Copyright holder: Tyndale University, 3377 Bayview Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2M 3S4 Att.: Library Director, J. William Horsey Library Copyright: This Work has been made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws of Canada without the written authority from the copyright owner. Copyright license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License Citation: Wong, Wesley Cheung Shun. “Development and Delivery of a Course on Selected Management Principles and Practices for Pastors in Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches.” D. Min., Tyndale University College & Seminary, 2017. ***** Begin Content ****** TYNDALE UNIVERSITY 3377 Bayview Avenue Toronto, ON M2M 3S4 TEL: 416.226.6620 www.tyndale.ca Note: This Work has been made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws of Canada without the written authority from the copyright owner. Wong, Wesley Cheung Shun. “Development and Delivery of a Course on Selected Management Principles and Practices for Pastors in Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches.” D. Min., Tyndale University College & Seminary, 2017. [ Citation Page ] Tyndale University College and Seminary Development and Delivery of a Course on Selected Management Principles and Practices for Pastors in Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry Tyndale Seminary Project-Thesis Advisor: Dr. Brian Craig Project-Thesis Coordinator: Dr. Mark Chapman Program Director: Dr. Paul Bramer by Wesley Cheung Shun Wong Toronto, Canada April 2017 [ Title Page ] Copyright © 2017 by Wesley C.S. Wong All rights reserved [ Title Page Verso ] ABSTRACT Using an action research approach, a course on essential management principles and practices was developed, and then field tested by some Christian and Missionary Alliance pastors. They participated in the 4-month course and provided valuable feedback to improve the content, format, and delivery of the course so it would be useful to other pastors. The participants' management capabilities were appraised throughout the course. After the course, the assessment indicated an upward trajectory in their management skills. The pastors' feedback via a post-course evaluation affirmed their need to learn about management and develop skills to augment their ministry body of knowledge. They indicated they found value in the principles and practices learned in the course. They have applied them both in their personal lives and in their church ministry. The management principles and practices were supplementary to their seminary preparation and ministry experiences. This project also affirmed the need for management principles and practices that are biblically-based. Moreover they need to be carried out under the power of the Holy Spirit in order to be efficacious as Alliance pastors continue to be on mission for Christ. [ Page ] vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It was January 9, 1975. That happy day was when Jesus's blood washed my sins away. Since then the Holy Spirit, sent from the Father, has empowered me to serve the LORD Jesus Christ and His Body while I sojourn on this present earth as I await the return of the Coming King. Over these past decades, God the Heavenly Father has sent many divine contacts to join me and to support me along the Way. The blessed divine contact who has known me the most is my wife, Sonia, of over four decades. We went to university together. We worked for the same global corporations during our professional careers. We served at the same churches. We had two children, Matthias and Angela, together. Sonia supported my traversal of the corporate lattice. She also supported my ministry within the Body of Christ. Sonia was very supportive of my seminary studies, before and after my retirement from fulltime professional vocation. God continues to use Sonia to forthtell and foretell divine messages to me. God has used many others to touch my life and my ministry. Two come to mind. Rev. Arthur Louis was a devoted pastor of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) movement. God used Rev. Louis to plant Chinese Alliance churches in Canada. I was blessed with the privilege to have served with Pastor Arthur in church planting and local church ministry. He was Paul to my Onesimus. Rev. Dr. John Kao was another exemplar and mentor to me. Dr. Kao founded the [ Page ] vii Association of Chinese Evangelical Ministries (Canada) and planted many of the ACEM churches in Ontario. Pastor John was Barnabas to my Mark. Two other divine contacts whom God used to affirm and encourage me early in my ministry are Rev. Melvin Sylvester and Rev. Robert Gould. Pastor Mel Sylvester was the Superintendent of the Canadian C&MA Eastern and Central Canadian District when God called me to be part of the Kitchener- Waterloo Chinese Alliance Church plant in 1976. Rev. Sylvester affirmed my gift of administration. In 1981, Rev. Sylvester became the first President of the C&MA in Canada, and served in this role for three consecutive 4-year terms. Rev. Gould was the Superintendent of the Eastern and Central Canadian District in the 1980's. Pastor Bob Gould provided guidance to me when I served as the Chair of the Board of Elders and then as the Chair of the Building Committee of the Ottawa Chinese Alliance Church. He affirmed my gift of leadership. Pastor Bob also provided prudent advice when I sought his counsel before launching this action research endeavour. Specific to my Doctoral study, sincere thanks go to the following. Dr. Brian Craig was the experienced guide on my journey these past few years. Dr. Mark Chapman provided technical advice as an expert researcher. Dr. Paul Bramer performed excellently as Master Po, challenging me to pluck the pebble from his palm. Catherine Yeung was ever efficient and effective in supporting and taking care of the Doctoral students under her care. Catherine is an embodiment of oikonomia. In addition, the Sixers - my class mates of Cohort VI - provided [ Page ] viii gracious and valuable feedback and encouragement as we sojourned together. Special thanks to my project team of pastors who joined me on this expedition. Together we learned management principles, practices, skills, and tools. It is my prayer that we will continue to apply what we have learned in our respective ministry, becoming more proficient and efficacious as we go on mission for Christ. Gratitude to those in my ministry network: C&MA and CCACA leaders and co-labourers, pastors and leaders of my local church, and my prayer warriors. They supported me, encouraged me, and affirmed my calling. Finally, my appreciation to Dr. Gerald Chan who has been a role model for me and exhorted me on my lifelong learning. Also, my appreciation to Dr. Wing Sung who led me to Christ 42 years ago. As with the others before me, God's gracious hand was upon me (Ne 2:8, 18). May all glory, honour, praise, and thanks be to the LORD, my God and King. [ Page ] ix TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .... 1 The Ministry Context .... 1 The Opportunity .... 9 The Sacred or Secular Dilemma .... 13 The Quest .... 15 CHAPTER II: THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK .... 19 Management in the Bible ..... 20 Word Study of "Management" in Scripture .... 21 Management .... 21 Stewardship .... 23 Administration .... 26 Biblical Exemplars .... 27 Moses: The Delegator .... 28 Nehemiah: The Project Manager .... 31 Christ: The Paragon .... 34 Management in the Church .... 37 CHAPTER III: PRECEDENT SOCIAL SCIENCE LITERATURE .... 43 Management and Leadership .... 44 Management - A Brief History in Time .... 47 Management - A Definition .... 52 Management in Christian Ministry .... 54 Management for Pastoral Ministry .... 65 CHAPTER IV: PROJECT SCOPE, METHODOLOGY, AND METHODS .... 72 Research Methodology .... 73 Pre-Project Preconceptions .... 77 Project Scope Management .... 80 Look-Think-Act Phase 1 .... 81 Survey Results .... 82 Course Participants .... 84 Course Content .... 84 Course Schedule .... 85 Course Delivery .... 85 Look-Think-Act Phase 2 .... 85 Pre-Course Revelations .... 87 Course Adaptation .... 88 Look-Think-Act Phase 3 .... 89 Assessment Instrument .... 90 [ Page ] x Mini Look-Think-Act Steps .... 93 Data Collection, Analysis, and Coding .... 96 Managing the AR Project .... 101 Risk Management .... 103 CHAPTER V: OUTCOMES, FINDINGS, AND INTERPRETATION .... 106 Look-Think-Act Phase 1 .... 106 Look-Think-Act Phase 2 .... 110 Look-Think-Act Phase 3 .... 112 Analysis and Interpretation .... 113 Post-Class Feedback .... 116 Post-Course Evaluation .... 118 Transformation .... 120 Pastoral Needs .... 121 CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .... 125 Project Close .... 126 Lessons Learned .... 128 Biblical Focus .... 128 Learning is an Investment .... 129 Execute and Practice to Improve Proficiency .... 130 Soft Skills are Essential .... 131 Skills are Transferrable .... 132 Empowering and Leading by the Holy Spirit .... 132 Do the Right thing Right at the Right Time .... 133 Application to Ministry .... 134 APPENDIX A ETHICAL REVIEW .... 139 APPENDIX B C&MA AND CCACA SUPPORT .... 142 APPENDIX C PASTORAL SURVEY .... 143 Online Survey .... 145 Survey Results .... 148 APPENDIX D INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE .... 149 APPENDIX E CONSENT FORM .... 150 APPENDIX F ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW AND GROUP DISCUSSION TOPICS .... 153 APPENDIX G COURSE QUESTIONNAIRES .... 158 Management Assessments .... 158 How Good Are Your Management Skills? .... 162 How Good Are Your Leadership Skills? .... 163 [ Page ] xi How Good Are Your People Skills? .... 163 Scores by Pilot Project Participant .... 164 Learning Style Preferences .... 166 Post-Class Feedback .... 167 APPENDIX H PERMISSION TO USE MIND TOOLS QUIZZES .... 169 APPENDIX I MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS COURSE .... 170 Management Principles .... 170 Biblical Principles .... 172 The 5 P Paradigm of Nehemiah .... 173 The 5 D's of Situational Management .... 174 The 5 Y's of Root Cause Analysis .... 178 The 5 W's of Problem Solving .... 179 The 5 Roles on a Team - DARCI .... 180 The 5 Stages of Team FORMation .... 181 Course Evaluation .... 183 REFERENCE LIST .... 184 [ Page ] xii LIST OF FIGURES 4.1. Multi-Phase Project Lifecycle .... 76 4.2. Chinese Alliance Church Pastoral Demographics .... 83 4.3. Survey Responses .... 83 4.4. Summary of the Felder-Silverman Learning Styles Preferences .... 91 C.l. Project Survey .... 145 LIST OF TABLES 4.1 Datasets Summary .... 96 5.1. Demographics of those who indicated interest to take the course .... 107 G.l. Participants' Starting, Mid-way, Ending Scores .... 165 G.2. Participants. Felder-Silverman Learning Styles Preferences .... 167 [ Page ] xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACCTE Association of Canadian Chinese Theological Education ACEM Association of Christian Evangelical Ministries (Canada) AMP Amplified Bible AR Action Research C&MA Christian and Missionary Alliance CBOQ Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec CCACA Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association CCST Canadian Chinese School of Theology CCD Central Canadian District of the C&MA CMD Canadian Midwest District of the C&MA CNV Chinese New Version CPD Canadian Pacific District of the C&MA CUV Chinese Union Version DARCI Decide, Approve, Respond, Consult, Inform ECD Eastern Canadian District of the C&MA GMAT® Graduate Management Admission Test GRE® Graduate Record Examination ILS Index of Learning Styles KJV King James Version MA Master of Arts [ Page ] xiv MDIV Master of Divinity MTS Master of Theological Studies NASB New American Standard Bible NIV New International Version NKJV New King James Version PMBOK® Project Management Body of Knowledge PMI Project Management Institute PMP® Project Management Professional SBLGNT Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament WCD Western Canadian District of the C&MA [ Page ] xv CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION The premise for this action research (AR) is that pastors would be interested in learning management principles and developing practical skills to augment their ministry. These principles and practices would supplement their other competencies gained through seminary education and ministry experiences. The infusion of management capabilities could enhance the efficacy of the pastors' ministry. Integral to the action component of the project, a course on management essentials was developed and delivered. Since the field of management is broad, a core subset of principles and practices was gleaned from the project management body of knowledge. Principles guide behaviour. Practices entail the actions and techniques of the behaviour. These contributed to the content of the course that was taught to the pastoral participants on the project. This chapter presents a high- level view of this AR project. It provides the context and background of the researcher, and the reason for this endeavour. Subsequent chapters present the details of this project, the outcomes, interpretations, conclusions, lessons learned, and implications. The Ministry Context The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada (C&MA) is an [ Page ] 1 evangelical denomination founded by Albert Benjamin Simpson (Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada 2017a). Rev. A.B. Simpson graduated from Knox College in Toronto, and was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in 1865. His first pastorate was at Knox Church in Hamilton, Ontario. After eight years at Knox, God led Simpson south of the border to minister to the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1879, God called Simpson to the Thirteenth Street Presbyterian Church in New York City (Christian and Missionary Alliance 2017a). In 1887, Simpson responded to God's urgent call to him to take the Gospel to all nations. In July, at a meeting in Old Orchard, Maine, the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) was birthed. Later that year the first Alliance church in Canada, Bethany Tabernacle, was founded in Toronto (Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada 2017a). Lindsay Reynolds asserts that the "cradle of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada was southern Ontario," (Reynolds 1992, 29). While the C&MA has a Canadian heritage, its roots originated south of the border (Reynolds 1992, 3-21). On January 1, 1981, the Canadian auxiliary of the C&MA became autonomous (Reynolds 1992, 437). Rev. Melvin Sylvester, the former Superintendent of the Eastern and Central Canadian District, became the first president of the C&MA in Canada (Reynolds 1992, 407). The U.S. Alliance has over 700 workers serving in 2,000 churches in the U.S. and in 70 countries (Christian and Missionary Alliance 2017b). The Canadian Alliance also ministers both locally and globally. There are over 440 [ Page ] 2 churches from sea to sea across Canada (Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada 2017b). There are 250 international workers in four geographical regions beyond Canada. Together the Canadian C&MA ministers to five global regions: Sea-to-Sea (Canada), Asian Spice (Asia & Australia), Caribbean Sun (Mexico, Central & South America), Desert Sand (Africa), Silk Road (Europe, Russia, Arabian Peninsula & Central Asia) (Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada 2017c). Both the U.S. and Canadian organizations are members of the Alliance World Fellowship (AWF). The AWF binds Christians from over 50 countries in five world regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe & Middle East, Latin America, North America (Alliance World Fellowship 2017). After 130 years, the C&MA continues to be on mission for Jesus Christ who, the denomination proclaims, is Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. The Canadian movement's vision prayer (Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada 2017d) is: O God, with all our hearts, we long for You. Come, transform us to be Christ-centred, Spirit-empowered, Mission-focused people, multiplying disciples everywhere. Among the 440 local churches from sea to sea there are over ninety Chinese churches (Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association 2016a). The earliest Chinese Alliance churches were planted in Western Canada during the 1960s. Augustus Chao, heeding God's call, left his banking job and his family in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada. After taking some classes at the Alliance's Canadian Bible College, Chao began his ministry. On June 29, 1961, [ Page ] 3 the first Chinese Alliance Church was established in Regina (Chiang and Tam 2015, 40, 114). By 1967, four Chinese Alliance churches had been established: Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Vancouver. On September 9, 1967, the Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Committee (CCACC) was formed (Chiang and Tam 2015, 41). In 1999, it was renamed to the Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association (CCACA). This fellowship of pastors and co-workers from the Chinese Alliance churches across Canada was founded to minister to and care for the workers, to promote effective communication with its member churches, the district offices and the national office, and to assist them to edify and equip workers (Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association 2016a). Initially, the Chinese Alliance churches in Canada were primarily Cantonese-centric, ministering to constituents who had immigrated from Hong Kong. In Forging Future with Tradition: The History and Development of Chinese Alliance Churches in Canada (Chiang and Tam 2015), Solomon Chiang and Francis Tam documented the history of these churches. They note that the period between 1986 and 2000 to be the "golden era of Cantonese Chinese churches" (Chiang and Tarn 2015, 49). Concurrently, the English-speaking ministry was also in its developmental stage. Chiang and Tam report that during this period the embryonic era of the Mandarin ministry was launched (Chiang and Tam 2015, 53). They assert that the period between 2000 and 2010 was "the era of rapid increase of Mandarin-speaking churches," (Chiang and Tam 2015, 59). In its fifty years of ministry, the CCACA has observed and supported the [ Page ] 4 diversification in the Chinese churches in Canada (Chiang and Tam 2015, 62-90). Although the Chinese community appears to be homogenous on the surface, it is diverse in reality. Chiang and Tam present a comparative analysis of the characteristics between immigrants from Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Taiwan (Chiang and Tam 2015, 70-5). This includes a comparison of the background of the Chinese immigrants based on different age groups: old (bom before 1945), middle (bom between 1945 and 1975), youth (bom after 1975). The CCACA sees the need to minister to Mandarin-speaking immigrants, primarily from Mainland China, and the English-speaking especially the children of the immigrants, while also sustaining the Cantonese ministry. Chiang and Tam caution: "For those pastors and co-workers who plan to undertake the development of ministries for Chinese intellectuals or immigrants, this information is valuable and should be studied before carrying out the work" (Chiang and Tam 2015, 75). This year, 2017, the CCACA celebrates its fiftieth anniversary of ministry. Its vision is to see Chinese Alliance churches established in cities where there are Chinese people (Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association 2016b). Its mission is to support the planting of Christ-centred, Spirit-empowered, Mission- focused churches in the Chinese Diaspora. In its "4-321" strategy (Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association 2016c), in addition to strengthening the C&MA heritage of the Fourfold Gospel, the CCACA is engaged in three levels of training: pastors, lay leaders, and disciples. Moreover, the CCACA has a strong [ Page ] 5 emphasis on the DNA of the C&MA movement which entails the two distinctives of deeper life and global missions. These are founded upon a single platform of close collaboration in unity and solidarity with other Chinese Alliance affiliations through the Chinese Alliance World Fellowship. Furthermore, one of the goals of the CCACA is to grow the Canadian Chinese Alliance family to one hundred churches this year and to 150 by the year 2027 (Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association 2016d). This translates to planting five churches a year over the next 10 years. Along with the church plants, workers will need to be equipped. This project will endeavour to contribute to CCACA's goal and strategy. A particular contribution would be to support our pastors and equip them with administrative and operational skills that complement their theological and biblical knowledge as they lead their local churches, be they new church plants or otherwise. Since becoming a Christ follower in 1975 the Lord has bestowed upon me bounteous blessings, in my personal life, in my professional life, in my spiritual life, and in my church life. At the end of 1975, I heard God's call to serve him. Just like Isaiah, I responded to this vocation: "Here am I” (Is 6:8). Initially I straddled my professional vocation in the secular workplace and my volunteer work in church ministry. Over the past four decades these areas in my life have been converging toward the singularity for my purpose within the Kingdom of God. Now, at the convergence stage of my life, the focus of my vocation is to use the gifts that God has given me so that the body of Christ may be built up (Eph [ Page ] 6 4:11-12). I have been blessed to be part of the growing Chinese church community in Canada. The Lord has provided opportunities for me to learn and grow as I served Christ's body among the ethnic Chinese in our great land. The Lord allowed me to be involved in planting several churches with two denominations: the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) and the Association of Christian Evangelical Ministries (ACEM). The Lord also granted me the privilege to serve in various leadership roles in the local churches where I was a member. This includes Board Treasurer, Board Secretary, Board Chair, and Chair of the Building Committee. Currently I am serving as Secretary on the Board of Elders in my local church. I am also joyfully serving as a CCACA staff member in the role of management consultant. Over the past four decades, I have added to my ministry network leaders, both clergy and laity, from Chinese churches of several denominations (C&MA, ACEM, and CBOQ). In addition to my ministry in the local church community, the Lord has blessed me with a successful career in the global business enterprise. The Holy Spirit had empowered me to navigate the management lattice of various multinational corporations. In the over thirty years' span of my professional career, God had opened the doors for me to grow from an individual contributor up through several levels of management. I had the opportunity to lead teams of managers and senior managers distributed around the globe, and accountable for millions of dollars in annual budgets. God has blessed me with awards through [ Page ] 7 my corporate employers. One of these is the Award of Merit for Management Excellence. As a credentialed Project Management Professional (PMP®) certified by the Project Management Institute, and an Information Technology Service Management practitioner certified in change management, I was entrusted with overseeing multimillion dollar transformation programs across the world. Furthermore I contributed to the book Risk Management: Tricks of the Trade for Project Managers (Mulcahy 2003). I have also taught project management and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) principles and practices to my colleagues at work. Earlier in my career, I had planned to be a teacher in higher education. Through the University of British Columbia, I received my professional teaching certificate to teach in BC high schools. Then I obtained my Master of Mathematics in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo. During my formative years in the high technology sector in our nation's capital, I also taught a Computer Science course at Ottawa's Algonquin College. Through the decades of wind storms, earth quakes, and fiery situations (1 Kgs 19:1 l-12a), God never left me nor forsook me (Jo 1:5). God used these events to equip me to serve him as a steward, a manager, and a leader, in my professional context as well as in my vocational ministry. After retiring from my professional career seven years ago, I returned to school to pursue a seminary education. Upon completing my Masters from McMaster Divinity College, I served as a project consultant at the C&MA National Ministry Centre in Toronto. [ Page ] 8 Again, I heard God's gentle whisper (1 Kgs 19:12b). He called me to go back to school. This time it was to pursue the Doctor of Ministry at Tyndale Seminary. This was to further equip me for my next assignment, which is to minister to church pastors. The Opportunity The licensed workers serving in the Canadian C&MA movement typically have theological education. Some have their undergraduate degree from Bible Colleges. Most have their graduate degree, such as the Master of Divinity (MDiv), granted from seminaries. In addition, many have their doctorate such as PhD or DMin, and some even have both. The Alliance workers are well equipped for the biblical and theological aspects of ministry in the C&MA. They have also gained some practical experience through their seminary equipping. This includes some core courses in leadership. Moreover, the C&MA has been blessed with workers who are in their "second Gerald Chan refers to those who have retired or are about to retire as ''second-milers^^ (Chan 2015). They have had a professional career "in various areas of the work-force during their work-life (this is their first mile)” and "in the later part of their life, they have a desire for more involvement in church ministry which is different from their previous secular work (this is their second mile)" (Chan 2015, 14-5). Our pastoral second-milers bring additional knowledge, experiences, and skills that supplement their seminary preparation for ministry. Nevertheless, while seminaries do offer courses in leadership and our [ Page ] 9 workers may also have work experience outside of the church context, pastors in my ministry network have indicated that they were not equipped adequately for the operational, administrative, and managerial demands of church ministry. When one looks into the various activities within a local church one finds many administrative tasks and projects. This begs the question: "What management principles and practices would be relevant and applicable to pastoral ministry in the local church?” Furthermore, is there a difference between leadership and management? More importantly, how valid is the perception that there is a need for our pastors to supplement their seminary education with management capabilities? These questions created the impetus for this inquiry. It is salient to note that experienced church workers are sharing their lessons learned from ministry with other pastors. In Things They Never Taught You in Seminary, Deborah and James Bushfield "pass on tidbits of advice as well as horror stories of ministry gone wrong” (Bushfield and Bushfield 1994, 9). In your First Year in Ministry: What They Didn't Teach You in Seminary, Glyn Norman asserts: In almost every vocation, there is a gap between what you learn at college and what you actually need to know to get the job done well. In the context of ministry, many theological colleges and seminaries do a wonderful job of teaching the budding pastor biblical and historical theology, church history, Greek, exegesis, and sermon preparation. In real ministry though, you will face problems and situations for which you were never trained. (Norman 2012, 5) In conversation with pastors at several Chinese churches a common refrain was that they would like to learn some management principles and to apply [ Page ] 10 management best practices in their ministry so they can serve more effectively and efficiently within the Chinese church community in Canada. Many of these pastors do not have operational management experiences, and they did not learn management nor develop management skills during their seminary formative years. Through face-to-face, phone and email interactions, and pastoral mentoring, this has also been corroborated by other pastors in my network of Chinese church leaders. Furthermore, in my management consultancy roles at the C&MA National Ministry Centre and with the CCACA, I have received positive support from leaders of these organizations who have affirmed the need to supplement our pastors' knowledge with administration and management principles and practical skills. Church leaders and pastors in Chinese Alliance churches, the Executive Director and the Chairperson of the CCACA, as well as the Principal of the Canadian Chinese School of Theology at Ambrose Seminary (CCSTAS) have identified project management, people management, cost management, time management, meeting management, resource management, strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, administration, interpersonal communication and decision making skills as areas of opportunity for further development for our pastors. The C&MA leaders such as the President and Vice Presidents at the National Ministry Centre, as well as the Superintendents of the Ontario districts, have concurred and also included risk management and self-care. Based on my preliminary albeit informal inquiry, 1 perceived there is value to equip pastors with management and administrative skills. Given my experience serving in [ Page ] 11 Canadian Chinese churches as well as managing in the global business marketplace for over three decades, these leaders have affirmed that I could act as an experienced guide alongside our pastors on their journey to learn and leverage the management discipline for ministry purpose. As a second-miler in the convergence stage in life, my passion is to be more involved in church ministry, and to leverage the lessons learned and the experience gained from my tenure in the secular workplace. Robert Clinton describes convergence as the phase when "God moves the leader into a role that matches his or her gift-mix and experience so that ministry is maximized" (Clinton 1988, 46-7). I have the desire to offer my rich gift-mix which includes the spiritual gifts of administrating, leading, teaching and serving, with my experiences in church ministry as well as in corporate business. To maximize my ministry, I believe the Lord has now called me to act as a guide to pastors who are interested to learn about management. To optimize the learning expedition and mitigate the risk of overwhelming the sojourners, the scope needs to be limited to a subset of this expansive field. In particular, the discipline of project management covers much of the territory, albeit a component, of the management field. Project management entails planning the work so that project stakeholders have common perceptions of what the project will deliver, when it will be complete, how much it will cost, who will do the work and how the work will be done. Integral to managing a project is effective communication to keep project stakeholders informed and to manage their expectations, to mitigate [ Page ] 12 misunderstanding and conflict, and to provide information for decision making. Project management principles and practices are essential to management, and not restricted just to managing projects. For instance, managing cost, time and resources, including human resources, and mitigating risks apply to projects as well as to operations. The Sacred or Secular Dilemma The notion of management and church has been construed as akin to that of oil and water. Physically oil and water do not mix well. Ironically, oil and water are metaphors of the Holy Spirit. Be that as it may there is still some reservation to apply management in the church context. The church is sacred. Management is perceived to be secular. In Leadership Handbook of Management & Administration (Berkley 2007), James E. Means observes that: From the earliest periods of church history, serious questions about administration have perplexed religious leaders. Many have mistrusted the concept of management when linked with ministry. Management sounds secular, so profoundly unspiritual that many have suspected it represented ideology antithetical to the ministerial role. Furthermore, management frequently has been associated with manipulation (the words come from the same root), crass business practices, and autocratic control. (Means 2007, 349; italics in original) Being "secular” suggests something that is not connected with religious or spiritual matter. When seen through the lens of the Apostle Paul's cautious exhortation to God's holy people, living in Rome in the first century, to "not conform to the pattern of this world" (Rom 12:2) a synonym for “secular” could be "worldly” which characterizes things in the temporal world as opposed to the [ Page ] 13 spiritual realm. Consequently, some church leaders had promoted a disassociation between sacred church ministry and secular business management (Dayton 1981). This perspective, however, has begun to change over the past decades. A church management and leadership movement has appeared and has been led by thought leaders such as Ken Blanchard, Robert Clinton, Max De Pree, Peter Drucker, Robert Greenleaf, Bill Hybels, Aubrey Malphurs, John Maxwell, Paul Stevens, and others (Blanchard 2008, Clinton 1988, De Pree 2001, Drucker 1990, Greenleaf 2002, Hybels 2002, Malphurs 2004, Maxwell 2014, Stevens 1993). Additional resources on management are referenced in Chapter III. Yet there are those who maintain their opposition against, or reprove, using management principles in the local church as these are perceived to be materialistic and humanistic, rather than spiritual. In a speech to Tyndale business majors David Hutchison, President of the Hutchison Group, said: As Christians, we are priests in the marketplace, whatever that marketplace is. It is an opportunity for me to practically give back to the world in some reasonable, sustainable way, but also to live out my faith. My philosophy in business is that everything is sacred. Nothing is secular. (Tyndale University College & Seminary 2015) In the final chapter of The Pursuit of God. A.W. Tozer addressed the perceived sacred-secular antithesis. He commenced the chapter, "The Sacrament of Living," with the Apostle Paul's reminder that "whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). Then Tozer concluded, "It is not what a man [sic] does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it” (Tozer [ Page ] 14 1948, 120). In The Grand Weaver, Ravi Zacharias asserts: Because we are all priests before God, there is no distinction as "secular or sacred.'Tn fact, the opposite of sacred is not secular; the opposite of sacred is profane. In short, no follower of Christ does