Christian Leadership & Church Growth: Integrating Theology and Leadership

By George K. Nti

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781669802846

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Copyright © 2022 by George K. Nti.

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Rev. date: 12/22/2021

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CONTENTS

Preface

1.   Insights for Church Growth: Social and Cultural Analysis of Acts 2:36–47

2.   Comparing Organizational Theories and Cultures

3.   Leading with Wisdom from James 1:1–12: Social and Cultural Texture Analysis

4.   1 Peter 5:1–10 and Authentic Leadership: Genre Analysis

5.   Biblical Examples of Servant Leadership: A Study of Peter from 1 Peter 5:1-10

6.   Biblical Perspectives of Power and Politics in Organizational Decision-Making

Final Encouragement

To

Victoria, my ministry and life partner, your encouragement and sacrifice made this book a reality. It is an honor to be married to you!

To my wonderful children Merry Pearl, Ivan George, and Isaiah Jerome, you have all taught me how to be a good father and Christian leader.

PREFACE

Is this book for me?

This book is for people who hold leadership roles in churches and other Christian organizations who wish to improve their influence with others through the integration of biblical principles and leadership theories:

• executives who are searching for new strategies to empower employees for their best performance,

• pastors who desire a deeper spiritual relationship with their congregation and community,

• administrators who wish to incorporate biblical perspectives of organizational decision-making, and

• leaders of groups and members who wish to incorporate informed decision-making strategies.

Some churches are undergoing the most significant challenge since the COVID-19 global pandemic. Inactive workers, increased competition from virtual church service organizers, the impact of imposed decisions, and the wavering desires and commitment of church members have created forceful pressure for those who serve in and lead churches. What worked in the past may be helpful now. Imposed decisions that intentionally ignore the viewpoints of bottom workers are contrary to the Christian faith and conceivably plan for failure. The most successful organizations in today’s world successfully decide a decentralized way. Accepting this trend is profitable for membership organizations with shared responsibilities. The message of this book is that incorporating biblical perspectives of power and politics in organizational decision-making will teach leaders, who are struggling to make decisions, some management strategies from biblical examples. What lessons can Christian leaders learn from the first-century church when making organizational decisions? I answer that Christian leaders are change agents and administrators of structure and procedure. An understanding of leaders’ roles enhances participants to interpret the organization’s goals to themselves and others. In this book, I integrate theology and leadership by reviewing scholarly literature and biblical passages to point out recommended strategies for Christian leadership. The chapters educate organizational leaders that imposed decisions create a lack of motivation among employees; employees are willing to represent their organization when they are part of the decision-making process. Christian leaders are change agents and administrators of structure and procedures.

I have strived to write a book helpful for church growth, one that will teach leaders how to integrate theology and leadership. I hope it proves useful to you and that you will share it with others too.

1

Insights for Church Growth: Social

and Cultural Analysis of Acts 2:36–47

An organization can be portrayed as a religion in that there are a set of shared convictions, traditions, and values that individuals share and groups of an organization that shows how things are and why things appear in a particular way (Banks 2013).

The thought is that organizations and institutions are alike because they have the same characteristics to meet their purpose. Organizational culture includes activities, ways of considering, practices, stories, and artifacts that make them specific. Here are different religions’ views regarding religion: practical, explanatory, essential, and postmodernist opinions. Humans tend to occupy other points of view and live from several horizons (Malina 2001). The church’s purpose has always been for worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and mission, as associated with spiritual life (Bryson et al. 2020; Warren 1995). Unfortunately, our current times are characterized by a strange paradox. The secularized world we live in no longer embraces Christianity as such, nor its concrete praxis in churches (Lemmelijn 2018, 287). The first-century church became vital and grew daily, with many being saved to join the fellowship of the brethren according to Acts 2:36–47.

What made the first-century church vital in their community that converted many sinners to Christ? What insights does a socio-rhetorical analysis of Acts 2:36–47 bring to the twenty-first-century church? The purpose of this chapter is to present insights from the first-century church through a social and cultural