluated. The conclusions include predictions that leaders who stress the Father's rule in the Trinity will emphasize the leader's need to make the final decisions and lead using power-over. Leaders thinking of God as Persons-in-relation emphasize the need for synergy where everyone cooperates and leads through power-with people.