secular work. We all have a sacred calling. (Zacharias 2007, 65) The issue is not whether management is secular or sacred. The process of managing is a means to an end, whereas the end outcome would be sacred or profane depending in the intended purpose. The Quest In light of the opportunity and the challenge presented above, a rigorous exercise was launched. It was to ascertain the need for pastors to learn management principles. It included an inquiry to identify some specific essential principles and practices to apply to pastoral ministry. In addition, it was to assess the impact of applying the management practices. This quest is journaled in the following chapters. The journey started by laying down a theological framework. A search through Scripture for references to management and examples of managers was undertaken. This included a study of key words, one of which is oikonomia (Strong's G3622) which means stewardship. In addition. Chapter II reveals management role models in the Bible. Jesus and Nehemiah were such exemplars. Nehemiah was called out by God to manage the project to repair the wall and gates around the holy city of Jerusalem. Not only did God use him to refortify the city wherein lied the second Temple rebuilt by Zerubbabel but also God used [ Page ] 15 Nehemiah, collaborating with Ezra the Priest, to revive the remnants who had returned from exile. In addition to the theological framework, a search of other resources for management thoughts was also undertaken. An account of management in the recent past is presented in Chapter III. The notion of management is distinguished from that of leadership. Specific management concepts are gleaned from the project management body of knowledge. The discourse wraps up with a discussion of equipping pastors with management skills for ministry in the twenty-first century. Upon these theological and social platforms, the quest was launched in earnest. The inquiry was performed in conformance with the Action Research (AR) methodology. Chapter IV articulates in detail the multiple phases of the AR project. A series of Look, Think, and Act steps was performed in each phase. In addition, a "Management Essentials" course was piloted with a small cohort of pastors. It acted as an intervention in the final Look-Think-Act phase. The pilot project participants' management skills were assessed before the course, and re- assessed after the course to appraise the change, if any, as a result of the intervention. Chapter V presents the outcomes that emerged from this action research. It reports on the results from the series of skills assessments. The project participants' quantitative results on the skills assessments indicate an upward trajectory that suggests they have improved their skills. Both soft skills and hard [ Page ] 16 skills were learned. Applying what they learned from the course the participants also expressed that it has benefitted their ministry. Essentially, from the research, evidence shows that pastors are interested to learn management principles and practices, and can improve the efficacy of their ministry. Principles guide behaviour. Practices entail the actions and techniques of the behaviour. The chapters summarized above address the why, what, who, when, how, what happened, what was found, and what does it mean. Chapter VI addresses what to do with the lessons learned from this AR endeavour. Pursuant to CCACA's goal to plant five churches a year and its "4-3-2-1" strategy, a possible next step would be a ''Management Primer" course to equip our seminary- educated pastors with practical, operational and administrative skills. This could help the pastors to survive and thrive as they strive in planting, maintaining, and sustaining the over 100 Chinese Alliance churches from sea to sea. In his letter to God's holy people in Rome, the Apostle Paul wrote: For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:4- 5) Churches are blessed with people who have diverse spiritual gifts and technical talents. Those in the pews have capabilities that complement those in the pulpit. Pastors don't necessarily have to duplicate their constituents' capabilities. They need to know the areas where they themselves are not strong, and they need to be aware of the strengths of those in their church. Pastors need to seek out the Nehemiah's in their ministry context. Then they can collaborate with those [ Page ] 17 entrusted under their care and leverage the gifts, talents and technical skills of others within their ministry context. By improving their people skills, pastors can mobilize others to do God's work. Thus people-oriented social soft skills should take precedence over task-oriented technical hard skills. One advantage that pastors have is their biblical and theological knowledge. Pastors can make informed decisions to do the right things based on biblical principles. Then they can lead and manage the right people to do the right things for the right purpose in the right way at the right time. [ Page ] 18 CHAPTER II: THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK This chapter lays the theological foundation for this action research project regarding the use of management principles and practices for pastors. The goal of this chapter is to search Scripture to learn what it teaches about the discipline of management. This would demonstrate that management does have biblical underpinnings and thus could be applied by pastors in their personal lives, and in the sacred sanctum of the local church. In this chapter, a word study is undertaken to better understand the discipline of management in the biblical context. It reports on a search in Scripture for words pertinent to management, and a study of these words. In addition, it presents some of the management examples that are recorded in Scripture to assert that some so-called secular management principles and practices are indeed derived from the Bible. It establishes a biblical basis for the discipline of management. The next chapter presents supplementary references to management and addresses the aspect of management in today's church context. These two chapters lay down a platform upon which this action research project was launched to equip pastors with management skills for self-care as well as for sacred ministry in the local church. [ Page ] 19 Management in the Bible For Christian workers there is a need to have an understanding of the biblical basis and theological foundation of management so that an informed decision can be made about organizing the affairs of ministry and administrating God's work in a wise and efficient manner as stewards in the Kingdom of God, both in the local church and in the marketplace. It is also important to avert the trap of mismanagement. Christian educators Michael J. Anthony and James Estep Jr. remind us: As stewards, we are expected to administrate God's work in a wise and efficient manner. In fact, as ministry leaders we will one day give an account for our oversight when we stand before our Master. A good steward is one who recognizes his responsibility to oversee the affairs of his master and focused his efforts toward that end. (Anthony and Estep Jr. 2005, 1) While management principles will be revealed under the light of the Holy Scripture, when they are put into practice one shouldn't neglect the dependence on the Holy Spirit. In Spirit-led Church Management (Siu 1999), Gordon Siu concludes that with an "understanding of the work of [the] Holy Spirit within and among the people of God, the priority mission of church management will be the discovery of the divine will of God for a church.... The management tasks d not derive from [the] leaders' ideals or institutional needs, but from a discernment of what [the] Holy Spirit is already working among them" (Siu 1999, 41). Spirit-led church management is not a matter of faith or work, but the integration of faith and work (Jas 2:22). [ Page ] 20 Word Study of "Management” in Scripture A search through the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible has identified several references to "management" (Lk 12, 16; 1 Tm 3, 5; Ti 1). Similar words such as "stewardship” (Gn 43, 44; Lk 16; 1 Cor 9; Col 1; 1 Pt 4) and "administration”(Ezr 4; Dn 2, 6; 1 Cor 12) are also found. They have common roots. A study of these words in the Greek biblical text is presented below. Management Regarding management, Luke recorded Jesus' instruction to his disciples in the "Parable of the Shrewd Manager.” Note that the title for this pericope in the English Standard Version is "The Parable of the Dishonest Manager.” The New King James Version captions it as "The Parable of the Unjust Steward." The Chinese New Version titles it as "不義的管家" which translates to “The Unrighteous Housekeeper.” That manager was asked to give an account of his management (Lk 16:1-15 NIV). His self-interest action could have been a contributing factor to the tarnished image of management practices as they were construed as dishonest, unjust, and unrighteous. What the shrewd manager did could be classified as misconduct, fraud, embezzlement, or bribery. Even in the recent past these continue to be quite prevalent. Thus the manager's shrewd behaviour may not be appreciated by others. Nevertheless, he was commended by his master for acting shrewdly. In the Chinese Union Version, the manager was commended for his cleverness (聰明).The Greek New Testament records that the [ Page ] 21 reason for his commendation is "because he acted prudently (hoti phronimous epoiaysen) Lk 16:8a SBLGNT). Ironically his prudent action further affirmed his mismanagement (Lk 16:1). It is salient to note that it was not Jesus who commended this manager, nor condoned his actions. In this parable Jesus admonished through the master that "the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light” (Lk 16:8b). Jesus admonished that "whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much," (Lk 16:10b). In the case of the shrewd manager who was dishonest with much he can be expected to be dishonest with very much. Jesus added, "So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" (Lk 16:11). People such as this dishonest manager cannot be trusted. On the other hand, Jesus affirmed that '[w]hoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much" (Lk 16:10a). Although managing is a means, in the Christian context it is not meant for the purpose of dishonest gain. On the other hand, dishonesty drives mismanagement as illustrated in this parable of the shrewd manager. In this passage the words that Jesus used for "manager" and management" are rooted in the Greek word oikonomia ( Strong's G3622) which means "stewardship." The notion of stewardship is elaborated below. Bearing in mind the context of his eschatological parables (Lk 12-21) and his teaching about the kingdom of God, Jesus warned his disciples not to be deceived (Lk 21:8) by the applause for the shrewd deeds of the people of this world. Therefore, until the [ Page ] 22 glorious appearing of the blessed hope of God and Saviour Jesus Christ (Ti 2:13), Christian believers are not to imitate the mismanagement practices of the dishonest manager. As the Master tarries to return Christian followers need to have a correct conduct overseeing that which has been entrusted to them. Stewardship Even before he told the parable of the "Shrewd Manager” the Lord Jesus taught the responsibilities and set the expectations of a faithful and wise manager in the parable about "Watchfulness and Readiness of the Faithful Servant" recorded in Lk 12:35-48. In this passage the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?” Jesus characterized faithful and wise managers as put in charge of people (epi teis therapeias, verse 42) and possessions (epi pasin tois huparchousin, verse 44), In his reference to "manager" (verse 42, NIV) Jesus used the word oikonomos ( Strong's G3623). Other versions translate this as "steward.” The Apostle Peter, also, used the Greek word oikonomos to refer to stewards: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms” (1 Pt 4:10). In his letter to the Galatian believers, regarding his stewardship the Apostle Paul made reference to guardians (epitropous) and trustees (oikonomous) (Gal 4:2). Thus, in Scripture, the notion of management is that of trusteeship and stewardship based on the word oikonomia. However, in some churches "stewardship” refers to giving back to God [ Page ] 23 through tithes and offerings. Nevertheless, the verses in the New Testament (Lk 12:42; 16:1, 3, 8; 1 Cor 4:1,2; 9:17; Gal 4:2; Ti 1:7; 1 Pt 4:10) that refer to oikonomos do not support this myopic view. Rather, in terms of charitable giving, stewardship includes the management of the tithes and offerings which are given for the ministry. These resources, however, do not belong to people but belong to God who entrusted them to his people to administer and care for. The Greek word oikonomos (Strong's G3623) is composed of oikos (Strong's G3624) which means a home or household, and nõmõs ( Strong's G3551) meaning law which in turn has root in nõmõs that means to "parcel out" or "arrange." New Testament professor Kenneth S. Wuest explained that: "Steward" is oikonomos, made up of oikos, "house," and nomos, "law," hence, the law whereby a household is administered or governed. The word refers to a manager of a household, a superintendent. Into such a person's hands is entrusted the responsibility to properly administer the affairs of the household. The bishop is given the responsibility of properly administering the affairs of the local church. (Wuest 1952, 184; italics in original) According to Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary an õikonomos is the manager of a household (Vine, Unger and White 1996, 599). The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words explains that oikonomos is a noun that denotes "one who oversees or manages household or civic affairs" (Renn et al., 2005, 931). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Zodhiates 1992), Spiros Zodhiastes elaborates that the oikonomos is a "person who manages the domestic affairs of a family or business” which includes assigning tasks and managing the accounts (Zodhiates 1992, 1032). In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. [ Page ] 24 Associate Professor of Biblical Studies Charles W. Draper concludes that the above New Testament texts paint a picture of a steward as a "house manager." He asserts: The biblical concept of stewardship, beginning with Adam and Eve and developed more fully in the NT, is that God is owner and provider of all that any of us possess. Since all belongs to Him, it is incumbent that all be used for His purpose and glory. A collective responsibility was given to mankind to have dominion over the earth, care for it, and manage it for His Glory. (Brand, Draper and England 2003, 1534) The steward manages the household but does not lord over it. The steward is not the owner of the house. This is consonant with the set of core values of the C&MA movement. In particular, Core Value #10 in the Manual of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada states: We are committed to: Stewardship Therefore: • We view all our resources and possessions as God-owned and we use them with integrity, accountability and maximum effectiveness. • We embrace faithfulness and sacrifice in the advance of Christ's kingdom. (The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada 2016, 4) The Apostle Paul identified management as a criterion for church leadership. In particular, those entrusted with God's work need to manage well as masters and mistresses of their own households (oikos) (1 Tm 3: 4, 12; 5:14; Ti 1:7). In his first letter to Timothy, the pastoral apostle taught him about management. Pastor Paul told Timothy that an overseer (episkopos; Strong's G1985) must manage his family (oikos) well. He asked rhetorically, "If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's [ Page ] 25 church?" (1 Tm 3:5) Pastor Paul also instructed Titus that the overseer (ton episkopon), i.e., the bishop, is responsible for managing God's household (Ti 1:7). In this pericope, Paul stressed that the bishop is literally "to be as of God a steward" (einai hos theou oikonomon). Therefore those who have oversight responsibilities within the church are stewards who have been entrusted with managing and taking care of the local household. Administration On his second and third missionary journeys the Apostle Paul had spent time ministering in the city of Ephesus (Acts 18—19). While there, "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul” (Acts 19:11). Then under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:16-31), writing his pastoral epistle to God's holy people in Ephesus, Paul used oikonomia which the NIV translates to "administration” (Eph 3:2, 9). Thus there is a congruence between stewardship and administration. As articulated above there is also a relationship between stewardship and management. These words have been used interchangeably to ascribe to those who administer or manage people, tasks, and functions in an organization, and to describe what they do. In essence, administrators manage those that have been entrusted under their care. Furthermore, Paul used the Greek word kubernesis (Strong's G2941) in his first epistle to the Corinthians referring to the gift of administration (1 Cor 12:28). The Amplified Bible (AMP), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the New International Version (NIV), and the New King James Version [ Page ] 26 (NKJV) enumerate administration as a gift of the Holy Spirit. The King James Version (KJV) renders this divine gift as "governing.” The Latin Vulgate uses the word gubernationes which means governments. The Chinese Union Version translation for this gift is 治理事的 which means "a matter of governance,and in the Chinese Standard Bible it is 管理的恩賜 which means the "gift of management" The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) also translates this divine gift as "management." The Church is blessed with spiritual gifts. These are graces that God grants to believers to effectively carry out the works of service for the common good of the church (1 Cor 12:7; Eph 4:7, 16). The pastoral overseer Peter counselled his readers, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms” (1 Pt 4:10). The recipients of spiritual gifts are members of the royal priesthood (1 Pt 2:9), be it clergy or laity. The purpose is "so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:12-13). Along with preaching, teaching, encouraging, healing and leading (Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:28-30), the gift of administrating is also from the Holy Spirit. Biblical Exemplars The construct of management and stewardship pervades both the Old [ Page ] 27 Testament and the New Testament. The account of Joseph's rise to be the second- in-command to Pharaoh in the oversight of the whole land of Egypt rings with some irony. Earlier when Joseph shared his dream with his father, Jacob, and his brothers they were indignant. Perhaps they feared that someday they would have to bow down to Joseph (Gn 37:5-11). On the contrary when Joseph did secure a position of authority he did not lord it over them. Even though his brothers were still fearful, especially in light of what they had done to him, Joseph surprized them. He remembered that through his ordeal sold in slavery the Lord was with him (Gn 39:2, 3, 21, 23). He was "one in whom is the spirit of God” (Gn 41:38). Other Old Testament exemplars of administrators include Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Dn 2:49; 6:2,4, 6). It is clear that God was also with them (Daniel 3, 6). Nehemiah was another steward. He was the trusted cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I (Neh 1:1 lb; 2:1). Like Joseph and Daniel, Nehemiah was an administrator. God used these stewards and blessed their administration as they managed the tasks and resources, and led the people entrusted to them. However, no matter the status of the administrator - be it taking care of a country, a province, a household 一 or the giftedness of the administrator, it is critical to acknowledge the gift comes from God. Moses: The Delegator The practice of delegation is well accepted as a management process common in the secular world. It is the process of giving control and authority to someone to carry out a task. Essentially delegating a task to someone is to entrust [ Page ] 28 that person with the responsibility to perform the work. Delegation is also used in the sacred realm, even before the birth of the Christian Church. The interplay between Moses and his father-in-law, Jethro, provides a lesson on delegation. Before God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to take them to the Promised Land, as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter (Ex 2:9-10) Moses had been educated and served in Pharaoh's court (Acts 7:22-4). Under the influence of an autocratic ruler Moses may have learned to manage as a solo leader who took action into his own hands. Eventually Moses learned the art of delegation from his father-in-law. Note that Jethro was also called Reuel which means ''friend of God" (Ex 2:18). Before being called to be a shepherd of God's people Moses had worked for his father-in-law tending Jethro's flock of sheep (Ex 3:1). Knowing that Moses needed some guiding support to lead the Israelites God used his friend, Jethro, to teach Moses a lesson on delegation (Ex 18:13-26). The principle of delegation, however, had been laid down centuries earlier. God had instituted this principle in the beginning when he delegated the stewardship of his creation to humankind (Gn 1:26-30). Since then delegation has been recorded throughout the Bible and practiced throughout the history of humankind. It was God who instituted the function of delegating. One of the best examples of delegation is recorded by the disciple who was a former businessman, a despised tax collector: Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:18-20a) [ Page ] 29 Moreover delegation is not abdication. In the Great Commission imperative Jesus promised, "[a]nd surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mt 28:20b). Furthermore God sent the Holy Spirit as an advocate to help and to empower the Church for ministry (Jn 14:16-7; Acts 1:8). The principles of management are not alien to Scripture. But what are some of the actual practices taught in Scripture? In the business realm, Professors Emeritus of Management at Hosftra University's School of Business, Patrick Montana and Bruce Charnov enumerate planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, motivating, leading, and controlling as management activities (Montana and Charnov 2015, 1-3). Similarly, the Project Management Institute (PMI) identifies initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing as the primary processes of project management (PMI 2013, 5,27-8, 49—58). In the context of the church ministry this also includes planning, organizing, staffing, executing, controlling, initiating and closing. Christian Educator Michael J. Anthony asserts that "many of the principles found in secular organization and administration textbooks used in MBA programs across North America did not originate in corporate America.” He adds: Most of these principles of management originated more than four thousand years ago and are recorded in the pages of Scripture. The Old and New Testaments are replete with examples of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and evaluating long before North America began using them in their business ventures. (Anthony and Estep 2005, 13) Using Nehemiah as an exemplar these functions are discussed below. Nehemiah applied principles comparable to PMI-compliant project management processes as [ Page ] 30 he led the project to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem. Unlike the dishonest and shrewd manager, Nehemiah had a different purpose. He conducted the business for the glory of God. Nehemiah: The Project Manager The name Nehemiah (Strong's H5166) is composed of two Hebrew words: naham (Strong's H5162) which means comfort or console, and yah (Strong's H3050) which is a contraction Yahweh (Strong's H3068) the name of JHWH. Thus Nehemiah is a reminder that Jehovah comforts. The Bible refers to several persons called Nehemiah. This section reviews the activities carried out by the one who is the central character in the book named after him. In particular, this book recounts how Nehemiah managed the project to rebuild the wall and repair the gates around the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a very important person. He was the king's cupbearer (Neh 1:11). Although this was a precarious position, it also carried great responsibility. Such a position was one of trust between Nehemiah and Artaxerxes I who was king of Persia at the time. Their relationship was so strong that the king readily perceived that Nehemiah was troubled and saddened (Neh 2:2). Thus Nehemiah disclosed to Artaxerxes the condition of the broken down wall and burned gates around the City of David and the Second Temple within (Neh 1:3; 2:3). Consequently, Nehemiah submitted a proposal to go to Judah and rebuild the wall around the city (Neh 2:5). The plan also addressed the timeline for this endeavour (Neh 2:6). Then Nehemiah asked for a charter that authorized his commission to manage the rebuilding project (Neh [ Page ] 31 2:7—8a). Upon the approval by the king the project was initiated. Nehemiah was appointed to manage the project (Neh 2:8b, 5:14). An integral component of his planning was analysis. Nehemiah went to Jerusalem and assessed the situation (Neh 2:11-5). He defined the project scope and objective which was to refortify the city, especially since the Temple had been rebuilt and needed protection (Neh 2:17). The plan also addressed staffing and resources. Nehemiah knew that he could not do it alone. He recruited and organized a team. Each member had a stake in the project and was assigned specific roles and responsibilities. Nehemiah delegated the tasks and directed the work (Neh 3:1—32; 4:13, 16-23). He did not abdicate. Nehemiah motivated his team through to the completion of the project (Neh 4:6, 9, 14). Even with the king's authorization and a well thought plan, however, the project was not simple. As the project got underway it was met with resistance and risks. There were obstacles that threatened progress, and opposition tried to sabotage the project (Neh 4:1-5; 6:1—14). However, Nehemiah managed to mitigate the risks, address the problems and resolve the conflicts. As the project execution proceeded he constantly evaluated the progress. Nehemiah continually monitored and controlled the situation (Neh 5:1-12). He was folly engaged with the stakeholders (Neh 5:16-8). Finally, the wall around the city was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, fifty-two days after the project started (Neh 6:15). Scripture records the activities which Nehemiah carried out as an administrator. Not only was Nehemiah the governor sent by King Artaxerxes I to [ Page ] 32 oversee the province of Judah but also he was used by God to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem which surrounded the second temple rebuilt by Zerubbabel. As the narrative unfolded a key action that can be observed is Nehemiah's persistent prayer life which indicated his dependence on God (Neh 1:4, 11; 2:4; 4:9). Even though Nehemiah was successful in his project the credit is actually due to God for the “good hand of God" was upon him (Neh 2:8). Nehemiah's name is a reminder that God consoles. God comforted him when Nehemiah met oppositions. God enabled Nehemiah to fortify the defence against weaknesses, confront the conspiracy, face the intimidation, and overcome the threats. Throughout the project Nehemiah took every opportunity to give thanks and praise to God (Neh 5:13; 8:10-2; 12:24-43). He did not wait till the end of the 52-day project. Nehemiah's manifestation of the following principles and practices illustrates a model of management empowered by God: • Pray • Nehemiah did not do anything without prayer, and he did not pray without doing anything. • He was a person of faith and action. • Plan • Nehemiah knew that after looking up and lifting up to the Lord, if he failed to plan then he can plan to fail. • Proceed • Nehemiah did not perform the actions alone; he engaged others to execute the plan. • He organized and mobilized the team into action, with specific roles for specific tasks. • Provide • Nehemiah continually looked to the Lord to provide comfort, guidance, protection, and resources. • He directed the team to do the work. Nehemiah also contributed to this endeavour. • Nehemiah constantly monitored progress and managed the risk of [ Page ] 33 opposition 一 both the external threats and the internal weaknesses. • Praise • Nehemiah took every opportunity to give thanks, glory and praise to God. • He motivated the people all through the journey, celebrating milestones along the way and not just wait till the end of the project. Nehemiah, son of Hakaliah, was a Judahite (Neh 1:1; 2:3, 5). He was not from the priestly tribe where Ezra hailed (Ezr 7:1-5, 10—2). Nehemiah had been cupbearer to King Artaxerxes who appointed him to govern Judah. Nehemiah did not serve in the court of God; rather he served in the court of an earthly king. Nehemiah was likely exposed to and experienced the politics and demands of an administrative office. In today's vernacular Nehemiah was a lay person and a seasoned administrator. Nehemiah was a public servant when God called him to manage the project to restore the wall around the holy city. God's gracious hand was upon him and gave him success (Neh 2:8, 20). Like other administrators before him, such as Joseph and Daniel, Nehemiah came under the divine protection of the Almighty God. In addition, Nehemiah served with Ezra the Priest to renew the covenant between God and his people (Neh 8:9-10; 9:38- 10:39). Ezra was a man in sacred ministry. Nehemiah was a man in secular management. This was a winning combination. Christ: The Paragon Jesus Christ was an apostle, a prophet, and an evangelist. He was God incarnate, sent by God the Father, to foretell the salvific good news and to forthtell what is expected to come as the returning King. Jesus was also pastor and [ Page ] 34 teacher. As the Great Shepherd he cared for people. As rabbi he taught and equipped others to be on mission. Jesus personified the ethos of management by his example. Through parables Jesus taught about managing as good, wise, and faithful stewards should. He warned against those who use management as a means for personal benefit. In the parable of the Shrewd Manager discussed above, Jesus admonished his disciples not to imitate the shrewd manager for personal, dishonest advantage, nor to emulate the people of this world who commend and admire the perceived prudent, yet shrewd, behaviour to achieve non-altruistic gain. Jesus also painted a portrait of a good manager who was watchful, ready, and working while waiting for the master to return (Mt 24:45-7; Lk 12:35-44); and he also painted a portrait of a wicked and wily manager who was lazy and evil (Mt 24:48-51; Lk 12:45,46). Moreover, after Jesus taught about praying (Mt 6:5-15), he taught about planning (Mt 7:24-7; Lk 6:47-9). In his example of the wise and foolish builders, his message was that the person who fails to plan can plan to fail. Furthermore, Jesus used the examples of managing capital resources and human resources to establish the high expectations for commitment to being his disciple (Lk 14:26— 33). In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus described both a faithful steward as well as a foolish steward. Jesus laid down principles of management which are to be used as a means for good by the faithful, but can be misused for evil by the foolish. Thus, for pastors, managing must be centred in Christ, not in self. Christ is the [ Page ] 35 end purpose, and managing is merely a means toward that end. Management principles and practices provide the process of "how” and not the purpose of "why." Therefore it is prudent to start with the "why" to determine what needs to be done and then how to achieve that end. Jesus demonstrated how to manage. He discerned how to manage based on the situational context which depended on the competence and the commitment of those whom he called to be on mission with him: "'Come, follow me； Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him" (Mt 4:19). Initially his disciples had to be directed to do the work of fishing for men and women. Jesus had to educate them by telling them what to do. He had to give them clear directions and detailed instructions (Mt 10:5-10; Lk 10:1— 24; 22:7-13). These specific "do's" and "don'ts" could be misconstrued as micro- management. However, this approach was necessary because the disciples did not know the work to be done, nor how to do it. Jesus had to disciple those whom he called. He taught them to pray (Mt 6:9-15). He participated with them by coaching, showing and telling them how to do the work. Before he sent them on their mission, Jesus spent time with them. At times when the disciples returned from their missions, Jesus had to discipline them for their "little faith" (Mt 17:20). When the Seventy-Two returned rejoicing from their mission, Jesus commended them (Lk 10:1-24). Jesus was their advocate. He also encouraged the disciples to “t]ake courage" and "[d]on't be afraid", (Mt 14:27). He re-directed their attention and reinforced their confidence. [ Page ] 36 Jesus reassured, affirmed, and reinstated those who failed (Jn 21:15-9). Discerning the situation, Jesus would direct, disciple, or discipline. Through these developmental stages his disciples were being equipped to the point where Jesus could delegate tasks to them. Before he ascended to be with God the Father, Jesus delegated the Great Commission to his disciples (Mt 28:19- 20a). This was complemented with his great commitment. Jesus promised to be with them always, even to the end of the age (Mt 28:20b). This delegation, however, was not an abdication. Jesus promised that his followers will be empowered by the Holy Spirit as they go on mission for him (Acts 1:8). Management in the Church In the so-called secular world, management may still conjure up a perception of a power structure with directors and executives at the top of a hierarchy and non-management staff at the bottom. The impression of management had been one where "lording it over them" was the norm. Those at the management layer of the hierarchy were perceived to wield command and control. Today there are managers who still exert control over people and tasks. Depending on the situation this would be appropriate. But there is a tendency to stave off such behaviour in the sacred sanctum of the church. However, a search of the Scriptures has affirmed that administration is not only biblical but it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Moreover as shepherds of the flock entrusted to them pastors are expected to lead and not to lord over those under their care (Acts 20:28; 1 Pt 5:2-3). Most people in the pews and behind the pulpit have sampled