LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PASTORAL LEADERSHIP FOR LOCAL CHURCH GROWTH IN THE KOREAN CHURCH A Thesis Project Submitted to Liberty Theological Seminary in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF MINISTRY By Gi In Lee Lynchburg, Virginia May, 2006 LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET __________________________ GRADE __________________________ MENTOR __________________________ READER ii ABSTRACT PASTORAL LEADERSHIP FOR LOCAL CHURCH GROWTH IN THE KOREAN CHURCH Gi In Lee Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, 2006 Mentor: Dr. Frank Schmitt The purpose of this thesis project is to help Korean pastors, and other pastors who want to become better leaders. It presents pastoral leadership from a biblical perspective which includes meaning, principles, disciplines, ministries, qualifications, and portraits of pastoral leadership. The project shows that the pastoral leader must lead, must guard, must feed, must equip, and must love. Pastors should lead with servant leadership, keep praying, keep the vision alive, and be a change agent. Abstract length: 75 words iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer thanks our gracious and almighty God first empowering me to be effective in my study. The writer needs to make several thanks. The prayers, encouragement, patience, and support of the writer’s parent pastor. Lee, So Young , and Nam, Hyeon Ja. And writer’s wife Choi, Eun Kyoung. The writer would like to give special thanks to Dr. Frank J. Schmitt, Director of D.Min. Program and Mentor to complete this thesis project. Dr. Frank J. Schmitt continually inspired and encouraged the writer to work hard on writing this thesis. The writer’s appreciation is extended to the reader, Dr. H. David Chung, who was kind enough to take much time to read, and offer suggestions. A hearty thanks goes to Mentor and Reader. A special note of thanks is extended also to Dr. C. Daniel Kim who is the most motivating fatherlike professor. The writer owed much love to him. The writer is grateful to my families including Jenny, and Isaac who have prayed, loved, and supported me with all their hearts and minds. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………… ⅲ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………… ⅳ Chapter Page Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………… 1 Statement of the Problem ……………………………………………… 4 Statement of the Purpose ……………………………………………… 7 Statement of Limitations ……………………………………………… 8 Statement of Methodology …………………………………………… 9 Ⅱ. PASTORAL LEADERSHIP FROM BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ………………… 10 The Meaning of Pastoral Leadership ………………………………… 10 The Principles of Pastoral Leadership ……………………………… 17 The Disciplines of Pastoral Leadership …………………………… 24 The Ministries of Pastoral Leadership ……………………………… 28 The Qualifications of Pastoral Leadership …………………………… 33 The Portraits of Pastoral Leadership ……………………………… 42 Ⅲ. THE FUNCTIONS OF PASTORAL LEADERSHIP …………………………… 51 v The Pastoral Leaders Must Lead …………………………………… 51 The Pastoral Leaders Must Guard …………………………………… 52 The Pastoral Leaders Must Feed …………………………………… 54 The Pastoral Leaders Must Equip …………………………………… 55 The Pastoral Leaders Must Love …………………………………… 57 Ⅳ. BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF PASTORAL LEADERSHIP ……………………… 60 Paul ………………………………………………………………… 60 Timothy ……………………………………………………………… 64 Saul …………………………………………………………………… 67 Ⅴ. SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE PASTORAL LEADERSHIP ………………… 71 Servant Leadership …………………………………………………… 71 Keep Praying ………………………………………………………… 79 Keep the Vision Alive ……………………………………………… 84 Be Change Agent …………………………………………………… 91 Ⅵ. CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………… 95 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 98 vi v VITA ……………………………………………………………………………….... 111 vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Pastors must be congregational leaders. Fortunately, pastors are not the only leaders in churches. But they must provide leadership in the congregation. It goes with 1 the territory. In essence, pastoral leadership involves vision and initiative. More comprehensively, pastoral leaders see visions of ministry, communicate the dreams clearly, gain consensus and commitment to common objectives, take initiative by setting the pace in ministry actions, and multiply their influence by transforming followers into new leaders. Pastoral leaders differ from church managers. Church managers conserve and concentrate on doing things right; pastoral leaders create and focus on doing the 2 right things. People are looking for someone to lead them into God’s purposes God’s way. They need leaders who truly believe God will do what He says. People will follow 3 spiritual leaders who understand God’s agenda and who know how to move them to it. 1 Robert D. Dale. Pastoral Leadership (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), 13. 2 Ibid., 14. 3 Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 5. 1 2 The pastor of a local church has a high calling and awesome responsibility. He must study and teach the Word of God in order to feed the people. He must know the mind of Christ in order to utter, “Thus saith the Lord.” He must lead the church to 4 fulfill Christ’s mission of seeking and saving the lost. Broadly described, Christian ministry calls on pastors to (1) proclaim the gospel to believers and unbelievers by means of preaching and worship as well as evangelism and nurture, (2) care for the church’s members and other persons in the community through pastoral counseling and visitation as well as family ministries and grief support, and (3) 5 lead the church in the achievement of its mission. All the work of pastor is important. It is not right to say one part is more important than another; it is all bound up together. Planning and management are linked to preaching, evangelism, and pastoral care. In fact, one cannot successfully live without the other. Planning and management do not hinder the preaching of the gospel, but they make it easier and more effective. The work of shepherding is not done for the benefit of the sheep alone. There is a purpose. The Lord has chosen the church as a means of spreading the message of salvation to the entire world. The pastor must be committed to feeding, organizing and leading a well-trained group of 6 God’s people to fulfill His will. 4 Gary L. McIntosh, Biblical Church Growth (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 98. 5 Ernest E. Mosley, Called to Joy:Design for Pastoral Ministries (Nashville: Convention Press, 1973), 12. 6 Kenneth A. Chapman, How to Plant, Pastor, and Promote a Local Church (Lynchburg: James Family Christian Publishers), 6. 3 The pastor-teacher mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 carried with it the idea of feeding, protecting, and expressing concern. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, 7 some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teacher,.” The pastor is the chief administrator of the local congregation. As such he is responsible for the over-all actions and results in the work of the church. As administrator, it is the pastor’s purpose to lead persons away from the things of the world and into the high calling in Christ Jesus. His responsibility demands that he have a clear understanding of the nature and functions of the church. He needs to develop skill in planning, overseeing, and evaluating the work of the church. He should have the ability and the authority to make decisions and to decide upon the best 8 course of action. From the social perspective of the community of faith, proclaiming usually is practiced one-to-many. Caring is often one-to-one or one-to-a-few. Pastoral leadership involves working in a challenging blending of public and private settings. 9 Participative processes are fundamental to effective pastoral leadership. Congregationally, leadership can be used as a lens through which we can examine proclaiming, caring, and managing. Preaching, for instance, provides a prime opportunity for leaders. In this role, pastors can articulate the congregation’s vision, model the congregation’s atmosphere and mood, and demonstrate their trustworthiness 7 Ephesians 4:11. 8 Kenneth A. Chapman, How to Plant, Pastor, and Promote a Local Church, 20. 9 Robert D. Dale. Pastoral Leadership, 21.