Perception and practice of Christian leadership in the Deeper Life Bible Church
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Date
2013-08-13
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Abstract
This thesis examined the perception and practice of Christian leadership in the Deeper Life Bible Church. The problem that necessitated research in this area of study is the fact that, Christian leadership has been criticized by many within and outside the church. Many allegations have been leveled against some leaders of the Deeper Life Bible Church. Thus, issues that were prevalent were compromise of leadership roles and characteristics. Others were immoral acts, lack of attention for the youth, disparity of remuneration between junior and senior pastors and lack of supervision, among others. This seems to suggest that some leaders within the church are violating the ‘holiness principles’ the church stands for. To ascertain the truth of these allegations, the study sought to find out how leadership is perceived and practised in the Deeper Life Bible church today. Primary data was collected by means of one-on-one interviews with non-members and some prominent leaders of the church who know the history of the Deeper Life Bible Church. These leaders ranged from the Regional Overseer to Home Caring Fellowship leaders. Participatory observation was used to confirm information gathered through interviews and relevant literature on Christian leadership were also consulted.
The leadership pattern of Jesus Christ as presented in Luke’s gospel was used as the assessment criterion. In view of this, the leadership characteristics and style of Jesus were discussed. These leadership characteristics include holiness, humility, compassion and love. Jesus adopted the servant style of leadership to accomplish his earthly mission. The study also discovered that Jesus always prayed before and during his ministry on earth. His call to save and serve humanity was confirmed by God during his baptism. Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome principalities and powers during his ministry. After analysing how leadership is practised in Deeper Life Bible Church alongside the leadership pattern of Jesus Christ, it was discovered that ideally the church wants to follow Jesus’ example in leadership. In practice however, the church experiences some lapses. The study suggested some recommendations to correct the lapses in the leadership style. The research recommends that some policies and processes be reviewed in order to bring sanity in the financial disbursement and supervisory role of the Church. The research is important because it will contribute to knowledge in church history, as well as teachings in the Deeper Life Bible Church in Ghana and the world at large. The study also serves as a catalyst in renewing the moral life of members, especially leaders in the Deeper Life Bible Church.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Religious Studies Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Religious Studies.