a taste of [ Page ] 37 administration in their life experiences. Be it at home, at school, at work, in the community, or in the socio-economic and political arena, people have experienced being governed and controlled by someone or something. Some have savoured it; others have suffered from it. Nevertheless, whether a person is called an administrator, a steward, or a manager, essentially it is being a trustee to take care of the resources - people and property - assigned under their charge. Some administrators are faithful and wise (Lk 12:42-3); they do well in their stewardship (Mt 25:21, 23). Some are shrewd managers and perceived as clever in the eyes of others (Luke 16:8). Some are dishonest (Lk 16:10). Others are wicked and lazy (Mt 25:26). In the ecclesial context it would be insightful, if not imperative, to learn how to be efficacious in managing the affairs in the local church, faithfully and wisely serving the Lord and his Body. This would address a perceived contention between management and the local church. Christian educators Michael J. Anthony and James Estep Jr. assert: Many local church pastors lament and scorn the need for church administration. They speak of long hours spent in committees trying to make decisions about matters which have far less importance than preaching or counseling. (Anthony and Estep 2005, 10) In his doctoral thesis, Spirit-led Church Management (Siu 1999), Gordon Sau- Wah Siu asserts: Spirituality and church management are often regarded as two different areas of Christian study and practice. The two are sometimes presented as antagonists, as proponents of one or the other voice their varied arguments on the apparent "inadequacies" of the other side. Many pastors reputed for their deep spiritual concerns refuse involvement in the "managerial” aspects of the institutional church. They may even think that to do so [ Page ] 38 would betray the Lord of their calling. (Siu 1999, 1) Siu has been pastoring at the North Point Alliance Church in Hong Kong since November, 1985, and became the Senior Pastor in July, 1987. His thought leadership has influenced Chinese pastors in Hong Kong as well as those who have come to Canada from Hong Kong and the Far East. The goal of Siu's doctoral treatise is to reconcile church management with the work of the Holy Spirit. He believes that it is important to nurture both management and spirituality in order for the church to prosper in faithful service to God under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. In his doctoral thesis, Siu wrestled with the tensions between management and spirituality (Siu 1999, 2-4). Eight tension points were enumerated. In particular, one tension point is that management is goals-focused and is perceived to be achievement-driven, whereas the development of the church lies in the hand of God who has ultimate control because of His sovereignty (Siu 1999, 2). This could be construed as a battle between works and faith. In addition, a church is a spiritual community and thus church growth would only be brought about by the Holy Spirit. However, Siu posits that as a church grows the pastor needs to develop management systems to ensure the proper functioning of the church (Siu 1999, 3). On the one hand, church management can put everything in good order ... organized to their best possible performance and effectiveness ...if planned prudently." On the other hand, '[s]ome pastors avoid thorough and detailed planning for fear of inhibiting the freedom of the work of the Holy Spirit” (Siu 1999, 4). Another [ Page ] 39 tension point arises when church management and the administrative duties become overwhelming that pastors "find themselves in a dilemma when their churches grow” (Siu 1999, 4). In addressing these tension points, Siu offers a model which integrates church management and spirituality. Rather than promote a dichotomy that separates spirituality and management in the church, Siu lays the foundations for "an integrative praxis of spiritual church management” (Siu 1999, 6). In Spirit-Led Church Management. Siu asserts that the priority mission of church management is to discover the divine will of God for a church as reflected in her specific spiritual gifting (Siu 1999, 41). He highlights the importance of prayer which is an attitude of dependence and trust in God. Prayer was a powerful weapon in the arsenal of the early Church as the faithful faced persecution. Prayer was critical in the appointment of leaders in the early Church (Acts 1:24). Prayer is not constrained to the New Testament. One of the first actions that Nehemiah took was to pray (Neh 1:4). Siu cautions that management without prayer is not in the biblical model of spiritual church management (Siu 1999, 64). He concludes that management is part and parcel of pastoral ministry, and thus pastors should not neglect the gift of administration as it will contribute to a more effective ministry (Siu 1999, 138). Siu asserts that leaders shouldn't abandon their management responsibility in order to become spiritual, but that "their spirituality is fleshed out in their cohesive ministry of total obedience to the Godhead, the word, and the practical guidance of the Holy Spirit" (Siu 1999, 139). Siu's concept of Spirit-led church management is not about applying [ Page ] 40 management over the church, but rather to apply management in the church under the oversight and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Since Siu's discourse there have been other books on church management. Many of them acknowledge the biblical and spiritual intersections with management, and proceed to offer practical means for ministry effectiveness. Some of these are referenced in Chapter III. Today, in the church, pastors are involved in many projects. These could be as simple as compiling and producing the Sunday bulletin, as complicated as convening and chairing a meeting, as complex and profound as preparing and delivering a sermon, or as complex and problematic as a construction endeavour or a short-term mission. Each project is time-bounded and has unique outcomes. Each faces its own challenges. As Nehemiah demonstrated, however, although he had applied management principles and practices as a means to carry out the activities, he still relied on the Lord God to empower him to do so. Nehemiah was the governor, but unlike the governors who had preceded him, he did not lord over the people (Neh 5:14-5). As he directed the work Nehemiah sought the Lord for his direction. When Nehemiah encountered difficulties and hardship he trusted that God would comfort. Nehemiah knew that he could not be a successful instrument unless he was empowered and led by God. Likewise, today, it is critical to depend on the Holy Spirit to empower pastors, managers and their teams to accomplish the tasks in the local church. It is not the intention of this project to replace the spiritual and sacred [ Page ] 41 aspects of pastoral and church ministry with the principles and practices of management, but to supplement them. This chapter affirms that there are scripturally-based principles and practices from so-called secular business management that can be applied by pastors in their sacred ministry. The Bible teaches that management is a call to stewardship. It is a spiritual gift for works of service. Divine gifts are manifestations of the Spirit given for the common good of the Church (1 Corl2:7). Siu reminds us that the Church is Spirit-empowered and Spirit-led (Siu 1999). Managing the resources and activities in the church depends on the Holy Spirit. This chapter also presented management exemplars in Scripture. In addition to Administrator Nehemiah of the Old Testament and Pastor Paul of the New Testament, Jesus Christ exhibited an ethos of management when he discerned, directed, discipled, disciplined and delegated. The next chapter presents a supplementary view on this subject. It reviews contemporary thoughts regarding management and administration from the secular and social perspectives. The generally accepted management functions are enumerated. They correspond to the activities in the treatise above. [ Page ] 42 CHAPTER III: PRECEDENT SOCIAL SCIENCE LITERATURE The previous chapter established a theological foundation for the management discipline. It provided evidence that some management principles and practices do have biblical underpinnings. Management is shown to be synonymous with administration and stewardship. Perhaps, instead of the term "management," administration and stewardship could be used in the church ministry context as they may appear to be less secular in tone. These alternative terms may not evoke an impression of autocracy, bureaucracy, nor governance that has been associated with management, especially in the sense of the people in management positions. Moreover the process of managing is neither secular nor sacred. It is a means and not an end. As a means, it can be used for good purposes, and it can be misused to achieve the opposite end. It is important to have a focus on the end purpose, and the means needs to be congruent with that end. Management and mismanagement occur in Christian ministries such as the local church as well as in the business sector. Mismanagement has contributed to the failure of organizations. Good management, however, can contribute to the success of organizations. As a means, the process of managing can be improved. [ Page ] 43 This chapter examines how the practice of management has contributed to society and how society has influenced the practice of management. In addition to providing an overview of the management discipline, a review of some of the contemporary thoughts on church management is also presented. Furthermore, as the field of management is broad and continues to expand, this action research project was focused on a subset of management, namely project management. This chapter establishes a fundamental project management cornerstone upon which the "Management Essentials” course in the action phase is built. The course is not meant to prepare pastors to become professional project managers. The course content taps into the body of knowledge of project management which is integral to general management. The principles and practices of project management apply to the larger field of management. The ensuing methodology and approach chapter addresses the design, development, and delivery of the course. Management and Leadership The previous chapter expounded on the subject matter of management from a biblical perspective. The biblical principle of management is one of stewardship (oikonomia). Related to this is the gift of administration (kubernesis). Although perceived as similar, and perhaps even equivalent, the gift of administration (1 Cor 12:28) is not the same as the gift of leading (Rom 12:8). C. Peter Wagner distinguishes these two gifts (Wagner 1979, 155-8). With respect to the gift of administration Wagner paints the picture of a helmsman who steers a [ Page ] 44 ship on its course towards a destination. He suggests that "[p]astors who have a gift of administration can make a church organization hum" (Wagner 1979, 157). The notion of administration is one of governance. It is goal and task oriented. The gift of leading is oriented to people and relationships. Wagner reminds his readers that leaders must have followers. He asserts that "[i]f leadership quality is due to a gift (in contrast to some legal power) their followers will be voluntary” (Wagner 1979, 162). The objective of this action research endeavour is to equip pastors with management skills. It is not to enhance their leadership skills, but that could be a by-product outcome. For the purpose of this discourse, however, it is pertinent to discern the nuances between management and leadership as this project regards them. In his May 1990 Harvard Business Review article, "What Leaders Really Do," John P. Kotter categorically states, "Leadership is different from management" (Kotter 1990, 103-11). He adds that leadership is not necessarily better than management or a replacement of it. Kotter believes there is a need to combine strong leadership with strong management. Similarly Warren Bennis, whom Forbes Magazine deemed the "Dean" of Leadership Gurus (Asghar 2014), and Burt Nanus declared that there is "a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important.” They distilled their conclusion simply as: "managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing" (Bennis and Nanus 2007, 20). For them managing is about efficiency and leading is about effectiveness. [ Page ] 45 Bernard M. Bass also saw leadership being not the same as management. Leaders are more transformational, whereas managers are more transactional (Bass and Bass 2008, 653). Bass concluded, "Leaders do the more correct things; managers do things correctly." However, Bass added that managers must be both leaders and heads of a department (Bass and Bass 2008, 11, 15, 23). This is the notion of the leader-manager (Gardner 1993). Although the activities for leading and managing are not the same, the leader-manager leads and manages (Bass and Bass 2008, 654-5). Bass saw an overlap between leading and managing, which is the human factor (Bass and Bass 2008, 652). Canadian academic Henry Mintzberg jested that it was Peter Drucker who put management on the map over sixty years ago (1954) with The Practice of Management, but "[l]eadership has since pushed it off the map” (Mintzberg 2013, 1). Mintzberg believes that "we are now overled and undermanaged" (Mintzberg 2013, 7—8). Rather than distinguishing managers from leaders Mintzberg believes leaders and managers are part and parcel of the same thing. Thus while management and leadership are not synonymous they do have some common affinity. As indicated above there is a confluence of leading and managing that has resulted in the notion of the leader-manager. Peter Drucker had asserted that "leadership is not by itself good or desirable. Leadership is a means. Leadership to what end is thus the crucial question", (Drucker 2001, 268). Not all great leaders, however, have goals that are humble and altruistic. Some goals are driven [ Page ] 46 by self-serving interest. In his treatise on "Leadership as Work" Drucker offered examples of misleaders who had inflicted evil and suffering on humanity in the twentieth century (Drucker 2001,269). Like leadership, management is a means. Management can be used for good purposes, or otherwise. However, the ends, i.e., the purposes, do not necessarily justify the means, i.e., the processes. Whether it is leadership or management, both the "ends” and the "means” need to be good, noble, and right. Those who do the right things right are exemplars whom Bass referred to as leader-managers. This project is focused more on the management dimension to equip pastors to be leader-managers, in their lives, with their families, in the church, and within their community sphere of influence. Thus it is important that the means of managing support the ends of Christ-centric purposes. Management - A Brief History in Time In the previous section the discipline of management was distinguished from that of leadership. This section takes a closer look at the subject of management which is the core of this thesis. There have been various definitions of "management." Intuitively a manager is someone who is expected to "get work done through others” (Rush 1983, 10). A manager controls resources and uses them to get things done (Montana and Charnov 2015,2). Managers are typically ascribed power and position. They are elevated above those who get the things done. It would be instinctive to conclude that a manager sits high on a hierarchy and oversees the work using a command-and-control approach. In fact this was the portrayal of management not too long ago. Mintzberg states that "for the [ Page ] 47 better part of the last century, managing was considered synonymous with controlling" (Mintzberg 2013, 43). At the dawn of the twentieth century management practitioners developed theories that emphasized efficiency and consistency of production. By the middle of the twentieth century additional theories were formulated. Alan Murray, former President of the Pew Research Center and former Deputy Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal, reports: The last century has seen an explosion in the study of management practices. Management guru Peter Drucker called it "the most important innovation of the twentieth century." And among serious students, that study has led to a surprising degree of consensus on which management practices get good results, and which get bad ones. (Murray 2010, xix) In The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker \ Essential Writings on Management (Drucker 2001), Drucker declared: Management as a practice is very old. The most successful executive in all history was surely that Egyptian who, forty-seven hundred years or more ago, first conceived the pyramid—without any precedent—and designed and built it, and did so in record time. ... But as a discipline, management is barely fifty years old. It was first dimly perceived around the time of World War I. It did not emerge until World War II and then primarily in the United States. Since then it has been the fastest growing new business function, and its study the fastest-growing new academic discipline. (Drucker 2001, 312; italics in original) Whether or not one would completely concur with Drucker's assertions, however, one could agree that the discipline of management has evolved and advanced over time. The practice of management has endured for millennia (Montana and Charnov 2015, 13). In the Harvard Business Review article, "Management's Three Eras: A [ Page ] 48 Brief History," (McGrath 2014), Associate Professor of Management at Columbia Business School Rita G. McGrath proposed that there have been three ages of management since the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago; each with a different theme: execution, expertise, and empathy. In the nineteenth century, Scientific Management prevailed in the execution era. Its focus was on execution efficiency and productivity. These are still necessary and, in the twentieth century, were supplemented with the advent of the knowledge worker who, using knowledge and expertise, contributes to effectiveness. McGrath suggests that management has now entered the era of empathy with emphasis on emotional and social intelligence. In the Harvard Business Review article, "Why Good Managers Are So Rare" (Beck and Harter 2014), Randall Beck and Jim Harter report that being successful as a programmer, salesperson, or engineer is no guarantee of being "remotely adept at managing others", and most workers are promoted into managerial positions because "they seemingly deserve it, rather than because they have the talent for it.” Furthermore the Gallup organization had asked managers in the US why they believed they were hired for their role. The common response was their tenure in the company or the success in their previous non-managerial role (Beck and Harter 2015). In The Wall Street Journal article, "Playing Well With Others" (Alsop 2002), Ronald Alsop reports that "[r]ecruiters say the 'soft' skills 一 such as leadership, communication and the ability to work in teams - are just as important [ Page ] 49 as the hard stuff.” He referred to The Wall Street Journal survey of over 2,000 corporate recruiters which concluded that interpersonal communication and other soft skills are what corporate recruiters crave most but find most elusive in MBA graduates. Alsop reported that business schools produce graduates with analytical horsepower in the hard skills such as finance and marketing; but soft skills such as communication and team mentality are addressed at a cursory level. The PMF's 8th global project management survey, Pulse of the Profession: The High Cost of Low Performance, reports that poor communication is a primary factor in 30% of failed projects (PMI 2016, 23). The PMI notes that people skills are in short supply (PMI 2017e, 41). Michael Zigarelli suggests that "soft skills are currently king of the skill hill" (Zigarelli 2008, 137). People-connecting is as important as number-crunching, perhaps even more so. In 12: The Elements of Great Management (Wagner and Harter 2006), Rodd Wagner and Jim Harter reported their findings after combing through Gallup' s digital vault of ten million employee and manager interviews, conducted in forty-one languages and spanned 114 countries (Wagner and Harter 2006, xiii). They identified twelve aspects of work life that form the core of the social contract between employee and employer (Wagner and Harter 2006, xi-xii). These can be distilled into the core belief that human nature is important. People are more important than facts and figures (Wagner and Harter 2006,202). Human capital outweighs financial capital. The 2015 Gallup report, State of the American Manager: Analytics and [ Page ] 50 Advice for Leaders (Harter and Rigoni 2015), summarizes the distinguishing characteristics of great managers based on 2.5 million manager-led teams in 195 countries over several years of talent research. Gallup defines a manager as "someone who is responsible for leading a team toward common objectives” (Harter and Rigoni 2015, 6). The Gallup report identified a combination of five facets of managerial talent that distinguish great managers from the rest (Harter and Rigoni 2015, 15). The report asserts that managers with high management talent are more likely to engage their teams than their peers who have functional talent (Harter and Rigoni 2015, 8). Harter and Rigoni cite a Gallup study of 7,272 US adults which reported that one in two left their job to get away from their manager (Harter and Rigoni 2015, 8, 18). There may be some validity in the refrain that "people don't quit bad jobs, they quit bad bosses”(Artz, Goodall and Oswald 2016). A US-based survey of 500 middle managers across several industries, conducted by Wakefield Research on the state of management development, identified a disconcerting situation. It concluded that "today's workforce is in desperate need of better managers” (Grovo 2016, 3). In other words there is a management deficit. On a positive note, the report suggests that good people can become great managers through continual learning and practice (Grovo 2016, 8). Almost all (98%) of the respondents believe that key aspects of their companies would improve if managers were trained to be effective more quickly (Grovo 2016, 7). The middle managers identified the need for training in project [ Page ] 51 management, time management, employee turnover, conflict resolution, and professional development. 87% of the managers agree that they wish they had more training when they first took on the role (Grovo 2016, 5). The discourse above presents the need for good managers, with strong soft skills such as interpersonal communications, and who are highly engaged. The research suggests there is a management deficit. However, this deficiency can be addressed with management training. This insight provided some requirements for the "Management Essentials" course for pastors. Management - A Definition The field of management is broad, perhaps even bewildering. The English word "manage” is derived from the Italian word maneggiare meaning "to handle” which in turn is composed of the two Latin words, manus meaning "hand” and agere meaning "to act" or “to do.” At a fundamental level a manager is someone who is expected to act and get things done. The issue is whether the things to be done are the right things, and whether the things are done the right way. Timing is also an important element. Drucker concurred with Scripture that everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven", (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV). He cautioned about doing the right thing but at the wrong time. It is not just doing the right thing, but doing the right thing at the right time (Cohen 2014, 117-24). There are different views on the definition of management. Some are narrow and specific; others are broad and inclusive. In this thesis, the following [ Page ] 52 definition is used. Management is working with and through other people to accomplish the objectives of both the organization and its members. Management activities include planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, motivating, leading, and controlling; getting results effectively through other people by the process of delegation. (Montana and Charnov 2015,1-2,11) In their definition, management educators Patrick Montana and Bruce Charnov emphasize the people dimension of the organization. They promote an integration of both the organization's objectives and its members' objectives. They see management as a set of activities that leads to a set of results. In particular, a manager plans, organizes, staffs, coordinates, motivates, leads and controls. While activities are important this definition of management focuses on the results and emphasizes the human element in the organization to realize both organizational and personal objectives. Management is not just about "getting things done" but to achieve the intended results. Management is a way that facilitates the accomplishment of the objectives and produces results. Today, management has distanced itself somewhat away from the command-and-control mentality of efficient execution. While there are still circumstances when strict military-style command-and-control is required for efficient execution and is the norm in some management contexts where supervisors still lord over their subordinates, the emphasis has shifted to effective expertise and affective empathy. Attention is placed on the person not just on the task. The persona of the manager is one who manages and leads. This synergy between management and leadership involves the human factor not just the task. [ Page ] 53 The manager acts through relationships and works with others to plan, organize, staffs coordinate, motivate, lead and control. In an organic complex such as the church there are human elements and relational requirements, for in the Body of Christ there are many parts. Albeit human relationships are complex, however, the abilities and skills to manage can be learned. Pastors could learn from some of the contemporary views of management reported above. More importantly there is an opportunity for pastors to apply some of the management principles and practices in their ministry, as they minister to those whom they have been entrusted as well as minster to themselves. It is the primary motif of this thesis to inquire into the impact of pastors learning management principles and applying management practices with the potential cascading effect from self to family and church. Management in Christian Ministry Since the turn of the new millennium there has been a plethora of books and resources on the subject of management in the church context. Many of them acknowledge the biblical and spiritual intersections of the church and management, and proceed to offer practical means for ministry effectiveness. Before reviewing these developments in the twenty-first century, it would be informative to see whether or not the topic of management in the church has been addressed in the past. This will provide a longitudinal view of the interplay between management and church ministry. In particular, what has been written about management and the Bible, and how would one approach management in [ Page ] 54 the sacred church context? Former General Secretary of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches and International Director (1992-2001) of the World Evangelical Fellowship, Agustin Veneer discussed the biblical basis for management in the article "The Ministry of Management for Christian Workers: A Biblical Basis” in the Evangelical Review of Theology (Veneer 1982, 286-298). He posits that one of the misconceptions about management is that "some pastors think that the work of the local church will be carried on purely by pietistic endeavors, without the dreary, paper-shuffling tasks associated with administration” (Veneer 1982, 286). He enumerates three myths about administration, that it is not essential, uninteresting, and not spiritual. Concerning the third myth, Veneer asserts that it is "the most dangerous ... for it suggests that some ministries are 'sacred,' while others are 'secular'(Veneer 1982, 287). He states that those who think this way don't realize that administration is a spiritual gift. Veneer believes that the minister-manager is the biblical model (Veneer 1982,287,295-297). In Management: A Biblical Approach (Rush 1983), management consultant Myron D. Rush saw the need for strong management within the business community and within Christian organizations. Rush indicated that "[m]odem technological advancements coupled with the numerous pressures associated with unstable economic conditions are making leaders in both fields aware of the need to improve their management skills" (Rush 1983, v). He had observed "an increasing awareness among Christian leaders that God's people [ Page ] 55 need to become more effective in managing His work”(Rush 1983, 9). However he also noted that the management training was primarily from the business community. Rush had concluded that the secular philosophy of management and leadership often conflicts with Christian values, and thus there was a need for an alternative approach to management (Rush 1983, v). His book addresses the need for a biblical approach to management for the Christian businesspersons in the marketplace, as well as for the leaders in Christian organizations. The book draws from the timeless principles of Scripture and provides a practical guide for managers who aspire to greater effectiveness and productivity. A quarter century later, Michael Zigarelli offers twenty-five "God- honouring principles of scriptural wisdom for superior results" in Management by Proverbs (Zigarelli 2008). These Scripture-based management principles can be applied by the laity in the business of global corporations. These can also be applied by the clergy in the ministry of the local church. Whether it is the book of Proverbs, the book of Nehemiah, or the Gospels, it is crucial that the Holy Scriptures provide the basis for management application which is to honour God and not self. There is no dichotomy in church management, but rather in the approach to church management which needs to be biblical. This is consonant with Siu's model of Spirit-led church management. This biblical philosophy of management forms the foundation for this action research project's "Management Essentials," course to equip pastors with a biblical approach to management. In Management Essentials for Christian Ministries (Anthony and Estep Jr. [ Page ] 56 2005), Michael J. Anthony and James Estep Jr. point out that there are those who oppose any form of management or administration in the local church. They continue: These believers have little understanding of the biblical basis and theological foundation of management. They are simply uninformed about what the Bible teaches about organizing the affairs of ministry. As stewards, we are expected to administrate God's work in a wise and efficient manner. (Anthony and Estep Jr. 2005, 1) Anthony and Estep use the terms administration and management synonymously. They conclude that there "clearly was a spiritual gift of administration provided for the early church that continues to serve a critical role for the body of Christ today" (Anthony and Estep 2005, 12). They caution that while management theory has changed over the past fifty years, and methods have improved management and administration in business, education, the military, and other service sectors, "the churches have failed to keep abreast with these new insights and have fallen far behind resulting in mismanagement and confusion," (Anthony and Estep 2005,1). They warn that when church members see the ineffective ways church leaders manage ministry resources entrusted to them, the church members "lose trust and view these leaders with suspicion and contempt” (Anthony and Estep 2005, 2). Anthony and Estep take a systems approach to management and build upon the work of R. Alec Mackenzie' s paradigm of the management process which has been used in business administration education (Mackenzie 1969, 80-7). Mackenzie had identified three basic elements in his management process model: ideas, things, and people. Anthony and Estep [ Page ] 57 augmented this model to include a fourth element - Scripture 一 which injects a biblical worldview (Anthony and Estep 2005, 2-6). In Management Essentials for Christian Ministries. Anthony presents the biblical perspectives of Christian management (Anthony 2005, 13-34) and Estep synthesizes the biblical perspectives into a coherent theology of administration (Estep 2005, 35—52). They identify the primary managerial functions to which other Christian educators make their contributions (Anthony and Estep, ix): planning (Anthony and Estep, 59-154), organizing (158—239)，staffing (244-92), directing (297—382), and evaluating (387-426). Another resource is the compendium of advice contributed by pastors, theologians, educators, and practitioners of Christian ministry. The Leadership Handbook of Management and Administration (Berkley 2007) was compiled by the editors of Leadership journal and co-published by Christianity Today International. Integrating biblical theology, scholarly pursuits, and practical experiences, it is a reference guide for those who manage and administer the work of ministry. Its singular purpose is "to help pastors and other Christian workers more effectively serve our Lord Jesus Christ through leading his people into abiding faith and fulfilling ministry" (Berkley 2007, 16). For example, Peter F. Drucker contributed a brief treatise on the subject of time management (Drucker 2007, 99-105), Larry W. Osborne wrote on change management and managing staff effectiveness (Osborne 2007, 223, 285), and Sylvia Nash shared her counsel on staffing matters such as hiring, relationships and communication (Nash 2007, [ Page ] 58 246, 250-7). There is also a section on the subject of Management and a section on Finances. In the Management section, James E. Means opens with the rhetorical musing, "Do management and ministry oppose one another? Or are they inseparable twins?" (Means 2007, 349) He asserts that effective ministry requires good management. He adds that pastoral duties can wholly be divorced from management functions, since the essence of spiritual direction involves the stewardship of the church's human and temporal resources" (Means 2007, 352). Means cautions, however, that managerial responsibilities can only be carried out through caring and not through autocratic control. This affirms the teaching that stewards who oversee the household are not to lord over it (Lk 22:25; 1 Pt 5:3). Means concludes that the purpose of church management is in harmony with God's purpose which is clearly declared in the Pauline epistles, and that is to edify of the body of Christ and to equip of the saints for ministry (Eph 4:12). In the same section, Larry W. Osborne writes about