Congregational Leadership Research Articles

The Role of The Principal in Improving the Quality of Education Through School-Community Relations Management at MI Persis Gandok Tasikmalaya City

The aim of this research is to determine Public Relations management at MI Persis Gandok City. Tasikmalaya. Meanwhile, the specific aim is to describe the planning of school and community relations, the implementation of school and community relations and how the principal evaluates the implementation of school and community relations. The research method used in this research is qualitative descriptive research. MI Persis Gandok is planning several public relations work programs, among which the Public Relations Program is to form cooperation in the field of strengthening educational institutions through the formation of Madrasah Councils and Congregational Leadership. Through the formation of madrasah councils and congregational leaders, they can provide a bridge in the form of communication between the school and the community. To make the MI Persis Gandok school public relations program a success, there are several techniques that can be used. The technique chosen is a technique that is considered effective and efficient according to school conditions, the condition of the students' parents, the condition of the surrounding community, and the school's finances. Among these techniques are: group face-to-face meeting techniques, individual face-to-face meeting techniques and school publication techniques. One form of evaluation by the Principal of MI Persis Gandok towards Madrasah Public Relations is through observation, checklists, questionnaires and/or through meetings/briefings. The objectives of this evaluation are: 1) To ensure that the entire program is known; 2) Ensure that the Madrasah's image in society has good values; 3) make a follow-up to the evaluation results.

One Text in Two Bodies

Reading scriptural texts aloud to congregations is a common practice in many religious traditions, yet receives little scholarly attention. This article encourages more scholarship on this phenomenon by focusing on the ritual manipulation of books of scriptures while reading. It analyses the social force of this religious practice by combining a theory of ritualizing scriptures in three dimensions with studies of oral readings by literacy scholars. Reading visible scriptures aloud to congregations mixes expressive and iconic ritualization, which makes it both inspiring and legitimizing. It also combines the divine voice of scripture and the community’s voice in the reader, whose voice speaks for both. Religious communities use scriptural expression as a means to include more people into congregational leadership. Literacy studies document how group reading experiences cast oral readers as representing the audience as much as the author. In reading aloud to a group, the reader expresses the group’s voice. Oral readings of visible scriptures can therefore inspire people and foster a sense of congregational unity through the ritual acceptance of scriptural authority.

Women in the pulpit: Characteristics of protestant churches led by a female pastor

AbstractThis study examines how congregational characteristics of a Protestant church relate to having a female pastor, using the glass ceiling and glass cliff theories. The analysis of the 2018–2019 National Congregational Study and the National Survey of Religious Leaders linked data shows that churches with a greater number of participants are less likely to have a female pastor, implying that the glass ceiling is more pervasive in larger congregations. The results also reveal that churches with stagnant or declining revenues are more likely to have a female pastor, which is consistent with the glass cliff theory. Churches with a greater level of racial diversity and those located in urban areas are more likely to have a female pastor, suggesting a link between sociodemographic diversity within a congregation and women's congregational leadership. These findings can be applied to understanding the gender gap in nonprofit leadership in general.

Book Review: From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership by Erin Raffety

Book Review: <i>From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership</i> by Erin Raffety

Book Review: From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership by Erin Raffety

Book Review: <i>From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership</i> by Erin Raffety

From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership by Erin Rafferty (review)

From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership by Erin Rafferty (review)

Why Young Adult Believers Are Turning Away from Religions: With a Focus on Religious Congregations in Downtown Seoul

The sociological study of youth religion is a growing field of research. This essay focuses on the rising number of young Korean adult believers from five downtown religious congregations in Seoul who are leaving their congregations due to increased cynicism and as they re-examine their religious faith. Based on a series of in-depth interviews (Focus Group Interviews (FGIs)) conducted with both young adult believers and priests, this paper examines several key factors including why young adult believers decide to leave their congregations, how their congregations react to the changing environment, and whether they can develop innovative approaches to deal with the emerging situation. Although each and every one of the congregations considers this phenomenon to be a serious issue, the solutions they have applied to retain and attract young adult believers in and to their faith have so far been ineffective. Nonetheless, it is likely that the reason behind the failure to keep more young adults in their faith and congregation may correlate to how competitive and innovative solutions provided by the congregational leadership are as they attempt to tackle the ongoing issue of retaining and attracting young adult congregational members.

