Proposal Summary
Leading Healthy Congregations: The Uniqueness of Autonomous Congregations
Larry McSwain
McAfee School of Theology
Summary
The project is the development of a manuscript on leadership in congregations that function differently from the mainline, connectional polity that characterizes most congregational leadership studies. According to the National Congregations Study (Wave 2-2006/07), 20.4 percent of congregations in America are unaffiliated with any denomination/convention/ association, and as many as 53 percent of all congregations function without connectional polities. This research effort will be a part of a sabbatical leave study from McAfee School of Theology. The researcher will receive full salary and benefits during the leave. The grant request is to provide funds for the completion of a field research process that involves a consultative relationship between the researcher and ten pastors and their staff leaders of various types of autonomous congregations in the Atlanta Metropolitan Region; half will be leaders of predominantly Caucasian congregations and half of predominantly African American churches. Each pastor/staff or congregation will receive compensation for the consultative relationship and the U.S. Congregational Life Survey will be administered in each congregation. Each pastoral leader will evaluate the manuscript draft in process. A part-time research assistant will be contracted to administer the collection of data and provide support to the primary researcher. The final result of the project will be the production of a book manuscript tentatively titled "Leading Healthy Congregations: The Uniqueness of Autonomous Churches" exploring four dimensions of congregational life: Systems, Stories, Strategies and Set-backs.
Related Publications
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