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Generous Leaders, Generous Congregations

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Generous Leaders, Generous Congregations Luther Seminary Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary Doctor of Ministry Theses Student Theses 2017 Generous Leaders, Generous Congregations: A Study of the Relationship between the Financial Generosity of Congregational Leaders and the Financial Generosity of Their onC gregations Ryan D. Brodin Luther Seminary Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/dmin_theses Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Brodin, Ryan D., "Generous Leaders, Generous Congregations: A Study of the Relationship between the Financial Generosity of Congregational Leaders and the Financial Generosity of Their onC gregations" (2017). Doctor of Ministry Theses. 17. http://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/dmin_theses/17 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses at Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GENEROUS LEADERS, GENEROUS CONGREGATIONS: A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FINANCIAL GENEROSITY OF CONGREGATIONAL LEADERS AND THE FINANCIAL GENEROSITY OF THEIR CONGREGATIONS by REV. RYAN D. BRODIN A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Luther Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MINISTRY ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 2017 © 2017 by Rev. Ryan D. Brodin All rights reserved ABSTRACT Generous Leaders, Generous Congregations: A Study of the Relationship between the Financial Generosity of Congregational Leaders and the Financial Generosity of Their Congregations by Rev. Ryan D. Brodin This sequential explanatory mixed methods comparative case study research project explores personal financial generosity in pastors and Congregational Council members of five suburban mainline congregations to discover what influence their generosity has on the congregations they lead. This research involved a survey of all the leaders, interviews with each pastor, focus groups with Congregational Council members, and financial statistics for each congregation. Although there are many insights in this research project regarding financial generosity in leaders and congregations, the results do not show a direct influence of the personal financial generosity of the leaders on the financial generosity of the congregations they lead. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT First of all I would like to thank God, from whom all blessings flow. Through my faith I was able to trust that God had called me into this D.Min. Program and God would see me through. I wish to offer sincere gratitude to my family for their support and understanding. Kendra, this would not have been possible without your support and love. Thank you for all the extra time taken for parenting or putting up with unfinished projects around the house so I could read or write for this project. Allison, Luke and Anna, thank you for understanding that Daddy had homework to complete over the past five years and many other important things had to wait. Thank you to my congregation, Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, who not only supported me over the past five years in this program, but paid for my tuition as well. Your support has been unwavering and I hope I am a better pastor to all of you because of this program. Finally, I wish to thank my D.Min. Cohort and my professors. Without the support we have given to one another, the words of encouragement, the opportunities to vent frustration to each other, and the love and friendship we have for one another, we would not have gotten this far. Thank you for your support and encouragement. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT.................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...............................................................................................x 1. INTRODUCTION TO THESIS ....................................................................................1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................1 Research Question .................................................................................................4 Dependent and Independent Variable ............................................................5 Intervening Variables .....................................................................................6 Importance of Study .......................................................................................6 Theoretical Lenses ...............................................................................................10 Conspicuous Consumption ...........................................................................10 Theory of Philanthropy ................................................................................11 Social Capital ...............................................................................................13 Biblical Lenses ....................................................................................................14 Macedonians: Second Corinthians 8:1-15 ....................................................14 Treasures in Heaven: Matthew 6:19-21 .......................................................15 Theological Lenses ..............................................................................................17 Law Versus Gospel ......................................................................................17 Scarcity Versus Abundance .........................................................................18 Gratitude .......................................................................................................20 Research Methodology ........................................................................................22 Other Concerns ....................................................................................................25 Definitions ....................................................................................................25 Ethical Concerns ..........................................................................................27 Overview .............................................................................................................28 2. THEORETICAL LENSES ..........................................................................................30 Introduction .........................................................................................................30 Conspicuous Consumption ...........................................................................30 Philanthropy .................................................................................................37 Social Capital ...............................................................................................43 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................51 3. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL LENSES.............................................................52 Biblical Lenses ....................................................................................................52 The Macedonians: II Corinthians 8:1-7 .......................................................53 iv Treasures in Heaven: Matthew 6:19-21 .......................................................59 Theological Lenses ..............................................................................................65 Law Versus Gospel ......................................................................................65 Scarcity Versus Abundance .........................................................................71 Gratitude .......................................................................................................76 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................80 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................................................................83 Introduction .........................................................................................................83 Research Methodology ........................................................................................83 Biblical and Theological Frame of Research: Listening to God and Others .......86 Design of the Study and Instruments ...................................................................89 Participants ..........................................................................................................94 Analysis ...............................................................................................................96 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................97 5. RESULTS OF STUDY AND INTERPRETATION ...................................................98 Introduction .........................................................................................................98 Quantitative Data Results ..................................................................................100 Pinewood Lutheran Church ...............................................................................104
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