church government and advises on the pastor's role with the Board (Osborne 2007, 359-365, 367—8), and Charles R. Swindoll advises on the pastor's relationship with the Board (Swindoll 2007, 368—9). The section on Finances covers fiscal stewardship, which includes fundraising, giving, and spending (Berkley 2007, 449-552). These resources acknowledge the practical needs for pastors to administer the operational tasks in the church ministry context. These resources provided some of the content in the "Management Essentials” course. In addition to the references discussed above, other resources on the [ Page ] 59 subject of management in the church include Managing the Non-Profit Organization: Principles and Practices (Drucker 1990), Business Management in the Local Church (Pollock 1995), The Business of the Church (Wimberly 2010), The Complete Guide to Church Management (Donnellan and Naumann 2011), and Management and the Gospel: Luke's Radical Message for the First and Twenty-First Centuries (Dyck 2013). Resources specific to management for the pastor include Things They Never Taught You in Seminary (Bushfield and Bushfield 1994), The Minister's MBA: Essential Business Tools for Maximum Ministry Success (Babbes and Zigarelli 2006), The Church Leader's MBA: What Business School Instructors Wish Church Leaders Knew About Management (Smith and Wright 2011), Your First Year in Ministry: What They Didn't Teach You in Seminary (Norman 2012), and A Pastor's Toolbox (Holmes 2014). As the above review of management indicates, this field is expansive and continues to expand. There are numerous theories and positions on this subject. It would be overwhelming for the busy pastor to assimilate this knowledge. Merely maintaining a head knowledge of this vast information could pose a challenge. Then putting the knowledge into action could be problematic. Therefore, a pragmatic approach which takes the matter of the hands (working with others) and feet (walking with others) regarding how to make use of the knowledge (learning from others) is addressed in this action research endeavour. In the action component of this project, management concepts were analysed, distilled, and synthesized into a basic management course designed fbr pastors. A key [ Page ] 60 component of the course deals with processes in project management which is one area of the broad discipline of management. The course content includes materials gleaned from the Project Management Institute's A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, viz. PMBOK® Guide (PMI 2013), as well as the resources referenced above. The course addresses the efficiency, the effectiveness and the empathy dimensions of project management and applies them to pastoral ministry. Based on the input from the pastoral participants on the project, a particular emphasis was placed on empathy and relationships. This is consonant with the definition that management is "working with and through other people to accomplish the objectives of both the organization and its members." Chapter II presented the work of Nehemiah as an example of good management. As governor of Judah and administrator appointed to Jerusalem, Nehemiah managed the project to rebuild the city wall. He planned, organized, staffed, coordinated, motivated, led and controlled. He delegated tasks to others to effectively achieve results. After receiving the charter with the authority to proceed, Nehemiah started the endeavour and completed the project fifty-two days later (Neh 6:15). In retrospect, through the course of the project undertaking, Nehemiah performed the core processes of project management: initiating, planning, executing, closing, as well as controlling and monitoring (PMI 2013, 27-8). Not only was he a manager, Nehemiah was an effective and efficient project manager. Nehemiah managed and led with humility (Neh 5:14-9). The art and science of project management is not a new discipline. [ Page ] 61 However, this field has been rejuvenated as "modem project management" (Kerzner 1998a, 93). Harold Kerzner asserts that "the project management approach requires a departure from the traditional business organizational form, which is basically vertical and which emphasizes a strong superior-subordinate relationship” (Kerzner 1998b, 2). He proposes that the traditional hierarchical structure be replaced by an organic structure that is designed to facilitate both vertical work flow and horizontal work flow (Kerzner 1998b, 4). This modem approach conforms to the collaborative relational model of the Body of Christ. Thus the modem project management approach would be amenable to Christ- centric church ministry. Modem project management has been established as a standardized professional practice by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The PMI, founded in 1969, is the world's leading not-for-profit professional association for the project and program management profession (PMI 2017a). As of February 28, 2017, there were 478,808 PMI members in over two hundred countries. Furthermore, there were 762,148 holders of the PMIs Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential. In addition, there were 33,276 less experienced project managers who hold the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) designation (PMI 2017f, 4). According to the PMI, a project is a ''temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result" (PMI 2013, 553). A project is temporary in that it has a beginning and an end in time. It is unique in that it is not an ongoing operation but a set of tasks and [ Page ] 62 operations designed to accomplish a goal. Moreover "project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements" (PMI 2013, 47, 553). The PMI defines the project management body of knowledge as: An inclusive term that describes the sum of knowledge within the profession of project management. As with other professions, such as law, medicine, and accounting, the body of knowledge rests with the practitioners and academics that apply and advance it. The complete project management body of knowledge includes proven traditional practices that are widely applied and innovative practices that are emerging in the profession. The body of knowledge includes both published and unpublished materials. This body of knowledge is constantly evolving. PMI's PMBOK® Guide identifies a subset of the project management body of knowledge that is generally recognized as good practice. (PMI 2013, 553) The PMI published the PMBOK® Guide to be a standard for the project management profession around the globe (PMI 2013, 3). There are over 5.5 million copies of all editions of the PMBOK® Guide in circulation (PMI 2017f, 4). This resource is based on the continual collaboration and contribution from actively practising project managers. It provides a formal set of fundamental practices for project management practitioners to apply to a wide and diverse spectrum of projects. The current fifth edition of the PMBOK® Guide addresses ten knowledge areas (PMI 2013, 60): P1. scope management P2. time management P3. cost management P4. quality management P5. human resource management P6. stakeholder management P7. communications management P8. risk management P9. procurement management [ Page ] 63 PIO. integration management These knowledge areas describe the processes, activities, techniques, and tools for project management. The PMBO® Guide has been accepted by many professional project managers as the authoritative reference for the practice of project management. To earn the Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential one must be familiar with the message expounded in the PMBOK® Guide, qualify for and pass the 4-hour, 200-question PMP® exam. As its title suggests, it is a guide. As the project management discipline evolves and its body of knowledge expands with additional good practices of project management this guide will be enhanced to reflect the continually evolving and expanding knowledge base. The PMBOK® Guide is a living document. The sixth edition is expected to be released in 2017. The PMBOK® Guide contains the definitive word for the practice of project management subscribed by project management professionals. Be that as it may, it pales in comparison with the Holy Bible which presents the living Lord, the Word incarnate. The PMBOK® Guide was used as a reference map in the pilot project. The topics of the "Management Essentials” course were initially mapped to the ten knowledge areas enumerated above. Relevant principles and best practices were drawn out from the project management body of knowledge and applied to the participants' pastoral ministry. The following maps ministry management topics to the respective project management knowledge areas (Pl-Pl0). Tl. Management Essentials: Pl, P2, P3, P5, P6, P7, PIO [ Page ] 64 T2. Time Management: P2 T3. Cost Management: P3 T4. People Management: P5, P6 T5. Interpersonal Communications: P6, P7 T6. Project Management Basics: Pl—P10 T7. Planning: Pl—P4, P6 T8. Pastoring in a Chinese church in Canada: P6, P7 T9. C&MA in Canada: P6, P8, P10 T10. Church Administration in Canada: P8, P9 Appendix I provides details on this course which was delivered in the pilot in Phase 3. Management for Pastoral Ministry Toward the close of the previous millennium and at the dawn of the new millennium, it was observed that pastoral burnout and dropout were occurring at an alarming rate. Through one of its initiatives, "Sustaining Pastoral Excellence," Lilly Endowment Inc. has invested over $84 million to support projects that "explore what it takes to thrive in ministry,, (Burns, Chapman, and Guthrie 2013, 12). In 2004, Donald Guthrie, Bob Burns and Tasha Chapman launched the "Pastors Summit” project. This US-based project was a multiyear undertaking (Resilient Ministry 2012). The findings and conclusions are presented in the book Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving (Burns, Chapman, and Guthrie 2013). Five primary themes for pastoral resilience emerged. They are spiritual formation, self-care, emotional and cultural intelligence, marriage and family, and leadership and management (Burns, Chapman, and Guthrie 2013, 18-28). With respect to the fifth theme Burns et al. assert: [ Page ] 65 The responsibilities of leadership and management are rarely discussed in theological training. Indeed, pastors are generally surprised by how much leadership and management is involved in their work. And they must learn it on the job. In order for pastors to thrive in ministry, they must accept the fact that they are leaders and managers. ... People don't go into pastoral ministry eager to tackle widely varying responsibilities. Studies show that people considering the ministry want to preach, teach, disciple, do outreach and care for God's people. When pastors enter the ministry, however, they are often shocked by how much leadership and management are involved in their work. They are also surprised by how little their ministry training prepared them for these often unpleasant and misunderstood aspects of their calling. (Burns, Chapman, and Guthrie 2013,26, 199-200) Burns et al. agree that leadership and management require different skills and abilities. They perceive leadership as the gathering of others to seek adaptive change, and management as the nuts and bolts of daily operations. They conclude that both are necessary components in discipling Christ's church (Burns, Chapman, and Guthrie 2013, 223, 251). Burns et al. observed that pastors of thriving ministries have embraced that leadership and management skills must be learned (Burns, Chapman, and Guthrie 2013, 27). Seminaries have equipped pastors to exegete and interpret Scriptures, and to preach. Seminaries offer courses in the Biblical languages, Biblical Theology, Systematic Theology, Church History, and Pastoral Counselling. Some seminaries also offer courses on leadership, such as "Theology of Leadership" (McMaster Divinity College 2016a) and "Leadership Development” (Tyndale University College & Seminary 2016a), and on Ethics (Tyndale University College & Seminary 2016b). Some offer elective courses on the technical and administrative aspects of church ministry, such as "The Church and Finances," (McMaster [ Page ] 66 Divinity College 2016b). Post-seminary, many pastors continue to learn and add to their portfolio of ministry capabilities. Within my network of pastors, many prefer those aspects of pastoral ministry which pertain to the clergy such as preaching, teaching, caring, and counselling. These facets of pastoral ministry are fundamental. The clerical aspects such as operating, administrating and managing could also contribute to the efficacy of the pastor's ministry and to build pastoral resilience. In light of the above, there are benefits in learning about management. Being more organized and efficient would contribute to one's effectiveness. The impact could be extended beyond one's self to others in the person's sphere of influence and in their work space be it in the business sector or in the church sanctum. The learned skills would include time management, cost management, planning, problem solving, discerning, delegating, and communicating. These skills would be transferrable across the Kingdom of God, between the home, the workplace and the church. The pastoral ministry has embraced those called out from vocation in the marketplace. Laypersons have resigned or retired from their secular vocation, returned to school for seminary education and are serving in sacred ministry as their second career. Institutions such as Tyndale Seminary are contributing to preparing them for ministry. Thom S. Rainer, President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, reports an emerging trend of the new bivocational pastors. He refers to them as "marketplace pastors." Rainer expects the marketplace pastor [ Page ] 67 trend to be a healthy movement in American churches. He surmises, "We will soon see many attorneys, physicians, and key businesspersons who will continue in their marketplace jobs while serving a church as well" (Rainer 2016). These experienced business people blessed with management capabilities are providing additional value to church ministry. They bring their technical business know- how, augmented with theological knowledge, to serve the Lord and his Body. But those pastors who had not learned management skills, prior to or during their pastorate, should not be neglected. They, too, should have the opportunity to augment their ministry capabilities. Education and training in management for the Christian context are becoming more available. Some seminaries and Christian organizations offer courses, programs, resources, and services in church ministry. For example, Ambrose Seminary offers a Master of Arts in Leadership and Ministry (MALM). Ambrose's MALM program is “ideal for an experienced pastor, or for those preparing for a support role within a church of para-church organization” (Ambrose Seminary 2016). Briercrest Seminary offers a Master of Arts in Leadership and Management to prepare students for "exemplary Christian leadership and managerial support to local, regional, national and international organizations" (Briercrest Seminary 2016). Briercrest's MA in Leadership and Management is a professional degree. Graduates are "equipped to plan, organize, lead, and direct nonprofit organizations, churches, schools, mission organizations and for-profit organizations in a variety of settings," (Briercrest Seminary 2016). [ Page ] 68 Villanova University's School of Business (VSB) offers a Master of Science in Church Management (MSCM). VSB's MSCM is designed to meet the needs of church leaders and managers (Villanova University School of Business 2016a). The MSCM is based on a business curriculum and grounded in a faith-based approach to church management. It addresses managerial competences such as planning, controlling, organizing and leading. Villanova University's Center for Church Management and Business Ethics conducts programs in church management. The Center also offers a Church Management Certificate Program (Villanova University School of Business 2016b). It is a series of twelve web- based seminars designed to focilitate participants to learn from anywhere as long as they have access to the Internet. Yale's School of Management offers a joint- degree program that combines a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Master of Divinity (MDiv) or a Master of Arts in Religion (MAR). These are designed for students who plan to pursue careers in church management or in the non-profit sector (Yale School of Management 2016). In light of the discourse presented in this and the previous chapters, it may be valuable for those who have been entrusted with supervisory duties, administrative oversight, and leadership responsibilities to consider enhancing their management competency. This includes pastors who are shepherds of God's flock that is under their care. The sheep have expectations that their shepherd is competent. This includes both hard skills and soft skills. As reported above, one area of need for managers is team engagement. This would strengthen the trust [ Page ] 69 relationship between the shepherds and their flocks. As enumerated above, there has been an emergence of resources that address management in the context of Christian ministry to complement the proliferation of resources that support Christian leadership. The plethora of resources could be overwhelming to assimilate. They demand time and money which are scarce commodities for many pastors. The action component of this action research project offers an option that may be less demanding. Using the AR methodology of looking and listening, thinking, and acting, the specific needs and expectations of the pastors on the project team were determined, which then formed the requirements for the "Management Essentials” course that was facilitated by a church leader with management experience augmented with seminary education. The design, development, deployment, and outcomes of the management course are addressed in the following chapters. The intent of the course is to equip pastors with essentials skills to manage the resources for which they are stewards, which include the tasks, the resources, other people as well as themselves. It is to prepare the pastors to manage the operational activities and administrative functions in their ministry. It is not to manage the church per se, but to help pastors to be better engaged in the production and the projects in the local church. The advantage that pastors bring to church ministry is the knowledge and experience gained from their seminary education and ministry practice. These provide a foundation upon which they can minister and administer. Their biblical [ Page ] 70 and theological body of knowledge inform them of the right things to do. These can be augmented with the principles and practices from the management body of knowledge to provide the way to do those right things. However, no matter how knowledgeable and capable, or how experienced and expert, leaders in the church must be led under the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Like Nehemiah, they must continually maintain an attitude of humble prayer as they perform the normative administrative tasks in their church. [ Page ] 71 CHAPTER IV: PROJECT SCOPE, METHODOLOGY, AND METHODS The previous chapters laid a platform for undertaking this project. Chapter II presented a theological framework that supports the discipline of good management has biblical underpinnings. Scripture records exemplars of godly administrators who managed the resources that were entrusted to them. Chapter III reported on some of the contemporary thoughts regarding management, in the secular enterprise of corporate business and in the sacred environment of corporal church ministry. It painted a picture of a complex pastoral ministry that goes beyond preaching, teaching, and visiting, which those in the pews often perceive as the narrow scope of a pastor's mandate. The premise for this action research is that pastors would be interested in learning management principles and developing practical skills to augment their ministry. This would supplement their other competencies gained through seminary education and ministry experiences. The infusion of management capabilities could enhance the efficacy of the pastor's ministry. This chapter documents the approach that was taken in this endeavour. It describes the project journey through the lens of the action research (AR) [ Page ] 72 methodology. The AR approach used in this investigative inquiry follows the road map visualized by Ernest Stringer. Stringer envisaged action research as a set of Look, Think and Act activities (Stringer 2014, 9). AR is not to be undertaken in isolation from the project participants. This project made use of collaborative inquiry methods such as interviews and focus group discussions to engage the project participants (Stringer 2014, 111-3). The synergy among the project team members contributed to a more encompassing understanding of their situations and the real issues in their ministry (Stringer 2014, 123). This chapter also describes the lifecycle of this AR project. It addresses the process that was used to manage the project. As a project, which by definition has a start and a finish, it was managed in conformance with the PMI processes and practices in project management. There were three major phases in this project. Each phase entailed a sequence of Look, Think and Act activities. Throughout the phased project, data were collected and connected. This is described in the "Data Collection, Analysis, and Coding" section later in this chapter. A list of the datasets is also provided there. In short, this chapter addresses how the AR project was designed, planned, and executed. The next chapter reports on the outcomes, findings, and interpretations. Research Methodology There are various methodologies for Qualitative Research. This includes Ethnography, Appreciative Inquiry, Narrative Inquiry, Grounded Theory, and Action Research (AR). With respect to AR, Judith Bell describes it as applied [ Page ] 73 research "carried out by practitioners who have themselves identified a need for change or improvement” with the aim "to arrive at recommendations for good practice that will tackle a problem or enhance the performance of the organization and individuals through changes to the rules and procedures within which they operate" (Bell 2010, 6-7). Sharan B. Merriam and Elizabeth J. Tisdell place AR in the domain of applied qualitative research (Merriam and Tisdell 2016, 49, 52-3, 72). They assert that the "goal of action research is to address a specific problem in a practice- based setting, such as a classroom, a workplace, a program, or an organization” (Merriam and Tisdell 2016, 4; italics in original). The organizational members are engaged as participants who collaborate with the action researcher as co- investigators. Thus, AR is not done "on” participants but "with” participants (Merriam and Tisdell 2016, 51). A key to the success of an AR project is participant buy-in which, in turn, drives active participation. With respect to AR for DMin projects, Tim Sensing asserts that the goal is "not designed just to understand phenomena but to provide the minister an opportunity to impart pastoral leadership that implements change” (Sensing 2011, 63). In AR, the researcher becomes a co-participant (Sensing 2011, 63). Stringer states, "[a]ctive participation is the key to feelings of ownership that motivate people to invest their time and energy to help shape the nature and quality of the acts, activities and behaviours in which they engage” (Stringer 2014, 31). Hence, for the purpose of this project which is to contribute to the efficacy of the pastor's [ Page ] 74 ministry, the AR methodology was selected. The goal was to engage a group of pastors to understand some of the problems they face in their ministry, to introduce changes to address the problems, and to enhance their ministry performance. This AR project complies with Ernest Stringer's Look-Think-Act framework. Stringer sees AR as a spiral of activities. According to Stringer, these cycles can be "framed as phases of a research process” (Stringer 2014, 9). The set of essential steps is repeated until an established criterion is met, or when the intervention solves the problem under study. Stringer cautions that the AR process can be complex. In his book, Action Research (Stringer 2014), Stringer presents the activities of the Look-Think-Act routines as a "road map providing guidance to those who follow this less traveled way” (Stringer 2014, 10). The Look step investigates and gathers data to paint a picture of the current situation. In this project, the various Look steps entailed data gathering which established an understanding of the context of the project participants so that the actions taken were specific to them and to meet their needs. The Think step analyzes the data and interprets the information to explain the picture. In this project, the Think steps distilled and reflected on the data garnered in the previously respective Look steps, and identified opportunities to contribute to the efficacy of the ministry of the project participants. The Act step sets out a course of action to implement solutions that would resolve issues and problems identified in the previous steps. [ Page ] 75 In the Act step of the final phase, a "Management Essentials" course was field tested with a small group of Alliance pastors. Stringer cautions that "the purpose of inquiry is to find an appropriate solution for the particular dynamics at work in a local situation. ... Generalized solutions must be modified and adapted in order to fit the context in which they are used” (Stringer 2014, 6). Therefore the course content and its delivery were customized to address the specific needs of the project participants. Throughout the lifecycle of this project, three Look-Think-Act phases were performed. Figure 4.1 graphically describes this journey through these multiple phases. Figure 4.1. Multi-Phase Project Lifecycle [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 4.1 details ] Each phase provided the impetus for the next. Each subsequent phase built on the findings from the previous phase. Even at the third Look-Think-Act stage (Phase [ Page ] 76 3) when the management course was pilot-tested with the project participants, there were several mini-Look-Think-Act steps (3a-3f) which continually revised the course content and refined the course delivery over the four months of the pilot project. Pre-Project Preconceptions Over the past four decades, I have been blessed with the privilege to serve the Lord at various Chinese churches in Canada. During this time, I have added to my network of ministry leaders - both clergy and laity - from Chinese churches of various denominations (C&MA, ACEM, and CBOQ). As a constituent of the Canadian C&MA movement since 1975, and currently as a consultant on staff with the CCACA, I am familiar with many pastors in the Chinese Alliance churches across Canada. Some are seasoned pastors with decades of ministry experience. Others are more junior, including those who are recent seminary graduates. I know them through CCACA as well as C&MA meetings. These include monthly co-workers' prayer meetings, fellowships, seminars, ministry symposia, as well as the CCACA annual conferences and the C&MA General Assembly conferences. In a former role as a project consultant with the National Ministry Centre of the C&MA in Canada, I had also established relationships with leaders serving the Canadian Alliance movement. As an alumnus of the Canadian Alliance university-seminary, Ambrose (formerly Canadian Theological Seminary), my Alliance network also includes Ambrose faculty members. Other faculty members with C&MA affinity, from McMaster Divinity College and [ Page ] 77 Canadian Chinese School of Theology in Toronto (CCSTTS) and Calgary (CCSTAS), supplement my network of Alliance partners. In addition, I had also served as a lay leader in the Association of Christian Evangelical Ministries (ACEM Canada). Prior to the official launch of this project, I had undertaken an informal inquiry. Fellowshipping and consulting with church lay leaders, pastors and academics engaged in Chinese church ministry, their stories and remarks were collected through face-to-face meetings, telephone conversations, as well as virtually via email. During this preliminary pre-project stage, a common theme threaded through the narratives regarding pastoral ministry. In this convenience sample, both laity and clergy acknowledged the need to equip pastors with principles and practical skills in administrating and managing the affairs and activities in the church. These would supplement the pastors' body of knowledge that already includes the spiritual facets of ministry. From the narratives there was a view that management capabilities could ameliorate the pastors' ministry by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to take care of the resources that have been entrusted to them as good and faithful stewards. On the other hand, there was also an admonition that some church leaders and pastors may not be supportive of applying management in the church. Some may be resistant to the notion of "church management” In my consultancy roles at the C&MA National Ministry Centre as well as with the CCACA, I have received affirmation from leaders of these organizations [ Page ] 78 who acknowledged the need to supplement our pastors' knowledge with administration and management principles and practical skills. C&MA leaders such as the President and Vice Presidents at the National Ministry Centre, as well as the Superintendents of the Ontario districts, concurred and have also included risk management and self-care. Based on this preliminary inquiry and the anecdotal evidence, I perceived there was value to equip pastors with management and administrative skills, which typically have not been taught at most seminaries. While some seminaries do offer courses in leadership, the church leaders with whom I interacted have indicated that they and many of their co-workers were not adequately equipped for the operational, administrative, and managerial tasks of church ministry. When one considers the various activities within a local church one finds many administrative tasks and projects. It was necessary, however, to validate the perception that there is a need for our pastors to supplement their seminary education with management capabilities. The assumption was that there are pastors who would be interested to learn about management principles, and to apply them to augment their ministry. This raised the corollary question: "What management principles and practices would be relevant and applicable?" To respond to these questions required a rigorous exercise of inquiry. Investigation, however, is not sufficient. Intervention is also necessary if the assumption is validated and pastors do, indeed, need to augment their skills and add to their ministry toolkit. Hence, this AR project was launched to look for opportunities to leverage principles and practices from the [ Page ] 79 body of knowledge for management, to add them to the existing best practices in the body of knowledge for pastoral ministry, and to improve the management skills of pastors. Project Scope Management In compliance with generally accepted project management principles, this project considered the triple constraint of scope, cost, and schedule. If the scope of a project becomes too large then either the cost or the schedule, or both, would need to be increased. However this project needed to be completed in less than one year, and its budget was nominal. There were no funds for expenditures such as travel. Due to the aggressive schedule and restrictive cost, the scope needed to be managed within these constraints. Therefore the target group of this study was restricted to pastors serving in the C&MA in Canada rather than all pastors. The scope of the target group for this AR project was further narrowed down to pastors affiliated with the Chinese churches in the Canadian C&MA. This group of over 250 co-workers formed the base from which to recruit participants for the project. Moreover a set of management topics was selected. They were not based on my personal preference, nor derived randomly. Initially, the topics were based on the knowledge areas of project management as enumerated in Chapter III. The project management body of knowledge, however, is not narrow. A shorter list of topics was then derived based on the feedback from the pastoral survey sent to the target group. Eventually the topics were further reduced and selected based on the project [ Page ] 80 participants' feedback regarding their needs and interests. Look-Think-Act Phase 1 Considering the project's triple constraint, the scope of this action research had to be restricted. This is congruent with the DMin requirement to focus. The endeavour needs to be narrow and deep, rather than wide and shallow. For the initial investigative step a stratified sample was used instead of tapping into the universal population of all pastors. The stratum of the population was the group of pastors serving in the Chinese Alliance churches in Canada. Members of this group have common affinities, although they also share other characteristics with members from other strata such as pastors in the non-Chinese Alliance churches, pastors in Chinese churches in other denominations, and pastors in evangelical churches in Canada and around the globe. Letters were sent to the C&MA and CCACA leadership to secure their support for this endeavour. An example of these communiques is included in Appendix B. Permission and support were granted by the President of the C&MA in Canada, and the Chair of the Executive Committee as well as the Executive Director of the CCACA. In this first phase of Look-Think-Act, the pastors of the Chinese Alliance churches across Canada were invited to provide their opinions regarding the need and their interest to learn management principles and practices, and the applicability to their pastoral ministry. Since the discipline of management is very broad, a subset needed to be determined. Via an online survey the pastors were [ Page ] 81 asked to rank ten management topics based on their interest level from most to least. The topics were derived from the project management knowledge areas as well as gleaned from the narratives from the pre-project discussion with those in my ministry network. The purpose of the survey was to determine the need for, and the level of interest in, learning about management and its applicability to pastoral ministry. The pastors were invited to provide demographical data. The survey also sought logistical preferences such as the class duration, frequency, format, and delivery mechanism. In addition, the final question provided an opportunity for respondents to offer their personal comments. The respondents' inputs would be used to shape the course. Appendix C contains a copy of the survey and discusses the design of the survey. The data collected are described in the "Data Collection, Analysis, and Coding” section below. Survey Results Using the CCACA contact database, emails were sent to the 252 pastors at the ninety-three Chinese Alliance churches across Canada, inviting them to provide their opinions regarding the need and their interest to learn management principles and practices, and the applicability to their pastoral ministry. The population for this survey was the same as the stratified sample of the pastors serving in Canadian Chinese Alliance churches. Figure 4.2 summarizes this demographical sample. The response rate was over 15% (39 respondents). Of the six Canadian C&MA districts, the Eastern Canadian District (ECD) has the most licensed workers serving the Chinese Alliance family, and over half of the survey [ Page ] 82 respondents (20) were from the ECD. Figure 4.2. Chinese Alliance Church Pastoral Demographics [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 4.2 details ] Figure 4.3 summarizes the respondents by district. Figure 4.3. Survey Responses [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 4.2 details ] [ Page ] 83 Course Participants To mitigate concerns in the participant selection process with regards to fairness and equity in the ethical principle of justice, the course was open to women and men, of Chinese and non-Chinese ethnicity, but they must be workers actively serving in an Alliance church in Canada. The acceptance for participation was determined on a first-come-first-serve basis, up to twelve participants. However, any pastor currently under my mentorship and coaching was excluded. These criteria eliminated a perception of bias in the selection process. To mitigate the issue of time zone variances between the East Coast and the West Coast, and to simplify scheduling, the course was offered regionally, specifically to pastors in Ontario where there were over 100 co-workers serving in Chinese churches in the CCD and ECD (figure 4.2). It was expected that there would be a high demand from many of these pastors to learn management principles, practices and skills, and thus recruitment for the project would be rapid. Given the time, cost and resource constraints indicated above, however, the scope of this project needed to be further limited to a smaller cohort of pastors. Course Content The online pastoral survey had posed the question: "If a course is offered to you at no charge, which topics would interest you?” As indicated above, a list of ten topics was presented and the respondents were asked to rank them. The survey results provided insight for me to produce a preliminary syllabus for the management course which was developed in the Act step of this first phase. [ Page ] 84 Initially the course subject matter was selected from the topics with high interest levels based on the survey findings. They addressed both soft skills and hard skills. The topics also included theological content, as well as technical elements. Course Schedule The feedback from the pastoral survey provided the time parameters for the course. The survey results suggest that 3-hour class sessions would be preferred. The classes would meet on a periodic basis. There was a preference for classes to be held on a week day, in the morning. Hence the topics were modularized and assigned to six 3-hour class sessions. The participants met every third Wednesday morning over a period of four months. Course Delivery The survey respondents indicated a blend of instructional methods would be preferred. This would include discussion and self-study, in addition to lectures. Although the face-to-face in-person classroom-centric attendance model was the default, there was also interest for face-to-face virtual classes using Cloud-based technologies, as well as recorded class sessions. Look-Think-Act Phase 2 As expressed in Phase 1 above, it was expected that recruitment for project participants would be rapid. Initially there were fourteen pastors in Ontario, serving the CCD and ECD, who had indicated their interest to participate in the learning experience. Invitations were sent out. Refer to Appendix D. [ Page ] 85 Considering the survey comments, and confirmed by the follow-up replies, pastors are very busy. They are already committed to ministry in their local churches. For some, they were also engaged in further development such as pursuing a doctorate. Others were moving from one ministry to another so that they needed to focus on their transition. In effect, none of the interested respondents signed up for the course. This was problematic and became a barrier to proceed. During a period of lamentation, I was reminded of the power of prayer. In learning about leadership and leading change during the DMin course work, I was reminded of the importance and urgency of prayer as exemplified by the heroes of the Bible. In particular, Nehemiah made it a priority to turn to God in prayer. He wrote: "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven" (Neh 1:4). Nehemiah did not act without prayer; and he did not pray without acting. In "Prayer is Spiritual Leadership," E.M. Bounds quoted John Wesley: Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer. (Bounds 2013, 149) Reminded by these spiritual exemplars, I went down on my knees and I lifted up this need in prayer. Ideally there would be a minimum of five participants to walk with me on this project. I also invited prayer warriors at my church's weekly prayer meetings to join me to wait upon the Lord to send five pastors. Then over [ Page ] 86 the ensuing weeks, as I connected with those in my C&MA network, six pastors agreed to join me on this journey. Consent forms were completed. Refer to Appendix E. A small project team was formed. The learning journey was launched, starting with interviews and group discussions in the Look step of this second phase. Interview and focus group methods of data collection were chosen as strategies of inquiry for this qualitative research (Osmer 2008, 54—5). These are to facilitate data gathering through conversations with the participants who told their stories (Osmer 2008, 49-51). In this second phase of the AR project, information was collected about the project participants and their respective ministry contexts. Interviews were carried out with each participant individually. Then the participants were brought together to engage in focus group discussions on the subject of applying management principles and practices in their ministry. The list of discussion topics was sent via electronic mail to the participants in advance of the one-on-one interviews and the group discussions. This set of discussion topics is included in Appendix F. Pre-Course Revelations As the researcher, I interviewed four of the participants in person. The other two participants were interviewed face-to-face, albeit virtually via the online Skype service. The interviews via Skype eliminated the commute time and cost as the two participants were outside of the Great Toronto Area. In addition, two sessions were convened for the group discussion. In the first group meeting, half [ Page ] 87 of the team met in person, while the other half joined virtually via the online GoToMeeting service. The second group meeting was held entirely virtually via GoToMeeting. These sessions were audio-recorded with the participants' permission. These recordings provided a verbatim record of the discussion to supplement the field notes for analysis. The data collected are described in the "Data Collection, Analysis, and Coding" section below. Through one-on-one interviews and group discussions, a descriptive- empirical situation analysis allowed me to understand "what is going on" in the ministries of the project participants (Osmer 2008, 4). The narratives shared by the project participants fed into the Think step of this second phase. This helped me to better understand the project team members, their ministry contexts, their propensity to accept or reject the application of management competencies in ministry, and their expectations of the project. An overarching purpose for the course was to improve the efficacy of the participants' ministry. A root cause analysis of the problems uncovered in this inquiry resulted in changes to the course in the Act step of this phase. The course content and delivery were adapted to meet the needs of the participants (Stringer 2014, 155-6). Descriptive and In Vivo coding were applied to the narratives shared by the six project participants. Refer to the section on data coding below. Course Adaptation With a better understanding of the participants and "what is going on" in their ministry contexts, the course syllabus was revised and adapted to address the [ Page ] 88 needs and expectations of the participants. Emphasis was placed on both the theological and the technical aspects of management. Soft skills such as communication and cultural awareness were emphasized. I ensured that the participants had the opportunity to learn from one another, with me as a facilitative co-participant and not as an experienced and expert sage on the stage. Look-Think-Act Phase 3 Initially, the project team had comprised of six pastors serving in six different Alliance churches in Ontario. However, after the interviews and focus group discussions (Phase 2) and before the pilot of the management course, two pastors had to withdraw from the project. One pastor, in his 20's, had just started his pastoral journey and was given a new ministry to develop for his church. The other pastor, in his 50's, has a demanding ministry load as an associate pastor in a large church. Although they acknowledged their need to learn about management their ministry demands pre-empted their participation. Thereafter the project team comprised of four pastors in addition to the researcher. There were two pastors from the CCD and two pastors from the ECD. They are all men; one in his 20's, two in their 30's, and one in his 70's. The youngest team member is a new pastor who responded to the call to full-time pastoral ministry after his university studies. The pastors in their 30's had worked in secular business prior to their full-time pastoral calling. The senior pastor has served in the C&MA movement for quite some time. All participants have seminary education, at the Master's level. One of the participants has a Doctorate. [ Page ] 89 In this third Look-Think-Act phase, the management course was field tested by the participants in a pilot project. Prior to the start of the course, the participants completed a set of assessment quizzes to establish a baseline of their knowledge of management and their experience in management. Assessment Instrument Instead of dispensing a battery of highly technical exams to appraise the participants' management knowledge and skills, the assessment was based on quizzes from the Mind Tools knowledge base. Appendix G provides details about the set of Mind Tools quizzes, its purpose as a assessment instrument, and the interpretation of the results. These quizzes formed an integral part of the Look step of this third and final phase. The use of the Mind Tools quizzes is to identify the participants' strengths and weaknesses in the subject matter of the management course. The assessment is not meant to be a test with either a "pass" or "fail” outcome. The quizzes use a Likert-type rating scale which requires the participants to select one of five possible choices. The range on the scale captures the respondents' intensity rather than the correctness of the response. An output from each quiz is an analytical report. The report is both descriptive and prescriptive. In the Think step of this phase, the participants were to review their respective reports, with the interpretations and recommendations for them to put into practice in order to enhance their capabilities and skills in the management discipline. The Mind Tools quizzes were taken at several intervals during the course. The scores were used as quantitative markers along the journey. [ Page ] 90 The participants also completed a learning styles assessment based on the learning styles preferences model formulated by Richard Felder and Linda Silverman (Education Designs, Inc. 2016). Dr. Richard M. Felder is the Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University. Figure 4.4 visually summarizes the model explicated by Dr. Felder in a podcast from “On Teaching Online" (Felder 2011) and his short paper on "Learning Styles and Strategies" (Felder). Figure 4.4. Summary of the Felder-Silverman Learning Styles Preferences [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 4.4 details ] Moreover, Richard Felder and Barbara Solomon, of North Carolina State University, developed an online instrument to assess learning preferences. The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) assessment tool is accessible at the North Carolina State University website (NC State University). It is available at no cost for non- commercial usage. The ILS assessment tool consists of 44 questions. Learners answer the questions and submit them online. This instrument returns each participant's learning style profile which contains scores along a scale for each of [ Page ] 91 four dimensions: Active/Reflective, Sensing/Intuitive, Visual/Verbal, Sequential/Global. For example, along the Active-Reflective scale, a score could fell on the Active side or the Reflective side on the spectrum. A score of 1 or 3 indicates a mild preference, a score of 5 or 7 indicates a moderate preference, whereas a score of 9 or 11 indicates strong preference. The ILS instrument was used to assess the participants along the four dimensions of learning preferences. The results provided me with insight to adapt the format and the delivery of the course to be pertinent to the participants' learning preferences, which could be at variance with my instructional preferences. It helped me to be sensitive to how the participants prefer to perceive and process data and information. On the Active-Reflective dimension, the participants leaned toward "reflective" thinking and less "action" driven. But there was some diversity in the other learning style preferences. Some participants preferred data and details while others were more intuitive. Some preferred visual presentation, others preferred textual and verbal information. There was also a variance between “sequential" and "global” thinking among the participants. As the researcher and course facilitator, it was important for me to mitigate the natural tendency to teach to my style which has a strong preference for the “sensing" and "visual” styles. Hence, a blend of visual and textual content was deployed. The visual materials included images, animated graphics, videos, and mind maps. The textual materials included PowerPoint slides with bulleted text points, as well as HTML [ Page ] 92 and PDF documents for reading and review between classes. Appendix I provides details of the "Management Essentials," course content. In addition, at the start of each class session, some time was allocated for the participants to share their reflections and any lessons learned since the previous class. Moreover, rather than to curb the discussions so that the course content could be covered, the participants were encouraged to express what was on their minds within the context of their ministry. This allowed the participants to exercise their sequential and global thinking. Even though the participants had preferred reflection, they were provided with opportunities to get into action. Thus, rather than passively assimilating the content, the participants were invited but not obligated to participate in hands-on exercises such as using some of the tools to create mind maps and generate ideas in brain-writing. Mini Look-Think-Act Steps In the Act step of this third phase, I facilitated the sessions with the pastors to learn the content of the management course. Six class sessions were convened. The participants were expected to apply the principles and to implement the practices in their personal ministry context in the interlude. At the start of each class, the participants were reminded to maintain confidentiality and to raise any concerns, risks and issues regarding the project. Homework was assigned during the wrap-up time at the end of each class. The assignments included reading and doing. Resources were provided to the participants to review before the next class session. The participants were [ Page ] 93 encouraged to reinforce their learning by applying it in their respective ministry context. Before proceeding to the course materials in each class, time was allocated to review and reflect what the participants had learned and applied, as well as to share blessings and thanksgiving, since the previous class. After each 3-hour class, the participants were invited to provide feedback via an online survey. The participants' comments were used to adjust the course - contents, formats, delivery mechanisms - from class to class. These checkpoints were repeated six times, producing a series of mini-Look-Think-Act constructs to make the learning experience more relevant and adaptive to the participants. Instead of teaching a generic course on management the exercise was to enhance the management capabilities of the participants. As adult learners, they would be interested in problem-based learning so they could apply the lessons learned to meet real needs in their ministry, and not to learn merely for the sake of learning. The purpose of the course was to be relevant to the participants and to meet their needs. It was not merely to spend eighteen hours and go through the motion of dispensing information. It was not an exercise to transfer knowledge. The goal was to effect transformation which would be assessed by the Mind Tools quizzes and the course evaluation. The Mind Tools quizzes were also taken mid-way through the 4-month course. This mid-course checkpoint was used to monitor the progression, and to mitigate any regression, along the learning journey. Some anomalies were detected and course adjustments were made. At the end of the course, the [ Page ] 94 participants completed the Mind Tools quizzes so that the change, if any, due to the intervention could be determined. A new baseline was established. Chapter V discusses the outcome from this intervention. A final step was taken to look back and reflect on the sojourn. The course participants provided their comments in a course evaluation. Chapter V addresses the feedback from the evaluation. Their valuable input regarding the content, format, delivery, facilitation, and learning experience would be used to update the course, and amend the curriculum accordingly. The updated course could be offered to other pastors beyond this project. As discussed in Chapter II, Nehemiah embodied the basic project management practices. Nehemiah prayed, planned, proceeded, provided, and praised. In this AR project, I was reminded to lift the entire endeavour in prayer. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, I planned and proceeded in the project. The Lord provided the resources, especially the project participants. Consonant with Nehemiah's model, the project team praised God after the course. The team gave thanks to God over a celebration meal. [ Page ] 95 Data Collection, Analysis, and Coding Project data were collected from multiple sources and in various forms. These include online surveys, interviews, discussions, and assessments. Table 4.1 summarizes the datasets. Table 4.1 Datasets Summary [Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 4.1 details ] [ Page ] 96 In Phase 1, SurveyMonkey was used to collect inputs from CCACA pastoral workers via an online survey. Refer to Appendix C. The survey numerical results were transcribed into Microsoft Excel (XLSX) worksheets. The textual comments were manually entered into Microsoft Excel worksheets as well as to Microsoft Word (DOCX) documents. The data included the respondents' demographics such as their location and ministry areas. The data also included the respondents' preferences for class duration and frequency. In addition, the respondents indicated their preferred time of day as well as the day of the week for the course. Moreover, they shared their preferred instructional methods for the delivery of the course. For those respondents who expressed interest to take the course, their gender was derived based on their names. In Phase 2, the discussions from the interviews and focus group meetings were audio-recorded and written notes were also taken. Since the participants were provided with the discussion items in advance their written responses were sent to me via email after the meetings. These complemented my field notes. The written materials are saved in Microsoft Word documents. The audio recordings were saved as Windows Media Video (WMV) files. The interview data contained the participants' profile such as ethnicity, education, pre-ministry experiences, familiarity of management, equipping for ministry, and current ministry context. The data from the group discussions contained their opinions concerning management in pastoral ministry. The participants shared the operational, administrative and management tasks for which they led or were engaged in. [ Page ] 97 They also shared their thoughts regarding any supplemental education and training would be helpful for pastors to learn. In Phase 3, the participants sent me their results from the Mind Tools quizzes and the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) questionnaire. These include quantitative data points such as the scores from the assessment tools. They were manually entered into Microsoft Excel worksheets. In particular, each participant submitted three series of Mind Tools scores. These series were associated with the pre-course, mid-course, and post-course assessments. The series provided a longitudinal view of the participants5 learning journey. Each contained the scores from the three Mind Tools quizzes: management, leadership, people skills. The ILS data provided the numerical positions along each of the four dimensions of the Felder-Si1verman Learning Styles Preferences model. In addition, via SurveyMonkey, the participants provided feedback after each class session. They commented on their experience in each session. This included the content, format, and delivery of the topics as well as class management in each module. More importantly, the participants provided their perspective regarding the impact of the course on their ministry. A final set of data was the participants' feedback via the Course Evaluation. Refer to Appendix I. They provided their textual comments in Word documents. They shared how they had already benefitted from applying some of the principles, practices, and tools in their personal lives as well as in their pastoral ministry. They also indicated what they plan to do with these helpful [ Page ] 98 gems. In addition, they identified the less valuable dross to throw away. Moreover, they provided their valuable input to improve the course which would be offered to other pastors. Furthermore, after the 4-month sojourn, the participants shared their views on applying management in pastoral ministry. Johnny Saldana asserts that "there are times when coding the data is absolutely necessary, and times when it is most inappropriate for the study at hand ... [c]oding is just one way of analyzing qualitative data, not the way" (Saldana 2016, 2-3). Note that it is a good heuristic practice to undertake preliminary analysis as data is transcribed. Thus some themes began to surface as the data were manually entered into Microsoft Excel worksheets and Word documents. Moreover using Microsoft Excel, the numerical data from SurveyMonkey were distilled and summarized, and graphs were produced. The textual comments from the surveys were reviewed and analysed. Thus some raw data were summarized and are presented in this dissertation. Other data were coded to aid analysis and synthesis to find patterns and derive themes. Descriptive coding is used to summarize a topic (Saldana 2016, 292). In Vivo coding gleans words or short phrases from the verbatim narratives (Saldana 2016, 294). In Phase 1, Descriptive and In Vivo coding were applied to the qualitative data collected. An analysis of the coded survey responses identified potential project participants and their ministry attributes. Those respondents who indicated interest in taking the management course were labelled by a descriptive code of "INTERESTED.” Some responses were coded as "CONCERNS” which [ Page ] 99 include “BIBLE ," “SCHEDULE ," and “SUPPORT.” These were coded from the verbatim narratives using the participants' own words. In Phase 2, the one-on-one interviews were to find out more about the participants and their ministries. Descriptive coding was applied to the interview data. To support answering the thesis question, the data were labelled with codes which identify the participants' pre-ministry work experience, management experience, ministry blessings, ministry challenges, and expectations of the course. Codes were also associated with age group, ethnicity, language, and education. Typically a theme is an outcome of coding. According to Saldana, unlike a code, a theme is "an extended phrase that identifies what a unit of data is about and/or what it means” (Saldana 2016, 297). Saldana asserts: Themeing the Data is perhaps more applicable to interviews and participant-generated documents and artifacts, rather than researcher- generated field notes alone. However, if field notes contain an abundance of participant quotes and actions as part of the evidentiary warrant, themes could be developed validly from the data corpus. (Saldana 2016, 200) Thus the technique of "themeing the data” was used to categorize the focus group narratives. This identified the tasks that are common in business and in ministry. The participants also agreed that some pastoral activities are project-based. Another common theme was their expressed interest and need to improve their soft skills. In Phase 3, the series of Mind Tools scores produced a longitudinal perspective of the participants' journey. This provided a view of the progress from start to finish, as well as mid-way, of the management course. The data also [ Page ] 100 highlighted topics and skills that needed attention. This provided input to adapt the course accordingly. Managing the AR Project This AR endeavour was managed as a project in conformance with the PMI project management best practices. A project typically runs through various phases: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and finally closing. For this AR project, the scope was defined. A work breakdown structure of the products to be delivered by this project and a schedule were produced. A high-level mind map that presents the radiating nature of the project was created. In addition, a matrix of the assigned roles that identifies who decides, and who is accountable, responsible, consulted, informed (DARCI) for the project activities was prepared. Integral to the project management discipline is risk management. Inherent with this endeavour is the "Management Essentials" course for pastors. The course was pilot-tested in the third Look-Think-Act phase. It is salient to note that the course participants are adult learners who serve full-time in pastoral roles. They were not co-located in the same church. They brought their varied experience, expertise, and biases to the project. The goal of the learning experience was to leverage and reinforce their past learnings and to develop new habits, not just to transfer knowledge. The emphasis was on the learners, and not on my experience nor my expertise. Consonant with the AR methodology, the learning journey was student-centric and not teacher-centric. As the facilitator in the AR project and in the management course, I was a guide alongside the [ Page ] 101 participants and not a sage on the stage dictating knowledge and dispensing wisdom. Incidentally, one of the participants remarked: For me, I was shocked when Wes asked if there was anything else we wanted to know and how we would prioritize the flow of the subjects he prepared. For me, I thought it would be okay if he just made the final decision on this, even if he were to choose not to ask us. This feedback corroborates my compliance with the participant-centric AR approach as well as the learner-driven learning experience. According to Stringer, AR directly engages participants in formulating solutions to problems. He asserts that, "It is the researcher's task to facilitate and support these activities, rather than to determine their direction" (Stringer 2014, 31). The "Management Essentials" course was partitioned into six class sessions that were deployed over a period of four months. Each 3-hour session contained three modules, interleaved with short intermissions. As the course facilitator, I did not monopolize the class time. Interactive discussion was encouraged throughout each 3-hour session. The participants were given the opportunity to ruminate and engage in clarification, verification, implication, and application of the course materials. Since the participants were geographically dispersed, it was problematic to assemble the team to meet in-person during the learning sojourn. Even for those participants who were in the same cosmopolitan area it would be inconvenient for them to commute between their home-base and a central meeting place. Therefore, the team decided to meet virtually. Although the project participants had met each other in person, much of the team's facetime was virtual. The six classes were all [ Page ] 102 convened virtually using the GoToMeeting service. Considering the feedback from the surveys and narratives, time is a premium commodity. By convening the classes virtually this optimized the time utilization. The time to commute to and from a central, physical meeting place was eliminated. This saved at least one hour travel time per class session. This model was efficient. It also saved on the travel costs. It eliminated the need to arrange or rent facilities to hold the meeting, and the associated costs. This was cost-effective. Risk Management This section outlines how the project was managed to protect human rights and dignity in research with particular attention to the researcher's role. In action research the lead researcher is also a stakeholder on the project. Since I am not a pastor, nor a supervisor of pastors, I would have no positional authority over the project participants. Even in my consultancy roles with the C&MA and the CCACA, I have no authority over any of the project stakeholders. As noted above, any pastor currently under my mentorship was not recruited as a participant. My experience serving in several Chinese churches over the past four decades allowed me to be empathetic with the project team of pastors. Opportunities did arise for me to influence the discussion with opinions based on my personal context, and to skew the direction to a position that could be perceived as preconceived. It could have been tempting for me to come up with generalized recipe-based solutions. Stringer warns that this approach would fail to [ Page ] 103 take into account the underlying issues of the project participants themselves and in their contexts (Stringer 2014, 167-8). To mitigate these concerns, I strived to play the role of a facilitator and a resource person, rather than as decision maker. Instead of telling, I provided support. Rather than feeding fish, I reminded the participants how to fish. Pursuant to the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2 2014), all project participants were treated with respect for human dignity in addition to a concern for their welfare bearing in mind both the risks and benefits to them as well as fair and equitable treatment. At the start of each class session, the participants were reminded to maintain confidentiality and to raise any concerns, risks and issues regarding the project. With respect to managing risks, a critical element of concern for the participants' welfare is their privacy. Thus, to protect their identity, each participant was assigned a code in the data; viz. "Participant A,” "Participant B," Participant C," and ''Participant Note that participants "D” and "E" had withdrawn from the project after Phase 2. The project data and information pertaining to each participant were keyed to their assigned codes. The participants' names would not be disclosed. The participants' data were saved in files stored on an external data drive that was not directly attached to a network but only accessible from a computing device via an USB interface. Furthermore the data was archived onto another physical external data drive as a backup. In terms of respect for persons, the participants were informed of the [ Page ] 104 purpose of the research, the foreseeable risks as well as the potential benefits. This allowed them to make the decision to participate, and to withdraw if necessary. Two of the six participants, indeed, decided to withdraw due to their ministry commitments. Refer to Appendix A for an ethical review of this project. The goal of this project was to contribute to the efficacy of the participants' ministry. It was expected that the participants will develop new habits which could lead to changes in the operation, administration, management, and ministry in their churches. These changes would be by-products. Ideally, they would be positive and beneficial to the churches. In the Consent Form, the participants were cautioned that any changes that they may introduce to their ministry context will be at their discretion. Appendix E contains a copy of the Consent Form that the participants had to sign. This chapter dealt with the "who," "what," "when," "where," and "how" of this Action Research project to address the thesis question which provided the "why” impetus for the endeavour. The next chapter reports on "what was found?" and "what does it mean?" [ Page ] 105 CHAPTER V: OUTCOMES, FINDINGS, AND INTERPRETATION The goal of this AR project was to validate the need to supplement pastors with management capabilities. The project took a small group of pastors on a journey through a series of classes to supplement their ministry with some operational management skills. The objective was to contribute to a transformation in their ministry efficacy, not just to transmit information. Through this exercise, certain management principles and practices were identified which could be relevant and helpful for pastoral ministry. The previous chapter presented the methodology and the methods that were used in this AR exercise. It described how the project was managed. This chapter presents the outcomes and findings of each of the Look-Think-Act phases. Look-Think-Act Phase 1 As reported in the previous chapter, thirty-nine of the 252 CCACA co- workers responded to the pastoral survey. Although the response rate was not high, more than 50% (21 of 39) of the respondents expressed interest in participating in the management course. Table 5.1 summarizes the group of interested participants. There were four women and seventeen men. They served [ Page ] 106 in various ministries in their local churches. Some