Empowering church leaders for service in Africa: Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry paradigm

Empowering church leaders globally is a contested terrain, particularly in Africa. This article explores the challenges and pitfalls of church leadership on the continent. It not only examines the complexities of contemporary African church leadership but also proposes strategies for modelling its t...

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Main Author: Rabson Hove
Format: Article
Language:Afrikaans
Published: AOSIS 2025-01-01
Series:In die Skriflig
Subjects:
Online Access:https://indieskriflig.org.za/index.php/skriflig/article/view/3131
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author Rabson Hove
author_facet Rabson Hove
author_sort Rabson Hove
collection DOAJ
description Empowering church leaders globally is a contested terrain, particularly in Africa. This article explores the challenges and pitfalls of church leadership on the continent. It not only examines the complexities of contemporary African church leadership but also proposes strategies for modelling its transformative development. The focus is on critically assessing how church leaders can be empowered to transform both the church and communities in Africa through the Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry (SHPM) paradigm. The article argues that numerous challenges in Africa can be mitigated by equipping church leaders for transformative roles. A key issue identified is the tendency to idolise clergy, placing them at the centre of ministry, rather than fostering their role as models who empower others. Drawing on insights from SHPM theory, this article evaluates the empowerment of church leaders for transformative action within the African context. It concludes by emphasising the need to empower church leaders to facilitate the transformation of both the church and its surrounding communities. Contribution: This article contributes to the discourse on ethical Christian leadership by advocating role-modelling servant leadership as opposed to idolisation. It posits that empowering church leaders is essential for addressing the myriad challenges confronting churches and communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-2f4788094c074b7f86eb7b9a554855042025-02-11T13:24:07ZafrAOSISIn die Skriflig1018-64412305-08532025-01-01591e1e910.4102/ids.v59i1.31312690Empowering church leaders for service in Africa: Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry paradigmRabson Hove0Research Institute for Theology and Religion, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of South Africa, PretoriaEmpowering church leaders globally is a contested terrain, particularly in Africa. This article explores the challenges and pitfalls of church leadership on the continent. It not only examines the complexities of contemporary African church leadership but also proposes strategies for modelling its transformative development. The focus is on critically assessing how church leaders can be empowered to transform both the church and communities in Africa through the Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry (SHPM) paradigm. The article argues that numerous challenges in Africa can be mitigated by equipping church leaders for transformative roles. A key issue identified is the tendency to idolise clergy, placing them at the centre of ministry, rather than fostering their role as models who empower others. Drawing on insights from SHPM theory, this article evaluates the empowerment of church leaders for transformative action within the African context. It concludes by emphasising the need to empower church leaders to facilitate the transformation of both the church and its surrounding communities. Contribution: This article contributes to the discourse on ethical Christian leadership by advocating role-modelling servant leadership as opposed to idolisation. It posits that empowering church leaders is essential for addressing the myriad challenges confronting churches and communities in sub-Saharan Africa.https://indieskriflig.org.za/index.php/skriflig/article/view/3131church leadershipempowermentidolrole modelpastoral ministry
spellingShingle Rabson Hove
Empowering church leaders for service in Africa: Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry paradigm
In die Skriflig
church leadership
empowerment
idol
role model
pastoral ministry
title Empowering church leaders for service in Africa: Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry paradigm
title_full Empowering church leaders for service in Africa: Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry paradigm
title_fullStr Empowering church leaders for service in Africa: Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry paradigm
title_full_unstemmed Empowering church leaders for service in Africa: Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry paradigm
title_short Empowering church leaders for service in Africa: Situational Holistic Pastoral Ministry paradigm
title_sort empowering church leaders for service in africa situational holistic pastoral ministry paradigm
topic church leadership
empowerment
idol
role model
pastoral ministry
url https://indieskriflig.org.za/index.php/skriflig/article/view/3131
work_keys_str_mv AT rabsonhove empoweringchurchleadersforserviceinafricasituationalholisticpastoralministryparadigm