Adventist Leadership by Those Who Lead Branimir Schubert
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F I R * kr II .,, How leaders can keep busy and get nothing done! Lowell C. Cooper Pastoral ministry: management or spiritual leadership Stanley E. Patterson The story of Pastor Alpha: becoming an emotionally intelligent pastoral leader Delbert W. Baker The ABCs of everyday spiritual leadership Victor M. Parachin The rationale for grounded leadership Peter J. Prime Knight©s Law applied to church leadership George R. Knight A radical approach to becoming a great leader Steve Farber Help for spiritual leaders in hard times Ben Campbell Johnson Serving significantly as leaders Wayne M. Warner Spiritual leaders and the multicultural mosaic Roscoe J. Howard III Mission and unity: the challenge for the church today Pat Gustin Balanced pastoral leadership: Healing the healers James R. Newby Leading adaptive change Greg Schaller Leading across culture: The dynamics of deeper-level change John Grys The way it could be: leadership development in ministerial education Skip Bell, Roger Dudley, and Doug Tilstra Learning leaders: insights from organizational studies Prudence LaBeach Pollard Pastor as leader: job impossible? Margie Littell Ulrich The gap: perceptions on Seventh-day Adventist leadership by those who lead Branimir Schubert Earn a master©s degree "InMinistry" Walt Williams MINISTRY July-August 2005 E T T R S ADOPTING POSITIONAL BELIEFS AS ABSOLUTE ARBITERS OF EVERYTHING REQUIRES THE SUBMISSION Or EVERYTHING TO TE1EK4 Spirituality and health tion of ]ews and women, and many We choose a small church a few miles I appreciated Peter Landless©s article on wars have flourished with biblical literal from home. Church growth in such a I "The Pastor and the Physician" (March ism. community of Adventist churches gives 2005). The emphasis on the team min "In the beginning God created . ." church growth a different twist! istry of the pastor and the physician in remains an assertion of faith, equally But the article©s statistics are facts, not the well-being of people has been noted unprovable for its absolute truth as "In conclusions. We have to use our judg in other publications as well, such as the the beginning science observed . ." ment and common sense to draw December 2004 issue of the Southern Faith by its nature affirms that which conclusions from statistical facts. It Medical Journal with the featured topic cannot be known for certain. In allowing seems to me that some of the conclu of religion, spirituality, and medicine, for continuing revelation, developing sions reached in the report of the study and the article, "The Little Clinics That knowledge, and increased understand might be erroneous. Just two examples: Could" in the February 24, 2005, issue ing, we have less need for biblical Pastor Sahlin points out that fast- of the Adventist Review. As a practicing literalism and a greater need for a growing churches have more than one Adventist physician, I would encourage dynamic personal and communal rela church service each Sabbath, whereas you to publish more articles of this kind, tionship with Christ the Living Word. stable or declining churches have only with specific suggestions on how such John Marcon, Auckland, New Zealand. one. Does this indicate, as seems to be ideas may be implemented. implied, that having two church services Cor/os Irizarry, M.D., via email. A jewel in pastoral care causes growth? Isn©t it more logical to he Ritual for Cleansing After conclude that it is the growth that caus Statement on Faith and T Hearing Gossip" (January 2005) by es the need for multiple services? He also Science Rabbi David. J. Zucker is a jewel of pas suggests that fast-growing churches find was intrigued by your Faith/Science toral care. Very significant to us in the funds for hiring more church staff. Does I doctrinal statement (March 2005). United States after our recent presiden adding more staff cause church growth, In stating that "belief in a literal, six- tial election. And no less, for the 24/7 or does the growth lead to more funds day creation is indissolubly linked with stuff we hear and see in the media and and the need for more staff? the authority of Scripture," several other public places where we cannot And just one minor quibble: The assumptions are made. One is that avoid the hearing and seeing. author uses the word reveal in the title scriptural authority is tied to biblical lit Rev. Dr. Francis E. Jeffrey, Lakewood, of the article and several times again in eralism when it might better be linked Washington. the text. Many years ago when I was to Jesus as the Living Word the letter writing a doctoral thesis at a secular uni yielding to the person, the legality to More on church growth versity, I used that term. My the relationship. e appreciate the fine research mentor/major professor objected to my Adopting positional beliefs as Wdone by Dr. Monte Sahlin and his using it. Said he, "Revelations come absolute arbiters of everything requires partners in the study on church growth from God through His prophets; I don©t the submission of everything to them (November 2004). We attend a little think you are either one." Of course, he whether they fit or not and the church "drive-in" church similar to the ones he won the point! m through history has often found itself in describes in the article, though there Charles H. Tidwell, Sr., Collegeda/e, trouble. Slavery, "flat Earth," persecu are a score of churches to select from. Tennessee. 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July-August 2005 MINISTRY D I T O R I A Bosses, leaders, and human hearts ost people would agree that the more insecure he tends to become good leadership is something WILL EVA and the more he tends to operate as M like a brass ensemble gathered "the boss." And the more he or she on the stage of life, playing beautiful bosses, the more his/her approach alien music. Each instrument represents a ates. Thus again the natural tendency is feature or quality of leadership that to remedy the fallout by turning yet stands out at one moment, and blends again to still more bossing. This esca in with other instruments at another. lates until this way of administrating or Together they create a captivating har merely managing not really leading mony that moves the audience into a becomes his/her predominant, default constructive common experience. we changed from bossing to leading in style. Or perhaps quality leadership is more the workplace. ... I am not so na©i©ve as Jesus was, of course the consummate like a recipe in which there is an assort to claim that people will not work hard leader. His was the way of discipleship ment of carefully chosen ingredients, for bosses. Many will because they see and that©s an infrastructure I word when mixed in fine proportion, simmering on themselves as hard workers, no matter it comes to the sort of leadership we©re the family stove, ready to be served up how they are treated. They will give advocating here and He gave His with just the right flourish, so the gath their hands and even their brains to a whole life to modeling this approach ered family will be satisfied and boss. But they will give their hearts only (Read again Mark 10:32-45.) nourished. to a leader, and the feeling we experi He led with the overarching aim of Leadership is of vital importance to ence when that happens is something a reaching people so they would volun us because, for one thing, it constantly boss will never know."1 tarily come to see for themselves the revolves around issues of power and Bosses versus leaders; what©s the dif magnificence of His vision, and to influence. So we flock to leadership ference? ... "They will give their hearts choose to follow freely and of their own summits. We read voluminous books only to a leader. ." volition. He did not need to resort to and pore over magazines, journals, and The core of the difference between a "bosship." If there is any arena in which Web sites. We absorb interviews with boss and a leader lies in the fact that the it is, by the very nature of things, critical successful leaders on and off the air and leader has caught the vision of how crit to capture the hearts of the people we convene conventions. We create classes ical it is to actually lead by enlisting the are leading, it is in Christian ministry. that may only be part of a comprehen hearts of those who work with him or This special double issue of Ministry, sive university curriculum. Then there her. He knows the unsurpassable value inspired by General Conference are the seminars and tapes, audio and of consistently leading from that per President ]an Paulsen, celebrates the video, and now it©s CDs and DVDs.