served in the Children's Ministry, some in the Cantonese Ministry, others in the Mandarin Ministry, some in the English-speaking Ministry, and one in the Student Ministry. Of these 21 prospective participants, 10 were from the Eastern Canadian District (ECD), 4 from the Central Canadian District (CCD), 4 from the Western Canadian District (WCD), and 3 from the Canadian Pacific District (CPD). Table 5.1. Demographics of those who indicated interest to take the course [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 5.1 details ] Fourteen of the 21 pastors served in Ontario. The Alliance churches in the province of Ontario are distributed into two districts of the C&MA in Canada, viz., Central Canadian District (CCD) and Eastern Canadian District (ECD). Thus support was obtained from the District Superintendents of both districts to recruit participants from the CCD and the ECD. Emails were sent to the pastors, serving in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and its adjacent municipalities such as Mississauga and Hamilton, inviting them to participate in the project as pilot- testers of the "Management Essentials” course. A copy of this communique is included in Appendix D. In addition, an email was sent to express appreciation to [ Page ] 107 the pastors outside of the GTA who had indicated in their survey responses an interest in taking the course. It was anticipated that the course sign-up would be rapid. The survey responses indicated that people management and interpersonal communications were the most popular management topics of interest. As practitioners in the "people business" pastors are interested in the interpersonal aspect of ministry, not just on the technical tasks. As reported in Chapter III, The Wall Street Journal had sponsored a survey of corporate recruiters and concluded that "interpersonal communication and other so-called soft skills are what corporate recruiters crave most” (Alsop 2002). Moreover the Gallup organization had reported that there is a need for managers who are great at engaging others (Wagner and Harter 2006, 202; Harter and Rigoni 2015, 17, 21). Furthermore, the PMI reports that inadequate and poor communication accounts for 30% of failed projects (PMI 2016, 23). What this suggests is that while hard skills are still necessary to perform the technical tasks, soft skills are also needed to relate to the people who perform the tasks. In addition to the quantitative data, some respondents provided textual comments. Using In Vivo coding, key insights emerged. In particular, some concerns were expressed about the course. Verbatim examples include: • We frequently hear the comment that secular management style is being brought into the church. Its important that the course must be strongly Biblical-based, and the principles have been proven in Chinese churches. • The topics are all interesting. However, not sure how many courses does it take. I am thinking of my own schedule probably can attend [ Page ] 108 only very few such courses given my own circumstances. • Participation in the course is dependent upon the time and venue whenever and wherever fitting in with the ministry schedules. In light of these comments, Biblical precepts were highlighted in the course. The course content was enhanced with examples of people and passages from Scripture that support the practice of management. In addition, examples of operational and administrative activities in the church were discussed to illustrate that management is not secular. Cultural awareness was also discussed. This is pertinent for ministering in Chinese churches in Canada. Examples from the Old Testament and the New Testament provided the Biblical basis for diversity. The concern of course duration and frequency was taken into account to accommodate the busy schedule of pastors. Thus the survey feedback provided insight into the content, the delivery, and the schedule for the "Management Essentials” course. The outcome from this first Look-Think-Act phase was a suite of multimedia course materials compiled from various sources. The course for the pastors was not meant to compete against the technical management curriculum offered at business schools, nor to help the participants to cram for exams in management. The course also was not meant to compete with the biblical and theological curriculum offered at seminaries. The course depended on the participants' knowledge and experience from seminary and ministry. The purpose of the course was to effect transformation, and not just to transmit information. By applying what is learned from the course the participants could become more effective and efficient in their ministry, to free up time and resources so that they [ Page ] 109 can tend to the preaching and teaching of the redemption message as well as the feeding of their flocks entrusted under their care. Look-Think-Act Phase 2 Interview and focus group methods were chosen as strategies of inquiry for this qualitative research. In this second phase of the project, information was collected about the six project participants and their respective ministry contexts. Interviews were carried out with each participant individually. In addition, the participants were brought together to engage in focus group discussions on the subject of applying management principles and practices in their ministry. Each project participant was individually interviewed. Upon analysis of the coded interview narratives, the following two themes emerged: • Challenges in Ministry • Bureaucracy. • Conflicts with others. • Cultural issues. • Disconnected with church leaders. • Governance issues. • Lack leaders and volunteers. • Meeting management. • Team work. • Unwillingness to change. • Weak and novice leaders. • Needs of the Course • Learn new skills and tools, and apply them to improve ministry, • Learn from other pastors who have been there. • Learn better volunteer management and stakeholder management. • Benefit from discussion and sharing of their experiences. The interview exercise surfaced some of the problems that the pastoral [ Page ] 110 participants faced in their ministry. It also affirmed their desire to learn and improve their ministry. The group discussion with the project participants was undertaken in two sessions. From the group discussions additional themes emerged. Using the "themeing the data" technique, the narratives were categorized based on the topics in Appendix F. One theme was the participants5 concurrence that many of the tasks in business management are the same for pastoral ministry. These include administrating, organizing, operating, preparing, and planning. Another motif was that most of the ministry activities are project-based. The pastors either are engaged in them or are responsible for leading them. Learning basic project management could benefit their effectiveness and efficiency. In addition to soft skills such as interpersonal communication and conflict management, the pastors felt that they could also benefit by learning administrative skills such as decision making. While seminaries do offer courses that address these, the participants indicated that they need more practical training after seminary. These skills are transferrable between business and the local church. The management principles apply to Chinese churches and non-Chinese churches. Cultural intelligence was also a topic of interest. Furthermore it was expressed that there are still some in the church community who resist applying management in the ministry. Those church leaders perceive management as being rooted in business and incompatible with Christian values. There was reserved acceptance that pastoral ministry could [ Page ] 111 benefit from applying management principles, but not all management practices. The Holy Spirit must continue to empower the church. This concern was expected. Chapter II provides a theological framework and the "Management Essentials" course also addressed this issue in the early modules. The above insight helped me to better understand the state of affairs in the participants' current context. It allowed me to adapt the course to meet the needs and interests of the participants. It would have been counter-productive to transfer my knowledge in areas and topics which the participants had little interest. For example, topics on the polity and policy of the C&MA movement, as well as the federal and provincial legislations regarding registered charities in Canada, were of lower interest albeit very important. The andragogical approach taken was one of "just in time" to support the pastors in their present state, rather than 'just in case” they may need it in the future. Look-Think-Act Phase 3 In the third Look-Think-Act phase, the "Management Essentials", course was tested by the participants in a pilot project. During this phase, the participants completed a set of quizzes to assess their knowledge and experience in management skills, leadership skills, and people skills. Over a period of four months, the scores from these quizzes were recorded. These include the scores before the course, mid-way in the course, and after the course. For each skill set, the score falls within one of three ranges which delineate three levels of skill capability as defined by Mind Tools. The Mind Tools scoring system is described [ Page ] 112 in Appendix G. Table G.l summarizes the participants' scores. Analysis and Interpretation Comparing the starting and ending baselines of the scores, there appears to be progress achieved over the four months of the learning journey which included the six class sessions consisting of multimedia course content, interactive discussion, the assigned pre- and post-class activities, as well as application of the learnings in the participants' ministries. The "Management Essentials" course was primarily focused on the discipline of management, as opposed to leadership. Regarding management skills, comparing the starting baseline scores at the beginning of the course with the new baseline scores after the course, there is an upward trajectory. After the course the participants were in either the "becoming a good manager” (Level 2) or "doing a great job managing" (Level 3). Some participants' scores increased by 6 points; other participants had a 10-point increase out of a maximum score of 105. The scores for most sub-topics in the management skills quiz also increased. However, some of the participants had lower mid-point scores for the "Managing Discipline and Dealing with Conflict" and "Communicating" sub- topics. Based on this mid-point observation, the course was updated to address "discipline" and "communication" in the second half of the term. Some topics, such as financial and time management, were removed from the syllabus. The subject modules on situational management and communication were enhanced and reinforced with the participants. With this adaptation, most participants who [ Page ] 113 had lower mid-point scores in these two sub-topics improved their scores at the end of the course. Those at Level 3 continued to improve their management capabilities. Overall, there was an improvement in the participants' management capabilities. With respect to leadership skills, there was a bit more fluctuation. This was not unexpected as the course was focused on management. It did not emphasize leadership skills as the primary area to address. Nevertheless, overall, most of the participants improved their scores after the course. All participants remained at Level 3 of the leadership skill set. As defined by Mind Tools, all participants are "well on their way to becoming a good leader." With respect to people skills, there was improvement in the overall scores at the end of the course. Some participants' scores degraded at mid-point. Responding to this anomaly, the course was updated to strengthen and reiterate the modules regarding "Managing Differences," "Managing Agreement” and "Interpersonal Communications." This included a review of cultural diversity to reinforce an earlier course module on cultural intelligence. This was supplemented with a discussion regarding evaluating, persuading, disagreeing, and trusting across cultures. There was also a discussion about the modes of communication, as well as miscommunication. A checklist of the 7 C's of communication was presented: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous. In addition, homework was assigned for the participants to report on their ministry sphere of influence which included a mind map of their [ Page ] 114 ministry, a culture map of the people in their ministry context, and a DARCI matrix of those people's roles and responsibilities (decision maker, approver, responsible, consultant, informed). Appendix I provides details about the "Management Essentials" course which covers the above topics. Before the course, the participants were either in the high end of the "recognizes that working well with others is important, and there is room for improvement" of Level 2, or were "good, and should keep on working on them" of Level 3 of the Mind Tools people skills assessment. After the course most scores increased by at least four points, out of a maximum of 80. Participant A progressed toward Level 3, whereas participant C progressed into Level 3. Participant F continued to progress within Level 3. Participant B's overall people skills scores, however, decreased by 3 points, specifically in managing differences and agreements. Participant B shared that he had experienced some personnel issues in a recent ministry that was jointly undertaken with another church group. There was lack of clarity and agreement concerning the various roles and responsibilities of the joint team. In retrospect, he found value of the DARCI matrix which he embraced to utilize on future team effort. As mentioned above and in Appendix I, the DARCI technique helps to identify each stakeholder's roles and responsibilities on a team. Analysis suggests the possibility that pastors can improve their management skills. In particular, pastors who were in the ''becoming a good manager, with opportunity to improve" (Level 2) had increased their overall [ Page ] 115 scores by 6 points after the course. Those who were in the "doing a great job managing, and to continue to improve even further," (Level 3) actually did continue to improve with a 10-point gain. Furthermore, the course adapted to the needs of the participants rather than merely to go through the motions of delivering management wisdom. Mid-course adjustments were made based on the participants' feedback and their mid-course scores. Moreover, the participants were reminded to review the analytical reports from their Mind Tools assessments, and apply them in their ministry accordingly. The course resources, including the recorded class sessions, were made available to the participants for review, reference, and reflection. It is expected that as the pastors continue to apply the principles and practices, their proficiency would increase thus improving their efficiency and enhancing their effectiveness. This is consonant with the 2016 Wakefield Research that suggests that good people can become great managers through continual learning and practice (Grovo 2016, 8). After the completion of the 4-month course, I continued to connect with each of the four participants to remind them of the lessons, to encourage them to apply the lessons, to retake the quizzes to reset the baseline of their skill sets, and to review the quiz reports. I also provided supplementary resources for them to consider applying. The journey needs to continue even after the course. Post-Class Feedback As indicated in Chapter IV, the participants were invited to provide feedback after each class. Their verbatim comments provided feedback to adjust [ Page ] 116 the subsequent course modules. In response to the feedback, the course underwent continual refinements. This included changes to its content and delivery. For example, the participants suggested that it would be better to identify the books that I highly recommend instead of just providing a general reference list. Hence, I shared more information about specific resources that I personally found helpful rather than a bibliography. A subsequent remark was: "I liked how you shared about getting others to read a book that you suggested." In addition, the feedback highlighted the need for biblical foundation. Thus I enhanced the course content with more examples from Scripture, including word studies. One participant then commented: "The Koine Greek incorporated in the word study added value to the lesson." Another comment was: "The presentation of the biblical foundation of the gift of administration was very good.” The course presented Nehemiah as an example of a godly leader-manager. This drew the comment: "I appreciate that Nehemiah was used as the backdrop of why we do these things. It inspires pastors to be like Nehemiah in their context" There was also feedback regarding the delivery of the course. The participants suggested that some materials, including tools, could be provided in advance of the class. This would allow them to prepare for the class discussion. They could review the pre-class reading so we could quickly get through the basic concepts in order to get to address praxis. Also, having information about the tools would give the participants an opportunity to use them before the class and then bring their opinions to the class. This valuable insight was adopted. [ Page ] 117 Consequently, this acted as a catalyst in the delivery of the course content. The participants were much prepared to share their views and experiences from the pre-class resources. Moreover the intent of the course was to learn from each other, not a one- way lecture to transmit information. The participants expressed that it would be beneficial to share the completed homework with the other participants. Therefore, with their permission and concurrence, some of the homework was discussed in the class. This provided a forum for the participants to learn from one another, as well as to support each other. A case in point is exemplified by the comment: "I really liked how we transformed one of our members' situation into a case study.” Post-Course Evaluation At the completion of the "Management Essentials" course, the participants completed a course evaluation. The participants' verbatim comments were transcribed to Microsoft Excel. Descriptive coding was used to organize their input. An analysis identified specific management topics from the course that left a positive impression on the pastoral participants. Some topics are people-oriented, others pertain to tasks. They are cultural awareness, team dynamics, root cause analysis, and problem solving. One of the participants shared: "Cultural awareness was one of my favorite modules; my sermon this week will touch on cultural intelligence" Another remark was: "I have done a presentation with fellowship ministry workers in which I've used the culture map to help others understand the cross- [ Page ] 118 cultural contexts.” This is pertinent in the diverse context of the Chinese church community where the constituents come from various ethnic backgrounds, speak different languages, and represent multiple generations. Moreover church work typically involves people with diverse gifts, talents, experiences, and other resources. The people play different roles. The project participants found value in the DARCI concept, and the associated matrix which identifies each stakeholder's role as decision maker, approver, responsible to do the work, consulted, or just kept informed. One participant affirmed that the matrix helped to avoid oversight and to clearly communicate everyone's roles. In addition to applying the DARCI principle in their church context, it was also used in their personal lives. One participant remarked: "The matrix has been helpful for a personal event I had to plan; I thought it was good to consider who needs to be responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed." Concerning problem solving, the participants appreciated the technique of asking the "5 Why's” to get to the root cause of a problem, instead of rushing to address symptoms or solve problems that have yet to be clearly defined. The Ishikawa "fishbone" is another root cause analysis technique that was well received. It provides a means to visually analyse the cause and effect of a situation. One participant shared: “I feel I will fell into the temptation of doing the tasks my old way without solving problems using the Fishbone diagram, 5 Why's, and more." [ Page ] 119 Transformation The Mind Tools assessments indicate an upward trajectory in the participants' skills. In addition to the quantitative data, the positive feedback corroborates the value of the learning journey. Prior to the project, the participants were not familiar with the management practices and tools that were presented in the course. Through the post-class feedback and in the post-course evaluation, the participants indicated that they learned and benefitted from the 4-month course. It raised their awareness of the management discipline, as well as broadened their knowledge of management concepts. One participant shared: "I enjoyed the course a lot; my soft skills were strengthened and I felt my cultural intelligence has increased a great deal." The participants appreciated the practical nature of the course. They valued how the course was adapted and applied to their specific circumstances, and not just a discourse on general management. In particular, the participants collaborated to address as case studies some ministry issues that were brought to the group. They also acknowledged the importance of materials that have biblical underpinnings as opposed to a business perspective. As indicated above, the participants have applied some of the principles and practices to their personal lives as well as in their ministries. They have indicated that they will continue to develop their management skills. With respect to the question, "Would it be useful to offer this course to others, e.g., pastors, church leaders, seminary students?," their response was a resounding affirmation. One verbatim response was: "Yes, absolutely. It should be part of seminary [ Page ] 120 education." Pastoral Needs Through surveys, interviews, focus group discussion, course engagement, and course evaluation, there is evidence that there is a need and an interest for pastors to learn and apply management principles and practices. This has been acknowledged by the pastors who participated on the project, and other church leaders in my ministry network. Although this does not comprehensively represent all pastors, it does demonstrate the yearning of some pastors. One pastor expressed his regret that he didn't take elective courses in management before entering pastoral ministry. Another pastor shared, " think management principles are extremely useful in pastoral ministry; I'm glad I took your course at the start of my full-time ministry.” One of the Canadian C&MA District Superintendents stated, "I agree with the observation that our church leaders are not adequately equipped with management skills as it is not taught in our bible schools and seminaries." Another comment evokes the notion that administrative skills would be very useful for pastors moving into more senior roles. Therefore, the pastors in my network affirmed the need to augment their ministry with management capabilities. While there is an expressed pastoral need to learn management skills, there are some counter forces. Many pastors are very busy in their ministry. They have commitments, high demands, and even higher priorities that compete for their time and attention. Allocating time and taking the time to learn are [ Page ] 121 problematic for busy pastors. This phenomenon is corroborated by the survey feedback and the withdrawals from the project. Moreover there are still those who resist and don't accept management in ministry because it is perceived to be a tool of the secular world and thus unspiritual. Some pastors want to make sure our values are from the Bible. Thus management principles for ministry need to be biblically-based. Managing must be an exercise led by and infused with the work of the Holy Spirit. From Chapter II, Siu reminds us that management is "part and parcel of pastoral ministry." He adds Pastors who are convinced of this will not easily bury their gifts of administration or impede the development of this area of gifting. They will prove to have a more effective ministry as they know the will of God for their people and the wisdom and practical knowledge to lead them onto the path. ... These leaders do not need to forsake their management responsibility to become spiritual. Their spirituality is fleshed out in their cohesive ministry of total obedience to the Godhead, the word, and the practical guidance of the Holy Spirit (Siu 1999, 138-9). Moreover, as reported in Chapter III, Anthony and Estep assert that those who oppose any form of management or administration in the sanctity of the local church have little understanding of the biblical basis and theological foundation of management. They add: They are simply uninformed about what the Bible teaches about organizing the affairs of ministry. As stewards, we are expected to administrate God's work in a wise and efficient manner. (Anthony and Estep Jr. 2005, 1) Nevertheless, the cautionary remarks expressed above should not be dismissed. Managing is a process, and as such it provides a means to an end. As [ Page ] 122 Tozer asserted, "It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it” (Tozer 1948,117). Thus the "how” of managing needs to support the "why" which is the end purpose. Management in ministry needs to support the correct end purpose, otherwise mismanagement could result. Siu advises that although management can be used to build up a church, it can also be "abused to usurp power and destroy a church" (Siu 1999, 135). Therefore it is critical to assess the principles and practices from the large body of knowledge of the management discipline, and to glean those that have biblical underpinnings. They need to be theologically sound, and not merely technically sound. Chapter II and Appendix I contain some of these principles and practices. Even then, pastors on mission for Christ, when their work is carried out it must be carried along by the Holy Spirit. The premise of this study is that pastors are interested in, and could augment their ministry by, learning principles and developing practical skills from the discipline of management. The pastoral survey conducted in the first Look- Think-Act phase identified twenty-one pastors from Chinese Alliance churches across Canada who indicated their interest in taking a management course. An additional six pastors actually signed up to take the course. The survey results also provided a ranking of the management topics of interest. Then, based on the feedback from the project participants in the interviews and group discussion conducted in the second Look-Think-Act phase, the topics were further distilled for the management course to address the needs and interests of the participants. [ Page ] 123 Specific principles and practices formed the core content of the "Management Essentials” course which was piloted in the third Look-Think-Act phase. The principles guide behaviour. The practices are the actions and techniques of the behaviour. Both soft skills and hard skills were learned. Based on the results from the pilot test, the pastors on the project appear to have increased their knowledge of management and also improved their skills. This observation stems from the quantitative results from the assessment instruments. In addition, from the qualitative perspective, based on their personal feedback throughout the course and in the course evaluation the pastors expressed that they have benefitted from the course. They indicated that they had already applied some of the lessons learned from the course in their personal lives and in their ministry context. In addition to verifying the need for pastors to learn to manage and the positive outcome of the pilot project, this inquiry brought key lessons learned to light. It also provided a platform for me to minister to CCACA pastors. These are explored in the next chapter. [ Page ] 124 CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS Concurrent with this action research undertaking, and subsequent to the pilot test of the "Management Essentials" course, I continue to meet CCACA pastors who affirm the need for, and their interest in, learning and applying the management discipline in their ministry. At denominational meetings and pastoral fellowships in the Chinese Alliance church community, pastors have shared with me their angst about management issues and, hence, their desire to augment their ministry skills beyond those taught in seminary. Some of these skills could be caught while in ministry, but they expressed the need for a structured and guided method, rather than ad hoc self-study. This feedback supplements the results from the surveys and the participants' remarks collected in this AR project. The goal of this action research undertaking was to add management principles and practices to the pastoral ministry body of knowledge. It is not just a matter of putting tools in the pastors' toolkit. The premise for this AR project is that pastors could enhance their ministry efficacy by learning the principles, but they also need to develop and apply the practical skills. In addition to knowing, the pastors need to be doing and becoming better managers as they strive to be good and faithful servants. [ Page ] 125 Project Close The previous chapters described the journey taken for this AR endeavour. In Chapter II, a theological framework laid a foundation for management in ministry from a biblical perspective. It was supplemented, in Chapter III, with a review of the management discipline from the social, as well as the ecclesial, perspectives. Managing is not synonymous with leading. Management complements leadership. The Bible distinguishes the gift of leading from the gift of administrating. Whether it is administration, management, or stewardship the Bible teaches about it. The Bible records numerous exemplars of steward-leaders whom God used to achieve his purpose. Many of these administrators led people and projects for which they had been entrusted, in millennia past. Now, in the twenty-first century, the need for good managers still exists. Recent studies, from organizations such as Gallup (Harter and Rigoni 2015), report the need for managers who are great at engaging others. We are reminded that Jesus grew not only in wisdom and stature, but also in favor with God and with other people (Lk 2:52). Whether it is managing the affairs at home, in the workplace, or in church, there is room for growth and continual improvement. Chapter IV mapped out the approach for the action research. It described how the project was executed in compliance with the PMI's project management processes. It described how the research was undertaken in adherence to the AR methodology. In the third phase a ''Management Essentials" course was piloted with a group of CCACA pastors. The information from the previous chapters and [ Page ] 126 the appendices provided the resources for the course. This "Management Essentials" course was bathed with Scriptures. Lessons of biblical exemplars were gleaned from Chapter II and Appendix I. Other management concepts were gleaned from Chapter III. Chapter V reported on the outcome of the course, and the findings of this project. It presented an analysis of the results, interpreted the findings contextually. One salient observation is the pastors' interest and need to enhance their interpersonal communication skills. This is in harmony with the contemporary thought leaders who advocate that people engagement is critical in the twenty-first century as reported in Chapter III. This influenced the course to address the softer skills of communication and people management. Thence the intervention undertaken in the third Look-Think-Act phase resulted in a positive effect. Over a period of four months, the participants improved their overall management skills. Most of the participants improved their overall people skills. Some also improved their leadership skills. From this project, the conclusion is that CCACA pastors do see the need to learn management principles and practices, and add them to their pastoral ministry toolkit. Principles guide behaviour and practices are the actions and techniques of the behaviour. Pastors are interested to learn and develop skills, both people-oriented soft skills and task-oriented hard skills, to augment their ministry. CCACA Pastors, however, place biblical principles above other precepts and practices. Grounded in Scripture, pastors make informed decisions to do the [ Page ] 127 right things for the right purpose. An essential principle is the empowerment by the Holy Spirit. Another principle is persistent prayer. These are vital for ministry, regardless of the pastor's proficiency in the practices and skills. Lessons Learned Based on the findings reported in the previous chapters, some lessons learned are articulated below. These are based on the data from the three phases which include the pastoral survey in Phase 1, the interviews and discussions in Phase 2, and the results as well as the feedback from the "Management Essentials” course in Phase 3. These lessons, however, are not rooted only in the results of the pilot project implemented in Phase 3. In addition, these are derived in light of the context described in Chapter I, based on the theological framework established in Chapter II, and the state of management reported in Chapter III. Biblical Focus As indicated above, some pastors do have concerns regarding management in ministry. For them, "managing and ministering" is a contradiction in terms even though this inquiry has shown that it is a folse dichotomy. Since managing is a process, it can be used for good, and it could be misused or abused resulting in mismanagement. Scripture can act as lamp for our feet and shine light on our path to reveal the right things to do for God's purpose. The Old and New Testaments provide support for concepts that were presented in the "Management Essentials” course. These include Jesus's "5 D's” [ Page ] 128 of situational management (discern, direct, disciple, discipline, delegate) and Nehemiah's "5 P's" of managing and leading transformation (pray, plan, proceed, protect, praise). In addition, the "5 Roles (DARCI) on a Team" implements the model of the church as the body of Christ and the twelve tribes of Israel, with each member having different functions and gifts. Nehemiah used the DARCI concept when he managed the multiple teams to rebuild the wall and repair the gates around the Holy City almost 2,500 years ago. The "5 Stages of Team Formation," is aligned with the Exodus experience. Like Moses and his migration team, Nehemiah and his renovation team also went through the five stages of team formation. Refer to Appendix I for more details of the course. Thus a lesson