The impact of pastoral ministry on the transformation of church organisations G Manirambona orcid.org/0000-0001-8241-8838 Dissertation submitted for the degree Magister Theologiae in Pastoral Studies at the North-West University Supervisor: Prof dr J Kommers Co-supervisor: Dr N Chiroma Assistant supervisor: Prof RM Potgieter Graduation: October 2019 Student number: 26827239 DECLARATION I, Gerance Manirambona declare that this dissertation, titled the impact of pastoral ministry on the transformation of church organisations, submitted to the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, is my original work and has not been previously submitted to any other university. November 2018 _____________________________ ____________________________ Signature Date Gerance Manirambona Student number: 26827239 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people for their helpful insights toward the writing of this research-based dissertation. I would like to single out some of them. Prof. Johan Kommers, the supervisor and Dr. Nathan Chiroma, the co-supervisor for performing as academic supervisors for my exploration and for their great help. I also want to thank Prof RM Potgieter who followed up this research as assistant supervisor. Their practical reflections, motivations and insight have led me to search for appropriate theoretical frameworks and so I am a better researcher because of their mentoring. I wish to thank Dr. Frederick Kakwata who assisted me in my work and whose insights regarding this research have been invaluable. I have greatly benefited from the research workshop I attended at International Leadership University (ILU), under the leadership of Prof. Bosela Eale, Dr. Fohle Lygunda li-M, and Rev. Dr. Daewon Moon and the whole team who were very helpful and supported my academic journey. Many thanks go to staff of the library at North-West University (NWU), the International Leadership University (ILU), “Université Lumière de Bujumbura” (ULBU), Great Lakes School of Theology and Leadership (GLSTL), Bujumbura Christian University (BCU), and Hope Africa University (HAU) for their help in the search for relevant material. I still value the work done by Rev Canon Donald K. Wenner first and then Prof. David Levey for reading through the research compositions helping me to revise my English. I express gratitude also to those church leaders and my fellow pastors whom I approached and who were kind enough to provide me with any services and information I was looking for and very willingly answered my research questionnaire survey. I also treasure the unique support of my dear wife, Rev. Rebecca Ninkunda, for her love and great encouragement during this work. Despite my prolonged absences while carrying out the research and my extended hours in the office working on the computer, she remained patient and encouraging. I thank all the people unnamed here who supported me in this research work. Most importantly, I am grateful to Almighty God for being the reason why I had undertaken this research and for giving me the privilege of serving in His vineyard, of which the pastoral theology and transformation are part. ii ABSTRACT This research posed and sought to answer the critical question of whether pastors of the National Council of Churches of Burundi (CNEB) can improve the impact of their pastorate by fundamental change within the church organisational functions. The research into the Church organisation workers is situated in an area such as “Pastoral Ministers” with the current research understood as a field of the “Impact of Pastoral Ministry on Transformation” in Burundi. Based on the theoretical and empirical findings of the study, the impact of pastoral ministry on the transformation of church organisations in CNEB churches was considered. The study sought to provide empirical evidence and an assessment of the impact of pastoral ministry principles in accordance with approaches that advocate for the use of impactful and fundamental change in the church’s fundamental and organisational functions for empowering the said organisations based on the acquisition of theological education skills. A mixed-methods approach with a sequential explanatory design was used in this study and the two designs both quantitative and qualitative were completed in sequence. Findings indicated that the pastors of CNEB were showing a slight positive impact with regard to pastoral ministry on the transformation of church organisations in Bujumbura. The results were far from church transformational and conclusive as regards the relevant impact of pastoral ministry in the local context from the main research question. KEY WORDS: Burundi-Bujumbura, church organisations, pastoral ministry, theological education, transformation iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..............................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................................xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Motivation .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Practical problem ............................................................................................................... 2 1.2.2 Research problem ............................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Research Purpose ................................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 5 1.5 Central Theoretical Statement .............................................................................................. 8 1.5.1 Assumptions ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.5.2 Delimitations and limitations .............................................................................................. 9 1.5.2.1 Delimitations ................................................................................................................... 9 1.5.2.2 Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.6 Clarification of Concepts ..................................................................................................... 10 1.6.1 Burundi – Bujumbura ....................................................................................................... 10 1.6.2 Church organisation ........................................................................................................ 11 iv 1.6.3 Pastoral ministry .............................................................................................................. 12 1.6.4 Theological education ...................................................................................................... 13 1.6.5 Transformation ................................................................................................................ 13 1.7 Chapters Division ............................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 15 2.1 Practical Theology and Implications for Pastors’ Ministry ................................................... 15 2.1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 15 2.1.2 Envisioning practical theology ......................................................................................... 15 2.1.3 Practical theology and pastor at work .............................................................................. 15 2.1.4 Practical theology in the wider academy .......................................................................... 16 2.1.5 Practical theology in ministry ........................................................................................... 16 2.2 Pastoral Ministry ................................................................................................................. 18 2.2.1 The significance of pastoral ministry ................................................................................ 18 2.2.2 Pastoral ministry as a theological reflection ..................................................................... 19 2.2.3 Scriptural character of pastoral ministry ..........................................................................