New structures for effectiveness in the Presbyterian session

John E Schmidt

Etd

New structures for effectiveness in the Presbyterian session

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

John E Schmidt. New Structures for Effectiveness In the Presbyterian Session. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/a569403f-46dd-4b63-82e1-aa1c46a196cb.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

J. E. Schmidt. New structures for effectiveness in the Presbyterian session. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/a569403f-46dd-4b63-82e1-aa1c46a196cb

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

John E Schmidt. New Structures for Effectiveness In the Presbyterian Session. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/a569403f-46dd-4b63-82e1-aa1c46a196cb.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

John E Schmidt

Keyword

Relation (Theology)

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

This thesis-project examines the relationship of the numerical decline of denominational churches in contemporary American society and the lac of structural renewal in these churches. This thesis-project shows how changes were made to the session of a PC(USA) congregation to attempt to improve effectiveness, and a policy manual growing from that experience was disseminated to other church leaders for their opinions. The researcher presents a theological motivation for churches to pursue changes in the leadership structure of the session. After examining modern and postmodern paradigms, the writer asserts that accommodations to the modern paradigm do not meet the demands and expectations of ministry in a postmodern context. The writer then proposes missional values and structures to enhance the effectiveness of the local church in the postmodern context. A detailed case study shows that these structural changes increased the effectiveness of a local church's ministry, increased the satisfaction of its leaders, fit PC(USA) polity, and could be applied with profit in other church situations.

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