Servant, Transformational, and Missional Leadership Essential Relational Qualities and Competencies and Seminar for more Effective Ontario Nazarene Pastoral Leadership

Abstract

This project addresses a gap between pastoral leadership training and the demands upon leadership in Ontario Church of the Nazarene parish ministry. Through Action Research analyzed using Grounded Theory this project identified the essential leadership qualities and competencies for effective Nazarene pastoral leadership by emphasizing the importance of life-long learning. This study is unique in that common attributes from three relational leadership theories were applied specifically to Ontario Nazarene pastors resulting in an equipping method with a high degree of success. A review of leadership, adult learning and cultural change literature, semi-structured open-ended interviews and a focus group provided data that was analyzed using Grounded Theory to identify five essential leadership quality and competency themes: integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, understanding culture, and people skills. Equipping in four of these themes, in a postmodern cultural context and applying adult learning theories as a method for equipping pastors proved to reduce the gap between training and demands on Nazarene pastors. Among the key findings: the existence of a gap was confirmed, leadership qualities were deemed more important than competencies, notwithstanding the importance of both, and that equipping is desirable. These findings indicate the potential value for the development of a unified, personal equipping track for Nazarene pastors, which could prepare and sustain them as effective 21st century pastoral leaders.