Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 2-1-2015 Serving and Following: Setting Aside Leadercentricity D. David Kessler George Fox University, [email protected] This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Kessler, D. David, "Serving and Following: Setting Aside Leadercentricity" (2015). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 101. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/101 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY SERVING AND FOLLOWING: SETTING ASIDE LEADERCENTRICITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SEMINARY FACULTY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY D. DAVID KESSLER PORTLAND, OREGON MARCH 2015 Copyright © 2015 by D. David Kessler All Rights Reserved Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are from the New International Version of the Bible. ii George Fox Evangelical Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of D. David Kessler has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on February 16, 2015 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics and Future Studies. Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Leah Payne, PhD Secondary Advisor: Daniel Lioy, PhD Lead Mentor: Leonard I. Sweet, PhD Expert Advisor: Daniel Lioy, PhD To my favorite fellow follower of Christ, my wife, Leah iv Contents CHAPTER 1 ...................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 The Armor of a Business-Influenced Ministry ................................................................................ 1 Lack of Consistent Definition of Leadership ................................................................................... 5 Finding its Way into the Ministry .................................................................................................... 9 Free Methodists Too ...................................................................................................................... 12 Missing Evaluation of Leadership ................................................................................................. 15 The Church is not a Business and I am not an Owner ................................................................... 18 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER 2 .................................................................................................................... 30 A View to the New Testament ....................................................................................................... 30 Leadercentricity Requires Eisegesis .............................................................................................. 31 Letting the Word Speak ................................................................................................................. 33 Leadership in the Bible .................................................................................................................. 37 A Working Definition of “Leadership” ......................................................................................... 43 When Jesus Did Not Talk About Leadership ................................................................................. 45 Biblical Roles that Leadership Models Reduce ............................................................................. 50 Follower ................................................................................................................................ 50 Slave/Servant ......................................................................................................................... 56 Consideration of a Counterpoint to the Word Doulos ................................................................... 63 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 65 CHAPTER 3 .................................................................................................................... 67 History: Focusing on Methodism ................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 4 .................................................................................................................... 76 Iron Roses ...................................................................................................................................... 76 The Iron Rose of Leadership ................................................................................................. 77 The Iron Rose of Integrity ..................................................................................................... 83 The Iron Rose of Vision ........................................................................................................ 88 The Iron Rose of Relevance .................................................................................................. 94 The Iron Rose of Servant Leadership .................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER 5 .................................................................................................................. 104 A New View of the Ministry Journey .......................................................................................... 104 Changing Locations ..................................................................................................................... 115 The Follower Servant Expanded: Following ............................................................................... 119 The Follower Servant is in Line With the Incarnation ................................................................. 125 Not So Among Us ........................................................................................................................ 129 The Follower Servant Expanded: Servant ................................................................................... 132 From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of Christ ........................................................................................ 133 The Filling of the Follower Servant ............................................................................................. 135 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 140 CHAPTER 6 .................................................................................................................. 143 Application ................................................................................................................................... 143 Personal Impact ............................................................................................................................ 144 Ministry Impact ............................................................................................................................ 146 New Questions .................................................................................................................... 146 New Verbiage ...................................................................................................................... 147 v New Understanding ............................................................................................................. 148 New Freedom in Structure .................................................................................................. 149 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 151 vi Abstract For the past three decades, the evangelical church of America has welcomed and promoted a ministry ethos that is fad-driven, predominantly business-minded in its operation, and leadercentric in its implementation. This is the case even though there is no consistent definition of leadership and no Biblical mandate that justifies its continued reign. This dissertation argues that such a focal point is inconsistent with the example and mandate of Christ for those on a journey with him. He is the leader of the Church and all others that share differing levels of responsibly within his Kingdom are followers. He is the King of the Church and all others are his servants. It is through changing our focus to being a follower and servant that pastors are empowered to be example-setters for the Church, instructing all to take their role as followers and servants. The result of such a focus is the removal of bureaucratic structures that divide Christians into two levels, rendering one as more important to the advancing of the Kingdom than the other. The business focus impacts how the pastor views himself, how people view the church, and how they view the pastoral