learned is that the Bible is foundational. It provides overarching principles to give direction for action in ministry. CCACA pastors evinced that biblical principles are mandatory. Regardless of the efficiency that management practices can offer, disregard of God's Word could lead to ends that are not aligned with God's purposes. Moreover, the ends do not necessarily justify the means. The process of managing also needs to have biblical underpinnings. The Bible is paramount. Learning is an Investment As indicated above, the practice of managing is a process and as such its practitioners can improve. This AR inquiry uncovered a demand for CCACA pastors to learn about management. These include those who are new to the pastorate as well as those who have been in ministry for several decades. A [ Page ] 129 critical success factor of AR is the participants' buy-in and their active participation. The feeling of ownership motivates them (Stringer 2014, 31). AR is done with the participants, not on them (Merriam and Tisdell 2016, 51). In this project, all four pastoral participants attended all the meetings which include the interviews, the focus group discussions, and the six class sessions. The participants completed their assigned work between the classes. They also provided feedback in the six post-class surveys and the post-course evaluation. As reported above, their overall skills assessment scores increased after this project. The participants also shared that they benefitted from the learning experience. It would appear that there was some return on their investment. Execute and Practice to Improve Proficiency In addition to a willingness and readiness to learn, it is critical to put what is learned into practice. The results from the assessments suggest positive traction in the effectiveness of the management skills. As reported above, after the 4- month "Management Essentials” course, two participants' overall scores increased by 6 points each; another two participants' scores increased by 10 points each. One participant committed to "set aside time to incorporate the nuggets” which are the lessons learned from the course. Another expressed his intention to incorporate them, and "already refers back to the notes.” A third participant confirmed that he has used the nuggets in his ministry, and plans to continue as he plays more of a role in administration. Continual execution would contribute to improving the skills. [ Page ] 130 Soft Skills are Essential Through the pastoral survey in Phase 1, CCACA pastors have identified interpersonal and people skills as management topics of high interest. Siu had also asserted: The biblical approach to church management, in other words, regards human resources as the most important element in the whole effort. Church leaders pay special attention to developing and supporting the people of God for ministries. They build up a caring atmosphere in a church wherein the people can compassionately listen and observe the signs of others so that the gifts of one another can be affirmed. (Siu 1999, 137-8) This is particularly pertinent in the Chinese church context. As noted in Chapter I, in its fifty years of ministry, the CCACA has supported the diversification in the Chinese churches in Canada (Chiang and Tam 2015, 62-90). In the Canadian Chinese community, there are immigrants from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, and other locales from across the Chinese diaspora. In addition to the Overseas-bom Chinese (OBC), there are local-born Chinese, affectionately referred to as "CBC” (Canadian-born Chinese). There are nuances in culture, language, generation, and age grouping. Communicating across these dimensions is non-trivial. Moreover, regarding cultural diversity, one of the project participants asserted, "I think applying management principles in a Chinese church will best engage the culture as many members of Chinese churches are working professionals who are most familiar with this form of leading." As indicated in Chapter III, since the latter part of the last century, the discipline of management has entered into an epoch of empathy (McGrath 2014). [ Page ] 131 Interpersonal communication and other soft skills continue to be important in the twenty-first century (Alsop 2002). Soft skills are needed to relate to the people who perform the hard work. Skills are Transferrable The pastoral responses in the course evaluation reflect that management skills are useful in ministry. Managing is the “how" and not the “why.” It is process-oriented and acts a a conduit to accomplish a purpose. The project participants actually applied what they learned from the "Management Essentials" course in their personal lives as well as in their ministries. They identified root cause analysis, problem solving, planning, and communicating as some examples of transferrable skills which are applicable in their ministry and beyond their ministry. The benefits were extended to the pastors' sphere of influence, at home, at work as well as at church. Thus another lesson learned is that these skills are transferrable to the pastor's personal lives and church ministry, not limited to the business domain. Empowering and Leading by the Holy Spirit In addition to a biblical focus, the participants affirmed the need to rely on the Holy Spirit as pastors go on mission for Christ. From the focus group discussions, there was agreement that "management must be an exercise led by and infused with the work of the Holy Spirit.” Another comment was: "There needs to be a blend of workplace management practices as well as spirit-led [ Page ] 132 practices." The Apostle John recorded Jesus's promise: If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (Jn 14:15-17) The promise continues in Acts 1:8: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Knowing what to do, why and how, still requires the empowerment and the leading of God the Holy Spirit. Do the Right thing Right at the Right Time In The Practical Drucker: Applying the Wisdom of the World's Greatest Management Thinker (Cohen 2014), William Cohen who was Drucker's first executive PhD graduate reports that Drucker set very high standards of ethics. There are things that leaders must do, and there are things that they must not do (Cohen 2014, 32). In addition, Cohen asserts that Drucker acknowledged the importance of timing in execution (Cohen 2014, 118). Chapter III reported his admonition not to do the right thing at the wrong time. Drucker believed that effective managers must do the right thing at the right time (Cohen 2014, 124). This is consonant with the message of Ecclesiastes 3:1. Moreover Chapter II presented the significance of proper timing as demonstrated by Nehemiah. He knew what had to be done and why. Rather than rushing to proceed with the plan, Nehemiah waited several months, from the month of Kislev to Nisan (Neh 1:1; [ Page ] 133 2:1). During that time, Nehemiah prayed (Neh 1:4). Then in God's time, the opportunity arose for Nehemiah to take action (Neh 2:4). Furthermore Jesus had spent several years to prepare his disciples for the Great Commission. They knew what to do and learned how to do it. However, Jesus instructed them to stay in the city and wait until they were clothed with power from on high (Lk 24:49). After his resurrection and before his ascension, Jesus commanded his followers: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5) Thus we are to do the right thing but at the right time. Pastors are to achieve God's purposes, by God's way, in God's timing, empowered by God the Holy Spirit. Application to Ministry Serving in Chinese churches, and co-labouring with pastors and denominational leaders, I have observed a need for knowledge and skills in certain areas which could facilitate these pastors to serve even more effectively and efficiently in their leadership roles. One such area is the discipline of management. It is a subject matter which God has been working on me and in me, and providing guidance to me. Now he wants to work on others through me. As reported in Chapter III, the Gallup organization found that one in 10 people possesses the talent needed to effectively manage, and another two in 10 people have some talent and could become successful managers with the right [ Page ] 134 coaching and development (Harter and Rigoni 2015, 7). Currently there are over 250 pastors serving in the almost 100 Chinese Alliance churches in Canada. If 20% of them enhanced their management skills this would be a blessed accomplishment. These fifty early adopters could share their augmented body of knowledge and expanded toolkit with their co-workers within the Chinese Alliance church community, pass it on to others at over 400 churches across the Canadian C&MA movement, and cascade beyond to other denominations across the Canadian evangelical landscape. Beyond the scope of this project, a report of the findings will be provided to the CCACA and the C&MA. The report will also be shared with the ACCTE seminaries, viz., the Canadian Chinese School of Theology at Ambrose Seminary (CCSTAS) in Calgary and CCSTTS in Toronto. It will provide these organizations with some empirical data concerning the ministry equipping needs of pastors in the Chinese church. These organizations may consider leveraging the findings and lessons learned to supplement the formative training of pastoral workers for the Canadian Chinese churches. As indicated in Chapter I, the CCACA has a 4-3-2-1 strategy. This includes a 3-level model of training (CCACA 2016c). The CCACA supports the C&MA seminary (Ambrose) and the CCSTAS to equip pastors. The CCACA partners with the Alliance Bible Seminary Centre to educate lay leaders. The CCACA produces resources to edify and train disciples for ministry in the local churches. Therefore some possible outcomes that could emerge from this project [ Page ] 135 include seminary courses, workshops, online learning, recorded webinars, biblical and practical resources. The goal is to equip, educate, and edify our clergy and laity to serve with efficacy. A "Management Primer" course could be developed. It would use Nehemiah as an object lesson. The course would focus primarily on management. It would study the prowess of a project manager par excellence. It could be used as a model for those interested in managing projects, be it a church building endeavour, a church plant, a mission trip, or a special event. The course could be added to the curriculum for a seminary degree such as the Master of Divinity or the Master of Arts in Leadership and Management. The course would be oriented to the pragmatic not the academic. It is to be problem- based so that pastoral practitioners can readily apply the lessons. The course could be offered as an elective for pastoral students. These students could apply the lessons in their current ministry as well as in their internship practicum. The course could also be provided through denominational agencies to their licensed workers. It could equip church planters with the skills to manage the operational and administrative tasks which are part and parcel of new ventures. In the Canadian C&MA, the course could be made available through the National Ministry Centre and the regional district offices. Within the context of the Chinese church community, the course could be offered through the Canadian Chinese School of Theology (CCST) which has campuses across Canada. The course could be delivered in English or Chinese. Faculty members of CCST could [ Page ] 136 take the course, refine it, and facilitate the learning experience in Mandarin or Cantonese based on demand. The CCACA could act as a conduit to deploy the lessons through its Ministry Centre in Toronto. It could be hosted locally at the Ministry Centre, as well as delivered virtually similar to the pilot project in this AR study. Leveraging technologies and embracing e-leaming trends, the delivery of the curriculum could be a blend of physical as well as virtual learning events. Some of the lessons could be modularized, recorded, and made available on the Internet so that pastors can access these micro-lessons on demand at their convenience, anytime and from anywhere. Moreover the materials developed in the management course could be used in a series of sermons on the subject of stewardship (oikonomia). They could be compiled into a companion booklet for small groups to study the book of Nehemiah, and to learn the principles of the "5 P's” which are bookended by prayer and praise. Another application could be a Sunday School curriculum for the laity. The classes would learn how Nehemiah managed change, as well as how Jesus demonstrated the principles of the "5 D's” of management as he discerned, directed, discipled, disciplined, and delegated in developing his followers to go on mission for his purpose. The analytical review of Scripture in Chapter II and the research enumerated in the social precedence in Chapter III present the need for church leaders, administrators, stewards, and supervisors to develop management skills. These skills would provide the means that contribute to effective and efficient [ Page ] 137 ministry. The AR intervention exercise reported in Chapters IV and V support the notion that these skills can be learned and improved. Anthony and Estep remind us: As stewards, we are expected to administrate God's work in a wise and efficient manner. In fact, as ministry leaders we will one day give an account for our oversight when we stand before our Master. A good steward is one who recognizes his responsibility to oversee the affairs of his master and focused his efforts toward that end. (Anthony and Estep Jr. 2005, 1) Therefore, as we long for that day when we see Jesus face to face, and hear his commendation, let us continue to learn to do the right things and do them right as his good and faithful servants. To be on mission for Christ, our thoughts and words must be Christ-centred, our deeds empowered by the Holy Spirit, as we use the blessed skills to do God's will. [ Page ] 138 APPENDIX A ETHICAL REVIEW This appendix presents an ethical review of the proposed project. It addresses the protection of rights, dignity, welfare and privacy of the project participants, and the dual role of the researcher as project leader and stakeholder. The project was undertaken within Canada and under the institutional sponsorship of Tyndale Seminary. It was not considered multijurisdictional research per chapter 8 of the Tri-Council Policy Statement Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2 2014, 101-8). The Tri-Council Policy Statement Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans identifies three core principles (TCPS2 2014, 6-9): justice, concern for welfare, and respect for persons. With regards to equal fairness and equity in the principle of justice, the project welcomed participants from CCACA churches. Examples of the communiques to seek project support and participants can be found in Appendices B and D. Concern for the welfare of the participants continued through the course of the project. At any time when a participant raised concerns about risks and potential harm, be it physical, emotional, economical, or political, their concerns would be discussed and addressed with mitigative actions. To enforce this, on a regular basis through the life of this project, the researcher asked the participants if they see risks to mitigate and issues to resolve. This common project [ Page ] 139 management practice falls under the knowledge area of risk management. In this project the participants did not raise any risk. The concern for confidentiality and data protection is discussed in Chapter IV which addresses methods and methodology. In focus groups and project meetings, the participants were reminded to describe actions and behaviours of roles and to avoid ascribing them to named individuals. A key element of respect for persons is "do no harm.” The project participants needed to give their informed consent which acknowledges their autonomous participation. Upon C&MA and CCACA approval, pastors serving in Alliance churches were invited to complete an online survey. This was voluntary and at the pastors' discretion to complete. Some pastors included their names and contact information in their responses. Appendix C contains the survey. In addition, an email was sent to pastors in the GTA Chinese Alliance churches to invite them to participate in this project. Upon acceptance, each prospective participant was provided with a consent form that articulated the purpose of the research, the expected benefits and potential risks, and the option to withdraw from the research prior to its completion without consequence. A copy of the consent form is included in Appendix E. The goal of this project was to contribute to the efficacy of the participants' ministry and role in their respective churches. It was anticipated that the participants would develop new habits which could lead to changes in the operation, administration, management, and ministry of their churches. Ideally the [ Page ] 140 changes would be positive, and beneficial to the churches. The participants were cautioned that when introducing changes in their respective churches they are to do so in accordance with the discretionary authority granted to them by their church leadership. This project did not supplant that privilege nor grant any additional authority. Any changes that the participants may introduce to their ministry context would be at their discretion in consultation with and with approval of their church leadership. [ Page ] 141 APPENDIX B C&MA AND CCACA SUPPORT A communique was sent to the leaders of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada (C&MA) and the Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association (CCACA) to seek their support for this project and obtain their permission to contact the pastors in the Alliance churches in Canada. The following enumerates the leaders of these organizations: • The C&MA in Canada: Rev. David Hearn, President • Central Canadian District, C&MA: Rev. Stephen Harbridge, District Superintendent • Eastern Canadian District, C&MA: Rev. Dr. John Healey, District Superintendent • Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association • Rev. William Yung 一 Chair, Executive Committee • Rev. Dr. Aaron Tang 一 Executive Director [ Page ] 142 APPENDIX C PASTORAL SURVEY Given the support of the C&MA, the CCACA, the CCD and ECD (see Appendix B), an email was sent to the pastors serving in the over ninety Chinese Alliance churches across Canada. The email invited the pastors to complete an online survey. The survey was not mandatory. Some pastors opted in at their discretion and provided their input. Bell asserts that surveys "provide answers to the questions ’What?", 'Where?',' When?' and 'How?', but it is not so easy to find out 'Why?" (Bell 2010, 12). The purpose of this pastoral survey was to determine the need for, and the level of interest in, a course on management principles and practices that pastors can apply in their ministry. The input would influence the design and delivery of the course. The survey asked the pastors to select from a list of management topics that are of interest to them. These topics were mapped to the ten knowledge areas in the PMBOK® Guide (PMI 2013). There were questions to determine the logistical preferences for the delivery of the course. This included the form, frequency, duration, and mode. The survey was also used to collect demographical data such as the respondents' service ministry and locale. In addition, it invited those who are interested to participate in the "Management Essentials" course to provide their contact information, otherwise the respondents would be anonymous. The survey [ Page ] 143 was tested by several volunteers in my sphere of influence. Their valuable feedback concerning the wording, the flow, the access and the use, helped me improve this data collection instrument. The following is the email that was sent to 252 pastors in the CCACA fellowship of churches. Dear Pastor_____________, Grace and peace to you. My name is Wes Wong. I am a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) student at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. As part of my study program in Leadership Development, I am developing a foundation course about management principles, practices, skills and tools. The audience of the course is pastoral workers. The intent of the course is to equip our pastors with additional management capabilities to supplement their ministry toolkit. As the discipline of management is very broad, I do need to refine the scope. In particular, the course content, format and delivery need to be relevant to pastoral ministry. Thus I want invite you to provide me with your opinions by way of an online survey. The URL link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.eom/s/JJLMR56. If you would like to provide your input to shape the course, please go to the URL above and complete the survey. It should take no more than 10 minutes. If you have any questions regarding this survey, please send me an email, text or call me. Thank you. God's blessings upon you and your ministry. Wes Wong wongwes@mytyndale.ca [ Page ] 144 Online Survey The survey comprised of ten questions. It was made available to the pastors via the online SurveyMonkey service (SurveyMonkey 2017). The link to the survey was: https://www.surveymonkey.eom/s/JJLMR56. The survey is also provided below. Figure C.l. Project Survey [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure C.1 details ] [ Page ] 145 Figure C.l. (Continued) [ Page ] 146 Figure C.l. (Continued) [ Page ] 147 Survey Results In the first Look-Think-Act phase, 252 pastors in the Chinese Alliance churches across Canada were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey was open for two months. Thirty-nine pastors responded. They served in various ministries in the Canadian Chinese Alliance churches. Some served in the Cantonese ministry, others in the Mandarin ministry, and most respondents served in the English-speaking ministry. Other findings from this survey are reported in Chapter IV and discussed in Chapter V. These include the topics for a management course that would be of interest to pastors, the duration and frequency of the classes, as well as the methods and modes of the delivery of the course. The survey also provided a means for those interested to take the course to identify themselves. Specifically, in response to Question #9 in the survey, twenty-one of the thirty-nine respondents had indicated their interest to participate. [ Page ] 148 APPENDIX D INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE Given the affirming support from the C&MA and CCACA a communique was sent to invite pastors to participate on the project. In particular, the invitations were sent to those pastors of the GTA-based Chinese Alliance churches who had expressed interest, in Question #9 of the pastoral survey, to take the course. Dear Pastor _______________, Grace and peace to you. My name is Wes Wong. I am a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) student at Tyndale Seminary. An integral part of my program is an action-research project. The findings and recommendations will form a major component of my DMin thesis. Based on the valuable inputs from you and your peers, I have developed a course on management fundamentals for pastoral ministry. I would like to invite you to test this course and provide feedback on its effectiveness and how it can be improved so that the course can be offered to other pastors. It is my prayer that you will learn some management principles, apply some practices, and utilize some tools and resources for your pastoral ministry. This course is not meant to make you a management expert. It is anticipated that you will develop some new habits and skills through practical application of the principles. More importantly the value of this exercise would be to supplement your current body of knowledge for pastoring in our Chinese churches. This project is open to pastors who are currently serving in the English-speaking Ministry in a Chinese Alliance church within the GTA. The pilot project team will accommodate up to twelve participants. Attached please find a consent form that further describes our journey together. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Thank you. God's blessings upon you and your ministry. Wes Wong Research Facilitator wongwes@mytyndale.ca [ Page ] 149 APPENDIX E CONSENT FORM This appendix contains the Consent Form that was sent to the project participants to complete and sign to acknowledge their concurrence to participate in the project. Project Name: Pastoral Ministry Body of Knowledge Research Facilitator: Wes Wong Email: wongwes@mytyndale.ca Thesis Advisor: Dr. Brian Craig This action research project is a requirement of Tyndale Seminary's Doctor of Ministry degree program that the researcher has enrolled in. You may contact the researcher at any time via the contact information above. The purpose of this project is to supplement the ministry knowledge base of pastors by learning management principles and practices that have Biblical undergirding and applying them in the project participants' pastoral ministry. The body of knowledge containing management principles and practices is encompassing. Thus the project will accentuate those principles and practices which are relevant to pastoral ministry and pertain to project management. In particular, Scripture will be used to provide guiding principles. In addition the Project Management Institute's A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (aka PMBOK® Guide) will be used as a reference guide to look for principles and best practices in management. This project is open to pastors who are currently serving in the English-speaking Ministry of a Chinese Alliance church within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Your participation is completely voluntary. There will be no remuneration to compensate you for your contributions. Ideally you will remain engaged in this project through to the end. However you may withdraw at any time without prejudice. Procedurally there will be several steps. As a project participant you will be interviewed by the researcher. The goal of the interview is to gather information about you and your ministry context. This insight will enable the researcher to be empathetic with you and your ministry. In addition, the researcher will facilitate focus group discussions with the project participants as a team unit. These focus [ Page ] 150 group sessions will provide a forum to share opinions about applying management principles and practices in your pastoral and church ministry. The interviews, focus group sessions and project team meetings will be audio- recorded. In addition, a questionnaire will be used to ascertain your practical experience in several areas of management. You will also be taught some management principles and best practices. You will be expected to reflect on and apply them in your ministry to complete the teaching-learning cycle. Your participation on the project will begin in the Fall of 2015 and will continue through to the Spring of 2016. As a project stakeholder you will remain engaged through the life of the project. However this will not be a full-time endeavour for you. Per the procedure outlined above, you will participate in the interview (approximately 2 hours) and focus group meetings (two to four sessions of 2 hours each). These inquiry activities in the research component will take place in 2015. Learning and applying the management principles and practices will be undertaken in the action component of the project which will take place in 2016. The goal of this project is to contribute to the efficacy of your ministry. Through hands-on application of the management practices, it is anticipated that you will develop new habits in your ministry, which in turn could lead to changes in the operation, administration, management of your church. Ideally the changes would be positive and beneficial to your church. However it is not the objective of this project to change the way your church is administered. Thus you will need to be cautious if you consider introducing changes in your church. You are bound in accordance with the discretionary authority granted to you by your church leadership. This project does not supplant that privilege nor grant any additional authority. Any changes that you may introduce to your ministry context will be at your discretion in consultation with and with approval of your church leadership. At any time when a project participant raises concerns about risks and potential harm, be it physical, emotional, economical, or political, their concerns will be discussed and addressed with mitigative actions. To enforce this, on a regular basis through the life of this project, the researcher will ask you, as well as the other project participants, if there are risks that need to be mitigated and any issues to be resolved. It is unlikely that your personal data will be released in the project report but if there is any perception that your data could be disclosed then you will be asked to grant permission. If you do not give permission then that information will not be released. Moreover, in focus groups and project meetings, you and the other participants will be reminded to describe actions and behaviours of roles and to avoid ascribing them to named individuals. We will focus on principles and practices, and not principals and persons. A copy of the project report will be shared with the leadership of the C&MA (NMC, CCD, ECD) and the CCACA. However information with direct references to identifiable participants will not be disclosed. Be sure that any questions you [ Page ] 151 may have are answered to your satisfaction. By signing and dating this consent form, you acknowledge that you understand and accept the information provided, and agree to participate in this action research project. Upon your acknowledgement below, a copy of the signed consent form will be given to you. Participant's Name:___________________________________________ Phone:_________________________________ Email:_______________________________________ Participant's Signature:______________________________________ Date:____________________ Researcher's Signature:_______________________________________ Date:____________________ [ Page ] 152 APPENDIX F ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW AND GROUP DISCUSSION TOPICS This appendix includes the topics for the interview and focus group discussions. To expedite the pace and flow of these meetings, this list of topics was provided to the project participants in advance. This allowed them to prepare for the meetings. To maintain confidentiality, the first four topics (Al, A2, A3, A4) were addressed by interviewing each participant individually. The remaining items (B1-B8) were discussed in focus group sessions with the participants as a unit. To ensure capture of the discussions, these sessions were audio-recorded. This supplemented the field notes. The interview topics (A1-A4) below were discussed individually with each pastor on the project team. The researcher and interviewee met in a private area yet not secluded from others. These were in a relatively quiet venue that had other people nearby; eg, coffee shop, restaurant. Two of the six participants were interviewed online via Skype. The semi-structured interview technique was used. This guided the interview experience with a blend of open-ended and closed- ended questions, within time constraints (Osmer 2008, 63). The interviews averaged two hours in duration. This information gathering exercise is what Osmer refers to as the descriptive-empirical task which enabled the researcher to read, where available, and to listen carefully to the participants as they recounted [ Page ] 153 their particular episodes, situations and contexts to describe "what is going on” (Osmer 2008, 4, 5, 11-2). Specific to this project, the researcher obtained an understanding of "what is going on" in the context of each participant's pastoral ministry. Topics Al and A2 allowed the researcher to build a demographical profile of each project participant. Topic A3 launched the situation analysis exercise. It helped identify the problems as well as enumerate the blessings in each participant's ministry. In closing the interview, topic A4 provided an opportunity for the participants to articulate their expectations of the project. Al.Please tell me about yourself. (Personal context) • Place of birth • Ethnicity • Languages (reading, writing, speaking) • First language (mother tongue) • Other languages/dialects • How long have you lived in Canada? A2.Tell me about your pre-ministry experiences. (Pre-ministry episodes) • What were your experiences prior to pastoral ministry: • Education • Work • Lay / Voluntary ministry in the church and/or other Christian organizations • Tell me about your familiarity of management principles and practices. • Why did you choose the English-speaking Ministry in a Chinese church? • How did you equip for pastoral ministry in the Chinese church? A3.Describe your current ministry context. (Ministry situations) • Demographics of your church and your specific ministry context, eg, • Your role in your church • Size of your constituency (congregation and sphere of influence) • Age groups • Student / Career / Family / Singles / Seniors • What are your ministry responsibilities and duties? • How long have you been in the English-speaking ministry? [ Page ] 154 • What are some of the blessings in your pastoral ministry in the Chinese church? • What are some of the struggles you have experienced in your pastoral ministry in the Chinese church? • What were the circumstances for those incidents? • How was your ministry affected? • Who was affected • Was a root-cause analysis done to determine the underlying problems? • What are some of the struggles you still experience? • What are the circumstances? • How is your ministry affected? • Who is affected • Has a root cause analysis been done to determine the underlying problems? • What training and education have you taken throughout your pastoral ministry? A4. Share your expectations of this project. (Course objectives) • What do you hope to get out of this project? • In what ways would you contribute to this project? [ Page ] 155 Continuing with the Look step the researcher facilitated focus group discussions with the project participants. Two meetings were held. The first was a blend of face-to-face in person meeting held at the C&MA National Ministry Centre (NMC), with two participants joining remotely via GoToMeeting. At the second meeting all attended via GoToMeeting. This optimized the time by eliminating the commute between their home base and the NMC. In these meetings, the team discussed the use and applicability of management principles and practices in their ministry within the church community. Dependent on their knowledge and experience, some participants had strong opinions while others were ambivalent yet keenly interested to hear from the others. The following items formed the basis for discussion in focus group meetings