Church and Parachurch Executive Leadership
The Church and Parachurch Executive Leaderhip concentration emphasizes "doing," that is, you lead your people forwrad to accomplish what the Lord has for you to do. "Knowing" and "being" are suspect if nothing ever gets done. People "do" out of what they know and are.
Seminars in the Church and Parachurch Executive Leadership Concentration
DML-801 How the Nature of the Church Affects Strategies for Ministry (3 hours)
The nature and purpose of the ministry of the church is studied in-depth. What are the implications for the minister as a servant of God to the congregation and to the community? Students develop personal goals and strategies and they will also define the general and specific goals of their churches. These are evaluated and revised in light of the theological implications.
DML-802 Becoming a Leader Who Can Lead Effectively (3 hours)
Students interact with literature, the seminar
participants and leaders in the
DML-811 Developing Leaders: A Philosophy and Strategy for Leadership Training (3 hours)
Students are exposed to the latest findings in
leadership theory and practice. The need for various levels of leadership
requires various models for training leaders.
These various training models will be supported by leadership
development theory and practice. A direct outcome will be a better
understanding of one’s own leadership style and philosophy as well as practical
tools for mentoring new leaders along the way.
DML-812 Developing People: The Backbone of Leadership (3 hours)
Whatever the relationship – small
groups, marriage, parenting, staff, difficult people, etc. – effective leaders
develop people. They don’t simply use
people to accomplish a goal. They
develop people as part of the process. To develop people they must understand
people. Students are tested in various areas to help them determine their strengths
in understanding and developing people as well as their own need for
development. If leaders do not develop
their people the resources for ministry will not grow.
DML-813 Leading and Managing the Church and Parachurch (3 hours)
What makes a good leader? What
makes a good manager? What are the differences between leading and managing?
Good leaders and good managers complement each other and both are needed to
accomplish the mission of the church. This seminar develops each student’s
ability to lead and manage in a way that produces health and growth in a
Christian organization.
DML-814 Pastoral Leadership in the 21st Century (3 hours)
This seminar focuses on how the pastor as leader can improve effectiveness as the church’s direction-setter and overseer of the decision-making process. By means of the reading, assignments, class discussion, lectures and pastoral consultants, the students analyze and improve their leadership skills for the benefit of their own congregations. Topics include how to (1) use power properly to increase ministerial effectiveness, (2) communicate the church’s vision, (3) organize and direct the essential components of the church, (4) influence people for greater Christian growth, and (5) encourage staff and congregation morale.
Interpersonal relations are critical to Christian organizations. Conflict can destroy them if not managed. But relationships can be built out of conflict. Students will develop a biblical and theological under-standing of conflict, styles of conflict management to reduce conflict, negotiation approaches and principles for organizational handling of conflict.
DML-816 Addressing the Ethical Issues that Make
or Break Christian Ministries
Organizations have failed because
they failed to deal with developing ethical issues. Case studies in modern
ethics help to apply ethics to Christian organizations. Foundation and theories of ethics must be
related to the Bible, the marketplace and the modern organization.
DML-817 Strategic Planning for Accomplishing Mission Goals (3 hours)
Students study visionary planning and implementation for Christian organizations as they interact with issues of contextualization, cross-cultural communication, fund-raising, board policy, marketing and assessment, and organizational change. A strategic plan must take every aspect of the organization into consideration if the mission of the organization is to e fulfilled. It must also be flexible because circumstances constantly change.
When a vision is established and strategic planning is done, how does one go about leading people through the change process in such a way that change actually happens? What are the dynamics of change? How does one lead through the process of change and keep people on board? These and other questions will be addressed in this seminar.
DML-819 Building Christian Community (3 hours)
What is authentic Christian community and how is it nourished and developed in a local congregation or organization? This seminar will explore biblical foun-dations of Christian community, along with historical, cultural and sociological perspectives on community. A variety of methods for building and strengthening Christian community will be presented with a focus on significant small group models that encourage and express community in particular contexts.
DML-820 Organize for Life and Ministry (3 hours)
Organizing for life and ministry is not about time management but about life management. We must manage our life to manage our time. We must “use what we’ve got” in time since we never have more time. Therefore, we reduce what we do to fit the time we have and trust God for the rest. We must learn to work with God and be transparent, which saves a lot of time and energy.
DML-890 Independent Study in Executive Leadership (3 hours)
An independent study in leadership may be arranged with an appropriate professor with the approval of the D.Min. Director. Only two independent studies or transfers from another seminary may be included in the student’s course work.
