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Church Reform and Leadership of Change
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 218

Church Reform and Leadership of Change

Reforms and processes of change have become an increasingly pervasive characteristic of European Protestant churches in the last fifteen to twenty years. Driven by perceptions of crises, such as declining membership rates, dwindling finances, decreasing participation in church rituals, and less support of traditional church doctrine, but also changes of governance of religion more generally, many churches feel compelled to explore new forms of operations, activities, and organizational structures. What is the inner dynamic and nature of these processes? This book explores this question by applying perspectives from organizational studies and bringing them into dialogue with ecclesiological c...

Church Reform and Leadership of Change
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 206

Church Reform and Leadership of Change

Reforms and processes of change have become an increasingly pervasive characteristic of European Protestant churches in the last fifteen to twenty years. Driven by perceptions of crises, such as declining membership rates, dwindling finances, decreasing participation in church rituals, and less support of traditional church doctrine, but also changes of governance of religion more generally, many churches feel compelled to explore new forms of operations, activities, and organizational structures. What is the inner dynamic and nature of these processes? This book explores this question by applying perspectives from organizational studies and bringing them into dialogue with ecclesiological c...

The Real Church
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 259

The Real Church

What does it mean to believe in the church? What is the relationship between the church we believe in and the church we experience? Is there an invisible church that is different from the visible? This book is an argument for an ecclesiology of the visible. The only church, the real church, is a concrete reality made up of people, just like any other fellowship. What distinguishes it as church is the presence of the triune God among those who gather in the name of Jesus, making it a sign and anticipation of the fellowship of the kingdom of God. From this premise Dr. Hegstad analyzes such issues as the relationship between church and world, mission and diakonia, church as fellowship and organization, ministries in the church, worship, and the unity of the church, as well as discussing the relationship between a sociological and a theological understanding of the church.

Understanding Values Work
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 297

Understanding Values Work

At the core of institutional theories, ‘values’ is a central term and figures in most definitions; however it remains understudied and under-explored. The editors of this open access book identify a resurgence of interest in the values-construct which underpins discussions of identity, ‘ethos’ and the purpose/nature of public and civic welfare provision. Considering the importance of values and values work to social, material and symbolic work in organizations, individual chapters explore values work as performed in organizations and by leaders. Focusing on practices of values work, the book applies and combines different theoretical lenses exemplified by the integration of institutional perspectives with micro-level perspectives and approaches.

What Really Matters
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 299

What Really Matters

This volume is about ecclesiology and ethnography and what really matters in such academic work. How does material from field studies matter in a theological conversation? How does theology, in various forms, matter in analysis and interpretation of field work material? How does method matter? The authors draw on their research experiences and engage in conversations concerning reflexivity, normativity, and representation in qualitative theological work. The role and responsibility of the researcher is addressed from various perspectives in the first part of the book. In the next section the authors discuss ways in which empirical studies are able to disrupt the implicit and explicit normati...

Freedom of Religion at Stake
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 298

Freedom of Religion at Stake

How can freedom of religion protect the dignity of every human being and safeguard the well-being of creation? This question arises when considering the competing claims among faith traditions, states, and persons. Freedom of religion or belief is a basic human right, and yet it is sometimes used to undermine other human rights. This volume seeks to unpack and wrestle with some of these challenges. In order to do so scholars were invited from different contexts in Africa and Europe to write about freedom of religion from various angles. How should faith traditions in a minority position be protected against majority claims and what is the responsibility of the religious communities in this t...

Theology and Sexuality, Reproductive Health, and Rights
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 179

Theology and Sexuality, Reproductive Health, and Rights

This volume presents a project of empirical research on issues of theology, sexuality, and reproductive health and rights. It was carried out by researchers from two theological institutions in Brazil and Colombia in close contact with the grassroots in various civil-society organizations. Numerous studies at twenty-six Latin American institutions on the relation between theology and HIV/AIDS prepared the way for this project. It promotes and applies methodologies for Latin American popular education and participatory action research (PAR). While the project was finalized long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Latin America and the world, the pandemic gave fresh evidence of the relevance of the project. The present volume is the English translation of the initial Portuguese and Spanish reports about the project, enriched with a new preface. The editors are delighted that this translation will help spread the vital insights from this research to a wider and global readership.

Researching Values
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 314

Researching Values

Intro -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1: Researching Values in Organisations and Leadership -- The Complexity of Research on Values -- Key Concepts and Questions in This Book -- Overview of the Chapters in This Book -- Challenges to Future Research Methods -- References -- Part I: Methodological Approaches to Researching Values -- 2: Values at Work: Mapping the Field Through the Lens of Methodological Approaches -- Introduction -- Researching Values: A Brief Overview -- Studying Explicit Values Using Quantitative Approaches -- Studying Implicit Values Using Qualitative Approaches -- Studying Explicit and Implicit Values Using Q...

A Phenomenology of Pentecostal Leadership
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 185

A Phenomenology of Pentecostal Leadership

While books on famous and infamous Pentecostal leaders abound, the corpus of research on Pentecostal leadership is sparse. This is unfortunate, as strong and innovative leadership has been instrumental for the exceptional growth of the movement—and for countless examples of abusive behaviors in Pentecostal congregations. To promote effective leadership while avoiding the destructive effects of autocratic leaders, it is necessary to better understand the dynamics of leadership within Pentecostalism. This is the purpose of the book, and Truls Åkerlund fills a gap in the present knowledge on Pentecostal leadership—first by discussing the extant literature on the topic and then by exploring the meaning of such leadership through a phenomenological analysis of the experiences of pastors in Pentecostal congregations. The author describes a general structure of Pentecostal leadership with essential characteristics of the phenomenon, locates Pentecostal leadership within the broader streams of organizational and religious leadership research, and points out crucial discussions and implications to be addressed in Pentecostal organizations.

The Study of Science and Religion
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 235

The Study of Science and Religion

The main aim of this book is to contribute to the relationship between science and religion. This book aims to do constructive theological work out of a particular cultural context. The point of departure is contemporary Swedish religion and worldviews. One focus is the process of biologization (i.e., how the worldviews of the general public in Sweden are shaped by biological science). Is there a gap between Swedes in general and the perceptions of Swedish clergy? The answer is based on sociological studies on science and religion in Sweden and the United States. Furthermore, the book contains a study of Swedish theologians, from Nathan Soderblom to the present Archbishop Antje Jackelen, and their shifting understanding of the relation between science and religion. The philosophical aspects of this relation are given special consideration. What models of the relation inform the contemporary scholarly discussion? Are science and religion in conflict, separate, or in mutual creative interaction?