Exploring the social justice beliefs of Baptist Christians

ABSTRACTSocial justice is a core value of the social work profession; in recent years it has also has become a topic of debate in many Christian denominations. Yet, researchers know little about how Christian laypersons conceptualize and engage the topic of social justice. In this qualitative study, we explore the beliefs of Baptist Christians in one Texas community in order to better understand how people of faith conceptualize and engage issues of social justice. Drawing on data from nine in-depth interviews with a diverse group of Baptist laypersons, we find that Baptist Christians’ conceptualizations of social justice may be shaped by several factors: race/ethnicity and the experience of racism, Biblical texts or stories including the life of Jesus, family experiences, and congregational leadership. Importantly, we also find that there tends to be a relatively low degree of resonance with the concept of social justice in abstract terms.

How Pornography Use Reduces Participation in Congregational Leadership: A Research Note

Research on the link between religion and pornography suggests that more frequent pornography viewing can lead to declines in individuals’ religious commitment, likely stemming from the guilt, shame, and dissonance adherents experience for violating sacralized moral values. No research, however, has considered the implications of this phenomenon for religious organizations. The current study addresses this gap by examining how pornography use contributes to potential congregational problems by discouraging individuals from participating in lay leadership. Multivariate analyses of panel data from the 2006–2012 Portraits of American Life Study reveal that the more frequently respondents viewed pornography at wave 1 the less likely they were to hold a leadership position or serve on a committee in their congregation within the following 6 years. This effect was robust to controls for religious commitment, tradition, and other correlates of lay leadership participation. Interactions with religious tradition and gender suggest that participation in leadership is more negatively tied to porn use for conservative Protestants and Catholics compared to mainline Protestants and women compared to men. Findings ultimately suggest that increasingly pervasive pornography consumption among adherents could portend a potential dearth of volunteer leadership for congregations.

Social Sources of Community Solidarity in U.S. Congregations

ABSTRACTCommunity solidarity, or a collective sense of belonging, plays a vital role in the health and survival of many organizations. Consequently, identifying the elements that contribute to a strong sense of solidarity within communities has long been a topic of inquiry for scholars. In this study, we draw upon prior theorizing to develop and test four hypotheses regarding the organizational characteristics associated with community solidarity in religious congregations. Multivariate models are estimated using national data on religious congregations from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (n = 357). Organizations with greater community solidarity tend to feature higher levels of social capital (operationalized with measures of friendship networks and participation in organizational activities), higher levels of official membership within the organization, and inspiring congregational leadership. Higher levels of commitment are associated with greater community solidarity, but the effect is wholly mediated by social capital. Congregations that engender higher levels of community solidarity share certain organizational features, including higher levels of social capital, higher rates of membership, and inspiring leaders.

Planning and management in the Missional agenda of the 21st Century Church: A study of Lighthouse Chapel International

Planning and management is an important aspect of every successful organisation. In a similar way as the church participates in the missio Dei, it is essential that we consider planning and management as part of the missional tools for the management of the various resources God has given the church. Doing this, church leadership must join in with the Father (God) and the Holy Spirit to know what he wants to accomplish in their context as they plan and manage God�s resources for missional purposes. In the light of this understanding, the article discusses the role of �planning and management in the missional agenda of the 21st century church� by using one of the fastest growing Neo-Pentecostal churches in Ghana, the Lighthouse Chapel International, as a case study. The central argument in this paper is that although leadership has a major role to play in missional planning, it is however a holistic and all-inclusive agenda. Missional planning includes the involvement of the Holy Spirit, congregational leadership, the entire congregation and the various resources the church is being endowed with by God.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study is an interdisciplinary study between Missiology, Planning, and Management. The result from the study will enhance the Ecclesiastical Community to appreciate the importance of management and planning as they participate in the missio Dei.

Leadership in rural congregations and communities: an exploration in the North-Eastern Free State

Rural communities and congregations cannot simply be overlooked. Communities in the north-eastern Free State are typical rural towns with a strong emphasis on agricultural activities and less emphasis in terms of processing products and other activities. Over the past few decades, rural communities have experienced many changes in terms of depopulation, the decline of the rural economy, poverty, and unemployment. Congregations in rural communities and their leadership cannot escape these changes that affect their functioning and existence. The key research question is thus: What is the congregational leadership’s opinion and argument about leadership in both the congregation and the community? The research indicated that a shift is taking place as far as the minister’s role in the leadership of the congregation is concerned. The congregational leadership needs to develop a missional perspective that brings the wider community into the ministry of the congregation. Although there is an awareness in respect of the missional calling of the church and the congregation, the change is still limited and there is room for a greater and more deliberate involvement of the congregation and its leadership within the community.

