ABSTRACT INTO MINISTRY: THE PASTORALS, THE EARLY CHURCH, AND THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH IN THE EARLY TWENTY—FIRST CENTURY by Jason Aaron Leininger In 2011 the Free Methodist Church decided to examine and reform its leadership formation practices for pastors. The church was encouraged to interact with a number of the wisdom sources for the project; the early church was one of the sources. The purpose of the research was to discover pastoral formation essentials from the Pastorals and the early church fathers. Additionally it sought to determine if the pastoral formation essentials are (1) known, (2) embraced and practiced within formation models for existing Free Methodist clergy and conference ministerial candidates, and (3) contribute to the developing Free Methodist pastoral formation model. The research used a triangulation, mixed—methods design. The research found formation essentials present in the early church, the essentials are known among Free Methodists, and they are partially active in current formation practices. This research included the Pastoral Epistles; writings of four pastors of the early church—Ignatius of Antioch, Hippolytus of Rome, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Augustine of Hippo; bishops, theologians and formation providers of the Free Methodist Church; and, recently ordained pastors of the Free Methodist Church. DISSERTATION APPROVAL This is to certify that the dissertation entitled INTO MINISTRY: THE PASTORALS, THE EARLY CHURCH, AND THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH IN THE EARLY TWENTY—FIRST CENTURY presented by Jason Aaron Leininger has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theological Seminary Mentor Date Internal Reader Date Representative, Doctor of Ministry Program Date Dean of the Beeson Center Date INTO MINISTRY: THE PASTORALS, THE EARLY CHURCH, AND THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH IN THE EARLY TWENTY—FIRST CENTURY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Jason Aaron Leininger May 2016 © 2016 Jason Aaron Leininger ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 PROBLEM ....................................................................................................1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Purpose .....................................................................................................................4 Research Questions ..................................................................................................5 Research Question #1 ..................................................................................5 Research Question #2 ..................................................................................5 Research Question #3 ..................................................................................5 Research Question #4 ..................................................................................5 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................6 Pastorals .......................................................................................................6 Pastoral Formation .......................................................................................6 Essentials......................................................................................................6 Providers of Formation ................................................................................6 Ministry Intervention ...............................................................................................7 Context .....................................................................................................................8 Methodology ............................................................................................................9 Sources and Participants ............................................................................10 Instrumentation ..........................................................................................10 Data Collection ..........................................................................................11 iii Data Analysis .............................................................................................11 Generalizability ..........................................................................................12 Theological Foundation .........................................................................................12 Overview ................................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE .............................................................................................16 Introduction ............................................................................................................16 Research Design.....................................................................................................18 Theological Foundation .........................................................................................20 The Pastorals ..............................................................................................20 The Early Church Fathers ..........................................................................40 Ignatius of Antioch ........................................................................40 Hippolytus ......................................................................................46 Gregory of Nazianzus ....................................................................58 Augustine of Hippo ........................................................................69 Summary ................................................................................................................89 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................92 Problem and Purpose .............................................................................................92 Research Questions ...............................................................................................93 Research Question #1 ................................................................................93 Research Question #2 ................................................................................93 Research Question #3 ................................................................................94 Research Question #4 ................................................................................94 Population and Participants....................................................................................95 iv Design of the Study ................................................................................................96 Instrumentation ..........................................................................................97 Expert Review ............................................................................................99 Reliability and Validity ..............................................................................99 Data Collection ....................................................................................................100 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................102 Ethical Procedures ...............................................................................................102 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS .................................................................................................104 Problem and Purpose ...........................................................................................104 Participants ...........................................................................................................104 Research Question #1 ..........................................................................................111 Research Question #2 ..........................................................................................113 Research Question #3 ..........................................................................................117 Research Question #4 ..........................................................................................120 The Content of Formation ........................................................................121 The Context of Formation ........................................................................123 Method of Formation ...............................................................................126 Summary of Major Findings ................................................................................129 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................131 Major Findings .....................................................................................................131 Essential Elements for Pastoral Formation within the Early Church ......131 Early Church Essential Elements Know among Free Methodists ...........134 Early Church Essential Elements Partially Practiced among Free Methodists