with the project team. B1. What operational, administrative and/or management tasks are you responsible for in your pastoral ministry? B2.In your opinion what business management principles and practices, if any, could be helpful for pastors to serve more effectively and efficiently? B3. What projects are you responsible for, lead, or engaged in? B4. Please share your thoughts on applying management principles and practices in your pastoral ministry. B5. What supplemental education and training would you suggest could be helpful to learn, in seminary (pre-ministry) and/or on the job (in-ministry)? B6. What do you think about applying management principles and practices in the church? B7. What do you think about applying management principles and practices in the Chinese church? B8. Have you experienced any resistance to apply management principles and [ Page ] 156 practices in your ministry? Please elaborate. [ Page ] 157 APPENDIX G COURSE QUESTIONNAIRES This appendix addresses the assessment instruments that were used in this project. Essentially a set of questions was used to establish a benchmark in ascertaining each project participant's knowledge and experiences in management. Another set of questions was used to identify the learning preferences of the course participants. Throughout the course the participants were also invited to provide feedback after each class. Management Assessments Rather than develop a comprehensive instrument to assess the participants' management experience and expertise, this project leveraged existing tests. There are numerous instruments that assess management capabilities. One comprehensive exam is the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT®). The GMAT® is a standardized test designed for admission to over 6,000 graduate business and management programs worldwide (The Graduate Management Admission Council 2017). Universities that offer graduate-level management programs, such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, use the GMAT® as a criterion for admission. Another assessment instrument is the Graduate Record Examination (GRE®). It is a general test for admission to graduate school. Yet another management-oriented assessment is the Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification exam. These are excellent [ Page ] 158 assessment instruments for those who are interested in admission to business schools or in obtaining professional certification. These elite exams have high expectations and demands on scores and costs. They would be an overkill for this exercise. The goal is not to equip the pastors for admission to professional institutions. Therefore, they were not used for this project. Instead of creating a new questionnaire, this project leveraged questionnaires that are already available. The researcher found a set of quizzes that meet the requirement for appraising the management knowledge and experience of the project participants. These are not tests with either a "pass” or "fail" outcome. They are not preparatory exams to obtain the PMP® credential from the Project Management Institute, nor to attain a GMAT® score for entrance to an MBA program in a graduate level business school. The researcher found a set of quizzes provided by the Mind Tools organization. Mind Tools was established in 1996 (Mind Tools 2015). It hosts a comprehensive knowledge base of business training resources on the Internet. Mind Tools also delivers leadership, team and personal development training to businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations. One may subscribe to the Mind Tools Club and access the wealth of information and resources, including experienced mentors and coaches. However, one can also have access to a subset of the skill-building tools at no charge. The quizzes for this project are publicly accessible from the Mind Tools website (http://www.mindtools.com/). There is no charge for taking the quizzes or [ Page ] 159 for receiving the corresponding assessment reports. Although these resources are available at no charge, they are copyrighted. While Mind Tools welcomes reproduction of these materials, it was prudent to ask for permission. Such permission was granted. Correspondence with Mind Tools that acknowledges the use of these materials is included in Appendix H. The Mind Tools quizzes helped determine how well the course participants were doing in certain areas of management, and identified their areas of strength and weakness. The quizzes use a Likert rating scale model which requires the participants to choose one of five possible attributes. The range on the scale captures the respondents' intensity rather than the correctness of the response. Selections on a continuum of possible choices could highlight levels of effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement. After completing a quiz, each participant was provided with a score and an interpretation of the score. The participants were expected to review their personal reports and also send a copy to the research facilitator. According to the results from the pastoral survey, pastors indicated "People Management" and "Interpersonal Communications" as topics of high interest. Therefore the Mind Tools quizzes used for this project were: QI. How Good Are Your Management Skills? (20 statements) (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_28.htm) Q2. How Good Are Your Leadership Skills? (18 statements) (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_50.htm) Q3. How Good Are Your People Skills? (16 statements) (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_36.htm) The "How Good Are Your Management Skills?” quiz deals with essential [ Page ] 160 management skills such as planning, delegation, communication and motivation. Bennis and Nanus stated that, ''Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right" (Bennis and Nanus, 2007, 20). Although the scope of this project is the practice of management, it is important to discern it from the practice of leadership. While pastors are expected to provide effective leadership in their churches, they may not necessarily be efficient managers. The "How Good Are Your Leadership Skills?" quiz helps to identify areas that the project participants are already leading effectively, as well as where further development may be needed. The “How Good Are Your People Skills?” quiz assesses Personal Integrity, Managing Agreement, Managing Differences, and Interpersonal Communication skills. In Phase 3 of this project, these quizzes were used at several points. Before the course, the project participants completed the quizzes in order to establish a starting baseline of their knowledge and experience in management. Then, after completing the "Management Essentials" course in the Act step of the third phase, the quizzes again were used to assess the change(s), if any, to the participants' knowledge and experience in management as a result of the intervention. In addition, a mid-point check was injected part way through the course in order to assess the situation - progression or regression - and was used as input to adjust the course accordingly. The participants' scores for each management quiz were tracked. These are summarized in table G.l. Upon the completion of each Mind Tools quiz a set of scores was [ Page ] 161 generated. For each quiz there is an overall score. The score could fall into one of three levels of the respective skillset. For each sub-topic within the quiz there is also a score. The following section explicates the Mind Tools scoring system for the three quizzes. In addition to the quantitative scores for each participant, the Mind Tools assessments provided a qualitative analysis with references to resources for the participants to review and take action. How Good Are Your Management Skills? This quiz assesses a person's management skill set. There are twenty questions that address eight areas of management. The maximum overall score is 105. A score between 20 and 46 falls in Level 1 of the skill set. It suggests the person “needs improvement." A score between 47 and 73 falls in Level 2, and suggests that the person is "becoming a good manager, with opportunity to improve.,, A score between 74 and 105 foils in Level 3, and indicates the person is "doing a great job managing, and to continue to improve even further.” The eight areas assessed by this quiz are: • Understanding Team Dynamics and Encouraging Good Relationships (maximum score of 15) • Selecting and Developing the Right People (maximum score of 10) • Delegating Effectively (maximum score of 10) • Motivating People (maximum score of 10) • Managing Discipline and Dealing with Conflict (maximum score of 15) • Communicating (maximum score of 20) • Planning, Problem Solving and Decision-Making (maximum score of 10) • Avoiding Common Managerial Mistakes (maximum score of 15) [ Page ] 162 How Good Are Your Leadership Skills? This quiz assesses a person's leadership skill set. There are eighteen questions that address eight areas of leadership. The maximum overall score is 90. A score between 18 and 34 suggests the person is at Level 1 of the leadership skill set, and "needs to work on this skill.” A Score between 35 and 52 indicates the person is at Level 2, and "is doing OK as a leader, and has potential to do much better." A score between 53 and 90 affirms the person is "well on the way to becoming a good leader." The eight areas assessed by this quiz are: • Personal Characteristics • Self-Confidence (maximum score of 10) • Positive Attitude and Outlook (maximum score of 10) • Emotional Intelligence (maximum score of 10) • Transformational Leadership • Providing a Compelling Vision of the Future (maximum score of 10) • Motivating People to Deliver the Vision (maximum score of 10) • Being a Good Role Model (maximum score of 10) • Managing Performance Effectively (maximum score of 10) • Providing Support and Stimulation (maximum score of 20) How Good Are Your People Skills? This quiz assesses a person's people skill set. There are sixteen questions that address four areas. The maximum overall score is 80. A score between 16 and 36 suggest the person's '"technical skills may have taken precedence over people skills" and “is not making the most of the relationships with other people." This is Level 1. A score between 37 and 58 acknowledges that the person "recognizes [ Page ] 163 that working well with others is important, and there is room for improvement" A score between 59 and 80 affirms the person's people skills are "good, and should keep on working on them." The four areas assessed by this quiz are: • Interpersonal Communications (maximum score of 20) • Managing Differences (maximum score of 20) • Managing Agreement (maximum score of 20) • Personal Integrity (maximum score of 20) Scores by Pilot Project Participant The participants' scores for each skill set are compiled in table G.l. For each skill set, a series of three scores track the starting, mid-way, and post-course quiz results. An analysis of these results is provided in Chapter V. [ Page ] 164 Table G.l. Participants' Starting, Mid-way, Ending Scores [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table G.1 details ] [ Page ] 165 Learning Style Preferences The learning experience is shaped by two basic activities: perception, process. It starts with perceiving and receiving data and information, then followed by processing and integrating the information into knowledge. People have different ways they perceive and process. Thus learners have personal preferences to take in, process and give information in different ways. Each has a preferred approach or style of learning (Bracke and Tye 2003, 30). There are various learning style theories. Examples include Kolb's two-dimensional Assimilator-Accommodator/Converger-Diverger Learning Styles Model, Fleming ?s three-dimensional Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic Model, and the four- dimensional Felder-Silverman Model. Richard Felder and Linda Silverman developed their model to relate learning styles to the learner5 s preferences along four continua as follows (Education Designs Inc, 2017): • Active-Reflective • Active 一 learners prefer doing and trying out things, including group activities • Reflective - learners prefer thinking through things, working with few others or alone • Sensing-Intuitive • Sensing 一 learners are practical and prefer concrete thinking, with focts and procedures • Intuitive - learners are innovative and prefer conceptual thinking, with theories • Visual-Verbal • Visual - learners prefer information in visual form such as graphs, diagrams, charts, videos • Verbal - learners prefer verbal (spoken) and textual (written) information • Sequential-Global • Sequential - learners prefer linear thinking, processing incrementally [ Page ] 166 • Global 一 learners prefer systems thinking, processing holistically This project uses this four-dimensional model. Richard Felder and Barbara Solomon, of North Carolina State University, developed an online instrument to assess the preferences. This Index of Learning Styles (ILS) assessment tool consists of 44 questions. Learners answer the questions and submit them online. This instrument returns the learner's learning style profile which contains scores along a scale for each of the four dimensions. For example, along the Active- Reflective scale, a score could fell on the Active side or the Reflective side on the spectrum. A score of 1 or 3 indicates a mild preference, a score of 5 or 7 indicates a moderate preference, whereas a score of 9 or 11 indicates strong preference. The ILS is accessible at the North Carolina State University website (NC State University). Table G.2 reports on the participants' ILS scores. Table G.2. Participants' Felder-Silverman Learning Styles Preferences [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table G.2 details ] Post-Class Feedback Furthermore the participants were invited to provide feedback after each class. The Survey Monkey service was used to collect the anonymous feedback. [ Page ] 167 The feedback helped the course facilitator cum project researcher to proactively adapt the course content, format, facilitation, pace, and delivery in response to the participants, feedback, as well as to address concerns and technical issues. [ Page ] 168 APPENDIX H PERMISSION TO USE MIND TOOLS QUIZZES The correspondence, below, acknowledges the permission granted by Mind Tools to use the resources on the Mind Tools public website. Note that none of the Mind Tools copyrighted materials are included in the project artefacts. In particular, the quizzes were not reproduced. Rather the project participants were provided with the URL's to access the series of questions. Refer to Appendix G above. From: Jag Saluja (Mind Tools Support) [mailto:support@mindtools.zendesk.com] Sent: March 30, 2015 3:36 AM To: Wesley Wong Subject: [Mind Tools] Re: Request #67743 Jag Saluja, Mar 30,8:35 AM: Dear Wes Wong, Thanks for your email. Please feel free to use the URL of the article which is a full article available on Mind Tools public website. Let me know if you need further help. Best wishes Jag [ Page ] 169 APPENDIX I MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS COURSE This course was piloted with the project participants. The journey began with the pre-course questionnaires, followed by the one-on-one interviews with each participant and then two sessions of group discussion. The team agreed to meet every three weeks, for three hours, on Wednesday mornings. The six class sessions were facilitated over a period of four months. The team met face-to-face, albeit virtually, via the GoToMeeting service. A syllabus was presented to the team of pastors. The initial topics were based on the survey responses. However, as the course progressed and feedback continually received, the content was amended. Some topics were enhanced; others were dropped. The intent was to meet the needs of the participants, rather than to dispense information. Management Principles Being a course that addresses the fundamentals of management, the first class started with a review of the history of modern management. The field of management is very broad. Thus a subset of this discipline was the focus: project management. Moreover, it was important to distinguish management from leadership, and to also to highlight their intersection. Resources such as books and videos about management were presented. The following enumerates the subject [ Page ] 170 matter in the initial modules: • Management: A brief history in time. • The Four Epochs of Management: • Execution • Scientific Management • Efficiency and Productivity of the worker • Frederick W. Taylor, Henri Fayol • Expertise • Knowledge Worker • Effectiveness of the worker • Peter F. Drucker, Douglas McGregor • Empathy • Emotional Intelligence • Daniel Goleman, Ken Blanchard, Spencer Johnson • Emergence • Complexity Theory • Gary Hamel, Chris Mowles • Management Theories and Principles • Definition of Management • Major Functions of Managers • Basic Skills for Managers • Project Management • Management v. Leadership Notable quotes by subject matter experts were shared with the class. For example, Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus declared that there is "a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important ... Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing?, (Bennis and Nanus 2007, 20). Bernard Bass also saw leadership being not the same as management. Bass asserted, "Leaders are more transformational, and managers are more transactional. ... Leaders do the more correct things; managers do things correctly.,, Henry Mintzberg jested that it was Peter Drucker who put management on the map with the Practice of Management (1954), but "'leadership [ Page ] 171 has since pushed it off the map." Mintzberg concludes that "we are now overled and undermanaged." Peter Drucker had proclaimed: Management as a practice is very old. The most successful executive in all history was surely that Egyptian who, forty-seven hundred years or more ago, first conceived the pyramid ― without any precedent—and designed and built it, and did so in record time." (Drucker 2001) McKinsey declared in 1997: "In the world of management gurus, there is no debate. ... Peter Drucker is the one guru to whom other gurus kowtow." On the cover of its November 2005 issue, Business Week hailed Drucker as “the man who invented management." The magazine reported that, "what W. Edwards Deming is to quality, Drucker is to management?5 Be that as it may, there have been other successful managers who had lived millennia before Drucker. Some of them are found in the Bible. Biblical Principles Albeit the practice of managing has been with us for millennia, it has been viewed as a secular endeavour. Therefore, the course identified and presented management exemplars from both the Old Testament and the New Testament to lay a Biblical foundation for management. This was critical since the course was to equip pastors with management knowledge and skills for ministry. In the second class session, the focus of the course shifted from the secular to the sacred setting. A word study exercise ensued. The Greek word, oikonomia (Strong's G3622) was examined through the lens of several New Testament passages. The [ Page ] 172 English word, economy, is derived from it. The Greek word oikondmia connotes stewardship and administration. The Lord Jesus used this word when he taught the parable of the faithful and wise manager in Luke 12. The Apostle Paul included administration as a gift of the Spirit. The project participants, who are Alliance pastors, were reminded that commitment to stewardship is one of the core values of the C&MA in Canada. Several administrative exemplars in the Old Testament were identified. They include Joseph, Daniel and Nehemiah. The example of Nehemiah is reviewed below. Nehemiah was used as an object lesson in the course. Refer to Chapter II for a more detailed discourse on the Theological Framework of Management. Other management principles, practices and techniques presented in the course are summarized below. The 5 P Paradigm of Nehemiah In Scripture, one of the models of management prowess is Nehemiah. He had served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I of Persia. Then Nehemiah was sent to Jerusalem as an official administrator. He led the Hebrew people, and managed the project, to rebuild the wall and to repair the gates around the Holy City. Nehemiah was a servant-leader who managed. He practiced the five principles outlined below. • Pray • Nehemiah did not do anything without prayer, and he did not pray without doing anything. Prayer is priority #1. • Nehemiah took comfort in God. His Hebrew name, means "God consoles.” • Nehemiah did not leap before he looked, but rather he believed in looking before leading. • Neh 1:4—6, 11; 4:4, 9; 5:19; 6:9, 14; 13:14, 22, 29, 31. [ Page ] 173 • Plan • Nehemiah knew that after looking up and lifting up to the Lord, if he foiled to plan then he can plan to fail. • Nehemiah subscribed to the "ready-aim-then fire” model which entails looking, thinking before acting. • Neh 2:5—9,12—18; 5:14—18; 7:1—3; 13:19—22. • Proceed • Nehemiah did not perform the actions alone; he engaged others to execute the plan. • Nehemiah mobilized the team into action, with specific roles for specific tasks. • Neh 3:l—32;4:6—7, 13—14; 6:15—16; 12:31—47. • Provide • Nehemiah continually looked to the Lord to provide comfort, guidance, protection, and resources. • Neh 2:20; 4:4, 8—9, 14; 6:16; • Nehemiah monitored progress and managed the risk of opposition 一 both the external threats and the internal weaknesses. • Nehemiah 4 and 6 show how Nehemiah managed risks. • Nehemiah provided for and met the needs of his team, just as God had provided for him. • Neh5:6—11; 14—19. • Praise • Nehemiah took every opportunity to give thanks, glory and praise to God. • Nehemiah motivated the people all through the journey, celebrating milestones along the way and not just wait till the end of the project. • Neh 5:13; 8:6, 10, 12; 9:3, 5; 12:24, 27, 31, 40, 43. The 5 D's of Situational Management In the early years of his management assimilation, Peter Drucker had subscribed to the notion that there is one right way to manage people. This was consonant to Douglas McGregor's "Theory Y" of managing people. But upon review of Abraham H. Maslow's Eupsychian Management (1962, and the 1995 edition, Maslow on Management). Drucker concluded that different people have [ Page ] 174 to be managed differently (Drucker 2001, 77). The "Management Essentials" course presented a model of situational management. It is derived from Hersey and Blanchard's Situation Leadership II model. The 5 D's of situational management are articulated below. • Discern • Dwell - think. • Dispel 一 tell apart. • Separation. • Diagnose and Determine the readiness of the person based on: • character • confidence • competence • commitment • capacity • Decide on the appropriate management approach to take depending on the situation and the people. See below. • Defer to God, rather than default to self or others. • Bathe the decision in prayer and rely on God. • Biblical examples: • Nehemiah "sat down and wept... mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. ... O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” (Neh 1:4, 11) • Spirit of discernment. (1 Cor 12:10) • Direct • Show and Tell 一 instruct. • Education. • Command and Control, especially in crisis situations. • Could be construed as micro-management. • This would apply to those who are committed but do not have the competence to do the work. • They may or may not have the confidence. • Biblical examples: • God told Moses what to do. (Ex 3:5-18). • God told Moses to tell God's people what to do. (Ex 20:1-17). • God gave detailed and specific instructions to set up the [ Page ] 175 Tabernacle. (Ex 25-27) • God provided the instructions for the Priestly Garments. (Ex 28) • God laid out the blueprint for the Temple. (1 Chr 28; 2 Chr 2) • Nehemiah autocratically appointed workers and put some in charge. (Neh 7:2) • Jesus sent out the twelve and the seventy-two. He told them about the "do's” and "don'ts.” (Mt 10:5-10; Lk 10:1-24) • Jesus gave instructions for the preparation of the Last Supper. (Lk 22:7-13) • "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tm 3:16-17) • Disciple • Coach and Tell. • Participation. • Persuade and Influence in side-by-side partnership. • This would apply to those who have low competence as well as low commitment to do the work. • They may have lost confidence, perhaps due to some failed experience(s). • Biblical examples: • Nehemiah told his team that the gracious hand of God was upon him and that the God of heaven will give them success. (Neh2:18? 20) • Nehemiah coordinated the team and personally participated in the work to rebuild the wall and repair the gates. (Neh3:l-32) • Jesus said, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mt 4:18-22) • Jesus showed his disciples how to pray. (Matthew 6:9-15) • Jesus coached the disciples, especially when they lost confidence in fishing for men and healing the sick. (Mt 17:15- 20) • "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tm 3:16-17) • Discipline • Do not Yell to berate. • But Quell the disappointment - advocate. • Reprimand and Re-direct to clarify goals. [ Page ] 176 • Support and Encourage. • Inspiration. • Motivation. • This would apply to those who have the competence but are not committed to do the work. • They may have lost confidence. • They may lack enthusiasm. • Some may need reproof for their reproachable behaviour. • Biblical examples: • Jesus shared some caution for ministry in the tale of the wise and foolish builders. (Mt 7:24-27) • Jesus did not scold the disciples when they became afraid, failed, and even denied him. Instead, Jesus reassured and affirmed them. (Mt 14:26-31; Jn 21:4-19) • Jesus did have to reprimand and had to redirect his disciples, e.g., Peter, at times. (Mt 16:21-26) • Paul opposed Cephas "because he stood condemned." (Gal 2:11-21) • Paul called out Diotrephes who spread malicious nonsense. (3 Jn 9-11) • "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Tm 3:16-17) • Those who are sinning need to be reproved. (1 Tm 5:20) • Some do need to be disciplined. (Prv 3:12; 5:23; 13:18; Rv 3:19) • Delegate • Propel. • Mobilization. • Could be construed as macro-management, but this is authentic empowerment to those who are ready. • This would apply to those who have the character, the competence, the confidence, the commitment and the capacity. • Biblical examples: • Jesus reinstated Peter and then delegated him. (Jn 21:15-19) • Jesus gave the Great Commission. This delegation came with the promise of non-abdication. Jesus promised to be with his disciples always. He also sent the Holy Spirit. (Mt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8) • Nehemiah delegated those in charge the appointment of other workers (Neh 7:3). [ Page ] 177 • God promised never to leave nor forsake his people. (Jo 1:5-9) • God delegated creation care to Adam and Eve. (Gn 1:28-30; 2:15) The 5 Y's of Root Cause Analysis Whether it is in secular business or in sacred ministry, problems are pervasive. An essential skill is problem solving. But in order to solve a problem it needs to be defined. The root causes need to be uncovered. It is critical to distinguish between a symptom and a cause. Using the technique of "asking why five times” could facilitate getting to the root of a problem, rather than merely scratching the surface. Note that the number of iterations does not need to be five, but it does need to be more than one. Stopping complacently after the answer to the first "why” is akin to seeing the tip of an iceberg. Answering the subsequent "why" would be searching beneath the surface. Iteratively asking multiple "why's” is analogous to peeling the skin of an onion. The goal of each iteration is to determine the cause of an effect, be it a defect or an event. It goes beyond the symptom(s) and cause(s) to the root cause. The "5 whY's" is a practical technique to undertake a root cause analysis (RCA). The Ishikawa "4fishbone" diagram was presented as a means to visually analyse the cause and effect. The brain-writing technique was used to generate ideas for the cause(s) of a problem. The mind mapping technique was used to graphically capture the analysis. [ Page ] 178 The 5 W's of Problem Solving Once the root causes have been identified, and the problem is defined, then problem solving can proceed. It is critical to understand the problem before launching into a solution. Otherwise it would be akin to having ac'solution looking for a problem" which is a fait accompli. As with the 5 Y's, the 5 W's of problem solving is a transferrable skill. It has been used in corporate business and in church ministry. Starting with the "why", continue to determine "what” should be done to resolve the problem, identify "who” needs to be engaged to contribute to the work, "where" the work will be done and by "when.” • Why • What • Who • Where • When The 5 W's could be misconstrued as simplistic due to its perceived linear flow. However, it is typical that the problem solving exercise will radiate as creative alternatives arise. A corollary considers the following supplementary 5 W questions: • hoW Long • Estimate the time in elapsed time duration. • Quantify the magnitude of the problem and the solution. • hoW Much • Estimate the costs in terms of effort, as well as the non-time costs such as materials, products and services. • hoW • Design and identify the means to solve the problem, to achieve the "what" and by "when.” • What If... Hakuna Matata • Consider the risks which are potential future events or outcomes. • Risks are not always negative. Some risks realize positive gain or [ Page ] 179 outcome. These are usually referred to as "rewards.” • Assess the probability of the risk occurring and the impact of the risk if it occurs. • Manage the risk: • Mitigate risk - reduce the impact • Accept the risk - either a loss or a gain • Transfer the risk 一 share with other, e.g., insurance, outsourcing • Avoid the risk - go around, bypass, withdraw • Terminate the risk 一 prevent and pre-empt the risk by eliminating it • Assess the risk periodically; plan ahead to respond proactively, not reactively. • By continually to assess risks in a realistic manner, this could actualize the Swahili phrase, "Hakuna Matata," which means "there is no trouble," "no problem," or "no worries." • So What • After the analytical problem solving exercise, action may or may not ensue. • If the decision is to proceed, then refer to the DARCI roles below. The 5 Roles on a Team - DARCI The Apostle Paul painted a portrait of Christian believers as a body. He taught that in Christ the members form one body (Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:12-26). Each member has different gifts (Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:4-11). Paul wrote: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? (1 Cor 12:27-30) A team personifies the body. A team comprises of members with diverse capabilities to perform different functions. The members unite to achieve a common goal. Often, a team is formed to implement the solution to resolve a problem. A [ Page ] 180 team can also be formed to work on a project, and to deliver a product. The "who" component from the 5 W's, above, identifies the persons who need to be engaged. There is more than one person on a team. Each person has a role to play. The role describes the function, such as sponsorship, facilitation, analysis, and support. Several persons can play the same role, and a person can play multiple roles. Each role is assigned a set of tasks or activities. However, there is one exception as indicated below. • Decide • Decision maker(s). • Assign(s) and delegate(s) who does what. • Accountable • Approves the work. • There should be only one for each activity/task/deliverable. • This could be coupled with a Decider to approve who does the work as well as the work done. • Responsible • Do(es) the work. • Several persons may be assigned to a task. • Consult • Subject Matter Expert(s). • Give(s) and exchange(s) information. • This requires two-way communication. • Inform 、 • Stakeholder(s). • Receive(s) information. • One-way communication. The 5 Stages of Team FORMation A team typically experiences several stages in its lifecycle. It begins when the team is formed, and ends when the team completes the work to be transformed. • Form - at this early stage, the team participants get acquainted and formalities are maintained; they are learning about one another. • Storm 一 then they share their individual views and feelings; they [ Page ] 181 challenge one another, but ideally the challenge is not personal but task-oriented as the team members brain-storm ideas. • Conform to the norm 一 the team members begin to accept others and feel they are integral to the team; they keep each other informed; they work with one another. • Perform - the team members have built trust; they work as one. • Transform - the team completes and delivers a transformed end goal; they reflect on the past, celebrate and adjourn. NB: They may mourn due to the adjournment which creates a break up as the team is disbanded. The exodus of the Israelites aligns with this model. On Mount Horeb, God called Moses from a burning bush that did not bum up (Ex 3:1-4). Then God led Moses to recruit and form a team to take the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. Early on in this migration project Moses and his brother, Aaron, encountered resistance from Pharaoh (Ex 5) as well as from the Israelites (Exodus 6). Even Moses had doubts (Ex 5:22-3; 6:12, 30). Then after the Israelites had escaped the clutches of Pharaoh and his army by walking through the Red Sea on dry ground (Ex 14:10-31), the storms continued into the desert wandering. Strife attacked the Israelites from within with their complaints, grumblings, quarrels, and disobedience (Ex 15:22-7; 16:1-31; 17:1- 7). God provided for their physical needs. God also proclaimed commandments to normalize the people to conform to a common standard of compliance (Ex 20:1- 17). They were also attacked by the inhabitants of the territories through which they travelled (Ex 17:8-13). At times, the Israelites had to stand united to fend off their attackers. Throughout the four decades of their Sinaitic meandering the Israelites performed as a team in order to survive. Moreover they performed what [ Page ] 182 God had instructed through Moses. They worked together to prepare for the Tabernacle. They set up the Tabernacle. They came together to give offerings and to worship Jehovah God. Finally, the gauntlet was passed from Moses to Joshua who led the Israelites into the Promised Land (Dt 31:3; 34:9; Jo 1:1—3). This transformed them from bondage to freedom, and from slaves to conquerors. Course Evaluation At the end of the "Management Essentials" course, the participants were invited to provide their comments. An email with five questions was sent to the participants. Their input would be used to improve the course for future deployment. Refer to Chapter V. 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