Crafting a Faith-Based Intervention for Youth With ASD: Bar Mitzvah and Beyond

ABSTRACTThis article provides an overview of the conceptualization, development, delivery, and impact of a bar mitzvah preparation program led by parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in cooperation with congregational leadership, educators, and ASD researchers and practitioners. The unique aspects of the program were that it addressed the strengths, traits, and specialized needs of a group of preteen boys with ASD, in relation to the meaning, rituals, and tasks involved in a bar mitzvah. Its success relied heavily on the resources, energy, and persistence of parents.

Long-tenured ministry and systems theory: Bowen systems theory as a resource for the long haul

Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST) has become a helpful resource for many clergy and congregational leaders. Since the groundbreaking volume Generation to Generation by Edwin Friedman in 1985, the theory continues to be an influential “theory of practice” for ministry. In this article, the authors explore to what extent BFST can be a resource to clergy for a long-tenured pastorate. First, the authors review selected key concepts of the theory that lend themselves to the issue of long-term pastorates. Second, the authors examine responses to a survey from a number of clergy who are in long-term pastorates and who have been working with the theory for several years. In the interviews, respondents affirmed that BFST is a useful construct for congregational leadership in long-tenured ministry contexts.

Examining the Presence of Congregational Programs Focused on Violence Against Women.

Religious congregations are uniquely poised to provide programs to support survivors of violence against women; yet little is known regarding the prevalence of such programs. In this study, we used data from three waves of the National Congregation Study (N=3334) to examine change across time in the presence of a congregational program to support survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence. We also explored results among different Christian religious traditions across time. Given the gendered nature of this violence, we also tested whether the (a) gender of the head clergy (i.e., religious leader), and (b) ability of women to serve in congregational leadership roles predicted the presence of programs. As points of comparison, we also examined the total number of congregational social service programs and food programs in particular. Overall, we found different patterns of change across religious traditions for the different programs. Moreover, clergy gender and the ability of women to serve in leadership roles predicted the presence of different types of programs. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research also are discussed.

Creating Shorter Scales to Measure Congregational Vitality

After Bobbitt (2014) created the Congregational Vitality Survey (CVS), it began to be used by congregations primarily in four pilot synods. While these scales were helpful in expanding the concept of vital congregations, the 29-item scale was too long to use in other settings. A shorter scale would have great utility when included with other instruments as a vitality subscale or used as a self-scoring survey for congregational leadership. The following criteria were establish to form the revised scale. It had to:

Ehrenamtliche Präsenz in den Leitungsaufgaben nach dem Schweizer Modell

Summary Having evolved in accordance with the political culture of participation since the 19th century, the top public representatives in the local Swiss Protestant majority churches are lay volunteers and not the pastors as in Germany. The article explains the backgrounds, chances and challenges of this form of congregational leadership

Social Justice and Religious Participation: A Qualitative Investigation of Christian Perspectives

This investigation examines how self-identified Christians in the Midwest U.S. understand and work for social justice, with a focus on their process of social justice development and the role of religious congregations in promoting social justice. Using a grounded theory analysis of 15 in-depth interviews, results indicated multiple understandings of social justice such as meeting basic needs, fixing social structures and systems to create equal distributions of resources, promoting human rights and dignity, and as a religious responsibility. Participants also described a process of social justice development facilitated by exposure to injustice, mentors, educating others, and the importance of finding a social justice community. Distinct personal barriers to social justice engagement were identified such as resources and negative emotions, whereas congregational leadership was important for congregational involvement. General frustration with congregations was expressed regarding low social justice engagement; however, participants balanced this frustration with hope for the positive potential of congregations to promote social justice. Together these findings show multifaceted understandings of social justice and a dynamic process of social justice development for these self-identified Christians. Implications for future research and partnership with religious individuals and congregations also are discussed.

The Faith Community, Substance Abuse, and Readiness for Change: A National Study

ABSTRACT There are many paths to recovery from substance use disorders, and recognition is growing for the vital role that faith communities play. This study examines a theory-driven model of congregational readiness (defined as a faith community's intention and preparedness to address and support recovery from substance use disorders) using a national cross-sectional study of 45 faith communities (composed of 3,649 members). Findings revealed that addiction and recovery attitudes and perceptions of self-efficacy (rather than one's experiences) were determinants. Directions for future research focus on developing culturally relevant means of working with faith communities and congregational leadership to bolster readiness over time.

SOCIETY FOR PASTORAL THEOLOGY LUNCHEON ADDRESS JUNE 18, 2011

• The first, you won’t be surprised to know, has to do with issues of oppressive difference that increasingly challenge congregations and call for courageous and articulate public theological efforts. • The second has to do with the emerging dramatic shifts in patterns of congregational leadership in old line Protestant congregations that challenge us to give careful attention to effective ways to educate women and men who are alternatively credentialed for ministry or not credentialed, but who volunteer to offer pastoral care.