Alternative Title
Lideranca Pastoral Em Uma Igreja de Contexto Cross-Cultural e Multicultural Em Constante Conflito: Estudo de Caso Baseado Em Sua Populacao Filipina. Liderazgo Pastoral En Una Iglesia de Contexto Cross-Cultural y Multicultural En Constante Conflicto: Estudio de Caso Basado En Su Poblacion Filipina.
Subject Area
Communication, Religion, Social Work, Theology/Religious Education
Abstract
Pastoral Leadership in a Cross-Cultural, Multicultural, Conflict-Driven Congregation: A Filipino Case Study
Christ Redeemer was a Cross-Cultural, Multicultural church where the majority of the members were Filipinos. The church experienced way too many conflicts that distracted everyone in the congregation from the real calling to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”[1] The ethos of Christ Redeemer seemed to be driven by conflict, regardless of whether the leadership provided came from a Filipino or a non-Filipino pastor. The congregation fed conflict upon conflict, creating a cycle of tension with little engagement in critical issues in the life of the church. It was very common for Filipinos at Christ Redeemer to hold grudges originating from said conflicts.
This project will attempt to address the questions, “Why is there so much conflict at Christ Redeemer, and why do they occur so often?” and “How might the findings in this project help non-Filipino, as well as Filipino pastoral leaders provide leadership to a church congregation with a majority membership of Filipinos in the religious context of a United Methodist Church in the United States?”
This project will provide non-Filipino, as well as Filipino pastoral leaders with a deeper level of understanding of the Filipino Culture that can enhance their ministry with Filipinos by having insight into the dynamics amongst Filipinos in their relationship with people from their own Culture, as well as Filipinos in their relationship with people beyond their own Culture. Furthermore, this project will demonstrate for pastoral leaders in a Cross-Cultural, Multicultural context working with a Filipino population that being in solidarity with the people as they seek to serve God together is more effective than attempting to resolve their conflicts. That is because there is no set of rules to approach conflict with Filipinos that will work best and, very often, “letting them be” to sort out their own personal and relational conflicts most clearly shows pastoral sensitivity that embodies solidarity with the people as they serve God together.
[1] The United Methodist Church. What We Believe. The Book of Discipline, Section 1: The Churches, Article 120, “The Mission,” http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/section-1-the-churches (accessed March 18, 2019).
Degree Date
Spring 5-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
D.Min.
Department
Ministry
Advisor
Dr. Ruben Habito
Number of Pages
176
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Volfe, Ed, "Pastoral Leadership in a Cross-Cultural, Multicultural, Conflict-Driven Congregation: A Filipino Case Study" (2019). Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses. 1.
https://scholar.smu.edu/theology_ministry_etds/1
Included in
Ethnic Studies Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Education Commons
Notes
Keywords: Leadership, Pastoral Leadership, Leader, Conflict-Driven, Conflict, Filipino, Filipina, Cross-Cultural, Multicultural, Culture, Best Approaches, Solidarity